God is good. There’s not really a lot that needs to be added to that statement, is there? I’m in El Salvador this month, in a children’s home in the capital city of San Salvador. We’re working with about 15 kids, ranging from ages 4 to 17, in two beautiful houses across the street from each other. The kids are beautiful and wonderful, and even though they just said farewell to a different World Race team last month, they’ve still warmed up to us in only a few days here.
The weather in El Salvador is a bit warmer than we’ve encountered in the last few months – even though it’s the start of the rainy season here, we’re still heading into summer. There are very few bugs, so we just keep the windows and door open, and we stay fairly cool. In terms of ministry location, we’re about as blessed as you can get. We’re only a few minutes by city bus from a gym (I actually bought a 1-month membership!) and three giant malls (we’re hoping to take the kids out to a movie some time this month) and a huge open park (and yes, we’ve already been up there to play with everyone – that’s going to be a weekly thing!) so there’s not much at all to complain about. We’ve got access to showers, and electricity, and even Internet without leaving the house! After 4 months of variously limited living conditions, it’s a real change to live here in the city. Many of us have already noticed that it seems very similar to the States here – a lot of the same stores and restaurants, a much larger number of English speakers, and of course they accept the dollar.
Our ministry contact for this month is named Bob, and he has lived here with his wife Marcela for a year now. We’re also able to spend time with a couple of his sons who are visiting, plus Marcela’s sister, who lives in the same neighborhood. Bob’s been involved with the orphanage here for over 20 years, and a year ago he moved down here to invest more time directly in the lives of the kids.
Unfortunately my camera is in need of repairs, so I won’t have any photos of my own until I find a shop to fix it – but as I can, I’ll filch pics from my teammates! Until then, I’ll just do my best to make my words exciting.
We’ve just started to really get to know the kids, but so far I’m honestly really impressed. It’s hard enough to raise a batch of kids, but to raise them to be this polite and helpful is really a gift from God. We’ve had a ton of fun with them in just the few days we’ve been together – playing in the park, dance parties (and oh man these kids can dance!) and movie nights with popcorn and fresh mangoes – and I can’t wait to see what else God has in store. We’re hoping to do all kinds of fun stuff with the kids!
Along with the blessing of all the things a city provides comes an increase in distractions, as well – so please pray that my focus remains on God this month, and that I am able to have an effective ministry to the kids, to Bob and Marcela, and to my team as well. Pray also for the last of my funding to come in – I still need another $2100 by the end of next month to be completely funded, so please: join God in the work He’s doing through me!
