Two weeks ago, I moved out of my house. I felt an overwhelming urge to take a picture of my door. I loved the character that it held. My house was built in the 1920s and I loved every square inch of it. I didn’t really know why I felt the need to take a picture, maybe I’m nostalgic like that, but nevertheless, I did.
Since I first landed in El Salvador eight days ago, I have been so intrigued by their doors here. I know, weird right? They are all so beautfiul, unique, and colorful. I didn’t really put the connection together until I was riding in the back of a truck with 12 other people, coming back from a volcano, watching the El Salvadorian jungle pass by, in the middle of insane traffic, hoping and praying that we didn’t hit a pot hole too fast and send me flying… God whispered,
“Come away with Me.”
Now, I will admit, most of last week, I have felt very distant from God. Almost as if there were a wall, or a closed door between us. I didn’t understand why. Perhaps it was because of the 36+ consecutive hours of lost sleep between launch and travel day. Or the shock of a new country and culture. More than likely, my flesh. For whatever reason, I felt a disconnect. And this weighed heavy in my heart. But in the back of that truck, I felt as if God began knocking on that door. In the LEAST likely of times or places. He simply whispered, “Come away with Me”.
I was so happy to finally hear Him speaking to me again, I quickly began asking, “Okay, God, I want to come away with you, I want you to show me what you want me to see. Show me, show me, show me.” He didn’t answer me. My heart was heavy again. Had I done something wrong? I knew I heard Him speaking to me, the words rang so clear in my heart. What was I missing?
The next evening, we had church service for the youth in the church we are staying at. It is a little hard to follow along with worship here because everything is in Spanish and most don’t know any English. So I had been struggling in worship most of earlier that week. And I LOVE worship, so this also burdened my heart. But that night, God showed up in San Salvador, El Salvador in a little Pentecostal church named El Shadai.
God’s presence was so real, it was palpable. The joy of the Lord overwhelmed my soul and I didn’t even have to ask for it. I felt a wave of God’s presence and all of a sudden it was as if that closed door, sprung wide open. My soul felt one hundred times lighter and all I could think to say was “Thank you“.
Just because God doesn’t give you an answer when you ask for it, doesn’t mean He won’t give you one when you need it. God’s time is always better than ours.
Time moves slower here. There isn’t a rush to always be doing something like there is in America. God has been teaching me that the same is true of my relationship with Him. Just because we don’t feel like we’re where we should be or where everyone else is, doesn’t mean that He isn’t working in us. He is in the waiting. And it is a beautiful thing.
Take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He’s in the waiting
He’s in the waiting
Hold on to your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He’s never failing
He’s never failing.
Take Courage by Bethel
So, I’m sure you’re wondering what exactly God has been doing since we got here. Well, let me tell you!
This past week has been SO FULL of ministry it is hard to believe it has only been a week!
In just this short amount of time, we have…
- Preached the Word and shared our testimonies with people at the church, on the street, and in homes multiple times.
- Ministered through dramas, skits, and dances.
- Helped lead worship.
- Taught English to children and adults.
- Begun work on a new project in the lot next to the church. The “lot” is about half the size of a football field and before we started was nothing but DENSE, THICK jungle and trash. We used only machetes, BROOMS, and ONE shovel with the handle being a PVC pipe to literally clear out everything, even TREES. It was really incredible and amazing to see how these people do these things with such humble means.
- And probably my favorite ministry so far, we went to a place called “Samaritan House” which is a home for women, specifically women trapped in prostitution. We made papusas (an El Salvadorian delicacy basically) and handed them out in the streets for free, while evangelizing to these women and anyone else who wanted free food! It was such an incredible experience!
I have only been here for a week but it feels like a month has already gone by! It’s hard to imagine how much more God can possibly have in store over the next 11 months! God is so good.
FUN FACTS about El Salvador:
- The currency is American dollars
- It is currently the rainy season, and they gave it an accurate name. It rains, every day. And when it does it is a DOWNPOUR of mass proportions. Like, Noah’s ark, get ready and hold on to something, proportions.
- Apparently the “pizza burger” from Wendy’s is all the rage down here. Have yet to try it. Will keep you posted though.
- Papusas are life.
- Hot. Humid. All day. Every day. There is no quit.
- On the plus side, I must be constantly sweating all the toxins out of my body, so that’s good I guess.
- Everything is SO colorful and beautiful! But there is also garbage. Everywhere.
- “Tree water beats road water.” (words of wisdom from Daniel)
- Not many people speak English, and the ones who do don’t know much. “It’s like they’re speaking in cursive” (Thank you Ryan). But when you do find someone who speaks good English it is like music to your ears!
- Ants bite. And it hurts.
- We had lunch on top of a volcano. So, I guess that’s one less thing on my bucket list 😉
- Potholes. Potholes as far as the eye can see. Potholes for dayysssssss.
- THEY HAVE KFC!!!!!!!!!!!
