Sorry for the lag time in our communications but the internet connection at our hotel is up and down so bear with us!
On Sunday we went to church at Christian Centro Internationale, a local fellowship, at 7 AM. It was a spirited service, and when our hosts ran out of translation headsets, they abandoned them and set up a translator on the platform with the pastor. Interestingly enough, the pastor’s topic was “Blooms in the Desert,” using Jeremiah 17:7-8, which are the identical verses Kathryn used in her devotional, Anxiety, on Saturday. Pastor Juan Carls gave us a penetrating message on settling where we are planted in adversity and looking not at our circumstances but forward to the future—eternity.
After church, we went into the mountains and took a canopy tour, which is a series of 9 zip lines over a course of 800 meters total; the first four were short and not high above the forest to let us get the hang of braking (an important skill going down a zip line!) and the last four were considerably longer with runs of up to a minute that took us high above the lush forest canopy. The breeze and views were great from the harness and everyone returned safely--not without some excitement for John Crews (did we mention his fear of heights?), who did very well until line 7, when he ended up stopping before the terminus (he was rescued)! We then went by a local mall to walk around, get some ice cream and returned the hotel to have some rest time.
Monday we went to Tacuba, a very poor area where malnutrician is an issue and spiritual darkness reigns. We did a presentation and participated in a feeding program. See Jared’s blog below for the day’s overview (thanks, Jared!). We ran out of tamales twice but somehow more were located everyone was fed. It was like the Bible story of the loaves and fishes. The church there has about 70 members total but it had invited children and moms from the area and we had 150 people show up, 2/3s of them children! When we arrived, we figured some had been there for an hour or more patiently waiting. When the moms and children left, we saw them walking in all directions down dirt roads and the highway; some probably walked more than a mile. The pastor of this church has no seminary training and earns $4 
a day working in the coffee fields--when work is good--in addition to pastoring the church. He has been called by God and is being faithful to that vision. He and his wife have 2 children and another due in December. His situation is very typical for pastors in this country's rural areas and those of other third world countries. It makes one stop and think about the blessings and resources in overabundance that we have and the little that our brothers and sisters have and how God views that. Not a sermon, just my thought.
After the 2.5 hours ride to Tacuba and our 1.5 hours there, we returned to the hotel via lunch at the Las Cabanas De Apaneca, an inn in the moutains in the village of Apaneca. It was a beautiful and secluded spot and we have decided to cancel our reservations for our team retreat at the beach and come back to this inn—the cost will be less and the basic accommodations are perfect! Thanks to the Lord!
For most of us, this missions trip is different. The emphasis is not on what we have planned to do, but what the national Christians want us to do to serve them. Because we do not have a set plan, this has given us more time to be together, on the road, eating and doing many of the things we do at home, to say nothing of staying in our hotel and eating there every night. John Crews has rightly reminded us that this is about relationships, not program, and we are reaching to grasp that as we minister in some cases as the first missions team to come alongside nationals and minister in certain areas and site. Without a “program” or plan, we are challenged to dive in and come alongside people whose language most of us do not speak and show them the love of Christ though our love. This is a stretching experience requiring us to overcome our own sense of insecurity and desire for an order and direction. It is not one’s “typical” missions trip, but it will be used in other lives and in ours as God is in it.
We found out the Christian orphanage we were to visit on Tuesday morning has 2 suspected cases of swine flu so we will not be going there on Tuesday. The Health Ministry will be sending representatives out and the school will probably be closed for a couple of weeks. Disappointing but flexibility is the key. We will be doing some “last day” sightseeing activities in the morning and going to an eldercare home on Tuesday afternoon.
Hope to get this out soon……!
Praise for:
- our opportunity to serve at Tacuba
- the El Salvadorian believers who minister to the rural churches with their own
On Sunday we went to church at Christian Centro Internationale, a local fellowship, at 7 AM. It was a spirited service, and when our hosts ran out of translation headsets, they abandoned them and set up a translator on the platform with the pastor. Interestingly enough, the pastor’s topic was “Blooms in the Desert,” using Jeremiah 17:7-8, which are the identical verses Kathryn used in her devotional, Anxiety, on Saturday. Pastor Juan Carls gave us a penetrating message on settling where we are planted in adversity and looking not at our circumstances but forward to the future—eternity.
