Thank you all family and friends who have been supporting me these past few weeks. We are currently in our last week in El Salvador and all of us are definitely going to be sad to go. God has done incredible things these past few weeks and right now what is on all of our hearts and minds is how to take what we have learned here in El Salvador and implement it in our lives at home. It is a strange feeling to be halfway across the world and finally feel settled in, only to pick up and leave again. Although 6 weeks is in theory a long time for a summer mission's trip; in reality it is such an relatively insignifant amount of time. However, it still manages to be one of those things that transforms your life and we all have so many memories that will last us for a lifetime.
Last week was our outreach week and it was more successful than any of us could have imagined. All week we had students filling out surveys that asked some pretty deep and challenging questions. I had a goal of being able to share the gospel with over 15 people last week and I definitely exceeded my goal! It was so cool to see how God works through every conversation and if you trust in Him, he will give you the words to speak, even if they are in a different language. Most students we talked to believe in God and understood that Jesus in His son, but they also still believe that they must earn their salvation and they don't experience the freedom of Christ. It was awesome to share with them that they could live a life convinced of their redemption and that God's grace is enough no matter how many bad things we have done. On Friday of last week we also had a fiesta with futbol and pizza and music and we had over 27 new students come and showed alot of interest in becoming involved in Vida Estudiantil. The campus my team is on (Evangelica) is the newest addition to Vida Estudiantil and it is VE's vision that a movement would be started on this campus, building up student leaders who want to share the gospel of Christ with their fellow classmates.
This week, my friend Caity and I have been in charge of taking all the surveys with contact information and separating them into those convinced of their salvation and those who weren't sure and then composing a response email for both groups. The email for the first group is one of encouragement, empowering these students to fight the fight and share their faith with other students on campus. The email for those who aren't sure is one explaining the gospel and how we can be free in Christ. On our campus we are sending out over 100 emails to students who all indicated that they wanted to learn more about Vida Estudiantil and about Christ. As soon as we fully translate the emails into Spanish, we will be sending them out tomorrow and so if you could be praying that the students that receive these emails will be encouraged and will want to seek Christ more. We want these emails to be a reminder of Christ's love for them and hopefully it will be a resource to connect students with other El Salvadorian students within the ministry so that once we leave here in 5 days, these student's lives can be continually poured into.
On Sunday, we also went to an orphanage for the day to play with the kids. Most of the babies at the orphanage were there with their 13 or 14 year old mothers. It was one of the most devastating experiences of my life. I talked to one girl who was 13 and 2 months pregnant and she thought it was so weird that I was 20 and didn't have a child. This girl knew nothing different and all of her closest friends were at the orphanage for similar reasons. My leader and I also talked to a 14 year old girl who was formerly a prostitute and had just been taken in to the orphanage. When all the other girls were playing hand games and asking all of us questions, she was sitting on the side just watching. You could tell that she had maturity far beyond her years based on the things she had seen and it absolutely broke my heart. My leader was able to tell her in Spanish that God loved her so much and that He had a plan for her life and sent his son to save her. She was very quiet but you could tell in her eyes that she appreciated hearing that. If you could be praying for all of the kids in the orphanage, they definitely need your prayers. Many of the children are very unhappy and they don't get alot of attention in their lives. Most of them still have families and were either separated from them or were taken out of dangerous or unhealthy situations. Also pray for the young girls who have been taken advantage of. Pray for them to be healed emotionally and that they would find self-worth despite what was horrendously done to them. Pray for hope from Christ to wash over them and give them peace.
This is such a broken country and it is so hard to witness the every day life here, knowing how blessed we are in America. El Salvador is one of the most corrupt counties in the world and is so dangerous due to drug and human traffiking and the effects of the Civil War that tore El Salvador apart not too long ago. I am anxious to return to America because I know the transition will be extremely difficult. A week after I get back I will be heading back to SLO to start training for being a CA and then school starts soon after and I am curious to see how "normal" life feels after spending 6 weeks in a third world country serving the Lord on a daily basis. On Wednesday of this week our group is headed to debriefing to digest all that we have learned here in El Salvdor. It is alot to process but I am excited to see the personal fruit of our labor.
