Our last full day in El Salvador was memorable, just as all of the others we have spent here. We attended an El Salvadorian church this morning. What a beautiful thing is was to see different people worshipping the same God in different languages. Our God is big, bigger than even religion, language, and culture.
From there we went to a market place to gather up some souvenirs! This market was filled with bright colors and clothes with much El Salvadorian spirit. It's customary to barter with the salespeople, but some in our group were better at this than others! Nevertheless, we're all coming back with some kind of momento from the trip!
We headed off to the beach and spent the afternoon swimming in the Pacific and soaking up the the sun! This day of relaxation with the team has been so much fun. There are always laughs and smiles here, especially with Humberto and Cat leading us. After dinner we reflected on the trip around a beach bonfire with millions of twinkling stars over us. The way God worked here, the meaningful moments we've shared, and love we have felt will never be forgotten. I have been truly humbled by this experience. Not only has the love of this team been encouraging, but the love and welcome of the El Salvadorian people. They received our love and listened to our message with great willingness and heart. Humberto shared with us about the importance of each person's role on this trip. Somehow, God used a group of people that hardly even knew each other for great things in His kingdom. We are so thankful to Him for the work He did here this week.
We're a little sad to leave, but eager to share with you all the miracles we witnessed this week. We feel like we're on a mountaintop and want to remain there as long as we can. Danny shared withus that how we are feeling now and this life we've been living the past week is exactly the life that God wants us to have. Every act we've performed, love we've shown, and game we played is what the normal Christian life should look like. We won't stop sharing our testimonies and showing love when we get back to the US. We will continue this work that God has began in us and pour out the living water of Christ.
Marissa
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Soccer Academy
This Saturday morning was spent at the soccer field! It was our last official day of service before we head to the beach to relax and reflect. Sports Outreach Institute offers Soccer Academy for kids every Saturday. The soccer players in our group lead the kids through drills and games, and then shared their testimonies. Quite a few kids hung around afterward to learn more about Jesus. It was amazing to see out team members use their skills to train the children and then share the gospel.
After lunch, we hiked up to the top of a volcano! El Salvador is a beautiful country, and on our hike we were able see another piece of the country. We walked along the path around the crater, looking down over trees and fields. What a view we had! We were looking down at birds and trees! It was absolutely breathtaking. While we were there, we ran into another mission group from America. It was so encouraging to talk with a group that was just beginning their journey as ours is coming to an end.
From there we headed back to the community to dedicate Jose's home. We arrived with friendly faces waiting for us, and full hearts to celebrate this new beginning for Jose's family. Humberto shared about God's work through the building of this house, and Jose shared his thanks. As we gathered around Jose to pray, everyone was just so overwhelmed by thankfulness. It is so amazing to me that God would use us to help this man, and even more amazing that every event leading up to this was a part of His plan. Even though we were so happy to celebrate with Jose and his family, tonight was hard. It was hard because we had to say goodbye to the community. The kids we played with, families we gave to, and the people we loved and prayed with are hard to leave. Goodbyes are so hard when their is so much love and learning between people.
We ended the night at a Mexican restaurant with a live mariachi band! We laughed and danced. Our group is so wonderful, I feel truly privileged to have served with them.
Marissa
After lunch, we hiked up to the top of a volcano! El Salvador is a beautiful country, and on our hike we were able see another piece of the country. We walked along the path around the crater, looking down over trees and fields. What a view we had! We were looking down at birds and trees! It was absolutely breathtaking. While we were there, we ran into another mission group from America. It was so encouraging to talk with a group that was just beginning their journey as ours is coming to an end.
