El Salvador, Day 2
03/14/2010
Hola from El Salvador!
Our team of ten arrived safely in San Salvador yesterday afternoon after about six hours in the air, not including a one-hour layover in Houston. Once we passed through customs, we were greeted by Strelize, our guide/liaison while we are here. On the way to the Potter's Field Ranch in San Martin, where we are staying, Pastor Alejandro of the church here on the property got into a minor car accident on the highway. Thankfully no one was injured, but please keep it in your prayers as there will be some necessary repairs.
We began our day today around 5:30am and were out of the house by 6:30am. We went to the Calvary Chapel in San Salvador, where we served breakfast to the children participating in the soccer league. The children go to Sunday school each week before playing soccer, but because the church found that many of them were not eating beforehand, they began a ministry to serve them breakfast each Sunday. It was eye-opening to see that of the fifty kids that we served, there was hardly any food wasted, which is a testament to how valued a simple meal is. Once the children left to go to their classes, we helped clean up, then loaded back into the van to serve with Campos Blancos.
Campos Blancos is a ministry that reaches out to children in local neighborhoods who might not otherwise be able to go to church, often because their parents either are not interested or do not have the money to take the bus to go to church. This ministry allows church to go to the children, and without it they might grow up never knowing Jesus Christ. One of the amazing things was that the local leaders went around the neighborhood to individual houses, knocking on doors and inviting the children out. Once the children were all gathered, we formed a circle with them, sang songs in Spanish, and played some games with them. They then had a lesson about King Solomon and staying on the right path in life. Afterward we were able to play with them, handing out Jesus necklaces and bracelets with scriptural references.
We got back to the church in time for the 10:00am service. Although the service was in Spanish and we hardly understood anything being said, we felt a universal connection that comes with Christians gathering for praise and worship, even despite the language barrier.
By 12:15pm, we were back at the Potter's Field property, and after a delicious lunch at 12:30pm, most of us took a siesta after being awake for seven hours already. At 3:00pm, we finally got a chance to meet the boys from the orphanage one-on-one, playing baseball, flying kites, and doing face painting for them. The boys here are aged 2 to 14, so it was great to be able to connect with all of them for a few hours. We loved seeing the boys watch after each other, helping each other with kites and toys. One of the boys, Alexis, was having trouble flying his kite because it was broken, so when Diego saw him struggling, he came over and gave him his own kite. Several other incidents showed us that the boys really take care of each other.
Around 6:15pm, we had dinner with the boys, so the team split up into different tables to talk with them. Since most of us do not know Spanish, it was difficult at first to communicate with them, but slowly we overcame our shyness and were able to say simple phrases and use extensive facial expressions and hand gestures.
After dinner, the team had a debrief to talk about how we felt about our first day. Many of us were shocked by the disparities between life in America and life here. Most of us were struck by the poverty here, and also the people's sense of gratitude for the things that they do have. Many of us also felt guilty for our materialism at home and overindulgence in things that the people here don't even think about. But all of us are anxious and excited for the days to come and the opportunities that God will give us to minister to the people here.
Some of our prayer requests so far:
- Pray for the boys here at the orphanage and that they would continue to walk with the Lord as they grow older. Also pray for some of the younger boys, who are sick.
- The well here at the property is broken, so pray for the necessary resources to get it fixed.
- Please pray also for the minor car accident that Pastor Alejandro was involved in.
- Finally, please pray for our ministry throughout this week. Tomorrow we will be helping paint a local church and visiting a children's hospital ward.
Hola from El Salvador!
Our team of ten arrived safely in San Salvador yesterday afternoon after about six hours in the air, not including a one-hour layover in Houston. Once we passed through customs, we were greeted by Strelize, our guide/liaison while we are here. On the way to the Potter's Field Ranch in San Martin, where we are staying, Pastor Alejandro of the church here on the property got into a minor car accident on the highway. Thankfully no one was injured, but please keep it in your prayers as there will be some necessary repairs.
We began our day today around 5:30am and were out of the house by 6:30am. We went to the Calvary Chapel in San Salvador, where we served breakfast to the children participating in the soccer league. The children go to Sunday school each week before playing soccer, but because the church found that many of them were not eating beforehand, they began a ministry to serve them breakfast each Sunday. It was eye-opening to see that of the fifty kids that we served, there was hardly any food wasted, which is a testament to how valued a simple meal is. Once the children left to go to their classes, we helped clean up, then loaded back into the van to serve with Campos Blancos.
Campos Blancos is a ministry that reaches out to children in local neighborhoods who might not otherwise be able to go to church, often because their parents either are not interested or do not have the money to take the bus to go to church. This ministry allows church to go to the children, and without it they might grow up never knowing Jesus Christ. One of the amazing things was that the local leaders went around the neighborhood to individual houses, knocking on doors and inviting the children out. Once the children were all gathered, we formed a circle with them, sang songs in Spanish, and played some games with them. They then had a lesson about King Solomon and staying on the right path in life. Afterward we were able to play with them, handing out Jesus necklaces and bracelets with scriptural references.
We got back to the church in time for the 10:00am service. Although the service was in Spanish and we hardly understood anything being said, we felt a universal connection that comes with Christians gathering for praise and worship, even despite the language barrier.
By 12:15pm, we were back at the Potter's Field property, and after a delicious lunch at 12:30pm, most of us took a siesta after being awake for seven hours already. At 3:00pm, we finally got a chance to meet the boys from the orphanage one-on-one, playing baseball, flying kites, and doing face painting for them. The boys here are aged 2 to 14, so it was great to be able to connect with all of them for a few hours. We loved seeing the boys watch after each other, helping each other with kites and toys. One of the boys, Alexis, was having trouble flying his kite because it was broken, so when Diego saw him struggling, he came over and gave him his own kite. Several other incidents showed us that the boys really take care of each other.
Around 6:15pm, we had dinner with the boys, so the team split up into different tables to talk with them. Since most of us do not know Spanish, it was difficult at first to communicate with them, but slowly we overcame our shyness and were able to say simple phrases and use extensive facial expressions and hand gestures.
After dinner, the team had a debrief to talk about how we felt about our first day. Many of us were shocked by the disparities between life in America and life here. Most of us were struck by the poverty here, and also the people's sense of gratitude for the things that they do have. Many of us also felt guilty for our materialism at home and overindulgence in things that the people here don't even think about. But all of us are anxious and excited for the days to come and the opportunities that God will give us to minister to the people here.
Some of our prayer requests so far:
- Pray for the boys here at the orphanage and that they would continue to walk with the Lord as they grow older. Also pray for some of the younger boys, who are sick.
- The well here at the property is broken, so pray for the necessary resources to get it fixed.
- Please pray also for the minor car accident that Pastor Alejandro was involved in.
- Finally, please pray for our ministry throughout this week. Tomorrow we will be helping paint a local church and visiting a children's hospital ward.
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