Friday, February 29

Thursday Thanks - We want to thank the hotel staff where we are staying. They keep a smile on their face while we come and go in bulk and drink bottle (the large kind) after bottle of water. The cook for breakfast is gracious and makes a great omlette! The guard is friendly and gracious.

Friday, February 29 - Today, no specific projects were planned for the group so it was a VERY different day than the others. Some went to the central market, others stayed around the hotel and visited/read. Two of our team members were sick from sun poisoning as we had been in this hot El Salvador sun for over three hours at the prison yesterday. We are ALWAYS on the mission field, whether in Indiana or El Salvador, whether there are specific projects planned or not. Here is one example from today.
As mentioned in an earlier blog, one of our team members and her family had been praying for a gang member and his family for about 15 months when they found out he had been murdered. On Wednesday, this team member was able to visit his past 'gang' family. Today this team member was able to meet his Mom and learn about his family! The same local gang social worker that went with the team on Wednesday was able to locate his mother and took our team member out to visit his Mom. Because of making this connection, a renewed relationship between this local gang social worker and the people of this village developed and they asked him to start coming back out to visit them (visits include Bible Studies). These are the types of connections that God can orchestrate!
Tonight at dinner all of us shared with the group how we grew this week or moments when God's hand was clearly visible. This was a humbling experience to realize that our almighty God who created the universe is willing to work through people like us for His will to be done. As we leave on that note for today, here is a Scripture from Job when God was answering Job:
Job 40:9 'Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?'
The entire glory goes to God...may he be magnified in everything we do.

On a cultural standpoint, there are a wide variety of road types, anywhere from six lane highways to dirt roads, just as we have in the United States. However, something that is very different is that on the four and six lane highways here in El Salvador there are periodically 'stands' set up to sell coconuts, food and other items. Then further down the road there may be about a mile of homes (concrete and tin). Somewhere further there will be 'billboard' type signs neatly painted on the rock advertising various products. AND, along these four and six lane highways people are walking and more people are walking and MORE people are walking. And then, they are running across the highway to the median and then across the other lanes of traffic to get to the other side. All of this while the drivers are pretty much driving with either their foot strongly on the gas pedal or the brake! Watch out! :)