The mission trip continues to go well in Jamaica. The team of high schoolers from LCBC are great!!
It is Thursday evening and we just finished day 4 of the VBS in Mammee River. Ken Christian is the deacon in charge of the Mammee River church plant and he told me today that it is by far the best VBS they have run. Many young people are coming to Christ. (And adults too!)
Yesterday after VBS the team ministered to kids in a public park in a very bad part of Kingston. And this afternoon they met with the older kids in Mammee River for fun, food and sharing. Many of the young people opened up with the team members.
Thanks for your prayers. Please keep supporting us in prayer for one more day. Blessings on you all.
It is Tuesday evening and we have just completed day 2 of the VBS at Mammee River near Kingston. Things are going well. Many young people, and adults, have been touched. And there are many unchurched people attending. Pray that God touches their heart and that they respond to the Good News. The VBS runs all week.
After VBS today the team did a “walk about” and distributed food to poor families. They also had the chance to pray for them and be see how they live. Tomorrow after VBS they are doing a ministry in a local park with kids that Campus Crusade has been trying to reach for the Lord. I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for your prayers. Ask God to draw people into his Kingdom.
The youth team from LCBC arrived in Kingston yesterday evening and had a great trip. This week they will be helping to conduct a VBS in the Mammee River church plant just outside of Kingston.
Today the team attending a very warm and very long service at the church in Mammee River. We can tell that the are excited about the week ahead. This afternoon we visited the Jamaican National Children’s Home orphanage. The team put on a wonderful program and we had a delightful time interacting with the kids.
Tomorrow morning the VBS begins. We are expecting between 100-120 children from the community. More later. Thank you for your prayers. Ask God to change lives.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Today was a very good day for the team. We visited our last community and distributed food and care packs. Everyone that was there was so happy that we came. We were able to share the Gospel with the kids and some adults. The Lord is a wonderful provider and has given us a couple of interpreters that are clowns by profession. The kids here loved it. After leaving that site we went to do some shopping at the local marketplace, then we went to spend some time at the beach house of one of the local families here that is trying to make a difference in the community and in El Salvador. They own a coffee plantation and provide for the needs of the people by giving a percentage back as well as employing people for 15 days at a time so that all can have some sort of income. This helps the needy. The time at the beach house was a time for relaxing and spending time together as a team celebrating the 4th of July. We had a great time and prayed for our leaders and our country.
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Friday, July 3, 2009
Christ in Motion would be apt title for today’s ministry schedule for the GAiN El Salvador 09 team. The team collected early outside the office of a coffee plantation and prepared for departure. Tom M., our fearless leader divided the team into 4 groups and dispatched each with an assignment.
Passing through Ahuachapan 2 groups ascended the lush foliage covered hills in a small but true Convoy of Hope. The air was full with the scent of flowers, fruiting trees, freshly cut grass and all things green. The cool morning breeze was full of the unfulfilled promise of rain. Reaching Mission Davtista, over 1300 meters above sea level, one group fed the ‘spirit’ of the hundred or so local children awaiting our arrival with songs, prayer, magic and a presentation of the Gospel using the Gospel Bead Bracelet. The other group fed the body of villagers passing out gifts of food provided by GAiN and its supporters.
The 2 remaining groups visited a school in the general area we visited on 7/2 and presented gifts of food and care packages. The teams shared a program consisting of games, songs, testimonies and the message of new life in Christ using the Gospel Bead Bracelet. Team member Dave K. also performed additional, essential water purification work.
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Thursday, July 2, 2009
God is great and greatly to be praised! Our devotional this morning was lead by team member Marsha G. Her topic was ‘Faith Through Troubles.’ Following this, team member Dave K. gave us a breakdown on how to build and install water filters. The highlight of today’s ministry – riding in the back of a truck to a coffee plantation. All of the team members worked diligently bringing the Gospel to the people and installing water filters. Thank-you very much for your support and continued prayers!
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.
Today was our second full day of travel in El Salvador and we got up extra early this morning (6 a.m. instead of 7) because the school we went to was only in session during the morning hours. On the bus ride, we enjoyed one of our daily devotionals from Leslie, who talked about how we need to humble ourselves as a team and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, to work through us.
We arrived at the Bonanza school (grades 1-6) around 8 a.m., where we were greeted warmly by the children peering out of their classrooms to see what all the excitement was about. Once we arrived, we performed a couple of skits, shared a little bit about our lives in America, and Jaye did a little magic show (probably the most popular amongst the younger kids). Afterwards, we broke up into 4 different classrooms (in our small groups) where we played some more games (my group in particular did an egg-race). When it came time for us to share our pictures which help tell our spiritual paths) and the gospel-bead bracelets, the kids were really responsive. A couple of girls, named Katya and Maria, gave me hugs; and it made me feel that I really do have a purpose here and God has put us here for a reason: and this is it! The principal told us that since they have no one at home to love them and care for them, they are so grateful we came along and showed them compassion and kindness: the things that they are missing in their lives.
After we were finished at the school, we went to the local mall, around 5 minutes from Hotel Siesta. There, we played a scavenger hunt game, where each small group had a list of tasks to complete in 2 hours: ranging from buying a candle, to seeing how many people each group could share the gospel bead bracelet. I believe that we were able to minister to more than 50 people at the mall, which was nice since they stopped what they were doing to listen what we had to say about God’s love for them.
Lastly, in the evening, we traveled to a homeless shelter where we served for a couple hours. There, Tim presented the gospel bead bracelet and Howard said a prayer to bless them and let them know that there is someone who loves them and desires to become part of their lives. It was really moving to see the way that so many people wanted God to lift the burden of their sins away: there were even people gathering outside to listen to what we had to say.