Final day of ministry

It is hard to believe this week has come to a close already. It seems like we just got here in some ways, and in some ways we are ready to return to Wallace. This week has been an incredible experience. We have had some who have never left the country, and it has been interesting watching them as they experience life outside the United States for the first time. Others have never been here to El Salvador, and it has been interesting to see what all we take away from what we have seen and heard here. Others have been here before and have been able to rekindle those relationships with pastors they met before, children they helped care for, and to see how these people are so happy to see that these people came back is an incredible experience. As we leave each place, people keep asking when we are coming back to minister to them. We have developed relationships here with people that we will have for the rest of our lives.

Today was a neat experience for us, we got to lead a retreat for the pastors in the area. These ministers are the leaders of their church and the ones everyone looks to. They don't have anyone to feed them spiritually, and they don't have anyone really they can go to and share struggles with because minister's can't really do that with members of the congregation. When they first came in this morning, they were kind of stand offish and didn't really say much, but as the day went on, they opened up more and saw that it was ok to have some fun and let their guard down. We did most of the same retreat we did with the young people last Sunday, but focused it a little more on ministry as well. We got them to play some minute to win it crazy games, they asked us lots of questions, and in the end we were able to worship together by singing some songs and sharing communion with each other. They left that retreat with a whole different attitude than before! As we were leaving, we got to give them some gifts that were just for them. We brought some t-shirts and other little trinkets with us, but someone sent with us Bible commentaries written in spanish for them. These pastors would never be able to buy a book like this because they are so expensive, and to see their faces when they realized what they were getting was priceless. This will allow them to better teach the Bible to their congregations. Not only did we touch the lives of 20 people today, but hundreds more who are in their congregations who will hear more from God because of what these pastors learned today!

We hope you have enjoyed our stories each day, we thank you for keeping up with us through our trip and for praying for us while we were here. Maybe God is calling you to go on the next mission trip! Keep us in your prayers as we travel home tomorrow! We fly out of El Salvador at 12:30 which is 2:30 PM Eastern time and land in Atlanta at 6:15 PM. We will get to Raleigh about 10 PM and be back at the church around midnight if you would like to come and welcome us home. If not, we will see you all on Sunday morning for worship. 

Lauren

Thursday in El Salvador

Today was a little less demanding day. This morning we went to Wally's for breakfast like usual, and then we assembled the pastor's buckets that they are going to get tomorrow at the retreat. We bagged beans and rice, and got sugar, soap, oil, and a few other things ready to give to them tomorrow. Our retreat is going to be for about 17 pastor's and their wives tomorrow and our goal is to just encourage them and serve them. After getting the buckets ready, we rode up to Comasagua, El Salvador, about an hours drive from where we are. We got to see the house for the pastor that a previous group from FBC had done. The pastor's house had been hit made a landslide and his bedroom fell off the side of the mountain. He was telling us that it was hard on his family and they asked God why he had allowed it to happen, but now his house is better than it was for him, his wife, and their 7 kids. We got to meet his whole family, play with the kids some--they became friends once we pulled out balls and other toys for them! He took us to the church which is right next door to the house. It has a metal roof and metal sides, but that is it. There is a little pulpit area that has a drum set, piano, and guitar for the worship music. The baptismal pool is right under the pulpit area and is covered mostly by pieces of wood when not being used. In the corner, he had a model of what he visioned the church to look like in the future with another story to the church, making the worship area upstairs and downstairs they would feed children and do other ministry. They hope to have a food place next to the church to help cook food for the children and open it to the community during the week. 

We had a chance to talk to the pastor a little, and he and other pastors in the area are struggling a lot. He has been trying to set up a network of pastors to work together, but sometimes it is hard because they are so legalistic about certain religious laws unlike this pastor. He even said that if his wife is wearing pants, they won't talk to her, and if he is wearing cargo pants, they won't talk to him. He is hoping this retreat tomorrow will help them work together more and be encouraged and excited about ministry. He also shared with us that on September 18 they will be feeding 40 kids every week because they have been burdened about the kids in the city who have died from hunger. They aren't quite sure where the money is going to come from, but they know God is calling them to do this and they know that God will provide.