Thank you all so much for your prayers! We could not do it without you!!!
Amy
p.s Here is a funny story to lighten the mood a bit. Last week our team was getting into the elevator at our hotel and we decided to see how many people we could fit into one elevator. We had 15 people inside (in El Salvador maximum capacities are not listed) and we barely went down 1 floor before we got stuck. It took us a few minutes to realize we were stuck. All of us were blaming it on our jokester David, but once we realized we were legit stuck we kinda started freaking out. It was hot, we could barely breath as it was, girls were super clausterphobic and all of us started screaming "Ayuda! Ayuda! Por favor!!" at the top of our lungs. We had to admit though that the situation was extremely hilarious. Everywhere we go we call ourselves the "white blob" because we stand out so much and already we get made fun of so much for being "gringos". After all 15 of us were lifted out of the elevator about 10 minutes later, we could just imagine what the Salvadorenos were saying. "Stupid gringos" hahaha That is the thing about being white in El Salvador. It doesn't matter we go, we always manage to get ourselves in the most precarious situations!!! Gotta love the "white blob"!!!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Only 2 Weeks Left!
Hello family and friends!
Once again we have had another great week full of excitement and adventure. From Monday to Wednesday we spent our time at a student's farm an hour and a half away from San Salvador. Definitely a culture shock, these 3 days were perhaps the 3 hardest of our trip. There was only 1 bathroom for 30+ people and with the heat, humidity, bugs, and lack of sleep we definitely were by American standards "roughing it". However the hospitality and kindness that was shown of our host family was absolutely incredible and we felt like for the first time we got to experience what El Salvadorian culture is really like, and we got to milk cows!!!
Americans are so caught up in our schedules and plans and that is definitely far from being a value in Salvadorian culutre. We often had to laugh because we found ourselves in the most unexpected circumstances all the time. A makeshift "schedule" was technically made for our 3 day adventure, but I can honestly say I don't think we followed a single thing on the schedule. Especially for someone like me who is slightly OCD about time, it has defnintely been a challenge for me to get used to the easy-going nature of the Salvadorian culture. God really showed us though how to bring God into every waking moment. When we didn't understand the prayers being prayed, we prayed silently to ourselves. When we were sitting around waiting for our transportation, we were learning to use that extra time for the Lord. It really was cool to see how much more integrated God is in the Salvadorians' lives. Instead of scheduling God in, they are alot better at bringing God with them everywhere.
Overall we had alot of fun and quality time to spend with the student leaders of Vida Estudiantil. One of the days we also got to go visit an old folks home and serve together. We did skits and music and dancing with the elderly and it was great to see them up and smiling. These abuelas and abuelos were mostly part of families who could no longer afford to take care of them so many of them were left on the side of roads to die. Jesus tells us that "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me as well," and it was crazy to think that we truly were loving the "least of these." Discarded or deserted, you could tell that the elderly really appreciated our time and energy spent on them and that reality was extremely convicting.
This week we also got to spend time at an orphanage furthering our week of service. We got to hang out with kids of all ages, and I spent most of my time with the special needs children who were aged 2-6. It absolutely broke our hearts to see these young children who often called us mama or papa because they didn't know any better. We found out that 80% of the kids were actually not orphans. They had parents that were still alive but they either couldn't afford to take care of them, got separated from them or didn't want them. Our friend Ely works for an organization that seeks out information for these children such as their names, their relatives, Birth Certificates, etc. The organization builds a story for these children and seeks to reunite families and improve the living conditions with these children. If you could be praying for Ely and the work she does in these orphanages, that would be great!
Also at the orphanage, we were able to paint a mural that is an underwater scene and a mural that is a verse (Matthew 19:14--"Jesus said: Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these") with little children painted next to it. It turned out great and pictures are up on facebook!
