El Salvador, Day 2 - Alyssa
Aug 12, 2010Day 2 Report, El Salvador Mission Trip
From Alyssa Bianco:
After 14 hours of sleep, our group was ready to go on some sightseeing. We met our guide Oscar who had a eight passenger van, and he drove us all over el salvador. We stopped on the side of the road and saw a great view of a huge lake. There was a family of chickens that Amanda fell in love with. There are so many unique animals that are here in el salvador. Huge spiders, armidillos, and this weird lemur thing that we saw on the side of the road. Bulls walk freely on the streets of Santa Anna, There are so many dogs just walking around. We found a stray that i named frisbee. He was a stray that we found at the coconut stand. He loved Coco meat. Several Coconuts we bought at that stand. The young man that was chopping that coconuts with a machete was awesome. We drove up the mountain and the air was so fresh. We visited a graveyard that was so colorful, the graves are covered in colors, colored paper, and little trinkets. It was really beautiful. We continued up the mountain, And when we reached the top, We could see several volcanoes. We took a tour through the rain forest. the guide could only speak espanol. But Luckily we had super Delon to “translate” for us. cough cough. There were huge trees, and beautiful flowers. And huge leaves the size of me. I can tell that us being here will be a blessing. The people need God I mean they do not have anything, we are like rich here compared to them. We saw people on the side of the road who had very little clothes, and had to walk everywhere, because they did not have any cars. It is so sad, but i am so glad that we are here to make a impact. We kept going and our guide took us to a water park, We talked the operators if they could turn on the slides just for us. Well as it turned out they did, but then everyone had to go. Those slides were so huge. It was awesome. I was trying to teach Delon how to swim, i guess that will just have to wait for another day. We came back to our house, btw this house is awesome, even though the water is cold. The pastor took me to my preaching site, i met my translator, her name is Rosa. She is so sweet. And i also met my driver Daniel, he is really young but really nice, he only speaks Spanish, so i do not know how that will work out. I had to get up and talk to the congregation. I was a little nervous. But it all turned out for the best. I am really excited for the rest of this trip. Please pray that we make a impact of these people for the better.
- Alyssa Bianco
Pennsylvania Conference
El Salvador Mission Trip, Day 1 - Lee G.
Aug 12, 2010Over the next 20 days I will be posting from El Salvador. Our group is made up of 4 college students – Greg Shaffer, Amanda Archer, Lee Givhan, and Delon Lawrence, as well as one high school student – Alyssa Bianco. Since I want to have a daily report from this mission field for you to read, I’ve asked the other participants, our young evangelists, to take turns writing about our experiences.
Here is the first one, written by Lee Givhan of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In his words…
Even before we got on the plane to El Salvador God was working miracles for our group. All day I was helping Delon look for his passport. He was getting so discouraged he had even begun planning what he would do in Philly instead of going on the mission trip. We went to the Chestnut Hill SDA church to pick up our checks for the Pennsylvania Youth Challenge that had just ended and ran into Pastor Tara. After we explained the situation she suggested we pray and during the prayer we repeatedly asked God to give Delon a vision of where the passport was. We left and when I asked Delon where he would look for his passport next he sounded unsure about continuing the search. I encouraged him to keep looking so that God could show him were it was knowing we couldn’t just pray to find it and then sit back and do nothing. Kimmy Schwirzer offered to give Delon a ride to his parents house to look and on her way to pick him up Delon tried calling her 5 times to tell her not to come but Kimmy didn’t pick up her phone. She brought Delon to his parents house and God actually gave him a vision to look under his clothes in a droor in his old room and there it was! Less than 24 hours later we were standing on an active street in El Salvador taking in our busy surroundings. Police officers sitting in cars holding machine guns out the windows, a drunk homeless man stumbling, hissing and kicking at oncoming traffic as cars swerved around him, smogs of black clouds fuming out of overraged cars rumbling down narrow roads, markets with babies lying down on tables next to fresh produce as if they’re on sale. A man with a microphone promoting a credit company made us into a spectacle for the whole street as he asked us questions in spanish and laughed at our childish answers. Stray dogs looking worn and torn wander the streets but we, the out of place gawking tourists stand out attracting stares and turning heads. It’s been drizzling and raining all day. The hospitality from our hosts is heart warming as they tell us stories, feed us food and warn us of the dangers we face in this new culture. We moved into a beautiful home on a loud small street. I stood outside again looking at the street where bulls and cows sulk lazily down the cobblestone roads as I hold my bag close to my body, mindful of pickpockets. I go inside to eat some mangos I got in the market, the most sweet and juicy mangos ever that make any mango on the USA’s grocery shelves pale in comparison. I sat in bliss with a smile on my face and the taste still in my mouth feeling like I’d just had mango for the first time in my life, thinking about all the new experiences that would await us on this journey in El Salvador and how much we would need God’s presence and guidance each step of the way. Please pray that God protects and uses us to touch hearts with his Holy Spirit.
Thank you and God bless.
Peace,
Lee G.
a story to warm your heart
Dec 08, 2009Here’s a Christmas story that’s definitely worth listening to. It reminds us of the joy of sharing with others.
During this holiday season may we remember what the scripture says. When we give to the least of these, we are giving to God.
Matthew 25:24-40
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
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