After church, we went into the mountains and took a canopy tour, which is a series of 9 zip lines over a course of 800 meters total; the first four were short and not high above the forest to let us get the hang of braking (an important skill going down a zip line!) and the last four were considerably longer with runs of up to a minute that took us high above the lush forest canopy. The breeze and views were great from the harness and everyone returned safely--not without some excitement for John Crews (did we mention his fear of heights?), who did very well until line 7, when he ended up stopping before the terminus (he was rescued)! We then went by a local mall to walk around, get some ice cream and returned the hotel to have some rest time.
Monday we went to Tacuba, a very poor area where malnutrician is an issue and spiritual darkness reigns. We did a presentation and participated in a feeding program. See Jared’s blog below for the day’s overview (thanks, Jared!). We ran out of tamales twice but somehow more were located everyone was fed. It was like the Bible story of the loaves and fishes. The church there has about 70 members total but it had invited children and moms from the area and we had 150 people show up, 2/3s of them children! When we arrived, we figured some had been there for an hour or more patiently waiting. When the moms and children left, we saw them walking in all directions down dirt roads and the highway; some probably walked more than a mile. The pastor of this church has no seminary training and earns $4 
a day working in the coffee fields--when work is good--in addition to pastoring the church. He has been called by God and is being faithful to that vision. He and his wife have 2 children and another due in December. His situation is very typical for pastors in this country's rural areas and those of other third world countries. It makes one stop and think about the blessings and resources in overabundance that we have and the little that our brothers and sisters have and how God views that. Not a sermon, just my thought. After the 2.5 hours ride to Tacuba and our 1.5 hours there, we returned to the hotel via lunch at the Las Cabanas De Apaneca, an inn in the moutains in the village of Apaneca. It was a beautiful and secluded spot and we have decided to cancel our reservations for our team retreat at the beach and come back to this inn—the cost will be less and the basic accommodations are perfect! Thanks to the Lord!
For most of us, this missions trip is different. The emphasis is not on what we have planned to do, but what the national Christians want us to do to serve them. Because we do not have a set plan, this has given us more time to be together, on the road, eating and doing many of the things we do at home, to say nothing of staying in our hotel and eating there every night. John Crews has rightly reminded us that this is about relationships, not program, and we are reaching to grasp that as we minister in some cases as the first missions team to come alongside nationals and minister in certain areas and site. Without a “program” or plan, we are challenged to dive in and come alongside people whose language most of us do not speak and show them the love of Christ though our love. This is a stretching experience requiring us to overcome our own sense of insecurity and desire for an order and direction. It is not one’s “typical” missions trip, but it will be used in other lives and in ours as God is in it.
We found out the Christian orphanage we were to visit on Tuesday morning has 2 suspected cases of swine flu so we will not be going there on Tuesday. The Health Ministry will be sending representatives out and the school will probably be closed for a couple of weeks. Disappointing but flexibility is the key. We will be doing some “last day” sightseeing activities in the morning and going to an eldercare home on Tuesday afternoon.
Hope to get this out soon……!
Praise for:
- our opportunity to serve at Tacuba
- the El Salvadorian believers who minister to the rural churches with their own
initiative and resources
- God’s showing us an almost ideal retreat site not in our plans
- health and safety for the team with only minor issues
Pray for:
- the pastor and the Tacuba church; for their outreach in a spiritually dark area
- God’s showing us an almost ideal retreat site not in our plans
- health and safety for the team with only minor issues
Pray for:
- the pastor and the Tacuba church; for their outreach in a spiritually dark area
where the occult and witchcraft are spiritual realities.
- demonstration and provision of God’s power and people in the spiritual warfare
- demonstration and provision of God’s power and people in the spiritual warfare
in progress in the Tacuba area
- a growth in team confidence and trust in God in a very flexible environment and
- a growth in team confidence and trust in God in a very flexible environment and
willingness to “dive in”
- team unity and openness to reach out and encourage each other, not just those
- team unity and openness to reach out and encourage each other, not just those
we know well or are comfortable with
Thanks for this update. It's good to hear from you and to have some specific ways to pray for the team and give thanks for what God is doing!
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