We made it to El Salvador! Our first day here we were given the day to rest and adjust so we decided to go visit a lake that was formed by a volcano that sunk so we were able to see the tip of the volcano and the water was so clear. Also another super cool thing, I got to jet ski for the first time on this lake! We got to watch the sunset over the mountains and the landscape of this country is absolutely break taking.
Our ministry started on Saturday when we worked in a field that our host church just bought to expand and build a new building as well as put in some sports fields. In the even we went to our translator Vincent’s church and it was so exciting. The worship was so alive and the message was really powerful. It was really good for me and my team and was the spiritual refreshment I think a lot of us need after the transition. It really hit me during the worship that even though we’re singing in different languages, we’re still worshiping the same God. That filled me with so much peace because God is the same no matter where we are. Then Sunday we went to the church service of our host church and it was a little different then what they normally do because this week is their Independence Day so their service honored their country; it was cool to experience! We then did street evangelism with people from the church which was challenging for me because we weren’t able to communicate with the people. But it was encouraging to hear that three people were saved that afternoon because of the conversations that were had between the people from the church and the people on the streets!
One of my biggest challenges so far has been the language barrier. It has just been really discouraging because I am struggling at times to see my purpose in our ministry because I can’t communicate with people so it makes building relationships harder. Through praying and asking God for peace about all of this He clearly spoke a phrase to me the other morning during my quiet time and it was, “I am greater than any language barrier.” This was huge for me to hear because I needed the reminder that I serve a God that is greater than anything in this world. He can and will work through me even though I might not be able to speak the same language as the locals here. I’m holding that reminder so close.
Something that I really feel God teaching me through this trip already is what it means to fully depend on Him for my strength. I have been really focusing on making sure I’m looking for my strength from God and not from the people back home. That is something that is so hard for me but I know that I will only be able to get through each day with strength from God. The verse John 3:30 continues to show up in my quiet times and it says, “He must increase, I must decrease.” This has been huge for me because when I find myself struggling I often consume my thoughts with wishing I could talk to people from home when I know I should be consuming my thoughts with God. This verse has really helped in these times of missing home because I’m learning that God is greater than all of my loved ones back home and all my strength for each day is going to come from Him. I have also found it helpful when my thoughts are consumed with home to repeat “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” to turn my thoughts back to Christ. It’s little things like this that have helped me keep my focus on God because I know that He has amazing things in store for me and I don’t want to miss out on any of it. He is faithful and I know He will continue to give me the strength I need for each day.
Our host family has been so generous towards us and because we have been living in such close quarters with 20 people in a small house they built the 14 of us a little house in their back yard for us to live in. It is really nice living conditions minus the lovely roaches that feel the need to crawl around all of our stuff. We are blown away by the kindness the family has shown us already and the it is so selfless that they were willing to give up half of their back yard to us world racers. We are so blessed.
So there you have it, a little run down of what’s been happening in the first week out here on the field. God is working and it is a blessing to be a part of this trip. I want to encourage you that if you see people worshiping in what seems like a “weird” way (even if it’s not in a different language), just be open to it because God has created us all to be unique in the way we worship. I hope you can find some encouragement in that and just remember that just because there’s a different language or a different style of worship, it is still all to glorify the same God. He is the same here in El Salvador as well as in the states. I find so much peace in that and I hope you can to.
Thanks for reading this and I will continue to keep all of you posted. Thank you again for all of your continued prayer support, it means so much to me!
Blessings,
Julie
