Wednesday, July 1, 2009

 

Today was an exhausting but rewarding day.  The many miles of driving; the early alarms to catch the van by 7:00; the many encounters we have with the children; and just the drain of being in a foreign country and struggling with a foreign language are seen in the bodies of all of us.  But there is much joy in our faces because of the work that Jesus Christ is doing in El Salvador.  The team was on the bus at 7:00 AM for the second straight day and headed out for a full day of ministry.  Our destination was the area of Sonsonate, about an hour southwest of San Salvador.

 

Our host for the day was Pastor Guillermo and his wife, Mayra (My-ruh).  Pastor Guillermo has a fantastic testimony.  Ten years ago, Jesus Christ pulled him out of the drug trade through the prayers of another pastor.  Guillermo arrived at the home of this pastor with the intention to kill his son.  The pastor confronted Guillermo with a Bible and said to him, “Are you Guillermo?  I have been praying for you!  You did not come here tonight to kill anyone.  You came here because God has a message for you.”  Guillermo did not kill the man’s son and the pastor invited Guillermo to a lunch with business men, where he heard the good news of Jesus Christ.  That night he went home and flushed all of his drugs down the toilet and stopped using drugs.  He has not used any drugs since that night.

 

That was over 10 years ago.  Today, Pastor Guillermo and his wife minister at their church and work with the schools and the poor in Sonsonate.  The have four children and the older three are youth and Sunday School leaders in their church.  Pastor Corleto supports his family as a business owner.  He owns an auto mechanic business, a car sales business, and a car wash.  God has blessed Pastor Guillermo with leadership, not only in Sonsonate, but all of El Salvador.  He is the vice-president of the inter-denominational council of pastors for El Salvador, with over 5,000 members.

 

The first school the team visited was Centro Escolar La Coquera.  After two days, the drama team is working well together and the children are very attentive.  One drama is humorous and all of the children are laughing throughout.  The second drama is much more intense and tells a powerful message of redemption.  The older children grasp the message and the younger children are still enthralled with the story.  It is amazing to see the children’s faces as the drama unfolds.  After the drama, the message is clearly explained so that everyone can understand.

 

The teachers at all of the schools sacrifice so much.  There are precious few supplies and the classrooms are hot and sometimes crowded.  The kindergarten teacher at Centro Escolar La Coquera is Dina Luz Monge Ramirez.  “Lucy” has been teaching for only one year.  She said she started teaching after staying home to raise her children.  Her son is a first grader at the same school.  “Lucy” said her greatest joy in teaching kindergarteners is when they comprehend the lesson and she can see they are really learning.  “Lucy” was very helpful to our team when we shared the gospel story through the gospel bead bracelets.  We need to pray for “Lucy” and all of the teachers in El Salvador.  Like many teachers everywhere, they teach because they love the children.  Even more so in El Salvador where the conditions and supplies are challenging.  Praise God for these believers, like “Lucy”,  who give so much for His children.