Safely Home

The team is back in the USA and excited to catch up on some much needed sleep!

Yesterday was a perfect end to an incredible, God-filled trip. We spent the day with a focus on debriefing from the trip, sharing God stories and important aspects of the trip, as well as reflecting on the greatness of God this past week. We journeyed up a mountain as a team, and later saw even more of God’s creation on the beach.

The crew!

Our bodies are tired, and our souls are filled with a stronger passion to serve. This week was filled with life lessons, growth in Christ, and most importantly, bringing people to Christ. We travel home celebrating new friendships, both between team members and the awesome people in El Salvador, as well as new brothers and sisters in Christ!

Lady Falcs

 

No amount of words on a blog post can truly justify the magnitude of God’s presence and movement in El Salvador this past week, so you will have to ask your teammates, friends, and family members in person to find out how the trip went. I can promise you that each team member will have countless stories to tell.

We would all like to thank you for your prayer and support throughout the trip. Prayer is powerful, and we definitely felt a strong covering of prayer through the whole trip. Whether it was peace while sharing a testimony, strength to lead when we were nervous to do so, continued joy when we were exhausted, or God’s never-ending love flowing through each team member every day, God moved in some pretty neat ways this week, and you played a part in that. Blessings to you, and thanks be to God for saving lives, planting seeds, and revealing Himself in new ways every day, all around the world.

Iron Sharpens Iron

 

What better way to start a Sunday than to worship our Almighty God with other believers in church!  Today the team visited the El Salvador Church of God which supports Humberto’s mission work.  We were able to join in on celebrating the church’s 50^th anniversary of existence in this town and the 129^th anniversary of the Church of God as a whole.  Even though most of us could not understand all of the Spanish that was spoken, it was evident that God was moving in the room.  The love for Christ in the congregation was pouring out as we worshipped.  Our team was also able to donate some of the funds to the church that we raised through our support letters to further support their missions.  The church is reaching out in so many ways and is truly an example of being the hands and feet of Christ.

 

                After the service, we were able to reunite with the students in Humberto’s English class.  Many new friendships were made through fellowship with this specific group of students over the course of the week.  Humberto emphasized the opportunity the students had to practice their English and learn from our team; however, I believe most of us learned a lot, if not more, by talking to them.  It was certainly a blessing to be able to mix two cultures and fellowship under one name.  We were able to spend time with the class over lunch and a hike to a local volcano.  God’s creation and handiwork is extremely apparent in this beautiful country. 

 

                Our team closed the night with an adventure to a local fair, which was filled with much excitement and MANY laughs.  Watching the progression of friendship within the team has been an answer to a prayer many of us had diligently prayed for far before we stepped on the plane to leave for El Salvador.  New friendships have blossomed and old friendships have been strengthened.  It has been a beautiful experience to watch the gifts of each individual member unfold and fit perfectly into the role on the team and the role they play in God’s ultimate plan.  The encouragement and support we have provided each other along with strength from God has allowed us to maintain a high level of excitement even though our bodies our weary. 

Tonight I thank our Lord for my brothers and sisters in Christ, both nationally, and internationally. 

It’s all God.

Wow, these past two days have been full of activities, projects, testimonies, and the work of God. It has been so neat to see God moving in El Salvador, and seeing each team member serve and share Jesus in incredible ways.

 

Yesterday was a very busy day, as we first started out going into a local community, supported by past Sports Outreach Ministry trips. The community has grown quite a bit since SOI first began helping the community, and this year they finally have access to water 24/7. We had the opportunity to visit with families there, see crops, personally hand letters to a few families and children in the community that are sponsored by SOI, and pray with the precious children there. It was an eye-opening and humbling experience, as the living conditions there are nothing in comparison to our air conditioned bedrooms and washing machines at home. That being said, it was awesome to see the love of God working in that community, as it is a true testimony of God’s love for every person.

In the afternoon, we had a blast training with the swim team at the National Aquatic Center, and playing tennis there, as well. We were able to break into stroke groups and work on technique while also coaching and joining in on relays. While the Messiah Swimming ladies were definitely looking forward to swimming there, it was an awesome experience to have other AROMA team members and Messiah athletes step out of their comfort zone and join us in the pool.

 

After swim practice, we met with the team and shared a couple of life stories, followed by sharing the Gospel. It was so incredibly obvious that God was in the room that night. It is not often that you see 10 year old boys shedding tears while listening to older swimmers talk about their lives. God moved mountains that night, and several swimmers, as well as one of the coaches, accepted Christ. It was a truly amazing moment, filled with complete joy, healed wounds, and the purest love of Jesus speaking to an awesome group of swimmers.

