A Much Needed Update

We have officially been home from El Salvador for 32 days. And no update. OOPS!

For these past 32 days Robert and I have recuperated from 6 long, wonderful, tiring, weeks out of the country. We have been job hunting fools – Robert was successful, me not so much. I helped plan, celebrate, and attend my best friend’s wedding. (But it wasn’t like the movie. First of all she is a chick. Second, I didn’t confess my undying love for her or at least in that way.) We have readjusted to our quiet and wonderful little lives here in Canyon, America.

But most of all these past 32 days we have talked over memory after memory – with friends, family, and the church, we have worked through what God did in us and what he taught us (well actually we are still doing that one), and we have missed our wonderful friends we made in El Salvador. We are so glad we went on this life changing trip. God has solidified so many things in our lives, has stretched us beyond what we thought possible, and ultimately has brought us closer to each other and to Him. Speaking of which is exactly what we asked Him to do in us and through us. That is always cool – and perfect.

Soon I will post pictures. Or at least some of my favs.

A day to recuperate…

So we are back at the Lake today.  Yesterday we dropped off our first team at the airport, came back to camp, turned in all our paperwork, and other items we were responsible for, I went to see the doctor, then finally got to bed early.  We were at it pretty hard all last week with our team from Pocono church in PA.  We did 18 programs and reached over 2,900 people with the Gospel.  All week we stayed at a church in the country where we were without running water, had to use mosquito nets which didn’t help much, and slept on hard tile floors.  It was awesome.  Most of the kids had never been on a mission trip, let alone one that extreme, and they were all very cheerful and willing to work despite our surroundings.  Let me reiterate that they were very cheerful considering that all but two of them were sick with fevers, sore throats, etc..  On Sunday our team got to do the service at the local church there.  It was a really special time.  Sarah and other members of the team did worship in Spanish and English, we presented a drama, our youth pastor preached and I got to translate (the Lord gave me a lot of grace).  It was just so awesome to come together as believers of different colors, origins, and languages yet still worship our one Lord together.  It was a good week, a long and tiring week.

Right now we are waiting on our next team which was supposed to arrive at noon but might not be here until tomorrow since they missed their flight.  So in the meantime we are waiting, doing laundry, updating this blog, and resting.  We will be doing soccer ministry with the team next week, and then will fly out with them next Friday.  That’s all for now.  Thanks for all the support and prayers.

Robert

Prayer Requests:

• Continued health and healing for both of us.
• That God will work in and through us to impact His kingdom.
• Strength and grace to give our all the next week and finish strong.
• Safe travels home.

So I Lied….

I told you the last time I wrote that we would not be writing again. Which would have been true, had I not come down with a bad case of bronchitis. 

Our first team came in on Monday, we trained on Tuesday and headed out to Zacatecaluca on Wednesday. I discovered I had a fever the moment we arrived at the church. I was put on Tylenol. I half-way did two programs with the team but kept feeling worse and worse. By that night, we called the camp doctor again and he put me on an antibiotic. When I woke up (I don’t really know if you can call it waking up when you don’t really go to sleep) I had a 102 fever and the cough that had been lurking had gotten pretty bad. I was picked up and taken to Uncle Don and Aunt Terri’s where the doctor came by to examine me. He listened to my lungs for quite a while and then said – you have  problem….. Great, just what I wanted to hear. If I hadn’t have gotten picked up or at least stopped doing programs I would have pneumonia. 

So poor Robert has been the only intern on a team. We were already nervous about doing this since we haven’t done it before, and then I leave. I feel so horrible about that. So by the sound of it I will arrive back with the team for a day of programs, a church day (and I do mean day), and the beach. The good stuff you know… ;) 

Meanwhile, Robert has been doing 5-6 school programs a day with our team for Pennsylvania. It is kind of funny comparing the States to a country like this. We are allowed to waltz into a school, set up sound systems, do songs and dramas, preach the Word of God, and give an altar call for salvation, healing, and any other problems. Two different worlds, I tell you. He told me today that he is enjoying taking a more administrative role with this team. They are a great team with a great heart. The youth pastor has only been there a year and a half but you can tell the kids love and respect him. And they are all very willing to serve in any capacity and jump at the chance of leadership. So Robert started delegating and said he really enjoyed that. 

I am planning on joining up with the team tomorrow. I hope I am feeling well enough. But I just can’t stand being away from Robert and the team. Please send some prayers up for us! 

Prayer Requests

• A quick and speedy recovery for Sarah
• Keep Robert whole and well
• Strength to finish out this team and start the next one the very next day
• That God would really move in the hearts of the kids we are ministering to and in the hearts of the American teams

Sarah

Life as an Intern

So, there is still no power here at the lake where we are staying. We are on generator power and I had to come borrow a missionary’s computer to steal the internet for a while. Thus, the few updates. Or rather, the one update. Apologies to all our followers.

