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!

First Time in Paradise

Our October campaign started on Saturday night, but a huge storm pushed through just after the team finished going door-to-door. 

Last night we had a great evening campaign in a closed neighborhood in Lourdes.  There were hundreds of people who heard the gospel message. 

 This morning we went to an all girls school and shared the lesson on "redeeming time." 

 Tonight, we made the long (hour +) trip to Paraiso (Paradise,) a small town up north, where Pastor Manuel is hoping to plant another Vida Nueva church.  We had two inflatables going for the kids.  The team did a great job sharing with the people who lived near the downtown and with others who worked in or near the park.

Happy 3rd Anniversary

We drove to Nueva Concepcion yesterday afternoon because Pastor Manuel asked Stephen to sing a couple of songs for the anniversary service.  The service started at 4:00 p.m., but since there is road construction in Apopa, we left at 2:00 so we wouldn't be late.  

The service was well attended by members of all three of the Vida Nueva churches up north, IBVN Aguilares, IBVN Coyolito and IBVN Nueva Concepcion.  It was good to see old friends and meet several new families that are fruit from the October campaign.  

Stephen sang two songs, "Poderoso" and "Tu Gracia Abunda en Mi."  The songs are quite different from the typical congregational singing, but I think that's the reason the congregation enjoys them.

I'm not singing, just holding the microphone.

After the service, there was "dinner on the grounds."  

Us with Pastor Manuel and Pastor Joel.

We didn't stay because we knew our trip home would be long.  Unfortunately, we spent about an hour trying to get through a 2-mile stretch of Apopa and then when we finally made it to the other side of town, we realized that our exit was completely closed and we were forced to continue toward San Salvador a different way than normal.  It took quite a long time and a couple of "lucky" turns to reach a place we recognized.  All in all, it was a 2+ hour trip.  

This is exactly what it looked like as we drove through Apopa.

Nevertheless, God was glorified in the service and two people prayed to receive Christ--our inconvenience is nothing compared to their new lives!