Hello Friends, Family and Supporters.
Here’s a peek into my week, on a day by day basis.
Monday, July 14: A great day. We kicked off our week at Evangélica with heavy duty campaigning, advertising, etc. about our upcoming weekly meeting. We had contact cards in hand, ready to get any contact information students would give us. I met with Cecy all week, connecting with evangelical women at the university let them know about the new Renuevo Bible Study that will be starting on their campus. There will be a men’s and women’s Renuevo group led by Manuel and Cecy, which will consist of students ready to continue launchings the movement. I called 5 or 6 girls, which was nerve racking as I invited them to meet up with Cecy and I in an entirely Spanish phone conversation. Cecy listened as I called up each girl:
Me: Hola, soy Sara de Vida Estudiantil
Girl: Oh, Sí
Me: Cecy Avendaño y yo queremos invitarte a un estudio bíblico. ¿Podemos reunirnos esta semana para hablar más?
Girl: Oh, ok.
Yeah. Maybe it got a little more in-depth from time to time. I definitely had to conquer my fear of speaking Spanish on the phone. Big time. We had a planning meeting on Monday night to go over our plans for the Thursday weekly meeting. Adam was put in charge, and did an excellent job delegating jobs to everyone on our team. Xavier attended the meeting, as an honorary member of our project team. He is a great blessing to our team! I was put in charge of last minute round-up for the weekly meeting. I volunteered to go down to other buildings on campus about a half hour before the meeting to remind students about the meeting and provide an instant friend to go to the meeting with. I was so stoked on my role. I love relating with students.
Tuesday and Wednesday, July 15-16: More of the same. I felt permanently attached to Cecy. She feels a little unsure of her role here, I’m sure. In reality, when we leave, she and Manuel will be the only Vida Estudiantil representatives here till STINT arrives. She and I tried to meet with contacts, share Soularium with even more students and establishing solid students who are willing to participate in leadership. It is a heavy task. There are so many students who say they are ready to be involved, but really don’t step up when it comes to participating in the movement. This can be very frustrating. We had our weekly futbol game on Wednesday, which 12-ish students showed up to. It was cool. I observed, but will hopefully get to play next week.
In other news, our project’s girls bible study has been really great. We’ve been meeting on Tuesday evenings, working through an inductive study of Philippians. I have been really learning a lot about the Word, how to study it and how to be a woman of faith. We have also been sharing our own testimonies in study each week, which is a huge blessing. It so great to hear about how the Lord moves in the lives of his people. Alyssa and Amy shared their stories this week, and I feel so connected to them now that I know their stories of faith. Wednesday night was date night with Jesus (aka extended quiet time). So great. I love having time set aside each week to dive into the word and really pray, and listen to the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, July 17: Second weekly meeting. We arrived on campus just in time to set up Aula 3.2 in building 4. We set up snacks, music, the “Human Tetris” youtube video and name tags. Once the desks were arranged in a helter-skelter semi-circle, I helped Alyssa write up tags for the ice breaker game. Then I went down to the lower cafetería to remind students about the weekly meeting. I have to admit, I was really not expecting anyone to come. Our previous meeting had yielded around 12 students, and I thought maybe we’d get around that number again. But once I hiked back up to building 4, I found that my faith and vision needed some adjustment. Some 40 students visited in the room as music played and even more students found their way in. So exciting! I ran over to Alyssa with so much excitement! I could hardly believe that the Lord had surpassed my expectations, and that he is so faithful to answer our prayers for movement. Why am I always so surprised when he moves in big ways? He is the Almighty, after all.
Friday, July 18: Back to Evangélica for more follow-up appointments. Driving to campus, I sit opposite Geovanny (Manuel and Cecy’s son) who gives me a private DC Talk concert as we wind through the streets of San Salvador. Jesus is Still Alright pulses as Geovanny raps to me,”Toby Mac, on the DC track to slack….” I can’t help but laugh to myself as I consider my life. I sit in a micro bus packed with 20 people in Central America, listening to the Christian tunes I grew up with! I have a feeling that if I live to be old and alone, I will always have a reason to smile, thanks to this trip. So many real-life funny moments, that I can hardly hold onto them all.
Once at campus, I met with 2 girls excited to be involved in a Renuevo groups. Since Cecy was MIA, I conducted the meeting alone, communicating to one of the girls, Tania, entirely in Spanish. I was surprised at how far I got in the conversation. I guess I can be called fluent now. But I still have so much to learn. Back to the story. Tania then translated all I said into sign language for her friend, Yennifer, who is completely deaf. Haha. Talk about a lot of communication going on! Good news, though. I taught them both how to use the Soularium tool to start up spiritual conversations on campus, and they agreed to meet with me on Monday to go out sharing. Wow. A movement is starting. I’m getting the feeling that when we leave this place, Vida Estudiantil will not just fall apart. Students are stepping up as Christ calls them out to serve. He is faithful!
“Take heart, I am faithful” he whispers to my heart, as I become restless or ready to bail on my calling. His love is so behind my comprehension, and it compels me to run after his will with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. Here’s to seeing every knee bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord Almighty! He is so good, so worthy of our lives! Please pray for our last week at Evangélica starting tomorrow, for Renuevo groups, leaders, and the weekly meeting. Pray for a medical student named Boris, a self-proclaimed athiest who for some reason loves to hang out with us. Pray that his heart will be softened by Christ’s love.
Just a side note: the new Batman movie is pretty dark. Don’t go see it if you are easily provoked to nightmares. There were far better ways for me to spend my Friday afternoon. But around 10 Salvadorian students did join us at the movie…so all was not lost.
Also, look forward to my next post concerning our Saturday spent at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ private beach compound (He knows President Bush!).
Ordering Chinese food in Spanish poses a challenge….
At the Dinner Party hosted by Lio and Luchi (National Crusade Directors). We met up, ate and danced alongside the Destino Summer Project team. A great night!
Alyssa and I at the Vida Estudaintil Party yesterday. We had students in attendance from 4 different universities in San Salvador!
Pray for health for my whole team. Also pray for Damarys, a girl I shared my testimony with today. I shared some areas of sin in my own life that I’ve hardly ever shared with anyone (talk about Christ being strong in our weakness). She used to believe in Christ, and have a relationship with him but fell away after she felt judged for questioning moral standards held by Christians. She doesn’t see her need for God, and feels that she can enjoy life better alone than under the guidance given by the Lord. Also pray that I get my laundry back! I put it all in a plastic bag today and trusted Manuel (our head Vida Estudiantil staffer) to drop it off at a lavandería and to bring it back to me who knows when. Oh well. Haha.
Craig, Kaylee, Giovani and I
