We just finished a great week with a team from First Baptist Ferguson, St. Louis, Missouri. They came last May, as well, so we were very happy to see some of them again as well as to meet several new faces.
They arrived in the afternoon on Saturday and since we didn't have a campaign, we took them to the gringo market and to Los Planes for pupusas.
On Sunday we visited our church in Lourdes and were able to be a part of their Mother's Day celebration, which included being serenaded by a traditional Mariachi singer.
We had our first family festival on Sunday evening in Nueva Lourdes.
There were supposed to be two July campaigns this summer, but both of them were canceled due to worries about the Zika virus. As a result, we've had a lazy July with time to relax and catch-up on things. We're not used to the time off! Of course our regular activities have continued (band practice, Bible study, seminary class).
This week we will start preparing for the triple trip which is coming in less than two weeks. Good News in Action will be hosting three trips in three different countries at the same time. A team of 45 is coming to Guatemala, a team of 46 is coming to Costa Rica and there will be 24 in Nicaragua. All of this means that Vida Nueva will be sending many, many translators and other support persons to each of the three countries.
Stephen and I are going to spend the first two days in Guatemala. We'll be riding the Vida Nueva bus over. On Monday, we will fly to Costa Rica to spend the remainder of the week. Pastor Steve and Pam are starting their trip in Costa Rica, which allows us to start in Guatemala. This will be the first time we've visited two countries, but a team from First Baptist, Ferguson, MO, is coming to Guatemala and we want to be there to welcome them. Pastor Steve and Pam will fly out of Costa Rica on Monday and we will fly in.
Please pray for the teams who are coming from the states, our teams as they prepare for the trip and each local church.
We started going to schools on Monday morning; the team shared the Sexual Purity lesson each morning. As usual, the impact on the students was evident and there were many professions of faith each day.
On Wednesday, we made our very first visit to the Instituto Nacional General Francisco Menedez, one of the largest and most prestigious public schools in San Salvador. Students must apply for entrance in to this vocational high school, where they can major in nursing, tourism, business as well as several other careers. As always when we are at a school for the first time, Guillermo is anxious to see the reaction of the students, teachers and administration. We're happy to say that they were thrilled and invited us to return as soon as possible.
On Friday morning we visited a very poor school in Aguilares; a school which Pastor Manuel, Guillermo and I had visited the week prior to the campaign. The three of us visited with the principal and shared that we had about 100 handmade dresses to give to the girls in the school. The dresses were made by several of the ladies of First Baptist, Ferguson, so it was only fitting for the team to be able to distribute them when they were here. The team shared the lesson in the older grades; afterwards, at the principal's direction, we distributed the reversible dresses to some very happy little girls.
Sunday morning church was at the hotel, as usual, and everyone on the team seemed to enjoy the service. While they had a few hours rest in the afternoon before the first campaign of the week.
We were in one of the Apopa neighborhoods on Sunday night and it didn't even rain. (There seems to be an unusual correlation between Apopa campaigns and rainouts.) All but two of the team were rookies, but they learned quickly.
