Who You Want To Be

Okay, first things first, the wonderful Mrs. Noralee Moore made some great food tonight. She made grilled chicken with some broccoli and cauliflower topped with some terrific cheese sauce. She said it wouldn’t be anything worth writing home about but that’s just not true. You’ve got to be an intern to experience her cooking though because, “I don’t cook for the groups, only when there’s no groups.” That’s reason enough to be an intern.

 “This is your life, are you who you want to be? Is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?” This is the chorus to This is Your Life, by Switchfoot. If you are a Christian, you may read this and be offended because of verses like Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” According to the verse, it is no longer our life if we are following Jesus. How can you be who you want to be and still be a Christian? The answer is simple; God gives you a new heart and changes you through the Holy Spirit. God reveals to us a better life with a better perspective and purpose. Why would we choose to live a life expecting this broken world we live in to ever make us complete or satisfied? Why would we choose brokenness over perfection? Only the eternal God can satisfy and complete us. For clarities sake, I’m talking about characteristics you hold as a person, not status or location. We have a significant impact on our personal growth. We choose each and every day how we want to live. Do you want to be a person who trusts God and takes action? You make choices everyday on remaining still or moving forward. It is miserably difficult and often exhausting to face your demons, giants, strongholds, insecurities, or whatever you want to call them. Do you want to continue carrying them or do you want to be free from them? This is your life, are you who you want to be?

“Love must be sincere, Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”   

     -Romans 12:9-16

These verses show that our life is not about us, but everything we do should be about God and pointing people to Jesus.

We will never reach perfection on this earth, but that is not a valid excuse to ignore and accept our insecurities as permanent. Long story short, I struggle with depression that is rooted in relationships ending in a way where I am given the message that I am simply not worth the time or effort of those other people. I can trace the beginnings back to junior high, even though I didn’t have any breakdown or deep depression until 2 ½ years ago. I still have to struggle against returning to that place when relationships end, even if everything ended well. It is a scar that I have. I don’t want to be insecure with relationships coming to an end. I hate that it makes me slow to engage people. I hate that it makes me shy away from confrontational conversations that need to happen. I hate that it makes me not be playful, sassy, engaging, sing, dance, and in general, share the contagious joy God has given me. I hate that it makes me hesitate to start new relationships wholeheartedly. I hate that it takes so long for me to be myself around other people. I hate that I am insecure with relationships coming to an end. I want it to be gone. I often wonder if it ever will be gone. I look at the progress I have made over the past couple years and am encouraged because I see change. I am by no means past it, but I see that God is working on freeing me from these insecurities and scars. It is not easy and I have not seen rapid change occurring overnight, but I see change. Slow and steady, patiently persevering because I want to be that man God is leading me to be. This is your life are you who you want to be?

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

     -Romans 15:13

This is your life, are you who you want to be? If not, then why? Do you feel you can’t change, that you can’t overcome? God gives us significant power.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

     -Romans 8:25-27

God wants to help us be past our insecurities. He cares about us. It will be uncomfortable and outside our comfort zone but it will be worth it. I have never known God to fall short in my life. How much do you want to be past your insecurities? That is a question you have to ask yourself each and every day.

Ok, so how does this relate to me being in El Salvador? Well it doesn’t relate to much of anything specific. Nothing unexpected anyway. A group has just left so I am faced with fighting off depression because of relationships ending. I may get to stay in touch with some friends I made these past couple weeks, but it will be the last time for some of them. I have to constantly remind myself that my identity is in Jesus and lean on Him to save me from myself. God save me from myself, such a difficult situation being in need of rescue from my own tendencies and past.

Can I change? Can you change?

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

     -2 Timothy 1:7

Yes, we can change when we rely on God. God did not give us a spirit so weak that we could not get past our insecurities, He gave us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. Have courage to become who God has made you to be. All the seemingly minor changes or battles add up to a significant change. Slow and steady, patiently persevering through your life to become that person. Be deliberate in your decisions, you decide who and what you will run to when you face those demons, giants, strongholds, or insecurities. Press forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx9RcI_EueM

Confusion Without Losing Effectiveness

I have spent this day living inside a hole. No really, I spent the majority of my hours today inside a hole attempting to make it larger. I’m not sure how it worked but we always seemed to need 2 feet wider. So maybe I just don’t know how to dig holes. There’s a good chance I’ll be back in that hole tomorrow, but hopefully we will finish it. This hole will be home to a septic system at some point.

