What if?

Below is a photo of a manger scene here in San Julian. Note that the manger is empty. The tradition here is that they do not put the baby Jesus in it until Christmas when he arrived in human form. 


This got me to thinking - What If? 


What if Jesus never came? What if God allowed us to justly suffer the penalty for our sins? What if the personification of pure, genuine love never came to live with us? What if there were no people transformed by that love? What if there were no transformed people that cared for the sick, the poor, the orphans, the unloved? What if there were no transformed people to defend the defenseless? 


What if there was no good news? What if there was no hope? What if there was no peace? What if there was no joy? What if there was no love?


What If?

The Gift of Hospitality

Recently I was invited to lunch at the home of a friend in a fairly rural area. The home sits on a road outside of the nearest town by a couple of miles and stands in the midst of a "jungle" in the mountains. The people of El Salvador have such a heightened sense of hospitality that I just had to share this with you. 


While visiting, I made an observation about the coconuts growing nearby. The next thing I knew, one of the people there was climbing the tree to cut down the coconuts so that I cold have a drink of coconut milk. He then proceeded to cut open enough of them with his trusty machete (the all purpose tool here) to send me home with a gallon of coconut juice. 


But it didn't end there. While being served roasted peppers (mmm...delicious) I was asked if I would like a slice of lime with it. This is very common here and is served with most meals so I thought little of it. I responded politely and asked for a slice. He asked his wife for limons (Spanish for lime) and was told they were all out. Without missing a step or saying another word he simply grabbed his machete and headed out into the jungle. About 15 minutes later he comes back with a bag of limons. 


The lessons? 


#1. Be careful what you ask for here...you will probably get it. I can only imagine what would have happened if I had said I liked milk. Oh, wait. I did see a goat nearby!


#2. These people take hospitality to a whole new level. They take the words of  I Peter 4:9 seriously: "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."

Accion de Gracias

Thanksgiving is not celebrated on a special day of the year here in El Salvador. Instead, they frequently take days throughout the year to celebrate with an "accion de gracias". Literally, this means an "action of thanks". There are two things about this local tradition that I appreciate.

First, thanksgiving should not be limited to a single day. Ideally, we should wake up every day and give thanks to our creator for the breath of life. For a roof over our heads. For food on the table. For friends and family. For health. For employment. For laughter. For freedom. For so many things that we often take for granted.

Second, thanksgiving is more than a word. It should be a verb - an action in our daily lives. Knowing how much we have been blessed should in turn cause us to desire to bless others with our abundance. It may be a meal for a family that has little. It could be a warm blanket. Taking care of a medical bill for those out of work. Possibly a shoulder to cry on for those in pain. A kind word. A smile and a hug. Simply, to love in word and deed.

In the midst of the cooking and busyness of this day I wanted to thank you. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support of the work here in El Salvador. Thank you that through your abundance we can provide food and blankets and a shoulder and a smile and a hug and, most importantly, the love of God who sent his only son to die for us.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  Psalm 28:7

God's incredible timing

About one month ago one of the students in my class paid the class fee for another student whose husband had a low paying job. The gift was to be anonymous. I meant to tell the recipient but it slipped my mind. Finally, on Saturday I remembered and asked "C" to stay after class. When I told her that her fee had been paid in full she just broke out sobbing. I thought her reaction was out of proportion until she told me what had been happening recently in her life. Her son had broken his arm and needed surgery that she couldn't afford. Her husband told her that she would have to quit the classes or take the money out of the food budget. Since she couldn't do that, she came to class that day to advise me that she could no longer attend. She was sobbing out of joy that God had provided for her at the moment she needed it the most. Some people would call this coincidence. I call it God.

Christina's Corner: Amo a mis niños

Kiana & Christina

Every weekday I walk to a private school where I help out in the kindergarten class. The school is all in Spanish so for two hours I am forced to talk in Español. When I arrive at the school all the kids from the class run to the door where I am group hugged by them all (haha) but sometimes it is more like I am tackled! Every day I am tickled to death by one or all of the children. For those who don't know, I am super ticklish! It's hilarious to watch the kids as they do the funniest things! Like today for example, one boy was taking tape and sticking it to his stomach while his twin brother was rubber-stamping his arms up and down and they both think it's so cool! Every time I go to the school I pick up more words and that is exciting! It has been a true blessing to be a part of these kids lives!! I love them all so dearly. So, please pray that the Lord will keep giving me an understanding of Spanish while I have this opportunity at the school.  