This upcoming week we are headed back to campus! Students are back from their week vacation and we are ready to go for our last full week on campus. This week is our big outreach week and the theme of it is identity and security. Starting on Tuesday we are going to be all wearing shirts that say SOY (I am) _____. For example "I am saved". or "I am free". We will be having a booth with candy and snacks where students can fill out cards that say who they are. We will be taking pictures of the students with their cards and will be putting them up on the Vida Estudiantil facebook page. We also have a 4 question survey that responds with the theme of the week. The questions include, How would you define yourself? How would God define you? Where do you find security in? And how do you find eternal security? All week will be leading up to a final outreach fiesta on Friday with pizza and games. Although we will get to go back to campus next week, this really is our last opportunity to really connect with students and get them connected with Salvadorian leaders in Vida Estudiantil. If you could be praying for the success of the outreach event and that students would be responsive that would be fantastic! Our trip is coming to a close but we do not want to become weary! Please pray for our energy and that we would have courage and confidence in sharing with students.
Once again I really appreciate everyone's prayers and support! We definitely couldn't do it without you! Sending everyone in the states my love <3
Amy
Once again we have had another great week full of excitement and adventure. From Monday to Wednesday we spent our time at a student's farm an hour and a half away from San Salvador. Definitely a culture shock, these 3 days were perhaps the 3 hardest of our trip. There was only 1 bathroom for 30+ people and with the heat, humidity, bugs, and lack of sleep we definitely were by American standards "roughing it". However the hospitality and kindness that was shown of our host family was absolutely incredible and we felt like for the first time we got to experience what El Salvadorian culture is really like, and we got to milk cows!!!
Americans are so caught up in our schedules and plans and that is definitely far from being a value in Salvadorian culutre. We often had to laugh because we found ourselves in the most unexpected circumstances all the time. A makeshift "schedule" was technically made for our 3 day adventure, but I can honestly say I don't think we followed a single thing on the schedule. Especially for someone like me who is slightly OCD about time, it has defnintely been a challenge for me to get used to the easy-going nature of the Salvadorian culture. God really showed us though how to bring God into every waking moment. When we didn't understand the prayers being prayed, we prayed silently to ourselves. When we were sitting around waiting for our transportation, we were learning to use that extra time for the Lord. It really was cool to see how much more integrated God is in the Salvadorians' lives. Instead of scheduling God in, they are alot better at bringing God with them everywhere.
Overall we had alot of fun and quality time to spend with the student leaders of Vida Estudiantil. One of the days we also got to go visit an old folks home and serve together. We did skits and music and dancing with the elderly and it was great to see them up and smiling. These abuelas and abuelos were mostly part of families who could no longer afford to take care of them so many of them were left on the side of roads to die. Jesus tells us that "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me as well," and it was crazy to think that we truly were loving the "least of these." Discarded or deserted, you could tell that the elderly really appreciated our time and energy spent on them and that reality was extremely convicting.
This week we also got to spend time at an orphanage furthering our week of service. We got to hang out with kids of all ages, and I spent most of my time with the special needs children who were aged 2-6. It absolutely broke our hearts to see these young children who often called us mama or papa because they didn't know any better. We found out that 80% of the kids were actually not orphans. They had parents that were still alive but they either couldn't afford to take care of them, got separated from them or didn't want them. Our friend Ely works for an organization that seeks out information for these children such as their names, their relatives, Birth Certificates, etc. The organization builds a story for these children and seeks to reunite families and improve the living conditions with these children. If you could be praying for Ely and the work she does in these orphanages, that would be great!
Also at the orphanage, we were able to paint a mural that is an underwater scene and a mural that is a verse (Matthew 19:14--"Jesus said: Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these") with little children painted next to it. It turned out great and pictures are up on facebook!
This upcoming week we are headed back to campus! Students are back from their week vacation and we are ready to go for our last full week on campus. This week is our big outreach week and the theme of it is identity and security. Starting on Tuesday we are going to be all wearing shirts that say SOY (I am) _____. For example "I am saved". or "I am free". We will be having a booth with candy and snacks where students can fill out cards that say who they are. We will be taking pictures of the students with their cards and will be putting them up on the Vida Estudiantil facebook page. We also have a 4 question survey that responds with the theme of the week. The questions include, How would you define yourself? How would God define you? Where do you find security in? And how do you find eternal security? All week will be leading up to a final outreach fiesta on Friday with pizza and games. Although we will get to go back to campus next week, this really is our last opportunity to really connect with students and get them connected with Salvadorian leaders in Vida Estudiantil. If you could be praying for the success of the outreach event and that students would be responsive that would be fantastic! Our trip is coming to a close but we do not want to become weary! Please pray for our energy and that we would have courage and confidence in sharing with students.