            A hole isn’t all that’s been going on since my last post. A large group from Oklahoma and Texas has been here this week. I have enjoyed working alongside everyone and getting to exchange stories. We have also been playing an unhealthy amount of cards, specifically 99 and Spicy Uno. Our work projects have been focused on making progress on a couple duplexes across the valley from SHIP. Electric lines and poles have been hung, holes have been dug, plumbing has been worked on, and preparations for putting the metal roof on tomorrow has happened this week. We had a wonderful crowd for our outreach this week, about 100 people, accompanied by talented musicians/singers, powerful testimonies, and a powerful message brought by people within the team. God has been present and moving here in El Salvador. The Bible studies have had similar qualities. We also hosted our first soccer tournament and had a great turnout. It was a good, healthy community event that had no squabbles or major problems. Everything here at SHIP in El Salvador has been going well and is continuing to share God’s love and truth with the people in this community. Lives are being touched.

            That’s the “effectiveness” part of the title, now I will share about the confusion. This internship experience has been a lot more confusing compared to last summer. The confusion lies within what the internship is about and what responsibilities the interns have. The majority of this results from having more interns than previous years, allowing the interns be further involved in all aspects of SHIP. This would be VBS, Bible studies, organizing outreach, planning and implementing community events, and taking care of everything to be fully prepared for SHIP trippers. There has been a lot of confusion of which responsibilities we are in charge of and how far that responsibility goes within each area of SHIP. I’m not going to share details because I don't want to glorify or encourage any division based on opinions, but suffice it to say, there has been some noticeable tension. This is the 4^th year of internships, so it is still a work in progress. The tension has subsided some and everyone is trying to work through understanding and communicating everything about the internship program.

            What I want to point out is that though there have been some issues rise up, SHIP is still functioning well and we are reaching the community around us. We put our focus and trust in God. This feels like a direct attack from Satan as he is trying to get us angry and impatient with one another. Satan wants us to lose our focus and our effectiveness. BUT HE IS NOT STOPPING OUR EFFECTIVENESS

I forgot a song last blog so I’ve got 2 for this one:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmm8ETk70lg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR5IoWH9OiI

Ask And You Will Receive

Take delight in the Lord,

    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

     -Psalm 37:4

 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

    -Matthew 7:7-12

     I’ve got a story to tell about our trip to visit a church on Wednesday. We went to a church about 20 minutes from where we live. We pulled into the street of the neighborhood, which is a street because of an abandoned railroad track, and I saw a man standing next to a wall. This man had several tattoos and a large scar on his arm. Something grabbed my attention so I looked a second time at him once we had passed, and I felt God was telling me I would speak with this man before I left after church and that I would leave my boots with him. He was a good ways from the church so I prayed that if it were truly something from God then I would have a chance to talk with this man. During the church service I started having different verses pop in my head and I felt God telling me to give my bible, which is English and Spanish, to this man. I would underline the verse and then stick a folded piece of paper to mark the page. Romans 10:13, Romans 6:23, John 14:6, and John 3:16. These verses came to me throughout the talk and I continued to mark them. The church service was wonderful and the church fed us pupusas afterwards. We then headed out to pray for Maynard, a church leader, and his wife who will find out in September if she has cancer. His house was back toward the entrance of the neighborhood, back just past where the man with the tattoos was before. I did not see him but I was praying for an opportunity. We went inside Maynard’s house and prayed for healing for his wife. We were talking after our prayer and I approached Leon and said I needed to go back down the street to give my bible to a man. He said I needed someone to go with me so Maynard and Juan Carlos, my wonderful friend, roommate, and very good translator, came with me. The man with tattoos lives just a few houses down so we went and asked for him. He came out and I told him I had two gifts for him. I said I believe God has brought me from Texas to give you this bible, and I explained how I had underlined and marked a few verses. I then tried to get him to read Romans 10:13, but he said he could not read. This threw me off because I had felt so guided to give him this bible, yet he couldn’t read it. I then asked Juan Carlos to read it. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I said this is the truth. I also pointed him to Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He teared up a little and shared that he had heard about Jesus and looked to Christianity while he was in prison but had walked away from it since being out. He also said there were people there who could read this bible to him and he would share what I had told him with his household. I could see the Holy Spirit moving in him and pulling him toward God. I told him that God wants to know him and God wants you to give your life to Him, every part of your life. I took off my boots and told him I believe God wants me to give you these boots and this bible. We said Dios lo bendiga, God bless you, and parted ways. I don’t know the significance of this meeting to his life and it is quite likely I may never see this man again, but I am certain God led me to this man. I don’t know why I was supposed to give him my bible with those verses or my boots either, but I know it was supposed to happen. I pray that God will continue to pursue this man and that he would put his hope and trust in Jesus.

     The best I understand is that this man has been part of the gangs for a long time, though his responsibilities have changed. Before, I’m not sure when but before, he would have been involved with taking orders and completing tasks given to him, and maybe giving orders. Potentially he would have been involved as a lookout man or a hitman. I don’t know what but he had to be in prison for something. Now his responsibility is more like a doorman, guarding the territory not out of expectation of violence, just to have a presence saying this is “their” territory. I am grateful for this encounter because it lines up with the vision of SHIP, and with Leon in particular, to reach the gangs of El Salvador. I believe God is using our presence in El Salvador to make this a reality.

