And Now a Word from Alex

Dear supporters thank you so much for your support. You will be excited to hear that I came back with only a little stomach ache. You have made all that we did for the trip possible. I really appreciate all of your prayers. There were constant times that we could see God at work. For example: In San Salvador, which is the capital city we stayed in, there were three churches. We did an "Encounter" which is like a youth conference. By doing this three nights in a row we united the three churches!!!
God really showed himself to me this week - one day inparticular. This day we went to "la puerta del diablo", which means "the door of the devil." It was a scenic site that you could see all of San Salvador on a mountain. While we were driving, half way up the mountain, it started to poor rain. When we got to our parking lot we waited for the rain to subside. Soon enough it was just a dribble but very cloudy. We decided to go up all the same. It was about a 10-15 minute hike up some stairs until we got to the top. We couldn't see 20 yards in front of us. So it looked like we would miss a wonderful view. But since we were up their our El Salvadorian intern wanted to give his testimony while we were there. As he was sharing and we were praying slowly the clouds started to be blown away. We would catch a glimpse of another mountain top - and everyone would gasp. The clouds were so thick that it could only be God that was moving them. Slowly but surely the clouds cleared completely up. Tthe place of solitude for us was filled with God's presence. God came out every day to show Himself. We coined a term: "God likes to show up and show off."
The funnest day for me was a beach day. Why so fun? The Pacific's water was over 80 degrees and warmer than the air, the waves were perfect for body surfing- that is if you like being sucked in by a powerful under toe and spat back out at top speeds tumbling and flipping you, smashing and drowning you, and best of all using you to knock down those in the shallow water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not just the water was great but we got our own pavilion to sit under. On the beach I had the best mango I had ever had it was Soooooooooo good. Thank you again for your support I couldn't of had this life changing experience without you.

New Friends

Alex had a great time with the kids and they loved him! Ask him sometime about this trip!

At the Orphanage

Come Here James speak this Sunday about the trip and hear about this amazing women, Tia Ana (Center).

Mountain Climbing in El Salvador

We're Back!

You need to celebrate! Because of your support WE had a great conclusion to the week!
The second half of our week was as full as the first! We had two more nights of “Encounter” where the youth gathered together. It ended beautifully as 90 of us (gringos and Salvadorians) stood in a circle, holding hands, singing about the oneness we shared in Christ. It was the first time that these churches had been gathered together and they caught a vision for future gatherings like this.
Thursday I took one of our team members to the doctors as they had been having a very sore throat, headaches, and a temperature…long story short the pastor’s brother is a doctor who saw her right away and we were able to get a anti-biotic for her. Alex was with the rest of the team that went to the “artisans market.” That afternoon we were scheduled to go into the fruit market and buy a bunch of food to donate to those in need, but 20 minutes before we were to walk there we got word that the pastor had been held at gunpoint and robbed of his cell phone and wallet at the very spot that we were to have passed. The leaders decided to change plans and instead we went to another area to play a pick up game of soccer and see what neighborhood kids would join in with us.
In the evening some of the church members and a few of us leaders headed out for Pupusas (the National dish!) Delicious!
Friday we went back to the orphanage where the kids screamed with delight at our arrival. I helped Tia Ana (the women who runs the place) with her math homework. She is in “the fourth grade” right now! Since she had been kicked out of her home at the age of 7 she never got her education and now she is going through the school system along with her kids. We stopped at the church to hear the pastor talk about his vision of reaching the neighborhoods around the church. It is a mix of very low and low income families with a few that are a bit better off.
That afternoon we headed to the hills where we had an amazing experience on a mountain top. What started out as a completely cloud-covered experience (as in you could only see 20 feet in front of you) turned out to be a memory that none of us will ever forget. The clouds dramatically revealed bit by bit vistas of mountain, valley, volcano, and coast line! We all shared a wonderful time of prayer for El Salvador together.
Saturday was a “down day” for us as we headed to the beach for the morning along with several Salvadorians. It was fun to hang out together, have casual conversations with our new Salvadorian friends and to enjoy some unbelievable waves! That evening we stopped at a new mall to show the team the contrast of wealth in the country and to reflect on the rich in poor, not only in El Salvador, but in the USA as well.
Sunday we all walked to the church (with chairs in hand) and celebrated for 2.5 hours together in singing, prayer, and listening to what was one of the best presentations on the prodigal son. Lunch…packed to go…and to the airport!!! Lots of tears as we left and now lots of wonderful memories!
The team left El Salvador at 7:00 PM Sunday night, arriving home at 2:00 AM Monday morning. All flights went smoothly and we cleared immigration and customs without a hitch. (Well, one member did have their wooden snake taken from him at security in El Salvador…a security risk?!)
I’ll post a few pictures for you to get a feel for what I’ve described above.
Thanks again for your prayers and financial support! All of this is because of your partnership! You need to celebrate with us in what God did in the lives of the Salvadorians and in the lives of the group members. We are all changed.

Taking a Drink out of a Fire Hydrant

Fast and furious...that's what it's been since we arrived in El Salvador. We have been going non-stop. From our 8 AM breakfast of rice, eggs, beans to various activities such as visiting the orphange to meeting with kids in poor neighborhoods to play pick up soccer games we've been on the go!
The weather has been great - HOT! yeah! We've walked from place to place, we've seen amazing and sad things. We've had sickness and health. We've connected well with the community at the apartments where we are staying. We have enjoyned Pupusas, the national food that are DELICIOUS! We've had food with nationals and with the team.
We've had our eyes opened to the needs in the country. We've been challenged! Our hearts have been broken as we've seen BIG needs and limited resources.
Our plans have changed constantly and that has been a challenge for this highly organized, administrative individual, but God has helped me to chill and go with the flow.
I've enjoyed watching the youths on the team open up and speak out. To see them use their Spanish to connect with those that live around here is really a blessing. To see my Spanish that is VERY rusty be put to use is surprising...and I'm thankful. It is a big plus to have some language ability. And although I'm butchering the Spanish language and it is usually Spanglish, it is working.
The El Salvador people are friendly, outgoing, like to laugh, are quick to respond to our "Buenas" greetings. We have spent a good amount of time getting to see the various ministries in this area and started last night a three night "Encounter" that is a challenge to give our lives away.
The time I'm taking now to enter this blog is a 40 minute window before a devotional time. So, Hasta Luega for now!
Please continue to pray for the team: for health, for safety, for connections with the Salvadorians, for unity, for open hearts to hear what God is saying to us (to me!)
This mission is only as good as God does His work in us and that happens as you pray for God to move in this place!

Attention all Info Hogs!

I'm hoping to send a few updates to the blog while I'm away, but in case we don't have internet access, and if you're starved for information, like I usually am when my friends or family are away, simply call:

630-653-1555 ext. 601

for a daily update on the team!

Thanks for your prayers!!!