I have been so busy this month to even worry about social media these past four weeks of my six week fast. It is just flying by! I was thinking about it yesterday and I haven’t really wrote a blog about my ministry this month in El Salvador or told you anything about it at all really..so here is whatcha missed.
On Mondays we usually clean the church after breakfast and then have some free time until service that afternoon. During service my teammates and I split up between all of the kids rooms and help out there. I am in the baby room with children under the age of 5…which is right where I want to be. I have LOVED getting to know the babies and LOVED getting to interact and play with the other girls in the room. Most of them are younger than me so I feel like a teenager again playing with them and chatting about all the high school troubles and terrible homework. I feel at home in that room some how.
After service on Mondays we eat dinner and then head out for minister around the city.
Two Mondays we went to a local hospital where we prayed for the people there and give out cookies and coffee. It was so sad to see the pain and helplessness in the peoples eyes. Our translator said that it is one of the best public hospitals in all of Central America so people come from other Central American countries just to be there. I wish you could see how poor this hospital is. There are no private rooms and only about 20 beds in the hospital. Only the most severe cases get the beds I am assuming. It was somewhat clean but not anything like the hospitals back home.
One Monday we hit the streets in the city to give out cookies and coffee to homeless people and pray for them. This reminded me a lot of home because my mom has always taken us to the homeless shelter to serve or donate items. There is not a homeless shelter here so most people just sleep on the ground or on some garbage to add a little cushion.
This past Monday we walked right outside the doors of the church to a neighborhood close by. I should preface this by saying there are two main gangs in El Salvador. They pretty much run the whole country. This neighborhood is protected by a specific gang, so we had to ask permission to be there. A member of the church had already arranged everything with the head of the gang so it was okay for us to be there. (Thankfully, the gangs really approve of church and in fact the only way gang members can leave the gang without dying is to become a church member and really change their lives.) We went knocking on peoples doors and inviting them to church and praying for them. We got to hear some amazing stories and tell people about why we are here. It was a great end to the Monday night ministry.
On Tuesdays we always take a 2-4 hour truck ride to Usulatán, El Salvador. There we talk with schools and do a children’s bible study at a sister church. We bring piñatas and food and have a grand ole time singing and playing with the kiddos.
Wednesdays are our rest days and there is a service that night.
Thursdays are our adventure days which I pretty much have already shared with my vlogs so I will skip that part.
Fridays are pretty much just like Mondays but we do not go out after church for ministry.
Saturdays we usually went to someones house for a bible study and would split up with kids and adults. Someone would preach to the kids and someone would preach to the adults. One time I got to share with the kids and it was so fun. Preaching was the one thing I was the most nervous about and after doing it once I feel a little better, but still nervous haha.
Sundays we have two church services and we are in the same rooms that we are in throughout the week. During the day many of the church members just stay and hang out so we usually just hang out with them. It is like one big happy family here and they are so eager to be here every time the doors are open, which is a lot!
I have absolutely LOVED this month and all the ministry we did. Mostly we were with children, which is right up my alley so I had a blast.
I am going to miss the people and the connections I have with everyone here, but I am also excited to see what next month in Guatemala will look like!
Please keep me and the whole squad in your prayers this week as we leave El Salvador and head to Guatemala on Saturday morning.