 -Christina Pursley

Group Hug

Fernando thinks he is Batman

What a greeting!

                                        

Flood, Food and Faith

According to the news, El Salvador now has had 47 inches of rain in the last week with more rain in the forecast. The bridge on the road to the capital, San Salvador, is washed out. There are dozens that have died due to landslides. Thousands of others are sleeping in schools and churches since what little they had is now gone. Some have even refused to be evacuated because they are fearful that thieves will steal whatever is left.

 Locally we have the same issues here. Yesterday, we walked out to Agua Shuca to find the bridge washed out and the "road" is now a river. There are 160 people staying in a church there because their homes are flooded. We will be walking in food supplies to help.  I am so impressed though by the resiliency of these people. So many have such a hard life but they seem to deal with it as just part of life and do not complain much. While we were in Agua Shuca we watched a mother give her child a bucket bath and he was laughing and playing the whole time and his mother was able to just enjoy the moment for what it was.


We are blessed and thankful that other than some roof leaks we are fine. We are also reminded that our hope is not in this world and one day there will be an end to suffering and pain. Please pray for El Salvador and all of Central America. And Thailand. And Sudan. And Syria. And America. And............

October Newsletter

Memorial Stones for Annette

When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land he set up a pile of stones as a memorial marker so that the generations to come would not forget what the Lord had done for them. It has been 2 years since our dear friend, sister, daughter, wife and mother went to the promised land to be with the one she loved the most. There are many emotions involved...tears, joy, memories...so I just want to let the following words and song be a memorial stone.

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life…

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Pro 31:10-12; 25-31

Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?"

She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."

 Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

John 11:14-40

My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.

You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt.   Psalm 71:15-24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zk-E55dRk&feature=related

Christina's Corner: Taking Every Moment Captive

I realized the other day what an experience I have living here in El Salvador. I it hit me that everyday here is special to the Lord's plan for my life. I also realized that I need to take every moment captive and not waste my time here.  Life is too precious to just go through the motions. What teenager has a chance to live in a third world country, learn another language and be a part of a work of God? I realized what an opportunity the Lord has given me, to teach me things about myself I never knew, to stretch me and strengthen me and pour His love into me. The Lord continually reminds me that my life is not my own and to embrace His plan for my life. The other day I recieved a letter from a complete stranger. I was deeply touched  that someone who does not know me personally would write a letter to encourage me and tell me to keep trusting the Lord because he knows the plans of my life better than I do. The letter touched my heart and really made me realize the Lord has every thing in control and that I need to trust Him whole-heartedly. It also made me realize that not only am I loved by God but loved by people. It made me realize that I have people back home loving me and praying for me everyday. The Lord revealed to me that even though I am far away from friends and family, I am still loved and that even though I may feel distant from the Lord, that He still loves me. The Lord is so good and so faithful and so loving. 

                                                        -Christina Pursley-

La Victoria!

After 6 months, two attorneys, many dollars and multiple trips to Extranjeria (immigration), we received our temporary residency visas! We had exactly one week left before our tourist visa expired and we would potentially have had to leave the country, return, and start the process all over again. Thank you to all who faithfully prayed for this day.

One of the local pastors jokingly offered to act as our "coyote" and get us across the river if it didn't work. At least I think he was joking. Attached is a photo of the simple little stamp that gives us permission to stay for another 3 months. Who would have thought it would take so much to get a stamp? Now we have to go through an interview process and further review of all our documents to be issued a one year residency visa. I understand that this is usually a formality but would still appreciate your continued prayers.

Christina's Corner: Finding Treasure

It was great to have the team here!!! I enjoyed every moment. To be surrounded by people from back home brought a sense of comfort to my heart. What a blessing it was to spend a week serving the Lord in El Salvador together. The week was busy and at times tiring to the point of delirium but the sound of laughter brought much happiness to my soul. Over that week, I realized that every moment was a treasure and a blessing. Funny how when you go out and serve others you are the one that ends up being blessed abundantly. In every thing we did that week, it was for the glory of God. May His light shine in us, so that we may go out and be a light in this dark world!! 

