Monday

Happy Monday from El Salvador!

After a wonderful weekend at the lake and in the mountains we started the week off in a small community in the countryside. We met with a group of women and children who had gathered together to learn a little bit about home gardening so the women can begin to grow some of their own food for their families. The man who was to teach the agriculture lesson was ill, so we had to go to Plan B. Flexibility is always key on missions trips and we got to practice that today.

One of the Linda's shared a devotion that talked about how God values women. We spent some time praying over the women and children, asking God to provide for specific needs in their lives. Several students commented that this time of prayer was a highlight for them today. It is amazing to think about how God can hear and understand our prayers in English at the same time that he understands prayers in Spanish.

Part of our flexibility involved some a cappella worship songs (we didn't have the guitar because we were supposed to be gardening, not singing). We also spent some time playing with the kids who were at the gathering. Also an exercise in flexibility and creativity.

For lunch we were surprised with a couple of hours at the lovely beach home of Mercedes, one of the ministry leaders here in El Salvador. We ate lunch outside watching and listening to the Pacific Ocean, then spent some time resting and relaxing with our feet dangling in the pool. We could eat lunch there every day.

After lunch we went to another small town, and repeated our morning program with a new group of women and their children. We had fun laughing with and playing with the kids and were moved by another opportunity to pray for women in need.

For dinner we went to a Pupuseria, and had pupusas. Pupusas are our favorite Salvadorean food! They are a corn tortilla stuffed with some combination of beans, cheese, meat, and veggies. Yum yum!

Tummy update: we're on our way back to normal. After a day of rest yesterday everyone was able to go with us today. Tomorrow we will go to a prayer meeting in the morning, and spend the afternoon with some children at a hospital. We will visit with cancer patients, burn victims, and kids with eye problems. Please pray for us tomorrow as we serve, especially during our visit to the hospital.