From there we headed back to the community to dedicate Jose's home. We arrived with friendly faces waiting for us, and full hearts to celebrate this new beginning for Jose's family. Humberto shared about God's work through the building of this house, and Jose shared his thanks. As we gathered around Jose to pray, everyone was just so overwhelmed by thankfulness. It is so amazing to me that God would use us to help this man, and even more amazing that every event leading up to this was a part of His plan. Even though we were so happy to celebrate with Jose and his family, tonight was hard. It was hard because we had to say goodbye to the community. The kids we played with, families we gave to, and the people we loved and prayed with are hard to leave. Goodbyes are so hard when their is so much love and learning between people.
We ended the night at a Mexican restaurant with a live mariachi band! We laughed and danced. Our group is so wonderful, I feel truly privileged to have served with them.
Marissa
Friday, May 23, 2014
Answered Prayers
It was another day in the community where we continued to work in Jose's house. We painted the inside and out, while others played with the kids and prayed for community members. We also had the opportunity to go to a new school. Humberto has been praying for God to open the door for a year and today was finally the day! We were able to go into all grades to pray with students and pass out candy. The students were welcoming and polite, and we know that Humberto will begin a powerful ministry in this place.
Today was our last day at the pool, and they thoughtfully flew an American flag! We were able to lead them in dry land and drills, then finish off with fun relays. We shared testimonies and some were lead to salvation through Humberto's prayer. Many swimmers were prayed for tonight, and we were moved by their thankfulness. We were so grateful for the coach that we worked with as he was so kind and generous. We pray that God will continue to work in that facility and that the children will grow in faith.
Marissa & Renee
Today was our last day at the pool, and they thoughtfully flew an American flag! We were able to lead them in dry land and drills, then finish off with fun relays. We shared testimonies and some were lead to salvation through Humberto's prayer. Many swimmers were prayed for tonight, and we were moved by their thankfulness. We were so grateful for the coach that we worked with as he was so kind and generous. We pray that God will continue to work in that facility and that the children will grow in faith.
Marissa & Renee
Thursday, May 22, 2014
In the Community
It truly is amazing how present God is everywhere we have gone in the past five days. Today we headed back to back to Thomas Rodriguez where our group split up into three teams. The first group set out into the village seeking out families and praying with them. The second group spent most of there day helping with Josè (a leader in the community) put the finishing touches on his home. I was a part of the third group where we spent the whole day playing with the kids. It was amazing being able to hang out with these wonderful children who accepted me and let me have a glimpse into their lives. I found myself in many places I had never seen before in the previous days we have been in this Community. The group of about eight children lead me to some of their favorite spots. I ended up eating about eight delicious mangos and played multiple games of soccer around the dirt road that encompasses the village. I was then lead into one of the children's homes where I sat and stayed for quite some time with the children and their mother. She fed me some of the delicious bread she was making over the fire and then we left. God's presence here in El Salvador is undeniable. He is doing great works through the people of SOI and has been molding my heart in ways like never before these past five days. It is truly an honor to be able to spend time with these children and grow with them.
The Water
This morning started out with sunshine as we drove to an orphanage. This was no ordinary orphanage. This place was a kind of heaven, where adults and children with disabilities are gathered together with smiles, love, and freedom. This facility was well-equipped to care for the needs of these people, but we were able to donate a ton of rice and laundry detergent. The director of the orphanage had a beautiful passion for the people and the purpose of the institution. After a tour, we were able to feed people for lunch. There was something so powerful in the act of physically feeding people who are incapable of feeding themselves. We all experienced so many emotions, wrestled with hard questions, and performed uncomfortable tasks. Through all this, we felt love, saw Christ, and were encouraged. The effect of our presence in this place was humbling and powerful.
The emotional experience of the morning was followed by a relaxing lunch at a restaurant on the top of a mountain. The beauty of God's creation is as vast as the mountain to the orphanage, and more than we could have ever imagine.
Today was the first day we traveled to the aquatic center! The kids that we worked with in the pool were much different from the children we've been working with on this trip so far. These kids spoke English, had iPhones, and had busy schedules with school and swimming. But as soon as we walked in to the beautiful outdoor pool, we knew that our purpose was the same as when we walked in to the developing communities: love the kids. We swam through drills with the kids, and afterwards we had a doughnut social with the swimmers. Humberto shared a beautiful testimony with everyone. We can always be reminded that despite our love of the water, there is a living water that matters more.