                                               ~Christina 

Pouring a concrete floor over dirt

Mixing concrete by hand

Enjoying God's Creation

Serving small, Loving big

We have our first youth group joining us on Saturday for a week of service and ministry. Part of their focus will include an evangelical outreach to the community and a separate time to encourage the local church youth. During the week they will also be making roof repairs and pouring concrete over the current dirt floor in the home of a single mom. They will also be helping out one day at an orphanage in San Salvador. Some might ask can one week change the world? Does it really make a difference?

To answer those questions I will simply quote Mother Teresa from her book The Love of Christ:


"What we are doing is but a drop in the ocean. This may be only a drop, but the ocean would be less if it weren't there. What we do is something small, but we do it with big hearts. At death, we will not be judged by the amount of work we did, but by the amount of love we put into it. We do not strive for spectacular actions. What counts is the gift of yourself, the degree of love you put into each of your deeds...Do you want to be great? Pick up a broom and sweep the floor."

Typical poor home in El Salvador with a dirt floor

Christina's Corner: Deep Waters

This past week, I hit a rough patch. Most of the time, I always want to fix things myself. Make things go away, shove things under the rug. The last thing I want to do is give it over to the Lord. I don't know how many times it will take me, until I give everything over to Him. I know that with Him by my side the unknown feels less scary, the pain feels less painful, and my questions are answered with His assurance. But I am me. Which means I want to put matters into my own hands and then I realize I'm not God, I am not in control, I am only human. I realized today, as I looked back on my week, for every tear I shed, for every hurt I have, there is a reason and a purpose. I may not see it now, but the Lord has my future in His hands. Everything I go through is for a divine purpose. I may go through fire and deep waters but with the Lord by my side, I won't burn and I won't drown. ---- Christina

Do not be afraid for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you go through deep waters 

and great trouble, I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty

you will not drown!!

Isaiah 43:1-2 

Culture Clash

To think that we have been living in San Julian for 4 months now is hard to believe. In some ways it seems like only yesterday. In other ways it seems like forever. Along the way we have experienced a wide range of emotions…joy, fear, sorrow, excitement, frustration, disappointment, hope. One of the more challenging aspects, though, is adapting to a very different culture. For me, one of the largest cultural gaps is in the thought process.

Before leaving for El Salvador I had a conversation with a dear friend who himself had been on the mission field in a foreign country for years. He told me that understanding this cultural thought gap would be a challenge for me. At the time I heard his words but I didn’t fully understand what he was trying to communicate. He said that in America we have a mind-set or attitude that we can do whatever we set our minds to do. If we have a goal to achieve or a need or a problem to solve we are confident that we can find and implement a solution. America is, after all, the home of the brave and the land of the free. It’s a country where you can rise from poverty to success if you only try hard enough and don’t give up. It’s a culture that for the most part doesn’t care where you came from as long as you know where you want to go. At least that was my experience. Here, I find a different cultural attitude. One that often says “what can I do about it – I’m only one person.” Or, “this is the way it has always been and the way it will always be.” Or, “this is just the way we do it here…don’t rock the boat.”

I drive a Mustang!

Laundry Day

Recently I was asked to teach at an all city church service on the topic of what it is like to be a missionary. The cultural experience was to be part of the discussion. But in preparing for this I had to ask myself if my own cultural thoughts were correct just because they were mine or were “American”. As a Christian, we need to ask ourselves some hard questions: What is God’s culture? What does God have to say about this or that issue? Is my thinking in line with God’s thoughts as revealed in the Bible?

Frequently when we read the scriptures we superimpose over them our own cultural belief system; often without realizing we are doing this. There is even a tendency to change or ignore what Jesus said because it is hard to understand or fit into our own culture. For example, Jesus said this to the crowds that were following him:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple…So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25-26, 33

As a disciple, I have been forced by these words to ask myself if I place anything or anyone above Jesus. Am I willing to renounce ALL that I have to follow Jesus? Now that, my friends, is a cultural clash!

Hear the rolling thunder!