 

Today was also super great, as our day was packed with various service projects, sports camps, and lots of punchy-tired laughter. In the morning, our team split up into 3 groups. One group went back to the community we visited yesterday to help make jewelry that the women there can sell to support their families. The second group traveled to a different community that SOI is beginning to reach out to. While there they performed a Sawyer Water Filter demo and gave out around 60-70 filters to the families in the community. The third group led a soccer camp for kids in the area. We all came together in the afternoon for another sports camp, where we taught tennis and lacrosse, followed by an impromptu soccer game with the El Salvador SOI staff. It was a very packed, totally fun-filled day of sharing the joy of Jesus with those around us.

While our bodies are exhausted, our hearts are continuously renewed which makes us excited to keep going. The realization that our strength comes only from God has been a clear revelation this week. We have been able to keep serving with a happy heart and a smile on our face, regardless of how weak our physical bodies feel.

God continues to do amazing things, here in El Salvador, and we pray we will continue to be used as His vessels in the coming days!

After spending the past two days helping primarily at the school, today we saw God at work in some new environments. But first we began the day by celebrating Ed’s in El Salvadorian style, complete with a surprise party at breakfast! It is so cool to see an individual with such a selfless heart, willing to serve others way before himself, even on a day that most would consider completely understandable to do otherwise. We are so blessed by him and his role and vital part on our team.

 

After breakfast, we visited an orphanage for special needs individuals, which appeared to be some of the most eye-opening, impactful, and emotional hours our team has spent together as a group. When we arrived at the orphanage (an amazing community of incredible residents, including many adults who have been there since their first years, and will continue to stay for life), we joined them in worship, before then taking a tour of the facility. While each team member will have their own stories to share, I believe it is safe to say that we were all very moved at the sights of the countless wheelchairs, a vast array of disabilities, and a love that is so beautifully shown there. Without this orphanage, the individuals would more than likely be neglected, left out on the streets, and unable to survive. The stories that were shared about the residents’ backgrounds brought many to tears, but the tears shed today were also tears of joy, and flowed out of team members as we played, prayed, and sang with residents. We were given the opportunity to complete games and obstacle courses, while also talking and reading to them. The time with our friends there went much too fast, and our team has already been sharing ideas on how to further send help to the orphanage when we are back at school.

We were asked to refrain from taking pictures at the orphanage, but these beautiful words, while less than 1,000, are worth so much more than a picture could hold:

Brittany (Messiah Swimming)

“Going into the orphanage, I had a basic understanding of special needs since I am a special education major. However, nothing could have prepared me for what I say today. I could not tell you how many tears I shed. The people there were so beautiful in every single way. You could really feel God present. I saw Him in the way the people smiled when you said hello or held their hand. Their smiles melted my heart and I was so moved by them and it really set my heart on fire. These people have gone through more than anything anyone should ever have to go through in life. But the joy they brought was unmeasurable. It was tough to say goodbye and leave. But I know that God is with them and every single one of their beautiful faces will forever be in my heart and prayer.”

After the orphanage, the team ate a quick lunch before heading to serve in the pool and on the track. We split up our team into two groups, and had a fun afternoon of playing, training, and learning to lean on God.

Tara (Messiah Swimming)

“Amazing, crazy chaos. Those were the only words that I could get to come out of my mouth while talking to Coach Jon after our hour and a half of an impromptu special needs swim clinic. We knew we would be working with special needs children at the pool today (which I was beyond excited about), but when we changed into our swimsuits and walked onto the pool deck, we were told to lead the group of 60+ individuals, ranging in abilities and ages from about 3-18, with no instruction, no time frame, and no prep time. While we didn't have a lot, we had the one thing we needed-- Jesus. God was moving all around that pool today, and He could felt the moment we were told to lead. My "overly-prepare-everything" personality and near-heart attack were transformed into a heart rapidly beating with the love of Christ, a smile I  physically couldn’t wipe off my face, and a stronger peace  than I ever thought possible in such a situation. I am actually in tears writing, because I am still overwhelmed by the intense beauty that radiated on the pool deck today. Between the extreme joy that shined through every single one of those kids, to the incredibly passionate servant-like hearts that each team member shared with those they helped, that hour and a half resulted in changed hearts, renewed souls, and joy in the truest sense of the word. God was undeniably in that pool today, as waves of His great love flooded over everyone there.”

 

 

 

Brittany (Messiah Swimming)

“It was a joy to see so many faces today at the pool. The connections I make with the kids is my absolute favorite. I just love seeing them be so passionate about swimming. It was so moving to see kids with special needs swim. Even though these kids have setbacks, they persevere and nothing can stop them. If that is not God working, then I don’t know what is. The smiles on their faces is something I can never forget. To be able to come together, no matter how difficult we are or what we are going through, and swim and share the love of Jesus Christ, it just shows how similar we are. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and He loves and holds us all.”

