El Salvador Mission Trip - Part 7 - Thursday July 18

Today was Green shirt day, our last full day of ministry.  Up at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00 after a devotion time together in the meeting room.  We left at 7:30 for Santa Ana, about an hour or so away.

Our morning session was at a nice school.  After songs, skits, testimony and gospel word, the children returned to their rooms and our team broke up and went to each room to help them make a craft.  Some of us stayed back and made balloon animals.

Time ran out, and we left for lunch.  I hate to say where again.  If you have read these words, you know where we ate lunch.  Fill in the blanks - P___________   C_________________.
Then we went to the city park, an open area with a lot of people, many evidently in need.  Our group met in the center of the park at a gazebo and we did our ministry.

Immediately at the end of our work, a high school parade passed by. very loud.  Thankfully we were able to do our songs and skits first.  Pastor Jesus and I walked the square, finding people to talk to and pray with.

Then we went to a church nearby for an evening service.  It was a small congregation but they were a very nice and loving group of people. 

Another heavy rain preceded us on our way back to the hotel. 
there are many other details, small or not so small, that I am not mentioning in this diary.  I am merely attempting to capture a few of the highlights.

El Salvador Trip Part 6 - Wednesday July 17

Blue shirt day....heading to Apopa, less than an hour away.
We first went to a smaller school, with 4 teachers.  I prayed with each teacher as well as the principal.
Each school meeting that we conduct has songs, a testimony, skits, a brief gospel message, and for many of them we also had VBS crafts or animal balloons.

After lunch at _________   _____________  ( you know where), we went to another school close by.  I met a boy names Giovanni who addressed me in English. 

We left after 4:00 and headed back to San Salvador.  We dropped off our things in our hotel room and walked the block to the church nearby where we had a homemade Korean dinner that the ladies of the church helped to prepare. 

Later we had a church service with pastor Lee bringing the word from Acts 3.  He had asked us to read the book of Acts back in the States before we ever left.  During the service we had the first rain of the week - a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning. 

Not much to report today, and I am unable to download my photos from today. Sorry.  We weren't really tired yet, but perhaps weariness was beginning to approach.

El Salvador Trip - Part 5 - Tuesday July 16 - Usulatan

Today was yellow shirt day.  Up at 6:00, devotions together at 6:30, I read from Matthew 13 - the seed and the soil.  Breakfast at 7:00 and on the road at 7:30.  We rode for 2-3 hours, to Usulatan (sp?).  All 3 of our meetings were in the same church.

We had a morning sessions with the morning school and an afternoon session with the afternoon school.  In between we ate at......where else?.....Pollo Campero

3 piece crispy, white slaw, fries, no refills on drinks.  The afternoon group was much larger.  The building was packed, with a lot standing as well.  When the school session ended, we almost directly went into a church service there.  At the end we handed out several suitcases of clothing.

Some of the ladies on our team did face painting.

Well, we left in the evening.  Outside stood two armed guards/soldiers with rifles/machine guns.  We drove back to San Salvador and ate at Burger King. It was almost like the US.

n armed guard patrolled the parking lot.

 

Back at the hotel we had a group meeting to assess the day.  Pastor Lee said, "Because you are tired, you have to praise more."  We went around our circle of about 35 and each person spoke briefly.

I am unable to download/upload many of the photos from my phone.  One of them was of lichee, what I call a hairy strawberry that we ate.  It was good.

 

In bed after midnight, tired, but in a good way.......

El Salvador Trip - Part 4 - Monday July 15 - La Union

So we got up at 5:00, and breakfast was at 5:45 and we were on the bus by 6:15.
It was a 3-4 hour ride to La Union.  Our first stop was at a school, with an open-air covered meeting area, with probably 250 students.  It was hot but not unbearable.  Lunch was at Pollo Campero, again. 

Then we drove to another school nearby.  Along with our skits we also made animal balloons at this school.  It was very hot by then.  We stayed hydrated with bottled water.

Finally we drove to another community close by, an open area surrounded by homes, like in a square.  We used the 2 buses to provide shade from the setting sun.  At each location one of our team members gave a testimony and a gospel message.   

