Sunday, July 15, 2012
Day Five - Sports Outreach (Part 2) / Carly's Birthday
For several reasons, time for blogging tonight is basically non-existent, so we will fill you in on the day's events on a double-post tomorrow... for now, we will leave you with this photo that we believe sums up the day! Yay God!
Day Four - Sports Outreach (Part 1)
It is just past midnight as everyone is finally climbing into bed after the beautifully exhausting day we had! We were up bright at early at 5:00am in order to head to Santisima to help set up everything for the Sports Tournament. The entire four-sport tournament took place on a dirt field that sits near the tops of the hill that contains the Santisima community. The girls started inflating some of the soccer/basket/volley-balls we brought with us while the guys got digging into the dirt/gravel in order to install bamboo posts for the nets. 
After everything was set up, we headed to Mama's for a quick breakfast before heading back to Santisima for the tournament. Here is a peek into what our meal-time looks like:
Back at the tournament, Tyler led with the opening remarks, which included a debut of our team doing the Christian Spanish Hakka. (Still trying to get videos edited and uploaded. Stay tuned.)
Once the games began, the team jumped right in to the games which included, soccer, basketball drills, volleyball, and something the Salvadorans call Football Tennis. Basically, the court looks like a tennis court, but instead of using hands/rackets and tennis balls, you use a soccer ball, and can use anything BUT your hands or arms. For the Salvadorians who are pretty much amazingly talented when it comes to all things football (or Soccer, by our terms), it was a really cool came to watch. Once the Americans joined the game though... well, we made for a few laughs at least. Those who weren't playing games were out mingling with everyone. We've all had to find very creative ways of communicating since most of us know very little Spanish (and poor Kate and Luca can only be in so many places at once), and they know very little English. I am pretty sure that after all of this practice, our team could form some kind of National Charades team and be unstoppable!
It was a very busy, very eventful day, and everyone was worn out by the end of the day's games, but we were able to enjoy an evening of fellowship with the people of Santisima. We prayed with a good friend of Tyler's that he and Adrienne met during last year's trip, and took members of the church out to dinner at Carnitas. Our table ended up filling the length of the restaurant, and having to turn into a L-Shape to fit everyone!
Now it is off to bed because it will be another early morning as we start day two of the tournament!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers!
After everything was set up, we headed to Mama's for a quick breakfast before heading back to Santisima for the tournament. Here is a peek into what our meal-time looks like:
Once the games began, the team jumped right in to the games which included, soccer, basketball drills, volleyball, and something the Salvadorans call Football Tennis. Basically, the court looks like a tennis court, but instead of using hands/rackets and tennis balls, you use a soccer ball, and can use anything BUT your hands or arms. For the Salvadorians who are pretty much amazingly talented when it comes to all things football (or Soccer, by our terms), it was a really cool came to watch. Once the Americans joined the game though... well, we made for a few laughs at least. Those who weren't playing games were out mingling with everyone. We've all had to find very creative ways of communicating since most of us know very little Spanish (and poor Kate and Luca can only be in so many places at once), and they know very little English. I am pretty sure that after all of this practice, our team could form some kind of National Charades team and be unstoppable!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Day Three- The Rest of the Team Finally Arrives!
Wow, what a great first day with the ENTIRE team together!!!! It was wonderful!
The early team woke up at 4:00 to head to the beach for a morning run with Kevin and Gabriel, two of our friends from Santisima. After our run, we were able to each spend some time in prayer in the midst of one of the most beautiful places in God’s creation.
Then we practiced our Hakka, in formation, in the sand… in front of our Salvadoran friends. We are pretty sure they thought we were crazy, but it was fun nonetheless! Then it was time to pick the rest of the team up from the airport. We were just leaving the beach to drive the 10 minutes or so to the airport, fully expecting to make it there way before the team was able to get through immigration, customs, baggage claim and get outside when we received a call from Marito saying the time was ready and waiting for us! They made it through everything in record time with no problems at all! James sweet-talked his way through immigration (either that or the immigration agent was intimidated by him) and after that, they just started waving the rest of the team through. All of the bags made it, nothing was missing or stolen, and all-in-all, it was a great travel day for them!
