Monday Campaign

Monday was our first day to share a lesson at a school.  We were able to make five different teams and reach five classrooms of students. We arrived early so each group had time to pray before the class. 

 The teams presented the lesson on sexual purity so we were in grades six through 9.

In the afternoon we drove north to Aguilares to work with Pastor Manuel.  We set up the inflatable, sound system and movie in an open field.  

It was a great day with a total of 125 professions of faith between the school and the festival.  

First El Salvador Campaign of 2016

It's been a crazy week and I'm so far behind on blogging about our first El Salvador campaign of the year.  Don Laity arrived Friday before the campaign started and stayed at our apartment.  Two other team members flew in on Saturday afternoon so there were a total of 3 gringos for the first family festival in Lourdes.

The drama group from the church in Lourdes was all decked out in various superhero/movie characters costumes and the little kids loved it.

We shared in the Jacarandas neighborhood and the people were very responsive.  Don preached after the drama.  There were 20+ professions of faith.

The team of five from Rock Harbor Church in Bakersfield, California, arrived Saturday evening, so the team was complete on Sunday morning for church.  Instead of walking to church we drove and Don and I left after the first service.  I was supposed to have time to make lunch and have it ready when Stephen got home from the second service.  However, Don and I walked in the house and found out we didn't have water, so we scratched our dinner plans and, instead, we ate at our favorite Chinese place, Restaurante 168.

Sunday night the family festival was in an Apopa neighborhood called "the Alamo."  

The drama group from Lourdes drove to Apopa to help with the campaign!  Even though there are only 8 gringos here this week, the youth and adults from our church also went door-to-door to share.  Here you see Mario praying with a new believer.  Praise the Lord for Christians (wherever they're from) who are faithful to share the good news.

Crown with no problems

Thanks for praying for me.  My dental work went smoothly, and it wasn't necessary to have a root canal.  Instead, I'm the proud owner of a new porcelain crown.  Since the dentist here had his own in-office lab, I was able to get the permanent crown the same day.  Isn't technology amazing!  

After a call to Delta Dental yesterday, I found out I can submit my receipt for 50% reimbursement, so my out-of-pocket cost will only be $225.  Happy dance!

Prayer Request--dental work

Last week one of my crowns came off, so I began the task of trying to figure out how to get it repaired.  I basically had two options, fly back to the states to get it fixed or get it fixed here.

My dentist in Lee's Summit suggested that I start by visiting a dentist here to see if it could just be glued back on or if there something more going on.  I asked for recommendations from friends here and then did some searching.  I found a dentist who specializes in crowns and implants.  He was educated in the US (undergrad at Baylor and dental school in South Carolina) so he speaks English.  I went to his office last Wednesday and found out that the crown actually broke and I would have to have a new one made.  Not only that, but a root canal (from a different specialist) might even be required.  They wouldn't know for sure until they started working on it.  

I opted for them to glue it back (temporarily) so Stephen and I could decide what to do. I made several more calls, checked airline ticket prices and searched for appointment times.  In the end, we decided to have the work done here.  The procedure(s) will likely cost the same here as in the states--although the cost is cheaper here, my dental insurance would have covered half the cost in the states.  The cost of the plane ticket is the main difference, and we couldn't find anything for less than $700.  

All that being said, I have an appointment today at 9:30.  Please pray for the procedure to go smoothly and that it won't be necessary to have a root canal.  

Celebrating 5 Years

Pastor Manuel invited Stephen to sing at the 5th Anniversary celebration of our Vida Nueva church in Nueva Concepcion.  This is the church that we helped Jeff and Paula plant in 2011.  

We made the hour and fifteen minute drive and arrived with plenty of time to spare so that Stephen could get his piano set up and connected to the sound system.  Pastor Manuel likes to have lots of music, so Stephen wasn't the only musical guest.  

 

In total, the praise/worship music lasted and hour and fifteen minutes.  Pastor Manuel's sermon was about the same length.  

Dinner was served after the service, but Stephen and I didn't stay.  Insteaded we headed back to San Salvador and stopped at Pollos Real for pupusas.  We hadn't eaten pupusas for quite a while and they really hit the spot!

Women's Ministry Breakfast

I picked up Misha this morning to go to the women's ministry breakfast.  We parked at church and took the "shuttle" to the restaurant because parking there is very limited (like 25 spaces or less.)  

Although the original reservation was for 100 women, the restaurant was willing to accommodate 180 women by the time everyone arrived.  The addition of so many women at the last minute created some difficulties with the seating arrangements, table groups and the craft.  However, our ladies are nothing, if not patient, and eventually everyone was seated and working to decorate their own box.  Look how cute the boxes are!

Breakfast was served; it took quite awhile because of the number of women and because it was very close quarters with the wait staff having to make many trips with small trays.

After the singing, my good friend, Maria Elena, did the teaching on friendship.  She used the story of Elizabeth and Mary as her text.  Her talk was interspersed with humorous dramas which is something our ladies love.  The morning ended with the recognition of invited guests and distribution of a special treat.

Passport Renewal--Check

Our passports don't expire until January, 2017.  However, due to the fact that many countries won't accept a passport within six months of expiration and that we will be starting our permanent residency process in May, it seemed wise to go ahead and renew them early.

We had new pictures taken on Monday--why is it that the photos are always SO bad!  Our appointments at the US Embassy were yesterday morning.  Given the traffic, even though we left an hour early, we just barely arrived on time.  Once there, I remembered that the appointment allows them to control the number of people who enter, but it's not a guaranteed time.

Entry to the embassy requires passing through a metal detector, having all of your possessions screened (like at the airport) and "checking" all electronic devices in the secure lobby.  There were about 30 people sitting in the waiting area after we passed through security.  At the first window, they confirm your citizenship, take payment for the service you are requesting (passport renewals are $110) and give you a number for the next step.    I'm not sure how long we waited before we were called back to the window to submit our renewal form and hand over our passport pictures.  After that came the long wait (almost 2 hours.)  Stephen passed the time playing cards with Margarita, a 10-year old girl who was waiting with her mom.  

About 11:00 p.m., they called us back to the window and told us that everything was approved and our new passports would be ready to pick up on March 9.  In the meantime, they returned our old passports in case we had to travel before the new ones come in.  All in all, more efficient than mailing them in so it was worth the time investment.

Hilo, Aguja y Biblia--On the road

February has been a very busy month for the Hilo, Aguja y Biblia ladies.  We've had four different activities:  breakfast for friendship month, baby shower for Pastor David and Maritiza, regular Saturday meeting to make up packets to donate to a school and a trip to a school in Aguilares (yesterday) to share the gospel in three classrooms.  

Breakfast:

Baby shower:

Packing bags for the schools:

School evangelism in Aguilares:

I'm so proud of this group!  They've worked hard, studied hard and had lot's of fun over the past month.