We were able to take pictures and share stories with the kids. We can not wait for the rest of our time with them. We never expected to swim in a different country with other swimmers, and we feel so blessed to be able to do this with a missional attitude!
Swimmer Girls:)
The emotional experience of the morning was followed by a relaxing lunch at a restaurant on the top of a mountain. The beauty of God's creation is as vast as the mountain to the orphanage, and more than we could have ever imagine.
Today was the first day we traveled to the aquatic center! The kids that we worked with in the pool were much different from the children we've been working with on this trip so far. These kids spoke English, had iPhones, and had busy schedules with school and swimming. But as soon as we walked in to the beautiful outdoor pool, we knew that our purpose was the same as when we walked in to the developing communities: love the kids. We swam through drills with the kids, and afterwards we had a doughnut social with the swimmers. Humberto shared a beautiful testimony with everyone. We can always be reminded that despite our love of the water, there is a living water that matters more.
We were able to take pictures and share stories with the kids. We can not wait for the rest of our time with them. We never expected to swim in a different country with other swimmers, and we feel so blessed to be able to do this with a missional attitude!
Swimmer Girls:)
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
All Will See
Traveling to another country reveals certain universal truths. There are some things that remain the same no matter where you are: a smile, a hug, a high five, a fun game, a cool hairstyle, and the love of Christ. It's amazing how the language barrier seems to fade away when you act out of the Spirit of Christ. God's love transcends all barriers of the physical, including language. This message is running through my mind continually during our time here in El Salvador and I am reminded with each new activity that it all starts with love.
The activities for today were similar to yesterday's agenda. We returned to the same school for the morning and the developing community at night. A truly heartwarming moment was when the kids recognized us from yesterday and greeted us with running hugs and requests for more games! The opportunity to play tennis was a new option for the kids and their unbridled enthusiasm made the teaching a true delight. Along with tennis, soccer, and of course more "meeka" (tag), I found myself wrapped up in an intense game of hide-and-seek. The name of the game in El Salvador is "escondilera". Through the times of fervent searching during hide and seek and intense running to chase after kids for an exhausting game of tag, I was reminded of such a simple truth about God. Although I was getting tired from seemingly endless games of hide-and-seek and tag, God never grows tired of seeking and pursuing us. It's the simple Gospel: God loves us, wants a relationship with us, and is constantly pursuing us. He even showed His love through His son, Jesus Christ. Those are simple truths about the Gospel and it's certainly important to keep it simple when translating into another language! As a team we are blessed with the opportunity to bring the Gospel to life by displaying God's love unconditionally. With or without knowing Spanish, showing love involves those universal truths. Acts of kindness that can be understood in any language go a long way. The simple act of presence is an art form involving love, patience, and a lot of time. Just like God's Word, the acts of kindness are applicable, effective, and point people to Christ. We become the aroma of Christ, just like our mission statement. Even when the only aroma we smell is our feet and body odor from hours of playing in the humid El Salvadorian air, we know that we spread the Good News like a sweet perfume.
Leaving the school was difficult because we formed relationships with the kids and we left knowing we would not return. With one boy in particular it became clear that he felt and appreciated our love as tears ran down his face during a heartfelt goodbye hug. With the help of a translator we were able to tell the young boy that the love he felt from us comes from God. So even though we were leaving, the love will stay with Him forever. It was the kind of moment that sheds new light on Romans 8:31-39 (if you don't know these verses, you should look them up because they're great!!).
