quick mini-update!

Yesterday we weren't able to get any pictures, as the Community Team was working in a women's prison facility. Cameras were left back at our "home". We had quite a day, being able to experience a glimpse of what these women are living in every day. We were able to give the same message to two different groups of inmates, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Testimonies were shared by our girls and we are confident that hearts were changed, walls were broken down, and women were impacted with seeds of faith for Christ. In addition, there were 4 women were were able to meet with that were in solitary confinement and not able to even see the light of day or ever leave their room. The director arranged a special meeting where he brought them out of their room just for us. Again, we know God was present and speaking through our words. Each group heard a salvation message and participated in a group prayer, offering for them to ask Jesus into their life and heart. To change their future TODAY and have their slate wiped clean.

The Prison Team returned to the juvenile facility and were able to deepen some conversations and relationships that were started earlier. Lives are being impacted and changed each day. Praise God!

Today we will be serving lunch to the homeless. Pray that they would see God's love and light and grace through our service and conversation.

And here are some more pictures from our first days - since we know you love them!

We are one third through our journey!

Greetings to parents and friends at home! We apologize for not posting sooner, but time has been quite valuable, as well as sleep! We arrived without any delays or complications and had a smooth experience through the airport and customs.

(above) Our first day at Injuve after the community day with Power of One training. Our leaders did a phenomenal job jumping right into culture and building relationships with those who attended.

(above) Our second day was spent in Santisima de Trinidad, a community in San Salvador that we continue to have close ties to each year working with Pastor Martinez' church - Aposento Alto. The Community Team focused on a Family Community Day event that the church had planned beginning with a "fun run" and ending with a soccer tournament of course! Again, our team did a great job of showing God's love and jumping into conversation despite any language barriers. The Prison Team has done an incredible job as well through some tough emotional days as they boldly share God's word in some of the harshest enivronments of those feeling unloved. We ended the day with a team dinner at Aposento Alto among friends.

(above) Our third day, Sunday, was our first day with some down-time to rest while still being in community with our friends here. The Prison Team went to church at Omar's church - CEFAD. The Community Team went to Pastor Martinez' church - Aposento Alto. Being at two churches, we heard similar messages which was really neat to share with each other later in the afternoon on our hike. We gathered some Salvadoran friends and loaded up two pick-up trucks and a mini bus to head to our hiking spot, La Puerta del Diablo. It was a gorgeous day (with humidity of course) and we had a wonderful time in conversation over lunch first eating Papusas and being in fellowship with our friends along for the day. At the top of our hiking spot, we had time for Omar and Chris, two of our translators and community connectors, to share their testimonies. Others not with our group gathered behind us and listened on their own. How cool to see God working in having others hear His grace and love even when we don't plan it.

Some team updates for parents:
- Jesse's finger is good and being taken care of daily by nurse Sandy.
- Brandon Mejia's ankle is doing well and doesn't seem to prohibit his participation

We thank you for your continued prayers over our team each day. We will update again when able!

Packing Day at the Warehouse!

Well the time is almost here guys! In about 24 hours we will be leaving for the airport to El Salvador!We are so excited to be sharing this journey with all of you. Here are some photos from the packing day. Ready to to hit the ground running. Enjoy!

Busy organizing and packing everything!

Supplies and donations to bless God's people with!

2014 El Salvador Mission Team

Our Journey began in February 2014 to "Discover the Warrior Within". We have learned a lot in the preparation process, from the history of the country of El Salvador to working together as a unified team. It is now time to put all that we have learned and prepared for into practice. We are ready to serve the beautiful people of El Salvador. Here a a few highlights from the months of preparation:

Prep Sessions at the warehouse. Learning about
the lives of the Salvadorian people.  We also discussed what the "ultimate gift" really is and how it applies to our life.

Little Round Top Prep Session, we learned of the sacrifice and bravery of those who fought for the freedom of mankind during our own Civil War.
We also learned the reason for finding your purpose in life.....
to help those that are in need.

Time of reflection during sunset

 Our friends in El Salvador, planning trip 2014.

The beautiful country of El Salvador.

White Water Rafting Retreat. This is how we learn to work as a team!

Swallow Falls

Prison Team!

Community Team!

