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
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