Reflections on our trip

Hello everyone! This is Jessie :) I really can't believe how fast this trip has gone. At the same time, some things from last week seem like a month ago to me! One major thing I've taken noticed on this trip is how we've become a family. Honestly. I think I could talk to anyone of these people on my team about anything and I know they would listen :) I really love them all and I'm so blessed that God chose me to be apart of a team this amazing! I don't speak for everyone but my favorite part of the trip (other than how close our team is now) was the deaf school is Sonsonate! Those kids, as soon as we got there, just wanted to be loved by us and feel God's love too. All the little ones would just stretch their arms up to us, wanting to be held; and they were ADORABLE! I learned a lot about being bold this trip because having to go up to strangers who neither can speak our language or hear is no simple task! However I found it easy the second and third day, after seeing all the kids laugh and smile with us. They wanted to just hangout with us and talk which I found to be awesome:) I made especially good friends with some boys, Jaime, Manuel, and Carlos, and with two girls, Ana and Milena (who turned 16 while we were there!). It was so evident that they value education and work so hard to get the best future at they can and I admire that. I loved playing soccer and basketball with the guys and doing our skits! I was really worried about how those would go but God calmed all of my nerves and my team was fantastic! We had so much fun with them :) Yesterday was a day of reflection for all of us and I chose these 3 words to describe the trip: relational, perspective, and transgressing. Relational: not only with the kids at the orphanage and deaf schools but with my own team. I've never felt this kind of bond with any other group and I love 'em all to death :) this trip was mainly about making friendships which will last forever :) Perspective: no matter where you come from, when you go somewhere new to serve God you are always placed in new circumstances and culture that opens your eyes to new things. We talked yesterday about how culture influences faith and in El Salvador or anywhere where you see poverty it is always different to see how the Lord works. Especially at the deaf school I saw so many smiles and bright faces despite the struggles the kids face. Lastly, transgressing: double language barriers. That was broken the first day we were there. I've learned that soccer and love are two languages that need no words; they're universal languages and I loved seeing how literally EVERYWHERE we went, the first game we'd play would be soccer. And I really do mean every place we went! Though I didn't speak a word of Spanish other than, "hola" or "gracias" I've actually really loved learning new things this trip, especially the El Salvadorian sign language, LESL. Everyone taught me new things that I put to use to form my relationships there. Of course I think that everyone had worried over not being able to communicate effectively but the Lord certainly took care of that and put our fears to rest! Even the skits I was worried about but, especially the first day at the disabled center, our team was super flexible even when we weren't prepared for what we would face. We overcame the difficulties of language and boldness and overall had an amazing experience. It's quite difficult to put into words what I ended up feeling for these kids and I love that I had this opportunity to serve and learn new things, growing closer to Him and my team, thank you to all who supported each and every one of us!! Micah 6:8, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Team Arrival Time has changed!

Parents - you should have received an email from the office with the new arrival and flight information for this evening.  If you have any questions or did not receive the email, please let us know and we will forward the information.

We look forward to hearing from the team as they return and pray for their safe return this evening. :)

Wrapping up the Trip

We're getting ready to head to the Deaf School for our last day there. We are looking forward to the time with them, and already sad we have to leave. This morning we hope to finish painting the bathrooms at the school. We will also do skits and crafts with the kids. This afternoon we will have some more time with the older kids. Our devotion this morning was about finishing strong. Please pray that we would not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9), and that we would serve the students, teachers, and each other with joy. We will have a tem debrief day tomorrow. Please pray for us as we spend time reflecting on what God has done in and through us in El Salvador. We probably won't have internet access again before we come home, so parents we'll see you at Dulles on Friday!

At the Deaf School

We have had two days here in Sonsonate serving at the deaf school and we are having a blast and a half! Monday we performed our good Samaritan skit and it went swimmingly. We made bracelets and necklaces with a cross bead and the kids are super fond of the color red! So we got to hang out with the little kids playing basketball and soccer in which we proceeded to get creamed, but it was really fun! After lunch, the small kids departed for their homes and the older kids, who were our age arrived. Basically we just exchanged questions about what we like to do in our free time, what we want to do when we grow up, etc. and it was really encouraging to see what they had planned for the future. Everything was interpreted by Oscar whom we met the first day with the handicapped children in Cojutepeque and one of the teachers who works at the deaf school. It was a really fun day getting to communicate with the kids there despite the double language barrier, but we communicated more than we thought possible, which was great! Tuesday we did similar things and we were able to do a different skit which involves a group of people searching for God's love but running into a wall that represents the sin we are all born with. But God comes and opens the door in the wall and the people knock and God answers. The skit went great and we wrapped it up by doing a craft that involved drawing and writing on a cross. Embarrassment commenced as we did some pretty funky dances that the kids loved! It was a lot of fun. So we did more basketball and soccer and talked more with the kids. We love getting to know them and they are all so enthusiastic and happy! " -Ashleigh and Micah