Racing down the rapids

Day 14 - The Volcano

The day has finally arrived! After using the volcano/mountaintop analogy with the team for over a year, they finally had the opportunity to descend 1500 steps into a valley, only to hike up the mountainous volcano that stood before them. It was a wonderful journey for all of them. Once they reached the top, they were given letters written to them by their parents. I imagine that some letters were filled with praise, some were letters of encouragement, some were challenges to their children... but whatever was written in those letters, you could see from the faces of the kids that they were unbelievably important... and there were lots of tears. And as a beautiful addition, Brandon organized a book of letters to Tyler from the athletes. What a joy and blessing all of you are to him! Unfortunately my knowledge about the hike is limited to those brief bits of information, so please ask the team members to fill you in on all of it! Tonia and I were unable to make the hike this year due to the enormous cast on her leg, which was really difficult on her because she had been looking forward to this hike. In fact, when she was finally able to form words again after her accident, her first full sentence was that she couldn't believe she wouldn't be able to climb the volcano. She'll just have to join us again next year!

After the hike, we headed to a great little restaurant on the volcanic lake where you can dive off the pier into the water while waiting on your food... and yes, pretty much everyone did! The food was great, the time together was even better! Then we headed to Castillo del Rey, a retreat center that sits on the edge of the volcanic lake. The team got showers (WARM WATER!) and got together for a final debrief on the trip before getting some sleep for the early morning ahead.

Day 13 - Tia Ana's Orphanage and another Prison

Today was quite the experience for both the girls and guys. The guys were given the opportunity to go to another prison here in El Salvador which is home to a relatively small number of inmates, all of which are 18th Street Gang members. There is a very special young man named Christian from the community we are partnered with that is incarcerated there right now. As painful as it is for the community to be without him, it has been a huge blessing to have someone behind enemy lines, so to speak. We are told that the inmates see him as a pastor rather than as one of them. The guys were given the opportunity to go in and bless him with some clothes that would allow him to go into other sectors to preach.
As the guys spent their day in the prison sharing the gospel, they watched in amazement as a gang member wept while they prayed over him as he accepted the love of Christ. Brandon was allowed to bring in a camera, with the restriction of not being able to take pictures of anything structural or of any inmates faces... here are some of the beautiful shots he captured. (The first one is of Marito when he saw Christian. His face says it all.)

Because the women are not allowed inside the prisons, they stayed back to spend the day at the orphanage. What a joy-filled day! Tia Ana is an amazing woman who currently cares for 16 children, many of which are the children of prostitutes who have been abandoned. Ask the team members to tell you her testimony, it is a powerful one!

The team came with bags full of clothes, shoes and crafts (which ended up making the living room look like a craft store exploded). We wanted desperately to find a way to get to the store to buy some food for them, but without transportation, it was pretty much impossible. But God, in his infinite and glorious wisdom provided perfectly... another American mission team randomly stopped by to drop off a huge van-load of food. While speaking to the team, they mentioned that they were fretting because they had just run out of shoes and clothes, so they didn't know how they would provide those to the orphanage. God never ceases to amaze us with His provision!

Another wonderful day in El Salvador. Tomorrow, the team tackles the volcano...

Day 12 - Church and Beach / Kelly's Birthday

Today was a building-relationships kind of day. We had no real service responsibilities, we were just able to spend the day with the people from Aposento Alto and enjoy each others company! The church service was beautiful, and the church members gave gifts to each of the team members to thank us for our time and service to them. It was so touching to be so blessed by the people we came to bless (welcome to the missionary life...always seems to happen that way.)

After church, we headed to the mall to pick up some items to bless people with (such as closes for an inmate Tyler has become very close with), then grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to pick up some of the people from Santisima to take to dinner out at the beach as part of Kelly's birthday surprise (that particular beach holds special significance for her, it was the she went to on her very first El Salvador trip back in 2008, and it's always been her favorite, but she has never had the opportunity to go back until tonight).

After an afternoon and evening of fun in the sun and some bonding, we headed back home (during a monsoon, of course, and got some rest for a big day tomorrow.

Prayer request update: The water purification system hasn't made it into the country, so tomorrow the women will be spending the day at Tia Ana's orphanage, cleaning it and spending time with the kids, while the guys go visit Christian in another prison. Please be praying for the men's continued safety, for their conversations with Christian, and that the administration of the prison be receptive to receiving teams in the future based on the outcome of this visit. For the ladies, prayer that despite exhaustion, that they be fully able to enter in to the time in the orphanage, that they be able to serve there as if it was our sole mission for coming, and that they open their hearts to Tia Ana and the kids. Thanks! We love you all.