There have been months where I feel more like myself than others. This
is a result of many factors, I’m sure: team, people, contacts, ministry… etc.
But for whatever factors, El Salvador was been a place that Carrie in all of
her glory was able to come out and play. We lived with our contacts, Oscar
and Jackie, who have been married for 9 months and we are the third team they
have had in that time. Contacts for the World Race do not get better than them.
They are humble and sincere and hilarious and caring. We were a house full of
poor spanglish speakers, but we enjoyed each other so much.
Our ministry was working with them doing evangelistic campaigns in
the area surrounding San Salvador. That meant we got to go into the villages
and talk to people and invite them. During the event we did skits
(I <3 skits!), during the preaching we ate pupusas, and at the end of worship we got to pray for people that came up for prayer. It’s pretty much just like ‘In
the Fire’ which was a youth gathering that we did in Melbourne for years. (The
worship band even had equivalent members for everyone: there was a Cassie, an Eric, a Laura, a Rachel, even a Javier. Perhaps a few Javiers, actually…) Needless to say, I was in my element
and even though we did not understand all of the words spoken during the
campaigns, it was really cool to know we were united in heart with the people.
I would look at Oscar on stage and say ‘I have no idea what he is saying right now, but I
back him.’ This month also had the rare quality that everyone we served with
was a real friend. On the Race, you never really know who you will be serving,
and though we try to do it with willing hearts, it makes it extra special when we connect hearts with them and don’t just do it out of obedience, but out of an overflow of love.
One of our last days in El Salvador we had the pleasure of speaking at a
church here in town with an amazing worship band. Their team was amazing,
really talented and passionate for Jesus. The room was filled with people who
were hungry to worship and the voices were strong and in unison. It felt like worshipping
in Heaven having everyone pushing forward to adore Him.
Later in the day we got to present at the youth service. This was really
special to me too, because these were the years in my life where the Lord
really started to reveal Himself to me. When I was 12, things with my
parents were real bad and I was struggling with severe depression. It was in
those years that God started to speak hope and purpose to me and really start
to do things in my life. I’m not sure where I would be if He hadn’t shown
Himself at that time. So, it was a real privilege to speak with those who may
be in the same place.
Our last day in El Salvador, Oscar and Jackie and the other pastors that our squad worked with gathered us all together and gave us awards and honored us. It was a unique experience for us. It was apparent that my team’s connection with our contacts wasn’t the only strong relationship of the month. Basically, all of the pastors we worked with in El Salvador blessed our socks off. Our friends were such a blessing and I miss them all.
