Wednesday and Thursday morning we worked the streets in Salitre just like on Tuesday. Ken and I worked together again on Wednesday morning and had the blessing of leading Carlos and Diego to Christ. On Thursday, he went out with his friend, Dave, so Stephen and I took photos and found the time to slip back to Bosque Popular (old-folks home) and visit with Orlando and Marta again.
We did family festivals on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Both nights we were at a park in the midst of large apartment buildings. Thursday's family festival was the most well-attended of the week. We traveled a distance away from the hotel to a poorer residential area and the park was full of people.
At orientation on Sunday, Pastor David told the team that we were going to try many different things because they weren't sure if the type of outreaches that we do in Central America would work in Bogota. After Thursday, we could definitely say that when God's people share the gospel, He will bring the harvest.
Although my June newsletter talked about wrapping up our 48th month here in El Salvador, today's the day! On June 8, 2010, about 10:00 in the morning, our son, Jon, took us to KCI to catch our flight to El Salvador. We checked four large duffle bags, each weighing 50 pounds, and each of us carried on a medium size duffle weighing 30 pounds. Jeff and Paula picked us up at Comalapa Airport and, thus, began our journey!
We're not the same people who arrived four years ago today. Now . . . .
1. We can "speak" Spanish and are able to communicate with and understand most people.
2. We can "drive" around San Salvador (more or less) and beyond without getting lost, including driving to Guatemala all by ourselves!
3. We can "manage" the setup of the inflatable and the rest of the campaign equipment.
4. We can "live" comfortably, shop for groceries, pay our bills and more without help.
While those changes have made our lives here more comfortable and easier, it would be sad if we hadn't also changed in other ways. The other changes have not come as a result of what we have done, but what God has done in and through us and what the wonderful people of El Salvador (and Central America) have taught us.
1. We've "witnessed" a great work of God in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
2. We've "shared" our testimony in classrooms across this country and the others mentioned above.
3. We've "opened" our hearts to love and be loved by the people of Central America.
4. We've "trusted" God's plan for our lives.
We still have much to learn . . . and are still very much in the process of growing into the people God intends for us to be. Thank you for being part of our journey over the past four years; please continue to pray for us as we continue our work here.
It's only fitting that a group arrived yesterday and we will have a campaign tonight in Aguilares.
