Gloria de Dios! (Thursday, January 22nd)

We considered just blogging “Glory to God,” throwing on some pics and calling it a day since we are so tired :) But, we know that our family and friends anxiously await the daily update, so here goes…

Dr. Tyner, with his lovely assistants Christina and Teri, completed a successful laparoscopic gallbladder removal! Unfortunately, the hernia operation was not able to happen due to unforeseen circumstances with the patient. Please pray that this will be able to be completed soon. Along with the operation, Dr. Tyner was able to teach many El Salvadorian doctors. He was even able to show them a video on his laptop of a previous surgery he had done. Their chemistry was wonderful, and the doctors and nurses at the hospital were able to learn many new things. It is obvious Dr. Tyner, Christina and Teri have been an amazing blessing on the hospital staff.

The trip to San Marco was filled with beautiful snapshots of the country of El Salvador. The business of the city was slowly fading away and the picturesque mountains in the distance became smaller and smaller. Roadside stands selling papusa’s and fruit lined both sides of the road. The road eventually turned into gravel/dirt and we continued into the middle of nowhere. We began to slowly descend on the village, leaving the huge sugar cane fields behind us. Dogs lazily slept in the middle of the road, and a few people were taking siestas on hammocks in front of their shacks. Like yesterday, people were already lined up waiting for us as we pulled up at the church.

The pastor of the church, Mirana, is a sweet thirty something with a servant heart. She has a beat up pick-up truck and a warm smile that makes you feel like you’ve known here forever. She feels led to serve in this impoverished area, commuting from 45 minutes away. Like most pastors here, she not only teaches the Word at her church, but she is also the cleaning crew, chair setter upper, and anything/everything you can think of! The great thing about missions trips is not only are you able to minister to people, but you get ministered to. This was not only made evident by the hard work of the pastor, but from the members of the community. Immediately after stepping off the bus, they were offering us homemade food they had just cooked in a hut (cant remember the name, but they looked like empanadas but had potatoes and chicken inside…FANTASTIC!). These people barely have anything, and here they were giving away food that they really couldn’t afford to do. Yes, old widow throwing in two pennies comes to mind…

The clinic and youth ministry was once again extremely effective. We saw over 80 patients, including a 97-year-old woman. The stories were once again sad and joyous-one elderly woman could not even walk and we had to carry her around…and one woman shared her amazing testimony about how she came to find Jesus. In children’s ministry, there were roughly 100 children throughout the day. Along with soccer, we were once again able to just love on the children. Many of us spent most of the day holding hands, hugging, carrying on shoulders, and laughing with the kids. Towards the end of the day, we luckily still had tons of soccer jerseys, shorts, shoes, and baby clothes, to pass out. Words cant describe the feeling a person gets when they look into the eyes of a child receiving an oversized soccer jersey or half worn shoes. Los Abuelas were getting pumped up as well to receive these soccer jerseys! They were even joking around that one was the Goalie, one scored the goals, etc. Just think…70 year old women truly happy by receiving a jersey. It really puts our own lives into perspective.

At the end of the day, we were able to share more of the gospel with the children and some adults who decided to look on. We related the gifts we had just given them to the gift that God gave to us with His son Jesus Christ. The message was well received, with the children repeating our prayer at the end. Although we have gone to a few churches, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all the patients and the children attend that church. If fact, that’s the entire goal of these churches-outreach to the community (once again, learning so much from the Pastor’s here!) When the locals here that Gringos are coming to town with medicine and supplies, they come running. It is our prayer that the individuals who have come to the churches these last two days have had seeds planted and will come to know Jesus if they don’t already.

Which reminds us…our translators have been phenomenal this week! They have ranged from recent college graduates with time to kill because they don’t have a job to well off individuals who just want to “give back.” They have all gotten hooked up through the ministry by Pam’s (the US missionary) networking. We have come to find out that many of these translators may not be saved. However, each one has expressed interest in returning to serve (and they all turned down their small payment). Many of them were in disbelief in all the great things this Ministry is doing, and want to learn more. Please pray that they too have had seeds planted!

Tomorrow we go 1 ½ hours north to another village. Pray that we will have strength and enthusiasm, as this is our last full day of clinics and youth ministry. (Saturday is a mix of serving and fun) Also, please pray for Lisa and Donna. They have both come down with a virus that put them out of commission today. Pray that they will be healed so that they can continue to do the Lords work.

Adios!