The drive from the airport to Via Olympica (our home-base this week) gave the team the chance to absorb the culture for the first time. We arrived at home, unloaded bags, took a tour of the facility, and then headed to Mama’s house for lunch. (So long as Mama remains our cook, it will never be said that our teams suffer from malnutrition, starvation, or poor quality food… Mama is the most incredible cook and we are so spoiled to be able to have her cook for us every day.) While at Mama’s for lunch, Tyler surprised her with some news… but we’ll wait to tell that story until we can upload the video.
After lunch, we took a quick drive through the Santismas community to show the rest of the team where we will be ministering this weekend, and to introduce them to some of the teens we have come to know and love, then it was back to the house to allow the team to recharge with a nap before the weekend began. After everyone was refreshed, we finally learned the parts of Libertad (a Spanish song that the team committed to learn and sing for the church) that were still a bit shaky, complete with a competition between teams of 3 to see who could sing it best. Bishop, Wes and Jordan killed that competition with their own rendition of the song that had us in tears because we laughed so hard. (We'll be uploading that video as soon as we can!) After that, the early team taught the newly arrived members our new Hakka, complete with the formation and movements.
Then at 5:30, we left to meet the church community for a surprise welcome party they planned for us. Members of the ministry team welcomed us and showered us with love and gratitude for coming. We spent time getting to know them, eating Pupusas (a Salvadorian staple… tortillas stuffed with beans and cheese), and talking about the plans for the weekend. Finally, we surprised them by singing Libertad for them, and showing them our Hakka. They loved both, and had us teach them the Hakka so they could join us when we do it to begin the sports outreach that will begin bright and early tomorrow.
Today was an amazing first day. The team has done an incredible job of steeping into an entirely new environment and where they can barely communicate verbally, but have still managed to begin forming relationships and falling in love with the country and her people. As we begin the sports outreach tomorrow, please pray that our words, thoughts and actions be conformed to His divine will, that we accomplish the plan and purpose we have been called to fulfill in this trip, that hearts be changed and souls won for the Kingdom.
Dios te Bendiga!
The early team woke up at 4:00 to head to the beach for a morning run with Kevin and Gabriel, two of our friends from Santisima. After our run, we were able to each spend some time in prayer in the midst of one of the most beautiful places in God’s creation.
Then we practiced our Hakka, in formation, in the sand… in front of our Salvadoran friends. We are pretty sure they thought we were crazy, but it was fun nonetheless! Then it was time to pick the rest of the team up from the airport. We were just leaving the beach to drive the 10 minutes or so to the airport, fully expecting to make it there way before the team was able to get through immigration, customs, baggage claim and get outside when we received a call from Marito saying the time was ready and waiting for us! They made it through everything in record time with no problems at all! James sweet-talked his way through immigration (either that or the immigration agent was intimidated by him) and after that, they just started waving the rest of the team through. All of the bags made it, nothing was missing or stolen, and all-in-all, it was a great travel day for them!
The drive from the airport to Via Olympica (our home-base this week) gave the team the chance to absorb the culture for the first time. We arrived at home, unloaded bags, took a tour of the facility, and then headed to Mama’s house for lunch. (So long as Mama remains our cook, it will never be said that our teams suffer from malnutrition, starvation, or poor quality food… Mama is the most incredible cook and we are so spoiled to be able to have her cook for us every day.) While at Mama’s for lunch, Tyler surprised her with some news… but we’ll wait to tell that story until we can upload the video.
After lunch, we took a quick drive through the Santismas community to show the rest of the team where we will be ministering this weekend, and to introduce them to some of the teens we have come to know and love, then it was back to the house to allow the team to recharge with a nap before the weekend began. After everyone was refreshed, we finally learned the parts of Libertad (a Spanish song that the team committed to learn and sing for the church) that were still a bit shaky, complete with a competition between teams of 3 to see who could sing it best. Bishop, Wes and Jordan killed that competition with their own rendition of the song that had us in tears because we laughed so hard. (We'll be uploading that video as soon as we can!) After that, the early team taught the newly arrived members our new Hakka, complete with the formation and movements.