I recently had a conversation with a Salvadoran friend and he was asking me about heaven and what it will be like. Will we eat? Will we wear clothes? Will we have work to do? These are all valid questions but they are like small planets orbiting around the sun. The center of our universe is the creator of the heavens, the Father and His Son. There will be many things to do in eternity but the primary purpose, and our greatest source of joy, will be to glorify and worship Him who made the heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water (Rev. 14:7). Later that night I was sitting up on the roof talking to the creator when a severe thunderstorm came through. Each trumpet blast of thunder rolled on for what seemed like an eternity. It was truly awe inspiring and I was reminded of the words to a hymn that includes these lines:

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

 So often in my daily routine I can get so distracted by the details of life. How great it is to be reminded of the incredible love that the creator has for us. How great it is to not have our hearts troubled because He has prepared a place for us. How great it is to know that one day He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. How great is our God and Savior. Listen to the words that follow and dwell on His greatness.

The widow's eggs

Two copper coins and Two eggs

This incident happened over a month ago but I am just getting around to writing about it. We were visiting a church on the outskirts of Lourdes. The church is located in a very poor, rural colonia (neighborhood) in a gang-infested area. As I was talking to the pastor an old woman who looked like she could be Noah's grandmother hobbled up to the pastor and gave him a small bag. He took the bag, thanked her and gave her a traditional Salvadorian blessing. When I asked what was in the bag he explained to me that she was a widow who lived in a shack and did not have a job and inside the bag were a couple of eggs from her chickens. This was her "tithe" because she was so grateful to God for His blessings. Please understand that this was not something that was required of her by the Pastor or church. This was done totally voluntarily. I was so humbled by her grateful heart while living in a condition that is well below any level of "poverty" that an American would find outrageous. I have found that so often here it is the financially poor who are richest in contentment, gratefulness and faith. It reminded me of the story Jesus told of the poor widow who put two copper coins in the offering box. Jesus went on to tell his disciples that she gave far more than the rich because she gave of all that she had to live on. Please re-read this short story in Mark 12:38-44. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Christina's Corner: Rain, Rain. Oh, how I love you.

Living down here is pretty different. You never know what the day is going to bring. What's it going to be today? A power outage? No internet? No water? But I always know one thing for sure. Today is going to be hot and humid. Like yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. You catch my drift? But everyday I hope for rain. Rain does wonders. It somehow brings relief - but only for as long as it rains. So I also hope for a good long rain! Funny how living in Washington, the home of 9 months of rain and where I was so sick and tired of rain, it is when I move here that I want rain soooo badly!! It's not just for the relief that I want it but also because for the brief time that it is here, it brings me back to Washington. So for all you Washingtonians, love the rain!!! Well if you can anyway!!! lol.

                                            ~Christina

Language Learning Laughs

Learning a new language at my age is a challenge. One of my frustrations is the way that so many words in Spanish change meanings depending on the context and word placement in the sentence. With very little change in sentence structure I can say that Christina and I are eating dinner...or... that I am eating Christina for dinner. In order to keep me humble I recently read a piece on the complexity of the English language. We just assume English is easy because we are so accustomed to it. Isn't that true for so many areas in life - we assume it must be easy for others if it is for us and often have little compassion or understanding as a result? It certainly is for me. So, here is your English lesson on the word "UP".

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is'UP.'  It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?  We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.  We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times, this little word has real special meaning.  People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. 
And this UP is confusing:  A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.


We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.  We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!


To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of  UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.  In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.  It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. 

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP.  When it rains, we say the earth soaks it UP.  When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.  One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now . . . my time is UP!

Oh . . . one more thing:  What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?   U     P!

Did that one crack you UP?  If you want, look UP everyone in your address book and pass this on. Or not . . . it's UP to you. Now I'll shut UP!

Economy air fare In El Salvador

I "borrowed" this from a Salvadoran friends' facebook page. 

Yet another example of how to save money when the economy is down.

Love, Hope and Children

Last week we visited "Hogar Infantil Amor y Esperanza". Literally this means Children's Home of Love and Hope and is an orphanage about an hour from here and near the capital of San Salvador. It was started, and is run by, an American from Cleveland, Ohio. She and 16 staff, both paid and volunteer, care for 21 children raging in age from two to fifteen. Of these, only one is a true orphan with no living parents. The rest have been placed there by the government due to neglect, abuse or very poor economic conditions where the parents can not care for them.