 

We left before dark, and on the way "home" stopped at a shopping center.  Our group danced a body worship number outside in the open area.  That was cool.  Then we ate at a Pizza Hut (yes they had that there).  We rode the long ride home, until 11:00, in bed by midnight.

 

By the way, at least 10 members from the  El Salvador church were with us all week as well.  We had about 40 on the total team.  Some of the local missionaries spoke English, Korean and Spanish!  What a blessing to have them with us. 

 

El Salvador Fun Fact - the mile markers on the roads actually look like little tombstones, with the numbers painted on them. 

El Salvador Trip - Part 3 - Sunday July 14 - We Arrive!

We flew all night, arriving in Houston around 6:00 am, waiting there for a couple of hours.  While there I met Eli and Verdi Glick, who have served in El Salvador for 47 years!  They minister in Candelaria de la Frontera, in Santa Ana.  They were gracious and informative.

Well, it was a 2-hour flight to San Salvador airport.  The thick humid air hit us as we got off of the plane.  Passing customs was not too bad, and we loaded into 2 mini-buses for the long ride to our motel.

We first ate at the church with pastor Pablo Park.  Then we checked into our rooms, and headed out to Apopa.  We ventured way off the main road, and then had to walk the rest of the way, about a quarter of a mile, to the open-air tabernacle.  People seemingly came out from the foliage to attend a service.

We led in songs and worship, I spoke briefly from Revelation 3:20 with an interpreter of course.  We then returned after dark and made our first of many stops at Pollo Campero - a fried chicken chain.  It actually was pretty good, with white slaw and fries, no refills on your drink. 

We had a debriefing at the motel conference room.  Citing 2 Timothy 2:3,4, Pastor Lee said, "Why are you here?  We are not here for our own pleasure.  We're not here for vacation, we're not here for tour."

Some of my pictures cannot be viewed and some can - I do not know why.  I will post when I can.

El Salvador Fun Fact - since 2001, the currency is the dollar.

Part 2 - Departure date - July 13

This post, also without pictures (sorry), will not be long.  Our group began arriving at the church before 8:00 PM.  We all met in the fellowship hall for an In-And-Out burger...... 

.....Then it was load-up time.  We were allowed one suitcase and one carry on (backpack).  In addition, we brought 25 large suitcases that held clothes, candy, VBS supplies and other items that we would be leaving in El Salvador.  So each of us took one of these large suitcase as our check-in piece of luggage.

On to Sacramento Airport, flying United.  Various church members drove us caravan-style to the airport and dropped us off.  Being that it was late into the evening and we were a bit early, there was no one else at the check-in counter.

So we quickly and efficiently got our things checked in.  We ended up checking in our personal luggage as well, at no cost.  Then we went through to the gate and had a little bit of relaxation time before we left around midnight.  This is where I will pick up with the next posting.

El Salvador Fun Fact - it is the only Central American country that has no border with the Gulf of Mexico

El Salvador Trip - Part 1 - Preparing to go....

Hello, and welcome to my brief diary of our 2013 mission trip to El Salvador.  Our church, Sacramento Zion Presbyterian Church, went to the Central American country from July 13-20, 2013.
This was the first time for Carol and I.  However, Pastor Daniel Lee has been making the trek since 2001.  In addition, several of our members have been before.  In all, we had 25 to attend the mission.

We prepared for several months, meeting after church to go over details of the journey.  Then we began meeting before church, and sometimes after, to prepare the skits we would be using. 

Along with basic Spanish phrases and songs, I also learned the basic art of making balloon animals.  This would come in handy when attempting to secure the attention of a child.

Pastor Lee gave us many guidelines.  It was to be a strict ministry for God and for the people and not a pleasure trip.  He made that abundantly clear.  We were to bring very little money (for souvenirs on the final day) and if we wanted to buy anything for ourselves (candy, snack, etc) we were to buy one for everyone.  We were a team, one team, serving in unity!

Since we all had matching color-coded t-shirts for each day, it was not necessary to pack much clothing.  This was not a fashion show.  Our leaders and previously-experienced peers did a fantastic job of preparing us novices most effectively for the week.

No photos yet...but I will add them as this diary continues. 

NEXT....Part 2 - Saturday July 13 - The Journey Begins.....