Learn to Live

When making this blog I have been thinking about what I want to say to everyone who reads it. Man or woman, young or old, adventurous or cautious, organized or spontaneous, etc. That makes for a broad range of people. What could they all possibly have in common with which I could talk about? I would say to all the people reading this blog, learn to live. What I mean by that is not to travel the world or make a bucket list or constantly live outside your comfort zone, as great as those may be. I mean that you should live well. Engage the people you are close to. Continue learning. Don’t become complacent or settle for something less. If you are very, very lucky, you will get to spend maybe 100 years on this planet. That is so very brief in the grand scheme of things. Get to know the people around you. And don’t just talk about the weather. Get to know them! Who they are. What they enjoy. What their beliefs are. How you can impact their lives. Don’t get wrapped up in only yourself. And save yourself the misery of getting wrapped up in “Let me tell you what’s wrong with this world.” Here’s where my Christianity comes into play, don’t focus your life on making a Heaven on Earth. The Bible is very clear that this world will continue to grow more and more wicked and evil. There is still much good in our world but nobody can deny that it is a broken world. One day God will destroy the world and create a new one. First and foremost, I would encourage you to ask God to show Himself to you if you do not already know Him. And please don’t judge Him based off of Christian people who have hurt you or you see as hypocrites or just downright awful people. Make sure it is God who you know about and not a false perception based on people. The Bible is the best place to learn about who God is, and the book of John is a good place to start.

Now, back to the learn to live thing. The reason I would say this is because it is something I have been seeing in my own life since I have been here in El Salvador. As transparent as I may seem in these blogs, I have a hard time letting people close to me. Much of this results from past relationships going sour and leaving me hurt, and so I don’t throw myself out there very quickly. I’m naturally a rather quiet person, but there are many times where my quietness is a result of me being overly cautious with myself. The problem with this, as I have seen more and more while here in El Salvador, is that opportunities are limited. Opportunities are limited for getting to know the rest of the team. Opportunities are limited for getting to know the people at the orphanage. Opportunities are limited for getting to know people in the community. Opportunities are limited for everything! I am working on and praying that God will break through the barriers I put in place between myself and the opportunities I have been given. I would encourage you to do the same, and would ask that you pray for me in this area.

What did I do this week? Days are running together, and if it weren’t for other people telling me then I would totally lose track of what day it is. Oh yeah, I remember now. I got to do a little bit of everything. I got to install some ceiling fans, tape and mud some walls, clear a plugged gutter full of mango leaves and dirt, I got to drive again, I was taught how to make pupusas earlier tonight, I braided some hair, I played my guitar, I got to learn some more Spanish, and I helped take 15 kids to the zoo. Just another week in paradise, am I right? I don’t know about your paradise but I have enjoyed being here and getting to be part of everything going on. In all honesty, it has been exhausting but worth it. I would say the highlight of my week happened last night, though, while I was over at the orphanage. I was at the orphanage in the evening for a little while, went back home for supper, then went back to the orphanage afterward. We had been watching futbol, Argentina versus Venezuela. Side note, Argentina, a crowd favorite over at the orphanage, beat Venezuela 4-1 and will play USA on Tuesday. It might be an interesting night on Tuesday. Anyway, after that game was done, they changed the channel to some sort of concert in Colombia. Through some research afterward, it was a guy named Marcos Witt. Here’s a taste of the concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpvo-CJUY60 , y un otro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODP3pdcXwAQ. It’s okay if you laugh at his dancing in the first one, we did too. Muevete oh Dios en mi is like saying move in me oh God. I understood some of the lyrics but not the majority. I did, however, understand that they were worshipping God, as were many of the people watching at the orphanage. This concert was on for an hour and for that hour, I was sitting next to one of the young men over there, who is a year or two younger than me, and also next to a younger boy who is nine. Not long into the concert the younger boy laid down on the bench and put his head on my lap while continuing to watch the concert. He wanted me to put my arm to rest around his chest. He would periodically look up and say something or touch my goatee or show me his grande melon, which is his belly that he likes to stick out. He laid there for the majority of the concert and eventually got a blanket, came back, and went to sleep. As he was going to sleep he kept making sure that he was still touching me. Didn’t have to be much, but just something. I have enjoyed being around this boy, and it wasn’t the first time we’ve spent together but this experience really hit home how valuable simply being a younger man can be to someone looking for another person to take interest in them. They have good parental figures at the orphanage, but me being a younger man brings a different relationship. More of a mix between brother and father. Though it’s called an orphanage, not all the people there would be considered orphans, meaning they still have parents, and some even stay with parents periodically. It’s a little foggy to me but I don’t need to understand everything. What I do understand is that my presence has an impact on their lives. My presence and my engagement with them has an even greater impact. Engagement adds so much to the impact. It makes me even more grateful for my parents and their presence coupled with engagement in my life. I would encourage you if you are a parent, it’s not too late to be engaged in the lives of your children. And don’t tell me you can’t because it will be weird or awkward. I already know it will be weird and awkward, but what I want you to know is that it will be worth it. Engage people. Learn to live. 