Once again I really appreciate everyone's prayers and support! We definitely couldn't do it without you! Sending everyone in the states my love <3
Amy
Friday, July 29, 2011
This week in El Salvador!
Hello family and friends!
This last week has been a long, but very good week here in El Salvador. Many members of the team, including myself have been getting sick from either colds, flus, or food poisoning, but we are pushing through! We know that it is Satan's way of trying to put us down, but we are not going to let sickness get in the way of the Lord's work. All week we have been sharing the gospel, building even stronger relationships with the El Salvadorian people, and seeing God work in countless ways!
Our team now is split between two campuses, Matias and Evangelica. Evangelica, where I am placed is the newest ministry for Vida Estudiantil and so there are not very many students that are a part of Vida Estudiantil who can lead the movement on this new campus. Our American team thus is larger on this campus, so that we have more manpower to share the word of Christ and tell students about how they can get involved in Vida Estudiantil, enabling them to have the opportunity of a community of believers that are encouraging one another in their faiths. The language barrier has been hard since there are not very many El Salvadorian students who are available to go out sharing with us, but God has really been blessing our Spanish so that we are able to communicate. It has been amazing learning how to share the gospel in Spanish and learning how to trust that God is working in every conversation. It has been such a humbling experience instigating conversations with students who we have never met, stumbling through our Spanglish, and presenting the gospel knowing that the whole time, it is not our words that are being spoken, not our story being told, but God's words and God's story.
On Tuesday, Evangelica had its first biblestudy and over 20 students showed up. We were able to make future appointments or hang out dates with these students to further encourage them and disciple them in their faiths. On Wednesday, a group was invited to a History of Medicine class by a professor who allowed them to share the gospel to the entire class and then gave us the opportunity to come back in a week to lead a biblestudy in the class! How cool is that!! In America, students would never be allowed to lead a bible study in class, yet here it is possible!! On Wednesday me and two other guys got to share out testimonies to all the coaches of the sports teams in a presentation for Athletes in Action.
This upcoming week is actually a holliday for all El Salvadorians. Almost the entire country takes the week off to spend time with family and so students won't be on the campuses. However, Vida Estudiantil is having their retreat for all of their most devoted members at a farm here in El Salvador and we have been invited to join them. We will be roughing it in tents and are going to help out at the farm, milking cows, feeding chickens, and any chores the family needs to get done. One day we will also be spending at an old folks home gifting our time to just talk and keep the senior citizens company. Our overall mission of the retreat though is to build up the El Salvadorian leaders of Vida Estudiantil through encouragement, discipleship, worship, and vision casting. It will be a great time to really invest in the students and get to know the El Salvadorian culture on a rural level. We have been told that El Salvadorian students will not sleep at all on retreats so wish us luck! It is going to be a crazy three days! haha
This weekend we are also going to have an opportunity to drive up to the top of a volcano to see the entire city from a bird's eye view. Saturdays are our adventure days and our time to really explore the country. Last Saturday we got to go to one of the beaches and see the famous waves of El Salvador. The water was so warm and we got to hang out in hammocks! It was awesome! On Sunday, we are also most likely going to get the chance to visit an orphanage and hold babies! All of the girls are especially excited for that!
Overall God has really been teaching me about surrendering control on a daily basis for the big things and the small things. Being on a cross-cultural missions trip is crazy and you always have to expect the unexpected. You never know when you are going to wake up in the middle of the night throwing up, or if you are going to get caught in the rain, or if a conversation with a student really changes their life, but what you can always be sure of is that God is always working and He brings all things together for His good. It has been such a blessing being here in El Salvador and I am having an absolute blast! It is crazy to think that we aren't even halfway done! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
This last week has been a long, but very good week here in El Salvador. Many members of the team, including myself have been getting sick from either colds, flus, or food poisoning, but we are pushing through! We know that it is Satan's way of trying to put us down, but we are not going to let sickness get in the way of the Lord's work. All week we have been sharing the gospel, building even stronger relationships with the El Salvadorian people, and seeing God work in countless ways!