After the school we returned to the developing communities to deliver more water filters, courtesy of Sawyer. The love of God was flowing through the community. If God's love is a waterfall, then we stood under it with arms wide open, splashing love on all the people around us. Prayers, smiles, hugs, dancing children, and joyful parents with a new hope for life with clean water were common sites tonight. All this and more reminds me of how great our God truly is. With the help of a new amigo at the school I was able to translate the song, "How Great is Our God" into Spanish. Because we sang it yesterday, he remembered and began to sing it in Spanish today. It was a moment that I saw God move despite the difference in language. He truly is great and so I thought it appropriate to end with a familiar song in a language that may not be familiar to us. However, it is a reminder that it is absolutely beautiful to witness God's presence in other parts of the world.
"Cuan grande es dios (How great is our God)
Cantale (Sing with me)
Cuan grande es dios (How great is our God)
Y todos lo veran (And all will see)
Cuan grande, Cuan grande, es dios" (How great, how great is our God)
I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and support and thanks for reading! :)
~Hanna
Monday, May 19, 2014
Meeka Meeka!!!
Today was the first full day we had in El Salvador and full it was! It started bright and early at 6am for breakfast and we literally did not stop moving all day. The first place we went to was a school that has students ranging in age up to 16 and around 850 students total between morning and afternoon classes. It ran in a morning and afternoon shift that were very similar but had a completely different sets of students. We split our group into three and had one group assisting Humberto in the classroom, another helping with PE class and a third sorting clothing and helping to organize the sports outreach office and share testimonies and stories of how God has worked in their lives. I was blessed to be a part of the group that had the opportunity to share testimonies in the classrooms. It was incredible and I was most definitely stretched by it. Because El Salvador is a Spanish speaking country sharing testimonies in English is not super effective, luckily we have some group members that are fluent which made translating much easier and it was neat to learn as a team how to adjust our stories and testimonies to fit the age we were working with. The kids would smile and stare at us in silence or ask silly questions but it was evident that they were so joyful we were there.
Speaking of the kids I think I can safely speak for all of my team members when I say I was shocked at the amount of energy that those kids have. Wow. Anyone of them could audition for the energizer bunny and easily become the new mascot! Their endless smiles and constant laughter was delightful and made for a truly spectacular day. The kids favorite game to play, aside from football of course, was meeka. I can't tell you exactly what meeka means but I'm guessing it means "tag, you're it!" Whether you were in conversation or not, if you were an able bodied individual you had to be constantly on the look out because there was a very good chance a child would run up to you, pinch your stomach and shout "meeka!" It was often followed by a taunting that begged for retaliation and a great game of chase. There was never any rhyme or reason to it and you could easily have three kids pinch you in a matter of seconds but that was the fun of it. No one ever won and no won ever lost but those kids just kept running until we were near panting. I didn't see a single kid pant but I saw every team member exhausted at some point! Recess was the truest form of a controlled chaos I have ever seen in my life. When the bell rang to dismiss the kids, the seemingly small and quiet courtyard teemed with life and the basketball court would easily be holding two different games of football, countless games of meeka, kids riding piggyback and many different passing conversations that meandered through the games. Somehow despite the overwhelming amount of things going on, everything worked smoothly and collisions were scarce. At one point this morning I looked at my watch and my jaw dropped when I discovered it was only 10am. My mind was truly boggled as to how much we had already fit into our day!
After the morning session we grabbed a quick lunch at subway and then headed back to the school for afternoon classes with a completely new set of students. At this point everyone in our group was tired and nap ready but the afternoon classes had a whole new set of children to love on and so we boarded our van with tired but overfilling hearts ready to love more people. Monday afternoons in the school are always civil day and a presentation was put on where we were given the opportunity to sing our national anthem and the song How great is our God. We of course slipped in our very own Hannah original complete with beat boxing to accompany the wonderful gospel tunes of her catchy little tune. After the assembly normal structure of English class, P.E. And more testimonies began again. It was a truly a wonderful day at the school and we all look forward to going back again tomorrow!