Tomorrow is our final day of ministry before we head back to Wallace. Pray that we have the strength and health to make it through strong and with the same energy we started with. We aren't really sure what to expect tomorrow, so pray the pastors come open to what we have to say and do. Thanks for your prayers!

Lauren

God's word is life-changing

We had our third and final day doing Vacation Bible School at Nehemias today. This morning some of us went out downtown San Salvador to grab coffee about 6:30 AM and there were storm clouds everywhere. We even got wet on our way back to our hotel and with the looks of the weather, we were going to have rain all day long. When we got out to the church this morning, they had constructed tarps and other structures to help us if it did rain, but God kept the rain away, and the sun even came out for a while, but the sky was overcast most of the day and we were kept a little cooler than usual. (It was cooler for us than it was in Wallace today!) For the morning group we have close to 40 kids show up, and they got to learn about Peter healing the crippled man at the temple, and in crafts they got to make a salvation bracelet and learn about the gospel in a new and creative way. They all seemed to have lots of fun. After they ate lunch, before they left to go to school, we were able to give each of them a health kit we brought with us that had toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, washcloth, candy, and other things in it, along with a Bible to take home with them and share with their family. They were so excited to get them and couldn't wait to open them and see what was inside. During lunch we were able to go visit one of the ladies we had seen on Monday who was a hammock maker, and she had 2 hammocks for us to bring back to the states! We were able to minister to her, as well as help her out a little as well. The afternoon session we kept getting kids and more kids and ended up with almost 70 kids. That is the most we have had all week, and I think they heard there were health kits, so they showed up to get them. It was such a great sight to see so many kids there, who were touched by the word of God!

After VBS was over, we were able to meet with the pastor and thank him for what he had done for us this week and give him some gifts and encouragement. We learned that both he and his wife struggle a lot because people don't respect them, and they pour out their hearts to these people, feeding them all the time, and showing God's love, but are hated and treated poorly. It is hard to keep ministering to people when those around you are working against all that God is trying to do. We were able to pray with them and give them hope that God still loves them and still wants to them to continue to minister to those people out in the village even if there are those who go against God! The pastor said a few times that he knows God sent us there for a reason and he is certainly glad that we answered that call from God to minister to the people down in El Salvador. It was great to hear an affirmation of God's call in our lives to go to El Salvador! This week's VBS has been an incredible week. So many lives were touched! It was so encouraging to see and hear each one of the kids say the Bible verse we taught them. We thought only a few of them would be able to say it, but each and everyone of them could tell you what it was, and the verse and the Bible truths they learned this week, they will remember for a very very long time. We will never know how much of an impact we had on the kid's lives. As we were leaving, the kids were coming up and hugging me, many who I didn't really know or had built a strong relationship with, but they would just cling to me and beg me not to go, and then want to know if I was coming back to see them next year. Several people have told us that these kids have never opened up to any group like this before, and what we did here this week has blessed them in so many ways! I am so glad God allowed us to come and do ministry here and be able to bless these kid's lives--those who don't know where their next meal will come from, who don't know who their father is, who live in complete poverty.

After 3 long hard days working 6 hours in the sun on our feet being pumped up for these kids, we are a tired group of folks. For one who is not a morning person, I have not been able to sleep past 6 AM each morning, and some have been waking up early in the morning not being able to go back to sleep. Pray that we can find the rest we need to finish up our trip with the same joy and enthusiasm and passion we had at the beginning of the week. Tomorrow will be a little slower pace for us. We will be preparing for our pastor's retreat that will be on Friday, and then we will be heading up to Comosagwa to meet the pastor of the church there where our previous group built part of his house. We will get to see what goes on in the ministry up there and minister and encourage the pastor as well. It is hard to believe we only have 2 more days of ministry here before we head back to the states. This trip has flown by and all of us have been so blessed already, and we look forward to all that God will do in the final days here! We thank you for your prayers and ask that you pray for energy to make it through till the end. 