Our team now is split between two campuses, Matias and Evangelica. Evangelica, where I am placed is the newest ministry for Vida Estudiantil and so there are not very many students that are a part of Vida Estudiantil who can lead the movement on this new campus. Our American team thus is larger on this campus, so that we have more manpower to share the word of Christ and tell students about how they can get involved in Vida Estudiantil, enabling them to have the opportunity of a community of believers that are encouraging one another in their faiths. The language barrier has been hard since there are not very many El Salvadorian students who are available to go out sharing with us, but God has really been blessing our Spanish so that we are able to communicate. It has been amazing learning how to share the gospel in Spanish and learning how to trust that God is working in every conversation. It has been such a humbling experience instigating conversations with students who we have never met, stumbling through our Spanglish, and presenting the gospel knowing that the whole time, it is not our words that are being spoken, not our story being told, but God's words and God's story.
On Tuesday, Evangelica had its first biblestudy and over 20 students showed up. We were able to make future appointments or hang out dates with these students to further encourage them and disciple them in their faiths. On Wednesday, a group was invited to a History of Medicine class by a professor who allowed them to share the gospel to the entire class and then gave us the opportunity to come back in a week to lead a biblestudy in the class! How cool is that!! In America, students would never be allowed to lead a bible study in class, yet here it is possible!! On Wednesday me and two other guys got to share out testimonies to all the coaches of the sports teams in a presentation for Athletes in Action.
This upcoming week is actually a holliday for all El Salvadorians. Almost the entire country takes the week off to spend time with family and so students won't be on the campuses. However, Vida Estudiantil is having their retreat for all of their most devoted members at a farm here in El Salvador and we have been invited to join them. We will be roughing it in tents and are going to help out at the farm, milking cows, feeding chickens, and any chores the family needs to get done. One day we will also be spending at an old folks home gifting our time to just talk and keep the senior citizens company. Our overall mission of the retreat though is to build up the El Salvadorian leaders of Vida Estudiantil through encouragement, discipleship, worship, and vision casting. It will be a great time to really invest in the students and get to know the El Salvadorian culture on a rural level. We have been told that El Salvadorian students will not sleep at all on retreats so wish us luck! It is going to be a crazy three days! haha
This weekend we are also going to have an opportunity to drive up to the top of a volcano to see the entire city from a bird's eye view. Saturdays are our adventure days and our time to really explore the country. Last Saturday we got to go to one of the beaches and see the famous waves of El Salvador. The water was so warm and we got to hang out in hammocks! It was awesome! On Sunday, we are also most likely going to get the chance to visit an orphanage and hold babies! All of the girls are especially excited for that!
Overall God has really been teaching me about surrendering control on a daily basis for the big things and the small things. Being on a cross-cultural missions trip is crazy and you always have to expect the unexpected. You never know when you are going to wake up in the middle of the night throwing up, or if you are going to get caught in the rain, or if a conversation with a student really changes their life, but what you can always be sure of is that God is always working and He brings all things together for His good. It has been such a blessing being here in El Salvador and I am having an absolute blast! It is crazy to think that we aren't even halfway done! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Our first week here :)
So it is the middle of the week and although we are exhausted, we are really beginning to see God work here in El Salvador. Each day we go out on campus and build relationships with the students, instigating spiritual conversations and setting up future appointments to continue our relationships with the students. I myself have made many new friends and have already gotten to meet with some of them multiples times! It is really difficult and straining with the language barrier and although we know some Spanish and have translators, it is very hard to be consistently instigating conversations with students. We are learning alot though, especially on how insignificant we are and how much of a blessing it is that God chooses to use us in showing other students His love. God has the ability to transform hearts without our help and so it is just incredible to be a part of the process! It has been very humbling and has brought all of us closer to the Lord as we come to him each day surrendering our conversations, our relationships with students, and our hearts, seeking to be refilled by Him each an every day. We have been here about a week and it is crazy to think that we have about 5 more weeks left.
