Once again it is time for transition – this time its going to be a big one! This week we’re leaving Latin America to head to Thailand. But before we go, its time to summarize May.
Eleven Memories of El Salvador
11. Doughnuts
We found an amazing little bakery that had the best
doughnuts. It wasn’t long before the were recognizing us, and making us our own
pans of doughnuts. So good!
10. Minivan Towing
Yes, minivan. Our mode of transportation was unusual in its
normality this month. No riding in the back of trucks every day, we rode in a
minivan! But unfortunately on our last day, said minivan broke down. So instead
of hiring a tow truck, our contact called a friend. This guy pulls up an hour
later with his pickup truck and a rope the width of my thumb. We tie our cars
together, and begin our long ride back. 40 minutes of being pulled behind a
pickup truck, up and down hills, on the highway, and even getting up enough
speed we were PASSING other cars! Emily and I were laughing about the situation
for pretty much the entire night.
9. Declarations on a
Hill
On our first day in San Rafael Cedros, my team walked to the
top of a hill overlooking the town. On that hill we worshipped, prayed, and
made declarations over the town. Setting the stage for the month of ministry,
and expecting big things.
8. The Cano Family
This month was probably the closest we’ve gotten to our host
family, and I was genuinely sad to have to leave them. Jorge, our contact, was
the local pastor, and we lived with him, his wife Myrna, his mother-in-law
Maria, and his children Josue and Rebeca. I’m really going to miss them.
7. Mother’s Day Skit
The Friday before Mother’s Day we were asked to do a
heartfelt, evangelistic skit about mothers at a school. After inventing such a
skit, we get to the school to realize that it was not just a couple of classes
and their mothers – it was in front of the Mother’s Day Assembly for the entire
school – more than 600 people! It was a little intimidating, but it was a great
opportunity to present the gospel in a public school.
6. Kings Castle
Outreach
I’ve elaborated on this in a previous blog, but the Master
Comission Missions Group joined us for a week of door to door evangelism and
outreach events in the nearby community of Santa Cruz.
5. Dutch Blitz
First of all – I’m a competitive person, and I love to play
games. Usually board games, but card games were easier to bring on the WR.
Well, this month I introduced Team Wreckonciled to Dutch Blitz. We now play all
the time, and let’s just say that I am not the only competitive person on my team.
4. Youth Retreat
We helped with a youth revival retreat where I was invited
to be one of the speakers during the day. Westarted out with the “Everything”
skit, and then I moved into a half hour message. (Still shorter than what I was
asked to fill, but it seemed longer when I was speaking…). I hadn’t realized how
much I’ve missed the atmosphere of a youth event. I love the energy, the hunger
and the fun! It was a such a refreshing day!
3. Chicken Soup and
Cacao
Lydia lives out on a farm and we had the opportunity to
visit her twice. The first time we helped her shell her freshly roasted cacao,
and the second time she decided to teach us how to make chicken soup from
scratch. From scratch, though, meant that she pointed out what chicken she
wanted and Brent had to go catch it. She is the most precious woman!
2. Leno
Also, check out my previous blog for more on this, but long
story short – we were visiting a man who had been severely hurt by the church.
Our team was in unity that day, God used us like crazy and spoke directly
through us to Leno’s heart, and healed not only his heart but his knee as well!
1. Scuba Diving
Check out my birthday blog for more about this, but I got a
chance to scuba dive this month, and I was so thankful for my teammates for
setting it up!
El Salvador was an awesome month for my team. There were
challenges, absolutely. There always will be when living in such close
community. But God was moving in such big was in San Rafael Cedros. My team experienced
what we can do when we just give ourselves over to Him, work with each other in
complete unity, and walk in faith. We were honest with each other when we had
issues to work out, and we learned a lot about what it means to be a team. Do
we have it all figured out? Absolutely not. But this has probably been my favourite
month of ministry so far, and I’m so excited to see how God uses this month as
a springboard and just keeps this momentum going into Thailand.