Since the last time we updated we have done quite a bit, and it seems like so very long ago. We finished out our week of programs and returned to the camp on the lake. It is so absolutely breathtaking here. This week we have had a week of projects. Our assigned project was supposed to last a day but turned out to be quite a large undertaking. We stained, sanded (with Brillo pads, mind you – life as an intern), and polyurethaned nine desks, five desk toppers, twelve cabinet doors, four drawers, and three large cabinets. We didn’t finish even after working on it for a week – go figure.

This weekend has been fairly free. Robert woke up sick with a cold or flu. Not swine flu, not malaria, not dengue fever; just a cold. I however took to the streets, literally. Joining with the World Warrior team, the free interns created four biblical scenes from Jesus’ life – creating human billboards along highways and busy streets. Wearing full biblical dress we created the scene of the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus healing a blind man, the adulterous woman, and the crucifixion. The first or second rotation through the scenes was actually quite fun. But as the morning stretched on, the two minute poses began to wear on us.

Tomorrow is a big celebration at the church for Father’s Day – the first in the history of this church. Fathers are absent or abusive for the most part, but for the first time they are having a day for Fathers. Pray that it goes well.

On Monday our first team arrives. They will leave the 1st of July and our next team will fly in on the 2nd. We will most likely not update this again. We will be out in El Salvador doing programs for the next three weeks. Our few readers will have to settle for an update after we return to the States on July 10.

Prayer Requests

• Robert not feeling well
• Strength for our teams coming in
• That His words would not return void
• The Sobey family – Steve is in the hospital

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Sarah

Greetings from El Salvador!

According to my dad, we have been slacking in updating this… But I have to say, we have been super busy and have had no internet access. So here is a brief account of our first week and a half. 

We arrived in El Salvador safe and sound on May 30th and were immediately put to work. We helped organize and put on Mega Dia our first day here. Mega Dia is like a church service and carnival type thing rolled into one. Then we started in on Boot Camp – two LONG days of drama and dance training. After only two days of training we set out on a bus to minister to the kids around the main camp located on an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful volcanic lake. However, half way through the day we packed our bags and hitched a ride to the capital city to stay the night at Don & Terri’s house. At four o’clock that morning we set out for a 13 hour trip to Nicaragua to help Steve and Kim put on their Mega Dia. We picked up three extra passengers on the way back and I had Andre in my lap for the 10 hour trip home. Traveling at night with the fear of gang activity made Uncle Don drive quite a bit faster. After church the next day, Robert and I were dropped off at the Hilton Princess San Salvador for our one year anniversary. This was quite unexpected but very welcomed. Since then we have been doing 3-5 programs a day in schools, parks, and street corners; seeing about 500 people accept Christ. A program consists of dances, games, and dramas geared toward the large population of children under the age of 17. 

Sarah

To all who are following this, we thank you for your prayers and support.  Our God is faithful, and we are blessed to have people who care for us and desire to see us grow and advance his kingdom.

Since arriving here a over a week ago we (along with a group of 23 other interns) have been hitting the streets of El Salvador showing the love of Christ and giving people the opportunity to accept him as their Savior.  I feel that I must be transparent and admit that God has been stretching us to step out in ways that we never have before.  Personally, doing dramas, singing songs and the like (all day today I traversed the barrios of San Salvador as a clown) is out of my comfort zone and is difficult at times.  But nonetheless, God brings those redeeming moments when we get to make a child smile or have the opportunity to pray with someone.  Yet overall, we are thankful for the opportunity to be here and excited to see what God will do in the next month that we are here.  We praise God that he is always faithful, that he is our strength when we are weak, our source of joy and inspiration when our humanity so often fails us.  Send up a quick pray for us if you think about it.  Thanks and Dios les bendiga.

Robert

Prayer Requests:

• Protection
• Health
• Strength
• Patience, grace, and joy during this time of stretching

So Long, Farewell

Well I said goodbye to my kids today. I was sad all day. No tears yet, but I have been on the verge several times.

It is funny how attached you get to these kids. You pour yourself into them everyday, practically raising them; and then they are gone. Despite the numerous tears, the complaining phone calls to my mother, the complete frustration, the utter desperation; I fell in love with 32 kids. Thirty two precious boys and girls who made me want to pull my hair out and then made me want to take them home.

Over these few months we all came such a long way. Me, as a teacher – learning how to take things in stride, learning how to teach, how to love, how to discipline. And them as students – how to keep their hands to themselves, use kind words, and raise their hands before speaking on the carpet.

So even though I discovered the hard way that everything must be nailed to the floor – chairs, tables, bookcases – or else they will go flying through the air, I will miss those little faces.

Gardening

Well…. in pots that is. We have no land to speak of. Thus we have resorted to planting a small garden in three pots. So come June we shall have strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers galore. Hopefully.

And now for the photo adventure.