We also have been pouring into the student leaders here involved in Vida Estudiantil. One of our jobs is to disciple these student leaders and give them encouragement and support. Most of them are new believers themselves and need to be poured into. It is very difficult as new believers to go out on campus and share their faith and so I really admire their courage and dedication to their relationship with the Lord. They have been very inspiring to me and it has been awesome talking to them and hearing about their heart for the Lord. They have been really excited to have American students working along side them in ministry and in August we will be going with them on their leadership retreat at a farm two hours outside of the city. It will be a great time of fellowship and encouragement and we get to learn how to milk a cow!!!
On Tuesday we had our first outreach fiesta and had over 50 students show up. Only about 20 students are involved in Vida Estudiantil on a regular basis and so it was amazing that so many students showed up wanting to know more and find fellowship and community for their faith. We did the Lifehouse Everything skit for them (I played the role of vanity for those of you who have seen the skit) and it was extremely powerful. We also had worship and snacks and games and got to meet all of the students. We had a blast and it was encouraging to see how many students were seeking either Christian fellowship and a relationship with God and it really gave us vision for our project!
If you could continue praying for our safety and our mission here that would be great! Also if you could pray for the students that we are meeting each day and that they would have a desire a relationship with God and would want to continue meeting up with us, we would really appreciate it! Most of these students are Catholic and come from spiritual family backgrounds but they don't know what it means to have a relationship with God. It is difficult to get down to the gospel because most students believe that they already have Christ in their life. They know the right answers, but they don't know what it means to be transformed by Christ. This culture is very centered around Church and family, but they often become idols that distract from a real relationship with God. Also be praying that our Spanish would be growing and that despite the language barrier, we would still be able to communicate our love and passion for Jesus Christ. We appreciate your prayers so much and it is great to know that we have such an awesome team of supporters back in the states!
Gracia y Adios!!!
Amy
We also have been pouring into the student leaders here involved in Vida Estudiantil. One of our jobs is to disciple these student leaders and give them encouragement and support. Most of them are new believers themselves and need to be poured into. It is very difficult as new believers to go out on campus and share their faith and so I really admire their courage and dedication to their relationship with the Lord. They have been very inspiring to me and it has been awesome talking to them and hearing about their heart for the Lord. They have been really excited to have American students working along side them in ministry and in August we will be going with them on their leadership retreat at a farm two hours outside of the city. It will be a great time of fellowship and encouragement and we get to learn how to milk a cow!!!
On Tuesday we had our first outreach fiesta and had over 50 students show up. Only about 20 students are involved in Vida Estudiantil on a regular basis and so it was amazing that so many students showed up wanting to know more and find fellowship and community for their faith. We did the Lifehouse Everything skit for them (I played the role of vanity for those of you who have seen the skit) and it was extremely powerful. We also had worship and snacks and games and got to meet all of the students. We had a blast and it was encouraging to see how many students were seeking either Christian fellowship and a relationship with God and it really gave us vision for our project!
If you could continue praying for our safety and our mission here that would be great! Also if you could pray for the students that we are meeting each day and that they would have a desire a relationship with God and would want to continue meeting up with us, we would really appreciate it! Most of these students are Catholic and come from spiritual family backgrounds but they don't know what it means to have a relationship with God. It is difficult to get down to the gospel because most students believe that they already have Christ in their life. They know the right answers, but they don't know what it means to be transformed by Christ. This culture is very centered around Church and family, but they often become idols that distract from a real relationship with God. Also be praying that our Spanish would be growing and that despite the language barrier, we would still be able to communicate our love and passion for Jesus Christ. We appreciate your prayers so much and it is great to know that we have such an awesome team of supporters back in the states!
Gracia y Adios!!!
Amy
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Bienvenidos A El Salvador!
Hola Familia y Amigos!
It has officially been 3 days in El Salvador and I could not be having a better time! Other being humid, the country is beautiful. The city of San Salvador is in between volcanoes and mountains that are extremely green! Sometimes we joke about being on a movie set for like Lost or Jurassic Park. It is technically winter here in El Salvador and so it is their "cold" months, but other than thunder in lighting storms, there is nothing "cold" about the weather :) We had 17 people in a 12 passenger van today and we got lost in the middle of the city for an hour and by the end you would have thought we all just hopped out of the shower! However, these are the times that our teams bonds the most.