Around 5pm we left the school and headed back to the Thomas-Rodriguez community to pass out water filters. It was incredible. Humberto shared the gospel and talked about the living water of Christ and then demonstrated how to use the water filters. The pure joy and happiness on the peoples faces when they saw the dirty water get purified into crystal clear drinking water was an incredible sight. They have so little but they are always smiling and always cheerful. To be able to show them how to use the filters, a tool that will change their life, was incredible. While the adults were being shown how to use the filters, the children were teaching me and some other group members some songs in Spanish, and we attempted to sing father Abraham to them in Spanish. It was a slight struggle but it was wonderful to spend time with the children and they found our attempts to be quite amusing.
I have been in this country for not even two full days and already I have been humbled by the true joy that these people have with so little. It is evident that God is at work in this beautiful country and I am humbled and blessed to play a role in this ministry. Thank you so much for your prayers, love and support!
~ Natasha
Speaking of the kids I think I can safely speak for all of my team members when I say I was shocked at the amount of energy that those kids have. Wow. Anyone of them could audition for the energizer bunny and easily become the new mascot! Their endless smiles and constant laughter was delightful and made for a truly spectacular day. The kids favorite game to play, aside from football of course, was meeka. I can't tell you exactly what meeka means but I'm guessing it means "tag, you're it!" Whether you were in conversation or not, if you were an able bodied individual you had to be constantly on the look out because there was a very good chance a child would run up to you, pinch your stomach and shout "meeka!" It was often followed by a taunting that begged for retaliation and a great game of chase. There was never any rhyme or reason to it and you could easily have three kids pinch you in a matter of seconds but that was the fun of it. No one ever won and no won ever lost but those kids just kept running until we were near panting. I didn't see a single kid pant but I saw every team member exhausted at some point! Recess was the truest form of a controlled chaos I have ever seen in my life. When the bell rang to dismiss the kids, the seemingly small and quiet courtyard teemed with life and the basketball court would easily be holding two different games of football, countless games of meeka, kids riding piggyback and many different passing conversations that meandered through the games. Somehow despite the overwhelming amount of things going on, everything worked smoothly and collisions were scarce. At one point this morning I looked at my watch and my jaw dropped when I discovered it was only 10am. My mind was truly boggled as to how much we had already fit into our day!
After the morning session we grabbed a quick lunch at subway and then headed back to the school for afternoon classes with a completely new set of students. At this point everyone in our group was tired and nap ready but the afternoon classes had a whole new set of children to love on and so we boarded our van with tired but overfilling hearts ready to love more people. Monday afternoons in the school are always civil day and a presentation was put on where we were given the opportunity to sing our national anthem and the song How great is our God. We of course slipped in our very own Hannah original complete with beat boxing to accompany the wonderful gospel tunes of her catchy little tune. After the assembly normal structure of English class, P.E. And more testimonies began again. It was a truly a wonderful day at the school and we all look forward to going back again tomorrow!
Around 5pm we left the school and headed back to the Thomas-Rodriguez community to pass out water filters. It was incredible. Humberto shared the gospel and talked about the living water of Christ and then demonstrated how to use the water filters. The pure joy and happiness on the peoples faces when they saw the dirty water get purified into crystal clear drinking water was an incredible sight. They have so little but they are always smiling and always cheerful. To be able to show them how to use the filters, a tool that will change their life, was incredible. While the adults were being shown how to use the filters, the children were teaching me and some other group members some songs in Spanish, and we attempted to sing father Abraham to them in Spanish. It was a slight struggle but it was wonderful to spend time with the children and they found our attempts to be quite amusing.
I have been in this country for not even two full days and already I have been humbled by the true joy that these people have with so little. It is evident that God is at work in this beautiful country and I am humbled and blessed to play a role in this ministry. Thank you so much for your prayers, love and support!
