getting settled and ready for a visit

We have arrived safely at our place of abode for the next five nights!  The ride was in a nice mini coach -bus with air conditioning and the driver did a great job of avoiding the many potholes and other dangers on the road.  The road was surprisingly not busy, actually - not much traffic, for the most part.  We had Pizza-Hut Pizza pockets and bottled water and/or coke (and apples and little candies) in our to-go lunches.  The Pizza pockets were great!

We set up our room (maybe 30' x 15', or so) with all our stuff.  There are bunk beds for all - with mattresses! There are fans going too, to keep it comfortable.

We are now gathered around in the kitchen (an open area in the centre of the home) and our translator, who just arrived, is translating for our hosts who are introducing themselves now.  A very sad story about loss of some dear friends has just been related to us, and we are learning a bit about how they became established here, along with 4 churches that they started.  They originally did not have a good welcome here because of their faith in Christ. After 3 months of being here,  sent by the church, with no friends, in difficult conditions, his wife wanted to return home.   They are still here!  We are learning a bit about their grown children, and how they assist as well.  We are learning about some of their ministries, including guitar classes, crafts, and celebrating birthdays for about 100 children, and a women's group with about 80 to 100 women, and a meeting every Saturday for Men with testimonials, praying, and sharing together and having coffee and a talk for families.  Also a program for men and women ages 40-50 or so and they fix lunch for them and have bible classes with them.  They have a football/soccer program.  They teach about Jesus and about soccer.

With the help from Canada, they have experienced greater openness to the gospel here from the locals.  Because of our efforts, people have a different concept of evangelical Christians now.  A lady a while ago asked if they are the kind of Christians who like to fight or what are they?  We can share our testimonies with people or pray with people if we feel led to do so by the Lord.  The reason the Lord has brought us all here is to share the Love of Christ.  People see and respond to the love that we bring.

When the farming project was started, they asked for help from men from the Community and some help twice a week in exchange for a good lunch that is prepared for them.  Tough men have seen the love of Christ through us.  They would like to be like "real evangelicals".  We need to resemble Christ to them.

We are about to decide if we are going to go visit a worksite now - and it is lightly raining now, and darkness seems to be falling soon.  It is currently 4:30 and dinner will be at 6:00 PM.

Our pickup truck / cattle truck has just arrived to pick us up.  We do need to go to the grocery store (a couple blocks from here) but we want to meet families before we show up tomorrow, if possible.  The local shops, we have been advised, should not be trusted to sell us clean water (even if bottled), and we need to get some, and maybe some Gatorade.

We will go to the worksite and then the grocery store.  We will then go for diner at 7:00pm.  We can munch on our snacks in the meantime....and now we are ready to go! :)


Matt

Safe arrival in El Salvador.

We have safely arrived in El Salvador. The flight was smooth and we could see clearly from the airplane the lush green patchwork of fields and we even had a view of a beautiful rainbow from the top of the rainbow!!! We went through Customs and Immigration so smoothly although I had been prepared for difficulty. We got all our medical supplies and donations through without a hitch. The first thing I noticed was the heat and not being able to read the signs. Need to learn Spanish!
The first night we stayed in a nice hotel and I felt guilty because we
stayed in a beautiful hotel with a wonderful bed in preparation for our move to the remote hills of El Salvador today. I'm so excited because I just found out that we are going to be able to have a medical clinic in the village where the people are so poor they cannot even afford a Tylenol for pain and they cannot afford to travel to a doctor or a hospital. There was enough support raised to buy 2 medical kits with $2500.00 worth of medical supplies.
Everyone is packing up now to move to the town of Victoria after we attend a church service in San Salvador which is a city like Sarnia or London, and they are waiting on me so I must go.

Joan

Bring It On!

Well, here we are all safe and sound and tucked away for the evening at the airport hotel. It's (almost) beginning to feel a bit like home here... Everything and everyone made it safely through customs at the airport...even the medical kit was inspected and waved on through.Praise God for that!! We have had a swim in the pool and a lovely hot shower followed by a delicious buffet dinner. And we have had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Ricardo from a church in San Salvador. Wow! What passion and excitement for the Lord's work where we are headed in Victoria tomorrow. He has got a plan and he's so thrilled that our church wanted to send a team to help him with that dream.  It's just so like what our SEMC church is living out each day...get to know people where they are at and find ways to bless them right there. Our love for the Lord will help draw them into their own relationships with Him. So cool! I am ready.  Ready, to head out of here tomorrow and finally see what a room built to sleep 11 really looks like! I am ready to meet some fantastic new people! I am ready for what the Lord is going to teach me this week! I am ready to run in the other direction if we hold a medical clinic (hahahaha)!!

Amanda.