Lauren

Day 2 of VBS

It is hard to believe that half of our mission trip is already over and it will be no time that we will be returning to Wallace. Today was day 2 of our VBS. When we arrived this morning, the kids were already waiting for us to come. We have heard that they are very shy and don't really talk much, but by the end of the day, they wanted to get in the van with us to come home and didn't want us to leave. This morning, things went great and things seemed to fly by. We had great weather and the kids seemed to have a ball. Most of them didn't have school again today, so after lunch they stayed around so we pulled out some of the games we brought with us and they started playing them. We taught them how to hula-hoop, play catch with the velcro balls, and then some of us even played a game of soccer with them. It was so much fun and we really got to build the relationships with the kids, getting to know their names and celebrate with them when our team scored a goal. They think that since I know a little bit of spanish and can piece together phrases from when I took 6 years in grade school, I can speak the language and they will ask me questions and I don't know what in the world they are saying. We have 4 different translators that help us through the day, which is so helpful to grab one when we need to talk with someone, or understand what they are asking us. Several team members have had the opportunity to have one on one conversations with the mothers and learn about their story and how God is working in their life. It was neat to see the mother that we prayed for yesterday bring her kids to VBS this morning and stay the whole time, listening to the Bible story and participating. She was the one who doesn't come to church.

The afternoon went a little different than we planned. While we were playing with the kids and waiting for the next group to arrive, the clouds rolled in, the thunder started, and a storm was quickly approaching. We prayed that it would go away and we were able to get through our opening, but 10 minutes into our first station, the bottom fell out and it rained very hard for about an hour. We first tried to continue what we were doing, getting a little wet, but the tarps that were over our heads were caving in because of so much rain and there was mud everywhere that we had to revise our plans and do VBS all together in one station rather than 3. Thankfully people knew some more spanish songs that we could sing, and we were able to make it work just fine. The kids loved it, but were disappointed that they didn't get to play the games outside.

After a long day at VBS and most of us getting soaked to the bone, we were able to stop by the volcano that is on the way home. It was an incredible sight to see, and to marvel at God's creation, even if it was one of destruction at some point. Tomorrow is our last day doing VBS at Nehemias, and after VBS we will be leading their Wednesday night worship service to show their parents what they did while at VBS and Jim will be preaching as well. Pray that we are able to show the same enthusiasm we did on the first day as we do tomorrow. Pray that their parents will come out to see what they have done, even if they don't come to church regularly, and pray that God will speak through the children and Jim as he preaches so that those who don't know the Lord will not leave there tomorrow without making a decision. It is so incredible to see how much these people can love God and genuinely worship Him when they don't have anything. Here we are in America, where we have lots of stuff, and we just go to church on Sunday morning because it is the thing to do, and then continue with our life the rest of the week. We miss out on so much, and God wants to do much more in our lives if we would just let Him. We met one lady who it took almost 2 hours to get there this morning with her kids. She wanted to be part of it that she sacrificed so much to worship God. We can all learn something from these people! May we all strive to be in love with God so much that it shows in our worship at church as well as our daily interactions with others at work, in the stores, and at play!

Picture from VBS Day 1

Here is the picture from VBS I forgot to post!
 

Day 1 of VBS

Most of us still haven't gotten used to the time difference here yet, and once it hits about 7:45 PM, we are ready to be in bed. It has helped us in the morning get up earlier since we think it is later. Today was our first day of ministry in Nehemias. It is a small church is a remote village about 30 minutes away from the city. There was trash everywhere, dogs and chickens roaming around. We got there this morning and had about 41 kids in our first session. We structured the VBS around what we did for our church back in Wallace. We had an opening ceremony where we sang a few songs in Spanish, we had puppets sing with them, which they though was super cool! We learned our Bible point for the day which was La Palabra de Dios es la verdad....AMEN! (God's word is true...LET'S GO!) Then we split up into 3 groups, bible story, games, and crafts. Each of the kids got to go to each station and participate in the activities. After that, we came together, sang a few more songs, and then they got to eat lunch that was served by the church. The kids were supposed to go off to school, but one of their teachers passed away, so their school was canceled. We had a lot of the same children show back up for the afternoon session, and even though they were doing the same things, they absolutely loved it! 