     I titled this “Ask And You Will Receive” because I, and we as a group, have been praying for God to show us who we need to talk to and that He would bring people into our paths. That’s exactly what happened! I would encourage you to do the same. Ask God to move in your life and He surely will! It most likely won’t be how you picture it to happen, but it will happen!

Day One and a Half Into Summer 2

     I made it back to El Salvador! It brings me great joy to know that God has led me back this summer, and am extremely grateful for the support, prayers, and encouragement from the people in my life. Facebook also reminded me that I flew into El Salvador on May 18, 2016, exactly one year before this trip on May 18, 2017. Just a fun fact...

     When I look at where I was last year versus this year I find myself in a very similar mindset; I expect God to use me and grow me. I am more familiar with my surroundings and some of my responsibilities. But, honestly, there is no way of knowing what to expect. Not specifically. I am certain that God will use my time here to assist SHIP and to make God's name known. We have been preparing for the past day and a half for a conference for pastors and church leaders, which begins tomorrow morning. We are expecting around 50 people to be in attendance. We are very excited to have this opportunity because each of the attendees will be able to reach people we could not. The vision of SHIP, which I share, is not that the people of El Salvador would know who we are and be our friends, but that they would know who God is through Jesus Christ. Through this conference we get to be involved with spreading the name of Jesus with the whole country, not just our neighborhood. That's exciting! There is a good chance we won't see most of the effects from this conference, but people will come to know Jesus because of it and that is why we are here.

     Today has been a very good day. I slept very well and made up for the previous few nights getting little sleep. I woke up at 6, made some Earl Grey, and sat on the front porch to do some reading. I read for a little bit then got distracted by a bunch of noise. At least 15 squirrels were running all around in the three giant mango trees inside the fence. They were having a grand time, and their joy was contagious. I found a lot of comfort in knowing God created them and being able to simply enjoy watching that creation. Another highlight of my day has been reconnecting with different people in the orphanage and community. Seeing their smiles and being able to celebrate our reunion has been something I've been looking forward to. Working alongside and getting to know the small group that came with us has been another good part of this day. We come from different places with different backgrounds and some different opinions but God has led each of us to be here together. 

    While I would say everything is going well, it is far from perfect. I have been dealing with a lot of anxiety in coming to El Salvador this summer. Anxiety with not feeling adequate for the responsibilities I will have, and that someone with different qualities would be better. Yet, I know God has brought me here. Anxiety with having to miss important events for friends and family, such as graduations and weddings. Anxiety that I will hurt friends and family simply because I can't be in as good of contact. Yet, I know God has brought me here. I wouldn't say I'm brokenhearted but I found a very encouraging verse this morning, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed" Psalm 34: 18. God cares! 

    

     Something I've been doing with a close friend of mine has been sending a song for the day periodically. One of us will send the other a song relating to something we've talked about or something one of us is experiencing. I think I will start doing that with this blog, starting with "Remind Me Who I Am" by Jason Gray.

What Have I...

What have I done? What have I experienced? What have I learned? What have I changed? What has changed in me? All these questions have been constantly in my head these past few days. To be honest, it’s hard for me to put to words but I know I have done things, had experiences, learned things, changed things, and changed myself. Spending two months in a different country/culture will do that to you.

            It’s been a couple weeks since my last blog post but it feels like only a few days. These past weeks have been busy and full of adventures, just like the others, but something has made time pass more quickly. Let’s talk about some of what has been going on here. I can finish an amazing story that started several weeks ago now. If you recall, there was a man who was unable to be at our Bible study the night the mango tree threw it’s limb at the building, and so we had it again the next night. This man was grateful for us having a Bible study he could bring his sons to. He later invited us to have a Bible study at his home, along with his family and his brother’s family. That night, the brother and his wife accepted Jesus as lord of their lives. Fast-forward to a few nights ago, this same man who invited us to his home came to the SHIP facility for Bible study, even though we weren’t planning one for that night. I had prepared a lesson from an earlier time, so that’s what I used. We talked about God’s reputation. Everybody has a reputation and it’s not until you actually get to know them before you know how much of their reputation is true. Many people say and believe things about God that sound wonderful, but they are not true about God. This message led to some discussion and brought openness from this man about why he had come that night. He and his wife were having some problems and he felt like he had no clue how to make his marriage work. We talked to him about how the Bible has answers for us on how to live with a perspective focused on God, and how it all starts with accepting the gift of Jesus as payment for our sins. Jesus primero. We could see that God was working in Him, but he was not ready to make a change because of feeling like his search for answers for his family situation had brought him to our Bible study that night. He wanted his decision to be based on him having a clear mind. We made arrangements to meet with him and his wife the next day to follow up. Well that was our plan, but not God’s plan. The next day, our van had a flat tire preoccupying the couple planning to meet with the local couple that night. What should have been an easy fix did not work at all…the spare tire would come down a couple inches then get stuck, but the cable would keep dropping down. They tried everything to get that spare tire off but with no luck. They had to call for some help, which meant there would be no time to talk to the couple that night. They got to visit the couple on the next night and the couple accepted Jesus as lord of their lives. Talk about God’s timing and not ours. If I’m honest, I was very worried that there would not be another chance beyond that night at the Bible study. I was afraid that the opportunity was gone and was afraid that something would happen to him. I did not want him to die without knowing Jesus, especially after being so close at the Bible study. Then the issue with the van. But it all worked out…according to God’s plan and timing. We looked at the van today, ready to get after that spare tire with some vengeance. Guess what…it came down exactly like it should with no problems, without any change in our methods. God’s timing. It’s beyond our control and comprehension, but it is good and true.