Then at 5:30, we left to meet the church community for a surprise welcome party they planned for us. Members of the ministry team welcomed us and showered us with love and gratitude for coming. We spent time getting to know them, eating Pupusas (a Salvadorian staple… tortillas stuffed with beans and cheese), and talking about the plans for the weekend. Finally, we surprised them by singing Libertad for them, and showing them our Hakka. They loved both, and had us teach them the Hakka so they could join us when we do it to begin the sports outreach that will begin bright and early tomorrow.
Today was an amazing first day. The team has done an incredible job of steeping into an entirely new environment and where they can barely communicate verbally, but have still managed to begin forming relationships and falling in love with the country and her people. As we begin the sports outreach tomorrow, please pray that our words, thoughts and actions be conformed to His divine will, that we accomplish the plan and purpose we have been called to fulfill in this trip, that hearts be changed and souls won for the Kingdom.
Dios te Bendiga!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Day Two - Last Minute Details
Today was another wonderful and productive day! We’re so blessed that everything has been running so smoothly! The 6 members of the early team (Tyler, Ryan, Luca, Kelly, Adrienne, and Kate) started the morning with another delicious breakfast at the Market with Pastor Martinez. After breakfast, the team spent a good bit of the morning at Pastor Martinez’s house while he and Tyler worked through the details for the week. After a couple of hours there, the team headed to the beach to start knocking on random doors and see if we could find a beach house to rent. Yes, I am serious. And yes, we ended up picking up/kidnapping an elderly Salvadorian gentleman to help us in our search. We found some beautiful homes with beautiful views… not sure yet which we will be staying in next week, but we’ll keep you updated. For now, enjoy the view from the balcony of the first home we visited…
After leaving the beach, it was time for a quick lunch at Pollo Compero (a fast food chicken restaurant) where we ran into some other Americans. It just happened that they are a missionary group from Lancaster, PA! And they are staying in the community that we normally stay in! What a small world! After lunch, we stopped by Mister Donut to meet up with our truly amazing (in so many ways) cook, Evelyn, affectionately known by all as Mama. We spent time with her planning our meals for the week and introducing her to Kate, Luca and Ryan, the team members she hadn’t met yet.
We spent the rest of the afternoon organizing the supplies and creating a Christian, Spanish version of the Hakka (an Icelandic war chant used by the All-Blacks rugby team), then picked up some of the teens from the Santisimas community and took them to dinner. We were sitting outside when it started pouring in traditional El Salvador monsoon-season-style… and the team got to experience their first (of probably many) soaking wet pick-up truck rides. Then it was time for bed as we planned to wake up at 4:00am on Day Three.
God continues to bless each step of this journey. Doors continue to be opened and He continues to guide our steps. Please continue to keep the team in prayer as the rest of the team arrives in the morning, and will need super-natural energy to hit the ground running once they do! We love you all and everyone back home is in our thoughts and prayers.
After leaving the beach, it was time for a quick lunch at Pollo Compero (a fast food chicken restaurant) where we ran into some other Americans. It just happened that they are a missionary group from Lancaster, PA! And they are staying in the community that we normally stay in! What a small world! After lunch, we stopped by Mister Donut to meet up with our truly amazing (in so many ways) cook, Evelyn, affectionately known by all as Mama. We spent time with her planning our meals for the week and introducing her to Kate, Luca and Ryan, the team members she hadn’t met yet.
We spent the rest of the afternoon organizing the supplies and creating a Christian, Spanish version of the Hakka (an Icelandic war chant used by the All-Blacks rugby team), then picked up some of the teens from the Santisimas community and took them to dinner. We were sitting outside when it started pouring in traditional El Salvador monsoon-season-style… and the team got to experience their first (of probably many) soaking wet pick-up truck rides. Then it was time for bed as we planned to wake up at 4:00am on Day Three.
God continues to bless each step of this journey. Doors continue to be opened and He continues to guide our steps. Please continue to keep the team in prayer as the rest of the team arrives in the morning, and will need super-natural energy to hit the ground running once they do! We love you all and everyone back home is in our thoughts and prayers.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Day One - Arrival of Wave One of the Team
We've made it safely to El Salvador and wow has it been a whirlwind of a first 24 hours in country! We arrived at Dulles airport around 3:00am, had a smooth flight, landed in El Salvador 30 minutes early, made it through immigration without issue... then the fun began. We found some of our bags, then discovered that 8 of our bags were still in Washington. This required that we fill out some extra paperwork, which then resulted in us being caught up in customs because the paperwork wasn't done correctly. By the grace of God, we had a wonderful TACA agent helping us, and thank goodness for Luca and his amazing translation skills! It took us a little time, but in the end, everything worked out, of course! We have now been reunited with the missing luggage and we are enjoying life in El Salvador!