~ Natasha
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Greetings from El Salvador to all of our friends and family!! As the team got ready to leave at 5 am from Messiah's campus, it was the start of unknown adventures! We found out that two of the team members did not have their passports! Coach John had to end up going home to look for his passport while the rest of the team was looking for my passport! We looked all over campus for it a few times, after this it was still not found. By this time, I started freaking out and the team had to leave for the airport forcing me to continue looking for it! I found it by the wonderful grace of God at a local diner that we had eaten at the night before. I got to the airport in just the right amount of time to board the plane! The team was the biggest support ever and their prayers are really what I believe caused the passport to be found! They all cheered when it was found and gave me hugs when they saw me. This is the greatest group of team members ever!
It was smooth sailing to Atlanta and then the plane to El Salvador was delayed 2 hours because of mechanical problems! Satan really tried to attack today as we left, but we got to El Salvador and know that God is bigger than anything!
We met the sports outreach international leader, Humberto Alvarez, had lunch at Pollo Campero(our KFC). Tonight we visited a developing community to love people, and ask if they wanted water filters! Theses communities really opened our eyes to deep poverty in the world but also, we were amazed at how happy the people were with what they have. It is an eye opening experience for college students from the United States who are so privileged!
All in all, it was a very long and adventurous day, but we all saw God at work and we are so excited to start the week serving a God who is bigger than all things and who is Alive and present all around us! Your prayers are continually appreciated as we start this amazing week of service! We look forward to seeing what God is going to do!!
-Christie
It was smooth sailing to Atlanta and then the plane to El Salvador was delayed 2 hours because of mechanical problems! Satan really tried to attack today as we left, but we got to El Salvador and know that God is bigger than anything!
We met the sports outreach international leader, Humberto Alvarez, had lunch at Pollo Campero(our KFC). Tonight we visited a developing community to love people, and ask if they wanted water filters! Theses communities really opened our eyes to deep poverty in the world but also, we were amazed at how happy the people were with what they have. It is an eye opening experience for college students from the United States who are so privileged!
All in all, it was a very long and adventurous day, but we all saw God at work and we are so excited to start the week serving a God who is bigger than all things and who is Alive and present all around us! Your prayers are continually appreciated as we start this amazing week of service! We look forward to seeing what God is going to do!!
-Christie
Friday, May 16, 2014
Sawyer Splash Zone
Hello friends and family!
The 2014 El Salvador team has assembled for training! We are in Messiah's campus getting prepared for our departure on Sunday, and we are beyond excited to see how God will work.
We began the morning by learning about Sawyer products. We were given awesome quality bug spray to dump on our clothes, super protectant sun screen, and filters for our water bottles! Clean water is a real need in El Salvador, and Sawyer is making a huge impact by distributing water filters through trips like this one! These filters are amazing, they are guaranteed to filter a million gallons of water, enough to last a lifetime. As we will be encouraging our new friends to experience the living water of Christ, we will also be providing them with the physical water that they need so very much.
We are getting to know each other by sharing stories over meals and playing spirited games of spoons! We have shared our testimonies and prayed together, and we are committed to splashing the living water of Christ on everyone around us. God is working, we have entered the splash zone!
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow within them."
John 7:38
Marissa
The 2014 El Salvador team has assembled for training! We are in Messiah's campus getting prepared for our departure on Sunday, and we are beyond excited to see how God will work.
We began the morning by learning about Sawyer products. We were given awesome quality bug spray to dump on our clothes, super protectant sun screen, and filters for our water bottles! Clean water is a real need in El Salvador, and Sawyer is making a huge impact by distributing water filters through trips like this one! These filters are amazing, they are guaranteed to filter a million gallons of water, enough to last a lifetime. As we will be encouraging our new friends to experience the living water of Christ, we will also be providing them with the physical water that they need so very much.
We are getting to know each other by sharing stories over meals and playing spirited games of spoons! We have shared our testimonies and prayed together, and we are committed to splashing the living water of Christ on everyone around us. God is working, we have entered the splash zone!
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow within them."
John 7:38
Marissa
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