            Okay another something I’ve been doing these past couple weeks, talking with SHIP Trippers. We have had two weeks of groups, with some staying for both weeks. There is also a wonderful story of God working to get one girl to be able to stay for the second week, but I’m not going to tell that story right now. Myself and a few others spent several days, more than half, staying up late talking with each other. Late being anywhere between midnight and 2am, while still waking up between 6-6:45. There were times when it was rough, but it was worth every moment of being tired. We talked late into the night about anything and everything. Serious, scary, personal, goofy, funny, adventurous, and sorrowful. We covered ‘em all very well. It was not the easiest thing for me to do because I have had a few relationships go sour, leaving me hurt. This has made me hesitant to get to know people on a deeper level. I can talk about me but for privacy sake, I’m not going to share the details of our talks, but I would share that God used each of us to impact the others. For me, I have had a hard time engaging people again because of being scared of getting hurt again. Something I am coming to terms with is that I’m going to be hurt. There will be pain either path I take. If I stay stand off-ish for as long as I currently do, then I will always be distant to people. If I engage people and just go for it, then I will continue to be hurt by people because nobody is perfect. One path is pain, the other path is pain. Among God’s many promises to us is that He will be our comfort and our peace. As a Christian, I will still face the brokenness of our world but “There is love, that came for us. Humbled to a sinner’s cross. You broke my shame and sinfulness. You rose again victorious. You are stronger, you are stronger. Sin is broken, you have saved me. It is written, Christ is risen. Jesus you are Lord of all.” That comes from Stronger, aka Poderoso by Hillsong United. It’s one of the songs I learned and we played during this past community outreach. We did the Revelation song, Poderoso, and Cambiare Mi Tristeza, which is Trading my Sorrows. What fun we’ve had! Anyway, back to my story, I have learned so much over the past couple weeks by talking with the fellow SHIP trippers. I have made some new friends and we have had a mutually beneficial relationship thus far. They have spoken life into me and I have spoken life into them, and we have all grown closer to God through our relationships. What I want everyone to take away from this story is that we can still learn and grow in our relationship with God during the times when we are doing what many would call “serving God through missions.” I personally don’t like that phrase because I don’t want to live with intentionality only during times when I am on a “mission trip.” We can still be poured into during times when we are reaching out to show God’s love to others. We still have problems and need truth to be spoken to us.  “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” –Hebrews 3:12-14

            What else has been going on? Well, we built a house. No really, we built a house. The first week we built an expansion to a house and replaced the roof, and the second week we built a whole house. The construction guidance of the leaders absolutely amazes me. Not much material is straight and not many of the workers have much experience, be everything always comes together. Another project we finished was the duplex that was started in March. It was the first project I got to work on, and now I get to see it finished. The mom and two daughters moved in a couple days ago. Let’s see, what else? I’ve learned a few new songs, some in English and some in Spanish, helped lead music during our two community outreaches, played at the beach, and eaten some more pupusas. I am constantly running around and doing a little bit of everything. It leaves me very tired each night but it has been worth everything. If I could ask for something right now it would be prayer for me as the end of my trip approaches. I leave for Texas in a few days and am not ready to say goodbye yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see everyone back home, but I know I will miss the people I have grown close to here in El Salvador. I would like to return at a later time but I don’t know when that will be. I know I will leave part of my heart here in El Salvador. There will come a day when we will be together again with our brothers and sisters in Christ, in this life or the next. I will count it a blessing if it is once again in this life.

 Our water fight with the kids from the orphanage

 Our water fight with the kids from the orphanage

 The new house coming together

 The frame of the new house

 Driveway from SHIP

 Inside view, much bigger than these pictures show (picture taken from center of room)

 Some of our group with the family who received the new house

Three wonderful ladies standing in front of their new house at the duplex

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