Hola! Como Estas?
I am fluent in Spanish now… Only if I’m ordering Pupusas (google it) or playing the card game Uno with 5 year olds. It’s true. Beyond that… well ya – not so much.
Thanks for being so patient waiting for a blog post. I’m still trying to get the hang of blogging on the World Race. I feel like I’ve had writers block and can’t really say anything profound as much as Keri did when she was gone. But she’s a great writer in the first place so nothing I write will feel quite the same anyway.
But I would like to fill everyone in on what I’ve been doing.
We are staying in La Libertad at a nutrition center for kids ages 4 through 15. It is run by an organization called Gran Commission Latin America. They are an organization that plants churches and nutrition centers all over Latin America. The church they planted here is attached to the nutrition center.
A normal day for us is to wake up, cook breakfast for ourselves, clean for the day (since we stay in the nutrition center). Then we have some free time from 9:30 to 11:30 in the morning. During that time I normally try to spend some time with Jesus or write (well I SHOULD be writing during that time lol). Once 11:30 hits, the kids start rolling in! We play with them till lunch time doing things like Uno, a matching game, and of course futbol (soccer)!
After lunch we help with their lesson which is usually the younger kids learning letters and phrases, practicing writing them out, and coloring pictures. It’s awesome to interact with them like this on a regular basis. They tire us out but it really is energizing seeing their faces and hearing their laughs! I’ve been trying to teach some of them english as they teach me Spanish – which is why my Spanish probably sounds like I’m talking like a 5 year old. I don’t care lol.
The kids leave around 3pm and we normally go into town and shop for groceries, go to the beach, or do other ministry within the community during that time.
We’ve had awesome opportunities to be a part of some of the things God is doing through our missionary contact Alex and the church. We delivered and help set up a fish tank to a family from the church that volunteered to be involved with a pilot program of growing their own Tilapia to feed their family! It’s such an amazing idea that will potentially be able to feed a whole entire family as long as they’re alive! The cost is about $300 total to help a family get set up with this project. If you’d be interested in partnering with them to provide one for a family PLEASE contact me and let me know!
The church also is in the process of building bunk beds for families that sleep on the ground in their homes and get flooded out during the rainy season. We were invited to paint scripture verses in Spanish all over it. Then we delivered it to the first family. The home was very small and had two rooms. Get this – 10 people were living inside: a mom and 9 kids. It was amazing to see these beds in this house and the smile on the kids’ faces knowing they had a cool bunk bed to sleep on that had Bible verses on them. God’s providing for these people. Per bunk bed, $150 is needed. This would also be an amazing thing for you to partner with if you would like to provide somewhere for these kids to sleep!
Another way you could get involved is sponsoring a child at the nutrition center where we are working. They currently have about 50 kids but they have a long waiting list. There are tons of kids around in the community that want so badly to be here but there’s not enough funding yet at this point. The cost for one child to come to the center is $40 a month. For $40 a month, they get a home cooked lunch, vitamins, their teeth brushed, and they get to learn about the gospel and also how to read and write – JUST FOR $40 A MONTH!! I’m witnessing how far that money goes with each child on a daily basis. There are so many kids here that could use your help if this is something you want to be a part of. It’s as easy as letting me know and I can connect you with details!!
So that’s a little bit of what God is doing here. I’m sorry it’s not super deep and spiritual. To be honest I’ve been getting exhausted and I feel no inspiration to write or think. But I’m pressing on, doing what I can while I’m here. God is doing the work and He is just glad that we’re here hanging out with Him in El Salvador!
If you’re praying, please pray for strength and energy for me and my team. Pray that we are energized every morning to pour ourselves out on these kids and love them like Jesus. Pray for the missionary, Alex and his family, as they are giving all they have to be here in the community and make a spiritual and physical impact. Pray for Keri and I as we seek Jesus together despite distance. Most importantly, pray for the people and the kids in La Libertad and that God continue to pour His Spirit all throughout this city!