While we were waiting for the afternoon group to come, we have about 2 hours for lunch. We sat around and ate, and then had over an hour left. Jim had the idea that we grab the pastor of the church and take a walk down the dirt roads of the village talking with him about what he does, and praying for the people who lived there (Prayer walk). So the pastor said he would go with us and soon we were off and walking. He starts leading us up into a ladies house and says that he wants us to go and pray for her. We walk up to where the house is, and I see that all it is is a tin roof over a concrete slab. They cook their food outside on a fire, there is no plumbing (we had to use an outhouse while we were at VBS), there is no lights and electricity. We were told that up to 3 families can live together in these houses. There were chickens running around, dogs looking for things to eat, their dirt "yards" were swept very clean. When the pastor came up to the house, he told the mother what we were doing and said that we wanted to pray for her. He asked her some things that she needed prayer for and told us that her kids attended the church, but she did not. She asked for us to pray for her to find work, to help support her family, and a few other things. We all gathered around her, laid hands on her and prayed for her that she would find a job and start going to church. The picture today is our group spending time with this lady and her family. We were told that all these people who live in the village don't have husbands, they have gone off and left them, they can't really work, so they have no way to support their family. The only support they have is this church who donates food to the ones who need it the most. Without this church in this village, they would not be able to survive. We were able to go and meet a few other families and pray for them as well before we had to return back to the church and get ready for the afternoon session. We really hadn't planned on doing that type of ministry, but all of us got a lot out of it, and we touched a lot of people as well.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. We have gotten a lot of comments on Facebook and we really appreciate that! Tonight we opened up cards that our children's department did during Sunday school, and let me tell you, it brought huge smiles to our faces. I would like to know who my bff is since they didn't sign their name to my card, so if you are out there, please let me know!!! Pray that we get rest, it is very tiring out there in the sun for 6 hours a day on our feet the whole time, being pumped up acting crazy and having fun with these kids. Pray that we have more kids come tomorrow. We hope that they will bring their friends and siblings, and whoever else they can think of to VBS tomorrow. Also pray that it doesn't rain. All of VBS is essentially outside. The church has a small wooden stage with a tin roof over it, but that is about it. There is no way we can do everything inside that small space. If it rains, we aren't quite sure what we will do, but know that God will take care of it if it does happen. Pray that we remain healthy, and rested, and open to all that God is doing in and through us here this week! Thanks for journeying with us and thank you for praying!

Lauren
 

First Full day of ministry!

God is truly amazing and did some pretty amazing things in and through us today. We all were up and cheerful this morning after we got some much needed rest. We knew that the morning/afternoon was going to consist of leading a marriage retreat for the church members at Ruta, the church where the missionary Wally preaches at. They have never done anything like this before. For most people in El Salvador, the concept of marriage and waiting to have sex until after you are married is a foreign concept to them. They believe that you have to live with someone 5 years before you can marry to see if you are compatible. Many have children in these relationships as well. The Ruta church is made up of mostly 18-30 year olds, and most of them aren't married and some even have children. Our goal through this retreat was to share with them about what God says about marriage. Instead of preaching at them and telling them what they were doing was wrong, we focused around the theme of relationships: relationships with God, their parents, their friends, and their spouses. We had a great time with them building relationships with them as well. We started out with putting together puzzles in groups and seeing how that can relate to relationships. We took several stories in the bible about family relationships, several group members shared their testimonies about their family relationships, and we gave them time to reflect in journals that we brought for them about what God was speaking to them through us. During this time, some of our group was playing with the children who were there, keeping babies happy, grilling burgers for lunch, and interacting with the adults there. After lunch we got to play some crazy "Minute to Win it" games, give out lots of door prizes from things people sent with us, and then we had a panel discussion time to answer any question they had for us. It was a neat experience because the whole team sat in front of them and shared our testimony with them about how God used our relationships to bring us closer to Him. Hearing everyone's story, I was able to see that God is able to take us, no matter what we have done, what we have gone through, and use us to minister to others if we let Him. To end the retreat, we all gathered around and sang a song, in both English and Spanish, and then shared communion together. At the end, one of the pastors asked if they could pray for our team, so they had us stand in the middle of their circle and then they came and laid hands on us and each prayed out loud at the same time. We couldn't understand all they were saying, but you could just feel the Holy Spirit there during that time. We were deeply touched by that, and none of us had a dry eye at the end of it! The picture attached is a picture of our team with the girls that attended the retreat. Don't worry, you will see the guys picture at a later date!

