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!!!
Friday, July 29, 2011
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
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