My team is absolutely fabulous here in El Salvador. It is a group of people who love the Lord so much and we already have formed a very tight knit community. Our leaders, Kristen and Joe, spent a full year here two years ago and so they are very helpful in making us feel comfortable and navigating our journey. Together as a team we laugh endlessly and we are really beginning to truly understand one another in our strengths and weaknesses. In our spare time so far we have gotten to explore the city, go to the international World Cup for Judo (the teams are staying at our hotel and we even got to meet some Americans who are qualifying for the Olympics!!!!) and we got to see Harry Potter with Spanish subtitles. Salvadorians students enjoy many of the same things American college students do: shopping malls, movies, TV shows ( they love talking to us about the Hills and the Big Bang Theory and Friends!), and of course coffee shops (El Salvador is actually known for its coffee and we just met the World's Best Barista who was internationally named at the world barista competition about two weeks ago)
Yesterday was our first day on an El Salvadorian campus and as we arrived we were greeted of not only a team of believers that are a part of Cruzado Estudiantil (their version of Campus Crusade) but also one of the directors of Evangelista Universidad who is in charge of student affairs. It is such a blessing on that campus to have a leader who allows us to come on their campus for these six weeks of the summer. Most universities are opposed to Campus Crusade's presence and so we count it as a blessing! We were told that although most students know about God, 85% of them do not have a relationship with Him. It is extremely sad but the students are friendly and are more than willing to talk.
On Friday, I had a 20 minute conversation with 4 freshman girls who did not speak any English. I was surprised that I was able to communicate, but God is really blessing our team with the language. Many students do speak English or some English, but we also wish to speak in Spanish as a form of respect for their culture as well. These four girls were extremely nice and wanted to meet up with us again next week to continue our friendship, so please be praying that we will be able to instigate spiritual conversations with not only them, but all of the students we meet on campus. This upcoming Tuesday, we are also throwing a fiesta on campus for students as an outreach to develop new relationships, so if you could be praying for the fiesta's success and ability to reach new students and catch their interest, that would be awesome!
Tomorrow we got to a traditional El Salvadorian church that is all in Spanish, but it will be cool (or chivo in Espanol) to see how God is moving in the churches here in San Salvador as well. You can see a spark of love for Christ here in this nation and it is so exciting to witness. I am fully convinced that God has amazing things planned for this country and I feel so blessed to be a part of it and be able to watch the country's love for the Lord grow.
Some of the biggest challenges facing the nation is extreme poverty and a wide rich/poor gap that does not seem to have any bridge at all. The country is also extremely dangerous. It is filled with drug lords and gangsters which makes mobility and freedom to evangelize very difficult. If you could pray for our team's safety that would also be very great. We never go anywhere in groups smaller than 3 and have a guy present at almost all times, except for at the campus or the hotel, and we always need to be on guard. Prayers for our safety would be greatly appreciated!
My verse of the past few days has been Romans 8-9 and 12
In Spanish it reads, "Que afirma entonces? La palabra esta cerca de ti; la tienes en la boca y en el corazon. Esta es la palabra de fe que predicamos; que si confiesas con tu boca que Jesus es el Senor, y crees en tu corazon que Dios lo levanto de entre los muertos, seras salvo.....No hay diferencia entre judios y gentiles, pues el mismo Senor es Senor de todos y bendice abundantemente a cuantos lo invocan."
Gracias!!!
Amy
It has officially been 3 days in El Salvador and I could not be having a better time! Other being humid, the country is beautiful. The city of San Salvador is in between volcanoes and mountains that are extremely green! Sometimes we joke about being on a movie set for like Lost or Jurassic Park. It is technically winter here in El Salvador and so it is their "cold" months, but other than thunder in lighting storms, there is nothing "cold" about the weather :) We had 17 people in a 12 passenger van today and we got lost in the middle of the city for an hour and by the end you would have thought we all just hopped out of the shower! However, these are the times that our teams bonds the most.