 

On the other side of the pool, a huge stadium was filled with incredible athletes, and the awesome hand of God. While the Messiah Track runners worked with many of the athletes, other team members used their God-given gifts to sped the love of Christ, as well. Connor, not being a cross country runner, found a way to reach out to a few of the older boys. He went through a few drills and learned some new techniques on lifting. Afterwards, he had another opportunity to preach the gospel through his testimony. As he spoke, Helen did an amazing job of translating his story. As he proceeded to share, more and more athletes were drawn in to listen. God was working in and through so many people today, and while many friendships were made, we were also able to share the most important friend there is… the friend we have in Jesus.

 

 

The first two full days in El Salvador have been packed FULL of sports, sweat, and our loving Savior. We have been working at the school, teaching PE classes and English lessons, and serving milk and cookies, leading swim and soccer practices, and sharing Jesus!

It has been so cool to see the incredible gifts each team member has been given, and even more than that, seeing those gifts be used to their best abilities. Yesterday we had hours upon hours of fun playing football, and other various PE class activities. Furthermore, many of the team members did a stellar job teaching English to multiple classes, and served with the most humble hearts in doing so. As with the other activities, passing out milk and cookies was also a very cool and humbling experience, as many of the students who received the snack would most likely get no other food that day. In addition, when the lines of students settled down, team members had the opportunity to share pure joy with Preschoolers- a language that has no barriers.

Day two:  

We woke up VERY sore and very excited for another day at the school. We split up PE classes into stations, giving team members the ability to focus more on teaching the sport God has placed as a passion in their life. The track stars led amazing classes, filled with races, games, and some of the biggest hearts this world has seen. In addition, the tennis champs filled class time with awesome relays, coordination drills, and lots of laughter, while the Lacrosse crew brought a whole new sport to the school- and it was a HUGE hit! The kids undeniably had a fantastic time, and the team members feel the same way.

While many of the team members finished out the day of teaching PE, several of us trekked over to the National Pool facilities, where we had the opportunity to lead a dryland and in-water practice (complete with a fun group relay to end out the day!).

Several of the team members, Emily and Autumnn, were able to share their testimonies and Brian, from Sawyer, shared the gospel message and an invitation for salvation. One thing that we have been learning is that we are not the ones who plant the seeds of Jesus’s grace in people’s hearts, but we can water them. We have no idea where people are at when they hear the Gospel but if we share with a servant’s heart God will bless that.

Furthermore, the other team members were able to teach more English lessons tonight, while a few went to teach soccer, give sneakers, and share the loving care of Jesus through testimonies. Connor had the opportunity to share his story with the group of children, and as he spoke, Devin was able to translate for him. It was great to see them connecting with the kids and breaking language barriers while sharing the Gospel.

God is so good! It has only been two days, but God is moving in incredible ways. We are all excited to see where God leads us the rest of this week! Thank you all for the prayers!

 

Here are several pics taken from the past two days! Enjoy!

 

English classes

not your typical class pet!

Ed is training to join the Messiah Soccer Team, obviously.

The human jungle-gym!

We love FUTBOL!

The LAX champ! No ACL surgery can stop her from sharing the love of the sport AND Jesus!

Swim Team dryland at the National Aquatic Center

WE LOVE SWIMMING

Just for kicks and giggles

Rapido!

Ready for PE class

Tennis with "Dad" (aka Coach Jon!)

pure joy

Running on Iced Tea, Cola, and Jesus

We made it! Today started with an early morning (3:30am for some!), and we continued non-stop until right now, where we are currently struggling to make words come out of our mouths, or type on the computer. In other words, this blog post will be very short!

Traveling to El Savy with "Uncle Travy"

We had an AWESOME day, meeting some absolutely incredible individuals and becoming adjusted to El Salvador living. After we landed, we grabbed some lunch, dropped our luggage off, and spent the evening teaching English lessons with Humberto, his wife, and many other friendly faces. We had the opportunity to chat one-on-one with the students, and exchange questions, exciting stories, and bond over the love Jesus has for us all, which breaks down any language barrier. It was such a blessing to see the love they had for getting to know people, and a truly humbling experience for us to see how hard they work to learn English. (Many of the students have only been speaking English for one year, and are actually incredibly smooth while carrying on a discussion.)

Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious bedtime snack before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.  We watched in awe as pupusas were created on the stove right before our eyes.  This popular local food was given 5 stars by our team!  

 

We will have an early start tomorrow as we head into the school to teach more English, assist with PE classes, and help in the kitchen.  

 

Our prayers have been with our Zambian team as they will have arrived today after MANY hours of flying!   

 More pics from today:

The crew!

English Lessons at the church!