Ryan Green

The group at the zoo

Week Without a Group

Who, what, when, where, and why? I’m not sure how that relates to anything but it helped me start writing. So there you have it, an introduction.

I have a hard time knowing what to write about because there are so many experiences we are having while here in El Salvador. This week we had no group so it made a different atmosphere for us. We have still been making progress and staying busy working to finish the apartments of the expansion building so there will be enough rooms and beds for everyone coming with the next group. We still have a couple weeks before they get here and everything will be ready by then, but there is still much work to be done. I have been learning a lot about many different areas of construction. Just to name a few…framing walls, hanging sheetrock, hanging/framing window units in cinderblock walls, repairing metal roofs. I am grateful for the opportunities to learn how to be a handyman. Being a handyman could come in handy. And while I’m on the topic of handy, knowing another language would definitely be handy. So, if you get the opportunity to learn another language, go for it. You never know when it will come in handy. I’m still working on my Spanish but I’m learning a lot.

We went on an adventure this past Saturday. We took a trip up to the nearby volcano! I’m not sure if the volcano has a different name but there were signs welcoming us to “El Boqueron” National Park. I had been looking forward to going to the top since before we even got here for the summer. The view is indescribable. The crater in the top was much larger and deeper than I expected it to be. I got some pictures of the view but it really doesn’t capture even a fraction of what we actually saw. We also ate at one of the restaurants high on the volcano. Café Miranda I think was the name. The food was excellent and the view was absolutely stunning. To top it all off, I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be having these experiences with. Later on that day, we met with the family who we get coffee from. They were very hospitable and also had this wonderful bulldog. We spent some time at their house and then went to eat at a Chinese restaurant for supper. Though it was a little different, it was still very good. We ordered four large platters and soup for all of us to share. It felt like we were eating the majority of Saturday. But that’s not something I will ever complain about. Good food, good adventures, amazing views, and amazing people; Hard to get any better than that.

Another story I would like to share goes back to the mango tree incident of the previous blog post. If you remember, the tree limb fell and interrupted our bible study on one night. The next night we picked up where we left off but there were a few different people that night. One man, who brought his two sons, told us he was very grateful that we were having a bible study he could attend along with his sons. He wants his sons to learn about God and for them to not be on the streets or get caught up in the gangs. Earlier this week, we replaced the metal roof at their house. This served as another opportunity to deepen our relationship with them and point them to God. To make a long story shorter, we asked if there would be a good time where we could all, not just the guys, go to their house to have a Bible study. We got it set up for Sunday afternoon. Our group was there, he was there with his wife and kids, his brother and brother’s wife and daughter were there, along with some of his in-laws. Leon presented a wonderful message out of 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 about how our level of wisdom and intelligence does not make us acceptable or unacceptable to God. It makes no sense according to our wisdom or intelligence as to why God would send Jesus to die in our place and be raised from the dead to forgive us our debts. Verse 30 says, “You are God’s children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and make us wise, acceptable, and holy.” The important thing to note here is that we are God’s children. When I say that, I don’t want you to think that we are His children by default. Unless we choose to know Jesus and accept His gift of covering the punishment for our sins, then we are not His children. That may sound harsh and we would probably all like to believe everyone will go to heaven, but it’s the honest truth. It’s not that God doesn’t let us be his child, it’s that we don’t choose to know Him and accept the gift of forgiveness through Jesus. I urge you to figure out where you stand in this area. If you have questions, find someone you trust who is a Christian, or feel free to ask me any questions. I got a little sidetracked from my story but I feel what I just said needed to be said. Anyway, at the end of the Bible study we asked how we could pray for them. The brother and brother’s wife asked if we could pray for them, so we gathered around and prayed for them in their situation. I’m not real sure what they are going through but I prayed for God to make Himself known to them and that they would gain the peace and joy that comes from knowing Him. After we had prayed for them, we asked if they knew Jesus and they said no but they want to. Both of them prayed to receive Jesus as Lord of their lives! Praise God for that! They also asked if we could pray for their two year old daughter who has some sort of congestion and breathing issue for about a week, and the medicine from the doctor does not seem to be helping. We gathered around her and prayed for healing and that God would make Himself known in this situation. That is about where the story stops for now, simply because these events happened a few hours ago. But I have faith that God will continue to pursue this family and work in their lives. I would like to know the next part of this story, and I pray God shows it to us, but I know God will continue to work even if I’m not around to see it. I will be sure to share the story if it is shown to me.

