Always New

It shouldn't surprise yet somehow it always does.  As familiar as our trips to ask Salvador should be the Lord has something new for us to discover.  Today it was a conversation with the person beside me on the airplane (not Aynsley, the other side). I had just put the book I was reading in the magazine rack in front of me. Entitled, "When God Talks Back", it obviously caught his attention because he took it out and started to look at it and then proceeded to ask me questions about it.  Turns out that my new friend 's name is Jerome and he heads a mission team that also works in El Salvador.  Our discussion about how we've seen God reveal himself over the years was quite interesting and encouraging. Then he decided that I should talk to one his team members so they switched seats and I had the chance to share a little bit with Nancy. In the course of conversation she mentioned another team member Doug who, if I'm talking to God, could I talk to God about Doug. Doug's adult son died tragically about a year ago and Doug has struggled since that time. A couple months ago while on Vacation he had enough and shouted to God that he didn't want to go on like that anymore and wanted his life to count for something. That's when some friends connected him with Jerome and got him involved with this mission team.  Over the next 12 days would you pray for Doug, that he would find healing in Jesus and come to a place where he enters into relationship with Him. That was my promise to this team that we would pray. 

Well it's been a long day of travel and my little traveling buddy is gone to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day of meeting the families for whom we will be building houses. Thanks for your prayer and partnership. 

One Word

If we could describe our week in one word, this is the word we would choose:

Pat - inspirational 

Stan - impactful

Josh - humbling 

Brittany - David

Scott - galvanizing 

Karen-renewed

Matt - bouncy

Albert - gracias

Tiffany - love

Amanda - names

Deve - rhythm 

Ask us about it when we get home. 

I Saw Jesus Today

Just last month our church family took time to recognize and pray for children who have been orphaned or in the foster care system. Seeing as it's only December 5, I figure it's ok to extend it a few days. Today our team (they have all been amazing) visited Xodo - an orphanage outside of San Salvador. From the time you turn off the highway and roll past the pink concrete gate there is an incredible sense of God's protective care (read Psalm 91). All of these children are wards of the state, having been abandoned by their parents and having faced some form of neglect, physical or sexual abuse. None of these children, however, have been abandoned by their Heavenly Father. 

We were given the distinct privilege of painting some rooms for Xodo - rooms in need of much repair. It was hot humid and a whole lot of fun. 

More than that it was an opportunity to do something they couldn't do for themselves. After lunch all we did was "love" - we coloured with love;

 we did nails with love;

 we skipped role with love; 

we played basketball and soccer with love 

and we played with play dough with love 

And we ate ice cream with love and yummy toppings. 

- and a whole lot of laughter and joy. 

A few incredible things that stand out to me: 

- the Director remembered our team from our visit 4 years ago and thanked us for not forgetting the children. 

- the fact that some of these kids remember our team from two years ago. 

- the big hugs and warm smiles as we said our goodbyes. 

And the incredible overwhelming sense that we had just spent time in the presence of Jesus - who today had a small brown face, big brown hopeful eyes wide welcoming arms and a playful spirit - among the least of these. 

Would you join us in praying for the future of these kids and for the compassionate care they receive from a great team of leaders. 

Deve