This month my team and I are living in the capital city in El Salvador, San Salvador. We get to live at and serve with the YWAM (Youth with a mission) base that houses an incredible staff who have become great, new friends and a beautiful example of healthy community.
El Salvador is primarily a Christian country and many people here would claim Christianity as their religion. The reality is that many people hold fast to incredibly conservative beliefs, and tend to fall prey to legalism and harsh judgment. One of our ministries in San Salvador has been encouraging people in their already established faith and challenging them to see themselves and others the way the Father does… With unconditional love. So, a couple times each week we go out to meet people around the city, strike up conversation through a translator and my broken Spanglish, and pray with them in a language they can’t understand.
One of those people is Edwin. He grew up in a town nearby, and from a very young age he was bullied and was told that he was different. He’s 27 and still believes what those kids told him over 20 years ago. He grew up in a big, close family, but they don’t know much about the real Edwin. Seven years ago he told them he was moving to the city for work, but really he decided he couldn’t handle the conservative views of his small town anymore. During the day he lives as a man dreaming of being a florist. At night he transforms himself into a woman looking for the love and affirmation he longs for. He says this is the best way he can support himself. If only being a florist would provide for him the same way…
We were able to share with Edwin that his Father took joy in creating him and did so with purpose and without mistakes. The Father delights in Edwin and accepts him—during the day and the nighttime.
We also got to meet Jorge. He has lived many full years traveling the world, loving his wife and children well, and now living alone in El Salvador. He couldn’t contain his joy when we sat with him at the mall and his joy overflowed like the words from his mouth that wouldn’t stop. He told us about his travels to Milan, Spain, and Israel. He walked where Jesus walked and saw the Dead Sea. He wouldn’t float in it, though, because it was too dirty for him.
He would interrupt himself with stories, probably out of the simple pleasure of having someone to talk to. He told us about his daughter who now lives in Chicago as a Baptist missionary, and his son that lives in Houston who he knows I would immediately fall in love with if I were to see him. I’m coming for you Jorge Martinez with Continental Airlines ;). He’d ask us questions about being missionaries, but would get too excited about another story before he gave us time to respond. His enthusiasm matched with his tiny, old body was a hilarious combination. We couldn’t stop laughing. That was until he asked to come back to the States with us. He has been rejected multiple times from getting a visa to visit his children. His children are far away in a country he isn’t allowed to enter.His wife died last April. He feels alone in this world.
We were able to tell him that he isn’t alone… that the Father who first imagined his beloved son, Jorge, hasn’t forgotten him since. Instead, He delights in being near to him. We were able to hug him and share a conversation. It’s incredible the love that can be shared without speaking the same language.
I’m inspired and challenged by these people…
… By the way Edwin was vulnerable with us and willing to share his real name with us rather than the name he goes by at night.
… To live like Jorge who embraced real emotion and lives life fully.
… To embrace what it means to be fully human, while simultaneously taking hold of the joy of the Lord. These two realities seem incompatible.
But what seems like folly to man is the wisdom of God.
It’s beautiful.
It’s incredible being able to communicate to people through laughter, with eyes of compassion, and a hug.
I learned in speech class (shout out to Mr. Johnson) that 75% of communication is not through words (I just made up that statistic, but you can trust me that it’s over 50%…). Body language, tone, and emotion relay far more information than the words we choose.
I’m challenged to live a life that doesn’t require my words; especially words that don’t usually come across as eloquent or wise. Instead, like Paul says… “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