As always, I would ask for prayer for safety and health within our group. God is working through us here in El Salvador. Until next time…

Ryan Green

 The new roof.

 Making a movie night for our group.

 The volcano viewed from SHIP facility.

 The crater

 View from Cafe Miranda.

 The Bulldog

Our group at the volcano

Whatever Happens, Happens For A Reason

Another week spent in El Salvador has left us all exhausted, so we did one of the most important things we could today, rest. That’s right, rest. This week was full of adventures, God working in this community, and stretching our flexibility, as usual. We had a slightly smaller group but everyone stayed busy and in good spirits. Who could ask for anything more?

Lets talk about flexibility. We had our usual plan of what we wanted to have accomplished by the end of the week. This included all the usual Vacation Bible School, guys and girls Bible studies, laying sheetrock inside the duplex, framing walls, windows, doors, and probably a few more things I can’t think of at the moment. Midway through the week we were doing our guys and girls Bible studies and we heard a huge crash. One of the mango trees decided to break off a limb and drop it partially on the main building. When I say tree I mean a 50-60 foot tree.

More unexpected things, as I was writing this I was needed in the bottom floor in the new SHIP Shop because water was coming into the office area. The drain had become partially blocked by a bunch of leaves from that same mango tree. All better now.

Back to the mango tree. Needless to say, this marked the end of our Bible studies for the night. We assessed the damage and nothing major had happened to the building. We could see where the main part of the branch had landed on a beam of the roof. It would have punched a hole in the roof if it had landed in another spot. Praise God the damage was minimal! We had to divert several of the workers to removing the damaged parts of the tree as well as the overhanging limbs. God provided help for what was needed and we still managed to make great progress on all the other projects. Also there were a couple men from the neighborhood who came and donated their time to work on a septic tank for the new building.

Back to the Bible study that got interrupted. We were walking through the life of Abram, around the part where he becomes Abraham, when the tree limb fell. The next day we picked up where we left off, but had a few more people who had not been the day before. At the end of our Bible study, a man who had been invited and brought his two sons told us that he had been asking God for a group of men he could join and bring his sons to. He mentioned he did not know a lot about God or the Bible, and I’m not really sure what his beliefs are, but it was clear that God had orchestrated the situation. I believe that God used the tree limb to interrupt our Bible study to allow for that man to bring himself and his sons to our group. I would ask you to pray for him and his sons, that they would continue to come and would come to know Jesus, and if they know Him that they would grow a stronger relationship with God and with our group. And I would encourage you to look at your own situations in a way that you ask how you can point others to God in your situation. God will make Himself known.

Be Joyful,

Ryan Green

Along with all the flexibility, there was a lot of fun being had. I even got to braid some hairs and strum on a guitar. Here are a few pictures to enjoy…

 Hunter sharing his story with Mark translating

The limb that broke off

The view from on top of the roof

 Juan Carlos and Reyes tying the next limb to be cut

 Prepping the next cut

The volcano

 About to start the ceremony opening the new SHIP Shop

Flowers in the neighborhood

 Everything is colorful!

 The volcano viewed from our balcony at SHIP

 Majority of the group at the orphanage

 Smiles

 Compadres

 View of the volcano from the mall

Just undid my braids