Women's Ministry Outing, Part 2

After the downpour it took awhile for everyone to make it back to the buses.  Once we knew we had everyone we boarded and drove to Jardines de Celeste for our afternoon "coffee break" and dessert.  

The restaurant is an amazing place with fresh flowers and gardens.  It's very large--remember that there were 90 of us!  Their desserts are beyond amazing:  coconut pie (my choice), cheesecake, tiramisu, strawberry mouse, apple pie (pictured below) and chocolate cake. 

 

Women's Ministry Outing

Yesterday about 90 women from our four campus sites spent the day together to celebrate Mother's Day.  We met at the Miralvalle campus and loaded the bus to drive to our campus in Lourdes.  

After a delicious catered typical breakfast (eggs, fried plantains, rice and beans) we met in the sanctuary for a time of praise and worship.  Isabel Paloma shared a powerful testimony about how we have many rolls to fill- as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers.  

Next we boarded the buses and journeyed to Ataco, a small pueblo in the northern part of El Salvador.  Once we arrived, everyone was free to shop at the artisan markets and then eat lunch on their own.  Ena, Erlen and I walked up to the top of one of the hills and had coffee at Mission of the Angles, a small boutique hotel and restaurant.  The views were spectacular.

We visited a few shops and then went to eat at Vitto's Pizza.  We were about finished when it started raining, in fact, raining cats and dogs or like they say in El Salvador, raining snakes and frogs.  It rained really hard for about 20 minutes and since there is little or no drainage in the town, the street looked like this.

We thought it best to wait for the water to recede before heading back to the bus.  It took about 20 minutes, but we were finally able to cross the street.  

Birthday Breakfast

Nine of us got together for breakfast to say "happy birthday" to our good friend, Patty Contreras.  She is the second on my left.

One of the best things about going out for breakfast here is that many of the restaurants have 2 for 1 specials--my breakfast cost $3.25!  

I am so honored to be a part of this great group of women, and I count them all as dear friends.  I don't know why I was designated to take the "selfie," but it didn't turn out so bad!

Women's Ministry Tea

The women's ministry of Iglesia Bautista Vueda Nueva held a tea on Saturday, May 20, to raise support for Evelyn and Marco Umaña as God is leading them to a new opportunity for their spiritual growth ad development.  God has opened a door for Evelyn to pursue a master’s degree in Outdoor and Adventure Leadership at Wheaton University in Wheaton, Illinois.  The master’s program includes working at the Leadership Training Center at Honey Rock Camp in Three Lakes, Wisconsin.  Marco will work in the administrative and program areas at the camp and their daughter, Mariela, will continue her studies and have the opportunity to experience a new culture in the United States. 

Evelyn and Marco have been co-directors of the Children's Ministry at our church for the past seven years and will be greatly missed.  Under their leadership, hundreds of children have come to know Jesus as their personal Savior through Sunday School, children's camps and VBS.

By God's grace, Evelyn has received a partial scholarship through the Billy Graham Center Scholarship Program.  The scholarship covers almost 70% (registration, tuition, books, health insurance) of the total cost of $70,000. In order to commit to the project, they need to raise the remaining $23,000 before they can apply for their visas.

Would you be willing to help them raise the remainder of their support?  Your tax-deductible gifts may be made to United World Mission at http://uwm.org/projects/project-22040/. Please include:  Support for Study Costs of Umaña Rivas Family in the comment section.

They also covet your prayer support; please pray: 

For God’s provision to meet their financial needs in a timely manner

For God’s wisdom and instruction 

For good health

For support as they transition/acclimate to the US culture and customs

For God’s guidance to be able to complete all the required tasks before they leave

Feliz Dia De La Madre

Happy Mother's Day--it's a bit early for everyone back home--but May 10th is the "day" here in most of Central America.  Several years ago, the government added it as an official holiday so banks, government offices and many businesses are closed so families can celebrate the day.

I thought I'd also take this opportunity to share the most recent projects of the ladies of Hilo, Aguja y Biblia.  Although the group was smaller than usual, almost everyone finished the baby bibs which we started in April.  The reversible bibs have cute cotton fabric on one side, absorbent terry cloth on the other and close with a plastic snap!  They will soon be worn by cute grandchildren or gifted to new mom's in the church.

We also started work on our next project--hanging kitchen towels.  We are going to make 50 of them to give as gifts to attendees at a women's ministry event at our church in Apopa.  Here's a sample of our work.

Women's Prayer Retreat

Our women's ministry hosted the second prayer retreat of the year.  The first one (for the women at our hotel campus) was in March.  The second (for the women at our Miralvalle campus) was last Saturday.  

About 35 women traveled about an hour and a half outside of the city to spend time "listening" to God's voice.  We left the church at 6:00 a.m. and stopped for breakfast at a restaurant named Kaltepet on the way there.  

Once there we had a short time of praise and worship and a testimony, followed by the "prayer retreat" rules:  

• Stay silent--not the time to talk or pray with anyone else--just you and the Father
• Concentrate on listening for His voice
• Morning prayer time is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We enjoyed a great lunch with time to share our experiences, before repeating the same schedule in the afternoon.  We ended the day with group prayer and a short testimony time.  We were loaded up and ready to leave at 4:30 p.m. and arrived at the church at 6:00 p.m.

 

Women's Ministry Leadership Team