SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador July 28, 2008 — Today our group made it to 3 sites. The first was a school established by missionary in Santa Ana, El Savador. We spoke to a large group of school kids who really enjoyed what we had to offer. The next 2 sites were indescribeable. The first was a refugee camp which was privately owned. The people living here were all displaced by a volcano 3 years ago. All the houses were made of tarps and sticks surrounded by barbed wire. Nobody was close to being clean, and very few had access to clean water, but the spirit moved in our group to reach these people. We prayed with many, played games with the kids and had a very successful gospel bead presentation. The third site was a government owned refugee camp. We delivered clothing to 200 families and had fun with the children. It was a blessing to see these hopeless people smile and take delight in our sharing the message of truth.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 28,2008 — Today our group had the opportunity to go to 2 refugee camps. The amount of hopelessness was awful. We can give these people clothing, food, medical supplies, but what they really need is hope in something eternal. The food will get eaten, the clothing will rip or get too small, and medical supplies will run out, but the love of Jesus Christ and the hope in eternal salvation will never go away. Those who drink of that fountain shall thirst no more. Any organization can deliver food and supplies, which are wonderful, and many secular organizations are doing this. Being one of the few Christian organizations these people will ever see, our group has really felt the conviction of needing to spread hope above all other things. If we never showed up, the food would eventually be delivered, and the clothing might eventually keep them covered, but they would not receive hope. Every member of our group has hope in eternal life. That is what we seek to spread. These people will most likely never be offered anything from the world, but they have been offered a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They just need to be told about it. The harvest is certainly plentiful, but this field needs more workers to tell them the joys of eternal life and salvation.      

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 28,2008 — Today, GAiN got to work with Convoy of Hope again at both of the refugee camps we visited. At both sites, there were hopeless people who were displaced by a volcanic eruption 3 years ago. The first of the two was privately owned, and was operated very cheaply. Most of the houses were not much more than tarps and sticks, while a few had sheets or corrugated aluminum. Recently, a well was dug at someone’s house to provide water for the community. The water was so bad, most of the locals could barely drink it. The COH international director told us that 80% of the people in El Salvador’s hospitals are there from drinking unclean water.El-Salv-Water_Purifier2.JPG He showed us a very simple device. It was a large plastic box with a hole in the bottom. In the bottom there were pebbles, topped with rough sand, topped with finer sand. It was filled with water 2 inches above the top of the sand. This amazingly simple device can instantly clean the 60% of the contaminants from the water, and as the good bacterias form over the following weeks, that simple filter will remove 98-99% of the contaminants. and the beauty of it is, as long as the plastic remains intact, it will never need replacing or servicing. I was able to witness first hand as the COH director poured dirty, tinted water in and crystal clear water came out of the pipe. It was truly amazing. There is a great need for more of these in this country!