After the retreat, we then went to Ruta church where they had church service. They do church on Sunday evenings only, and like I said, most people there are between the ages of 18-30. Experiencing church in a foreign language is an interesting experience. There were some things that we couldn't understand. The songs were completely in Spanish and their projector was broken, so we couldn't sing along, but a few songs we did know the English to, so we sang along with them, praising God during that time. Several people got up and shared their testimony and how they heard God speak to them through the retreat, and then Currie preached the sermon. During the time of invitation, people were able to come up front and pray, and others would come to them and just pray for them. It was much different than what we experience in our church, but you could see how genuine it was, and how much these people love God! 

We are so excited about all that God did today, and are thankful that He has given us the opportunity to be here to serve the people. We are looking forward to seeing more of what God has in store for us this week! For the next 3 days, we will be leading Vacation Bible School for children in a very poor community. We will have about 50 kids in the morning, and then once they go to school, we will have 50 more kids who are getting home from school. They will get to participate in crafts, games, and hear Bible stories. We are using a lot of the Bible School we did this summer, unfortunately they didn't make the songs in spanish! We have other kids songs in spanish that we will be teaching them. Pray that we are able to really love on these kids and show them how special they are to God. Pray that we will have the energy to have fun with these kids, and do the same craft or game, or story 6 times a day! Pray that we continue to stay healthy and get the rest we need, and pray that we will be open to what God would have to say to us through this whole process as well! 

Thanks for checking in with us, for praying, and for sending encouraging notes back! They mean a lot to all of us, and we hope that you are able to experience part of what we are experiencing here through this blog. Because our day is so packed, most updates won't come until midnight Eastern Time, so check every morning to see how things have gone for us the day before and pray for us as we get ready to serve for the day. 

Lauren
 

We are here safely in El Salvador!

Greetings! We have arrived in El Salvador around noon their time, 2 PM Eastern. We had a minor delay from Atlanta and the computer system that kept track of which bags were supposed to be on which plane was down. They had to do it all by hand. We were all holding our breath as the bags came out to see if all of our luggage made it. Thankfully all of our luggage was accounted for! Thanks for your prayers!

The missionary here, Wally, came and picked us up and took us to get traditional El Salvador food called pupusas. They are kinda like pancakes and tacos put together. They put the ingredients inside the "pancake" material. They came with chicken, beans, squash, and cheese. It was a good first meal here! We then headed to our hotel called the "Good Luck Hotel". We have a few hours to unpack, get some rest, and go exploring the city before we have orientation and dinner at Wally's house.

We appreciate all your prayers to get us here safely! We do have wireless internet in our hotel for now, so we will be able to post at least once a day to let you know how things are going here. Feel free to post comments and messages so that the group can be encouraged each day.

Lauren

Leaving for El Salvador

3:30 this morning 9 of us drove out the church as 2 people prayed us off. We were all on time, we got to the airport safely, all our bags got checked with no problems, and we all made it through security with minimal issues!

We are getting ready to board in Raleigh and fly to Atlanta. There we leave at 9:45 and get in El Salvador 2pm our time. We will get some time of rest and then go through orientation and start getting used to the food! :-) Pray that we arrive safely there and our luggage makes it. Tomorrow we will do a marriage retreat in the morning and then lead in their church service tomorrow night. Pray for us as we share with these people that they are receptive and we speak what God would have us to say. Hopefully we will have internet to update daily, so check back daily to see what we are doing and how you can pray! Thanks for your prayers and support! We look forward to all that God will do in and through us!

-Lauren
Rev. Lauren Deer
910-285-2534

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

El Salvador Mission Trip August 7-14

9 People from FBC (Jim and ENan Baldwin, Lauren Deer, Betty Blanton, Currie and Jo Wells, Lynn and Randy Futrell, and David) will be going to El Salvador for a week to do ministry. Please keep them in your prayers. We will be posting daily updates during our trip so you can see all that God is doing in and through us, and know what to pray for!