From the airport we went to the Market for breakfast, went to Pastor Martinez's home and then went to see the place we'd be calling home for the next couple of weeks - Via Olimpica. This is definitely the nicest living arrangements we have ever had in El Salvador. It is an incredibly safe, gated community. We have air conditioning, bunk beds with mattresses, huge bathrooms, and it is all within a huge athletic complex so there are weight rooms, boxing rings, fields, courts, pools, Tae-Kwon-Do arena, etc. etc. etc. The team's faces during the tour looked like they had died and gone to heaven.
After settling in, we ran some errands to set up the cell phones, go to the super market, and visit the school where the women on the team will be doing outreach programs on Monday and Tuesday. The team had a blast with the kids, they even participated in the relay races. After a delicious lunch at Carnitas, one of our favorite restaurants here, we went to Zacamil (the community that we have always stayed in prior to this trip) and ran into some friends. After socializing with them for a bit and showing around the team members who haven't been here before, we went back to take naps because we were all basically falling asleep at this point.
In the evening we went to meet up with Pastor Martinez at the church, and started meeting some of the church community. We had such a blast getting to know them! We struggled to ask as many questions as we could piece together in Spanish, and they did the same in English. Luca and Kate were pulled back and forth between various conversations to translate, and did so joyfully! What a blessing they have been! After many hours of fellowship with them, we went back home to get some rest for another busy day to follow.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! Please be praying for us today as we work out a lot of logistical details for the trip. We will be in touch!
From the airport we went to the Market for breakfast, went to Pastor Martinez's home and then went to see the place we'd be calling home for the next couple of weeks - Via Olimpica. This is definitely the nicest living arrangements we have ever had in El Salvador. It is an incredibly safe, gated community. We have air conditioning, bunk beds with mattresses, huge bathrooms, and it is all within a huge athletic complex so there are weight rooms, boxing rings, fields, courts, pools, Tae-Kwon-Do arena, etc. etc. etc. The team's faces during the tour looked like they had died and gone to heaven.
After settling in, we ran some errands to set up the cell phones, go to the super market, and visit the school where the women on the team will be doing outreach programs on Monday and Tuesday. The team had a blast with the kids, they even participated in the relay races. After a delicious lunch at Carnitas, one of our favorite restaurants here, we went to Zacamil (the community that we have always stayed in prior to this trip) and ran into some friends. After socializing with them for a bit and showing around the team members who haven't been here before, we went back to take naps because we were all basically falling asleep at this point.
In the evening we went to meet up with Pastor Martinez at the church, and started meeting some of the church community. We had such a blast getting to know them! We struggled to ask as many questions as we could piece together in Spanish, and they did the same in English. Luca and Kate were pulled back and forth between various conversations to translate, and did so joyfully! What a blessing they have been! After many hours of fellowship with them, we went back home to get some rest for another busy day to follow.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! Please be praying for us today as we work out a lot of logistical details for the trip. We will be in touch!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
2012 Mission Prayer Requests
Hi everyone,
Here is a day-by-day breakdown of the trip with specific prayer requests. We appreciate your prayers as we begin this journey!
Here is a day-by-day breakdown of the trip with specific prayer requests. We appreciate your prayers as we begin this journey!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Gearing Up for El Salvador 2012!
Welcome (or welcome back) to the El Salvador Mission Blog! For those of you new to the site, there is limited time available for the team to stay in touch with loved ones back home, so we created this site as a place for all of you to read updates on what the team is up to throughout our trip. Sometimes the posts are short and we may have to go a few days between writing, but we hope this helps you walk the journey with us and guides your prayers for us.
This weekend we are headed to Deep Creek for our Mountain Retreat, one of the final steps in our preparation for July. Let the adventure begin...
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