My team is absolutely fabulous here in El Salvador. It is a group of people who love the Lord so much and we already have formed a very tight knit community. Our leaders, Kristen and Joe, spent a full year here two years ago and so they are very helpful in making us feel comfortable and navigating our journey. Together as a team we laugh endlessly and we are really beginning to truly understand one another in our strengths and weaknesses. In our spare time so far we have gotten to explore the city, go to the international World Cup for Judo (the teams are staying at our hotel and we even got to meet some Americans who are qualifying for the Olympics!!!!) and we got to see Harry Potter with Spanish subtitles. Salvadorians students enjoy many of the same things American college students do: shopping malls, movies, TV shows ( they love talking to us about the Hills and the Big Bang Theory and Friends!), and of course coffee shops (El Salvador is actually known for its coffee and we just met the World's Best Barista who was internationally named at the world barista competition about two weeks ago)
Yesterday was our first day on an El Salvadorian campus and as we arrived we were greeted of not only a team of believers that are a part of Cruzado Estudiantil (their version of Campus Crusade) but also one of the directors of Evangelista Universidad who is in charge of student affairs. It is such a blessing on that campus to have a leader who allows us to come on their campus for these six weeks of the summer. Most universities are opposed to Campus Crusade's presence and so we count it as a blessing! We were told that although most students know about God, 85% of them do not have a relationship with Him. It is extremely sad but the students are friendly and are more than willing to talk.
On Friday, I had a 20 minute conversation with 4 freshman girls who did not speak any English. I was surprised that I was able to communicate, but God is really blessing our team with the language. Many students do speak English or some English, but we also wish to speak in Spanish as a form of respect for their culture as well. These four girls were extremely nice and wanted to meet up with us again next week to continue our friendship, so please be praying that we will be able to instigate spiritual conversations with not only them, but all of the students we meet on campus. This upcoming Tuesday, we are also throwing a fiesta on campus for students as an outreach to develop new relationships, so if you could be praying for the fiesta's success and ability to reach new students and catch their interest, that would be awesome!
Tomorrow we got to a traditional El Salvadorian church that is all in Spanish, but it will be cool (or chivo in Espanol) to see how God is moving in the churches here in San Salvador as well. You can see a spark of love for Christ here in this nation and it is so exciting to witness. I am fully convinced that God has amazing things planned for this country and I feel so blessed to be a part of it and be able to watch the country's love for the Lord grow.
Some of the biggest challenges facing the nation is extreme poverty and a wide rich/poor gap that does not seem to have any bridge at all. The country is also extremely dangerous. It is filled with drug lords and gangsters which makes mobility and freedom to evangelize very difficult. If you could pray for our team's safety that would also be very great. We never go anywhere in groups smaller than 3 and have a guy present at almost all times, except for at the campus or the hotel, and we always need to be on guard. Prayers for our safety would be greatly appreciated!
My verse of the past few days has been Romans 8-9 and 12
In Spanish it reads, "Que afirma entonces? La palabra esta cerca de ti; la tienes en la boca y en el corazon. Esta es la palabra de fe que predicamos; que si confiesas con tu boca que Jesus es el Senor, y crees en tu corazon que Dios lo levanto de entre los muertos, seras salvo.....No hay diferencia entre judios y gentiles, pues el mismo Senor es Senor de todos y bendice abundantemente a cuantos lo invocan."
Gracias!!!
Amy
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Thank you family and friends!!!!
Hola family and friends!!! If you are viewing this blog then you have chosen to support me on my summer project mission to the beautiful country of El Salvador. I cannot thank you enough for your prayer and financial support and I am excited to share with you my journey that i am beginning to embark upon. God calls us to live revolutionary lives. It is not enough to sit back and just enjoy the blessings He has bestowed upon us, but we should have a desire to go out and share the love and blessings He first gave us. Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I urge your brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be a able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing,and perfect will." God has a plan for this summer and the people of El Salvador and I feel so blessed to be a part of His plan, and to have the opportunity to witness the work God is doing in the hearts and minds of the El Salvadorian people. That is why I am taking this leap of faith, to go to a place I have never been before, to experience a culture that is so different from our own. God is transforming my heart and mind and in response I want to sacrifice my time, money and comfort this summer to glorify Him. I invite you to be involved in this mission as well. I will be posting things throughout my journey that I am learning or witnessing and want you, my supporters to be able to hear and experience God's wonders as well. Thank you again for your support!!!!
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