Although the government regulates the orphanage and decides who can and can not live there, the government does not provide any financial support for their care. Thus, all funding is provide solely on a donation basis. Most of it comes from the U.S. but there are also Salvadorans who donate groceries and supplies. The children are provided with clothing, food, medical care, education and, most imporantly, the love and hope that are so generously provided by these dedicated followers of Jesus.

We are praying to see if this is an organization that we can partner with and assist in the work that they are doing. There is no end of opportunities here so please join us in praying for the direction, wisdom and discernment in how to use our limited time and resources.

Driving in El Salvador

For the last two months I have had the pleasure of having Dave Porter as my chauffeur. He has very graciously driven me to the capital of El Salvador (about 1 hour each way) weekly to take care of applying for my visa, working with customs to obtain our shipped goods and for our shopping needs. I have to admit though that being a passenger has often caused me to fear for my life. Well, yesterday I was able to experience driving myself in the big city for the first time.

I quickly discovered that El Salvador appears to only have one law for driving - there are no laws! I have heard the quip that pedestrians are considered road kill and they better get out of the way or it's their own fault. Also, I'm not sure why there are these white lines painted on the roads. At first I thought that they were to keep traffic in single lanes. Alas, that is obviously not the reason since no one seems to pay any heed to them. Perhaps the idea is to line up your hood ornament with the white line to make sure you are straight.

Another discovery is that many intersections have no traffic control devices such as stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights, etc. I suppose you don't really need them since they just slow you down. Which is ironic since everything else here seems to move at such a slow pace. Everything except driving. In this area they make up for the otherwise slow pace of life by going as fast as possible in a 1979 Toyota with bald tires, no turn signals, missing door handles and belching smoke. Oh, I almost forgot. Apparently mufflers are outlawed here.

In the instance where there are traffic control devices at intersections you have a choice to make. So as not to discriminate, El Salvador has installed both stop signs and lights at the same intersection. Do you follow the "Alto" sign and stop at the intersection? Or, do you follow the green light and go? The third, and apparently most popular option, is to ignore both and do whatever you want.

Another interesting device here are traffic circles. I'm sure you have all seen them back home where there are no lights or stop signs and you just go around the circle in a slow, orderly fashion and then safely exit onto the street you need. Well, Christina has an affectionate name for them now: "Circles of Death". The trick, it seems, is to start as far to the left as possible and then when you are within 10 feet of the street you want to exit onto you cross 3 lanes of traffic while all the time honking your horn and yelling something in Spanish and making interesting hand gestures.

However, by far the best part of the driving experience here are the buses. There is no public transporation system so people buy old school buses, paint them psychedelic colors and pack as many people as possible into them for a small fee. For some reason there are actually designated bus stop areas off to the side of the road. Again, I am confused because the buses just stop wherever and whenever they want with no warning. And, presumably because they are much bigger than you're car and they can, they pull out in front of you, change lanes into you and generally try to flatten you. However, to be fair, they do all this with a huge "Jesus loves you" sign painted on the back window.

Following my morning adventure I am happy to report that not only am I alive but I quickly made the transition to third world driving. The moral of the story? When I come back for a visit, I wouldn't recommend being a pedestrian anywhere near my car. You have been warned. But remember, Jesus does love you!

Christina's Corner

Living here in El Salvador is quite different than in Washington. On one of the first days here, I was in the bathroom doing my makeup and I heard an odd noise. I thought to myself, "Huh what a strange sheep baaaing." The noise grew closer to the window, I soon realized that was no sheep. It was a lady yelling, "EL PAAAAAAAAN!!!!" I promise you it sounded more like this, "EEEEHHH BAAAAN!!!!" =) You would never hear someone in Washington yelling, "THE BREAD!!!!" ~Christina.

Life in San Julian

Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun. It's hard to believe it's been a month since our last posting. We are adjusting and adapting to life in a third world country. As I write this it occurred to me ask the question what is a third world country? Since El Salvador has water (though not safe to drink), electricity and the internet most of the time, is it fair to call it a true third world country? To answer that question I went to the web for the following definition.

