The Team Arrives!

Well we have finally settled down in El Salvador! (So that means I have time to write this) Well to be exact, we are finally having a regular schedule, since we landed on Saturday.  The team did look a little tired when we called them out from their comfortable beds on Saturday at 3:45 to go endure a long 7-hour plane ride, to go down and serve the rural community, Las Delicias. After some wonderful time to rest after the trip, we had brunch with Pastor Miguel Duran and got a basic assessment of our situation down in El Salvador and took our van/bus down to the community for the first time.


 New timers, Jon, Carrie and Anthony were a little shocked at immensely warm welcome that the rest of the team got from our partner church, Buen Sarmitano (The Good Samaritan). Yolanda, who is extremely popular with the little ones, was greeted with gigantic hugs and flurry of incredibly fast Spanish hellos, how do you dos, and we missed you and you have grown!
As the team settled down for service we were introduced ourselves to the church and then we worshiped. Worship. We often see Trent leading worship with guitars and drums and the whatnot. All these people had was a groovy little synth and a bass. But what they didn’t have in equipment was their voice and their spirit.  Such passion and the whole church stood for the sound of clapping and loud singing and you knew, well-felt more accurately described, this congregation was a family.
After worship, James (who was to be called Santiago in El Salvador) gave a great sermon about the importance of family. Walter our Enlace partner helped translate, while a chorus of amends rang from the church. We finished listening to the sermon and after a deep, heartfelt prayer we went home. But on today (Tuesday) we came back for Compassion Day.
  The newly opened Compassion site on the church grounds (for those of you who do not what Compassion is I recommend you ask Ian or go to the website) had brought more children and families closer to the church, but they do not regularly attend.  We saw on Sunday, Mireya, a sponsored girl reunited with Dawn our leader and Mireya’s sponsor. Dawn with tears in her eyes and laughing with joy embraced Mireya and there was much kissing and hugging.
Because Compassion day was so big, it needs its own post to do it justice, so this is the end for today.
Adios Amigos!
(Goodbye Friends)