Sunday in St. Louis

We had the great privilege to share our El Salvador ministry with First Baptist Ferguson (a St. Louis suburb) on Sunday.  All of the adult Sunday School classes met together and we talked about Vida Nueva, Good News in Action, Metro America 0-20 and invited all of them to come on a mission trip.  It was fun telling them about the work and encouraging them to step out and trust God in a new way during 2016.

During our time in the service, Stephen sang "Poderoso" in Spanish, we both briefly shared with them and then we showed the "Call to Prayer" video.  

After a fantastic lunch at a local restaurant, we watched a little football at the hotel.  Then, returned to church to meet with persons who wanted to hear more about the mission trip to Guatemala in August.  At 7:00 p.m. we went to Parker Road Baptist Church and caught up with a small group after the service.  Members of this church have come to El Salvador for trips, but haven't been down in many years.  We're hoping that they will join with the Ferguson group and come in August.

We finished the evening off with Mexican food (awesome chips, salsa and white cheese dip) and great fellowship.  

It was such a blessing to get to know the people of the church and we're looking forward to serving with them in August.

Costa Rica 2015

We flew into Costa Rica on Saturday morning and took the shuttle to Hotel Casa Conde.  It is the first time we've stayed here.  It's much closer to the church location and so it saves time and makes the transportation costs much more manageable.

We were pleasantly surprised with the hotel.  It was built to look like an old colonial town and as you can see from the attached pictures they did a great job.

Goodbye KC, Hello Home, Goodbye Home, Hello Costa Rica

For some reason I couldn't bring myself to shorten the overly long title because it really tells the story.  We said goodbye to Kansas City and the family/friends we'd been visiting for the last two weeks and about 7:45 p.m. last night we landed in El Salvador.  The flights (KC to Houston and Houston to San Salvador) were smooth and on-time.  Unfortunately, the delays started once we landed.

Although the immigration line wasn't as long as I've seen it, it still takes time to get through it.  Normally, by the time you finish that process your luggage has been circling the belt for a bit.  Last night wasn't the norm--it took forever for it to come.  We had four checked pieces--two suitcases and two boxes.  Two of our pieces came out in less than stellar shape.  Two of the four wheels on our big suitcase were pushed inward and it was impossible to roll.  Stephen was finally able to push the sides back out (like the dented bumper on a car) and it seemed usable, if not fine.  We also noted with some dismay that the larger of the two boxes was somewhat crushed.  Of course, this is after we signed a "limited damage waiver."  Who knew, the airlines didn't cover "boxes."  Eventually, everything showed up (a definite blessing) and we worked our way to the customs line.  As we feared, the boxes drew the attention of the agents--nothing magic about boxes, just didn't take our extra suitcases so it was our best option for bringing the Peruvian drum and pressure cooker!  They didn't make us open the boxes, but did make us run them through the x-ray machine again.  

One of the challenges of getting out of the airport is that the carts that hold your luggage are limited to the short-term parking lot.  Of course, we were in the long-term parking lot.  Stephen went to get the truck and he was gone so long I actually had a passing thought that he forgot me and the luggage and was on his way home.  But no, the news was, "the truck wouldn't start--dead battery."  Just what you don't want to hear at that hour.  Eventually, a parking lot worker took pity on me and maneuvered the cart around the pylons and over to the other lot.  We loaded the suitcases in the back seat and the boxes in the bed of the dead truck.  He and Stephen pushed it out of it's parking spot and I was able to get it started by popping the clutch--thank goodness for manual transmissions.  We were finally on our way when about 10 minutes out it started to rain, albeit lightly.  Yep--two cardboard boxes in the back and it's raining.  I decided the best solution was to pray!  Thank the Lord, it never rained harder than a light sprinkle even though the roads toward the city were soaked.  We pulled in to our townhouse about 10:00 p.m., backed the truck in to guard against it not starting and unloaded.  I left everything to be unpacked in the morning, but Stephen unpacked his suitcase and found that one of the liquids had completely leaked out and soaked some of his clothes.  Enough for one day!

Today has been quite busy with the cable/phone bill to pay at Plaza Merliot and the rent and water bill to pay at Banco Agricola.  Washed the dirty clothes and unpacked the food we brought back.  Tonight we are packing for Costa Rica and after less than 36 hours in the house, we will head to the airport in the morning at 6:00 a.m.  

Tomorrow night we will start the campaign by visiting Cartago--the site of annual pilgrimage called the "Romeria" to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles.  You can read the story of the apparition of the "La Negrita" and the tradition of the pilgrimage here. We will be sharing the gospel with the people who are there to see the spectacle of the pilgrimage.  

 

The rest of the week will progress like a normal campaign, school visits in the mornings and family festivals in the evenings.  Please pray for the teams coming from the states and our team from El Salvador who started their 26+ hour drive at 3:00 a.m. this morning.  We are taking the easy way with a flight that's just over an hour.

It's Going to be Hot

Just checked the 10-day forecast for Managua and it's going to be hot.  This, of course, is not a surprise, it's always hot there. 

We will be outside most of the morning and in the late afternoons so please pray all of us, especially the teams from the states and the group of translators coming from our church in Guatemala.  It will be quite a temperature change for them.  

Just Like the Good Ol' Days

We came on our first mission trip to El Salvador in March 2007, and we spent our mornings in the central park downtown.  We set up a generator, sound system and a platform that the Salvadorans used to share a couple of math games to attract a crowd.  After the game, one of the guys preached every 15 minutes or so.  The rest of us shared one-on-one with the people in the park.  


Since we've been here in El Salvador it has become difficult for the church to get permission to share in the park.  On a few occasions we have received permission to share, but not to use the sound system.  However, today was like the good ol' days.  

Gathering a crowd with the math game

Preaching the gospel

Sharing one-on-one

 

Praying after sharing--lives changed

Pictures with new members of God's family

Is there a mission trip in your future?

Last night we had the privilege to enjoy BBQ brisket, baked beans, cheesy potatoes, salad and more at the home of our friends, Clayton and Suzanne.  It was a great way to spend a cold, cold evening.  (I'm sorry that the word "cold" has been one of my top words lately, but I just can't ignore the weather.)  Not only did the meal satisfy, but so did the conversation.  It's been quite awhile since they visited Guatemala on a mission trip, so we were able to fill them in on what has been going on at the church in Guatemala and the rest of our churches, as well.  The coolest thing was that we talked about their "next" trip.  I can't explain the blessing we receive when we have visitors from our home church. 

If you've never been on a mission trip, please consider going (or coming.)  It's an experience everyone should have and it means so much to the people "on the ground."  Abundant Life is planning a trip to El Salvador in March.  It isn't too late to join in.  We'd love to do important work for the kingdom along side of you and your family/friends.