What makes a nation third world?
Despite everevolving definitions, the concept of the third world serves to identify countries that suffer from high infant mortality, low economic development, high levels of poverty, low utilization of natural resources, and heavy dependence on industrialized nations. These are the developing and technologically less advanced nations of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. Third world nations tend to have economies dependent on the developed countries and are generally characterized as poor with unstable governments and having high rates of population growth, illiteracy, and disease. A key factor is the lack of a middle class—with impoverished millions in a vast lower economic class and a very small elite upper class controlling the country’s wealth and resources. Most third world nations also have a very large foreign debt. (from Encyclopedia of World Geography)

Yes, that's El Salvador! It's a land of extremes.

• Extreme wealth and extreme poverty
• Extremely good health care and extremely poor health care
• Extreme hope and extreme despair

And yet I love the people here. The weather I'm not so crazy about. To emphasise the extremes I want to give you some examples.

On one journey here I witnessed on the roadside a cart of produce being pulled by a cow. It was being passed by what appeared to be a brand new John Deere tractor.

There are private hospitals here that I am told rival the health care available in the United States. I am also told that you don't want to go to the public hospitals with anything serious because you will likely die there.

I have attached below a photo of what is, sadly, very typical here of a man with no hope, only despair. He has turned to alcohol to relieve himself of his burdens. I have also attached a photo of others who, in spite of their poverty, have a joy and peace that comes from knowing the Savior of the world.





Life filled with despair and without hope

 



Lives filled with the joy of knowing they are loved

 



 
 
 
 
Life is full of choices. Many lead to despair but there is only one that leads to a joy and peace that lasts for eternity.

 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Jesus as quoted in Matthew 11:28-30

God is faithful

We arrived on March 31 after a sleepless overnight flight. It was very hot (98 degrees) and humid and it seems to suck the energy right out of you but we were glad to have finally arrived after a four year wait. Note to self: never pray for patience again!

The Porters found a lovely rental home for us and we were able to move in after a week of shopping for furniture and other other household items.  The nights are very warm and it's hard to sleep but when you do drift off you are blessed to wake up early to the “el pan” lady. Pan means bread and this older lady walks the streets of San Julian quite early and sells her bread by announcing in a very nasally voice "paaaaaaaaaaan". I think the marketing strategy is that you will buy some just to get her to stop. If, however, you somehow manage to sleep through this it is difficult to miss the orchestra of dogs, roosters, pigeons and honking cars starting at around 5 a.m. Ahhh, the joys of life in the country.

                                  Street vendors in San Julian, El Salvador

                                                     Home Sweet Home 

One night on the way to watch Kathy play futbol Dave and I ran into Manuel. Manuel is an alcoholic like so many other men here. He says he wants a life like ours but right now just wants the alcohol more. He kept saying repeatedly how much he loves Dave because he takes the time to visit with him and encourage him. Isn’t that what we all want? Pray for Manuel that he can be filled with the Holy Spirit and be freed from his bondage.

On a similar note, Christina and I were driving to our house the other day and as we turned a corner in the van we found a drunk passed out in the road. I had to have Christina get out to see if I had enough room to get by so I wouldn't run over his feet. As she did, another drunk moved his buddies legs out of my way so I could get by. Nice that they look out for each other. Or so I thought. Later I found out they steal from each other once the other passes out.

Dave Porter and I have developed a list of classes for the local Pastors and church leaders so that they can be equipped to better lead and feed the flocks that God has entrusted to their care. The classes are typical to what one would find in a seminary or bible college but may need to be modified to fit their educational levels. We will be meeting with the Pastors at the local Pastors Association meeting on April 13^th so please pray for discernment, direction and unity.

Our Spanish lessons are vital to our success here as we need to become fluent as soon as possible. Hour after hour of conjugating verbs and remembering that the adjectives and adverbs go after the noun instead of before (at least most of the time) gets a little tedious but it is all part of the package. The Lord has blessed us, though, with a national by the name of Susy Ayala who will act as our translator in the meantime and has moved to San Julian from the capital of San Salvador. She is staying with the Porters for now but needs to find a room to rent so please also keep that in prayer.

As always, thank you for your support for this ministry. You are an integral part of it and it would not happen without you as partners.

Psa 84:12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!