Juntos Together

Juntos Together started tonight.  It is a combination mission trip/mission's conference.  A team of 8 came from The Bridge Church in Fresno and another 33 came from Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield.  These teams join with the youth of Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva to learn and serve.  

We started the week with orientation this afternoon, followed by the first night of the conference.  The theme for the week is "Stand Firm/Se Firme."   The theme song for the week is Fix My Eyes by Kings Kaleidoscope.  Click here to hear the song.

Hilo, Aguja y Biblia Pillowcases

I just realized that I didn't post pictures from our last Hilo, Aguja y Biblia (HAB) class which included pictures of the completed pillowcases.  Almost everyone finished one of their pillowcases and here's a picture to prove it!

Next time we meet, those who didn't finish will have time to do so while the rest of us begin the process of matching up fabric.  We will be making pillowslips to give to an orphanage and/or a battered women's shelter for our next evangelistic outreach.

Teams from ALBC and Valley Baptist

Teams from Abundant Life Baptist, Lee's Summit, MO (our home church) and Valley Baptist Church, Bakersfield, California, are here in San Salvador this week.  Everyone arrived in time for us to have a family festival in Apopa on Saturday evening.  It was a great night with more than 50 professions of faith!  God is really moving in Apopa and our church there is growing.  They are moving to two services in May!

Lives Were Changed

The 40+ people who came from Valley Baptist, Bakersfield, CA; Copper Springs Church, Clovis, CA; Faith Baptist Church, Youngsville, NC; and Crossroads Church, Benson, NC, and the group from Vida Nueva saw God do a great work this week.  There were more than 700 professions of faith and, with the exception of a few group presentations downtown and after the movie each night, these decisions were the result of faithful one-on-one sharing of the gospel message by the team.  Although a large number of professions of faith is not abnormal, they are usually the result of a combination of sharing lessons/gospel in the schools in the mornings and one-on-one in the evenings.  Not so this time.  Because the decisions were made with individual team members and their translator, the personal information they gathered is likely to be complete and accurate which makes the follow-up process much easier.

The campaigns were divided among our various church sites:  Friday and Saturday night we worked with Pastor Koky Lopez and IBVN Lourdes;

Monday and Tuesday with Pastor David Guadron and the IBVN Crown Plaza site;

Wednesday with Pastor Alex Hernandez and the IBVN Miravalle site;

Thursday with Pastor Chitty Lopez and IBVN Apopa 

and Friday with Pastor Manuel Orellana and IBVN Coyolito.  

I know I've mentioned it before, but if you've never had the opportunity to participate in a mission trip, then you have missed out on an unbelievable blessing.  A trip is "life changing" for those who are now part of God's family and for the team members who were able to see God work through them.  Please pray about what God would have you do--we'd love to see you here in Central America this year.

First Campaign of 2014

Last night was the first night of the first campaign of the year.  There is a group of 41 from Valley Baptist, Bakersfield, CA, Copper Springs, Colvis, California and Faith Baptist in North Carolina.  Here are just a couple of pictures.

Two Days in Guatemala

WEEKEND--The campaign officially started on Saturday evening; but we were up early on Saturday to meet the Valley Baptist team for breakfast after their red-eye flight from LAX.  Happily, the hotel had agreed to allow them to check-in when they arrived at 7:30 a.m., so all but two of them opted for rest rather than breakfast.  It didn't matter, though, because breakfast at Capistrano is always good and even better when sharing it with friends like Nelson, Rosemarie, Fabi, Camila, Don Laity and Gary Nelson.  It was a great start to the week.

The team from Oakland Baptist Church, Corinth, Mississippi, arrived at the hotel about 2:30, and barely had time to check-in before leaving for the evening campaign.  Stephen headed out with them and the group from Valley.  

There was still had so much VBS prep work to do that I didn't go along; instead, I stayed back and worked on curtains, buttons and sashes.  

Sunday mornings during a campaign are one of my favorite times of worship.  It is so amazing to see how worship unites the body of Christ across all barriers--cultural, language, economic, etc.  Pastor Nelson didn't have a translator so he did his own translating--first point in English, followed by first point in Spanish.  It was kind of a simultaneous translation by the same person.  At the end we had a sweet time of prayer for VBS.

Sunday night the Oakland Baptist group left for the campaign at 3:30, while the rest of us set Colossal Coaster World VBS in the hotel salons.  I think we were half crazy by the time we finished!   

Back to Guatemala

Every year I am absolutely amazed by the amount of work it takes to "do VBS" here in Guatemala.  I know that it takes alot to do VBS in the states, too, but I think most churches have the money to buy the VBS curriculum, handouts, crafts, and the rest.  Thankfully, Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California, gives everything they have leftover from their summer VBS (that they can bring in their suitcases) to the church here.  Of course, the other thing that is different is that the VBS is in the Westin Hotel so every single thing they need has to be taken and set up.  There aren't any regular Sunday School room decorations that can be used. 

Right now there are 125 kids enrolled and that number will grow through Monday.  I spent today at the sewing machine--making curtains for the dividers between the classes.  Stephen cut out "hundreds" of buttons--he said when he finished, he could only walk in circles!

In addition to the normal VBS, they are preparing crafts for the moms who bring their kids and then just hang around until it's over.  The church is interested in reaching the whole family.  Also, three days during the campaign, there will be back-yard Bible clubs with Bible stories, verses and crafts. 

All of this work is so VBS can be a tool to share the love of Jesus with the kids who are coming.  Please pray for us as we rush to finish everything before Monday morning.  Pray for good health and stamina for the workers.  Pray that the kids who come will have hearts open and ready to hear the gospel.

Getting ready to share

The ladies of Hilo, Aguja y Biblia met today to continue packing the bags with the baby quilts we made (thanks to Valley Baptist, Bakersfield) and the baby items (soap, shampoo, diapers, clothes, pacifiers, etc.) that were donated by members of Abundant Life Baptist Church in Lee's Summit, Missouri and by members of Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva here in San Salvador and Lourdes.  We also added a Gospel of John and Romans and a "Big Question" tract to each bag.

We are scheduled to visit Hospital Zacamil on Tuesday morning.  We will share the gospel with each of the new moms and give them one of the gift bags from the ministry.  We don't know exactly how many new moms/babies will be there so we may also be able to share with the moms who have sick babies in the Pediatrics wing.  I think we have at least 50 bags!  

We are so thankful to everyone who donated items to help with the ministry; we know the moms are going to be so happy and very grateful to receive a gift bag.  Please pray for us as we go and share!