Church Inauguration
There's a lot to share and I'd like to start with the Inauguration of our church that happened on July 17. What a special time this was! We calculated about 800 people showed up many arrived by the bus loads from churches in San Salvador, and from our circuit of churches all around Chalatenango. We are humbled that so many people supported the event which was not only the inauguration of the building, but also the installation of the permanent pastor, Heber Elías and the official naming of the church. My mom came for the event along with Pastor Daniel Elías, both representing Tulare First Baptist Church. We are thankful to them for their partnership with us since the beginning. We gratefully received a special gift of a new glass pulpit from TFBC. Enjoy some of the highlights from the event:
Other happenings...
Translation work
In June Cindy had the opportunity to be translator for a mission team that came down from Kentucky and Ohio to Ezel Church in Ciudad Delgado. God was faithful in protecting the team and blessed them with a week full of construction work and VBS with the children from the community.
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| What a great team! |
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| Translating for Pastor Arelzo |
Moving on...
In June we moved from our rented home in Ojos de Agua to our own home in El Tablón. Camilo has worked really hard fixing up our small two room adobe house. It's nice to actually have counters and a kitchen sink, and a sink in the bathroom! Simple pleasures. The climate is a bit cooler and the church members and their families have warmly welcomed us to their community. It is a wonderful place for Lucas to explore and the soccer field is only a short hike away! And, of course, the views of the mountains are breath-taking. We are thankful for this opportunity to live up here before we immigrate to the U.S.
On a personal note... On July 22, Camilo and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! We are thankful daily to the Lord that He has brought our lives together to serve Him!
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| Sunday School continues on our front porch! |
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| Our car got stuck in the mud many times the first few weeks, but handy Camilo fixed the problem! |
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| planting seeds with Lucas, yes that's me with a machete, my favorite gardening tool! |
There is still work to be done on our church building. Most of the guard rails on the windows are complete. We still need more windows and doors. We are trusting as always in the Lord's timing and provision. This week the showers were installed in the bathrooms. So if you happen to be in the area and need a place to camp out, we have showers! :)
The next larger phase will be to build Sunday School classrooms, a kitchen and a storeroom. Church members continue coming once a week to do volunteer work on the property.
Youth Ministry
Our youth ministry is growing, praise the Lord! I am meeting with a small team of leaders once a week for training and recently Ronal and Mari Molina joined the team. I am excited that this young couple will continue serving as mentors for the youth when we are gone. Please keep them in your prayers along with our other leaders: Cesia, Yeni, and Beatriz. Our youth group has began to form service and visitation teams. A few weeks ago they organized a work day to help out a friend of Ronal's who needed help building on his home (see photo below). Last week we organized visits to some of the elderly church members, as a chance for them to get to know one another and encourage them. Blessings all around! This week we await Maranata Church from Soyapango to come up and hold their youth camp in Ojos de Agua, our youth group has been invited, and we pray that it will be a great time of getting to know one another, encouragement and praising God!
Mission Field: El Zapotal
Our church plant will not stop once we leave. The plant is complete in Ojos de Agua, but in January a group of youth from our church began working with children from a neighboring village, El Zapotal. Every Sunday they travel to the community and give Sunday School lessons. We are praying that God will open doors to visit parents and others that may be interested in receiving evangelistic Bible Studies in their homes. Keep this project in your prayers, we want to go where He leads!
Compassion International (Click here to learn more)
Many of you are probably familiar with this Christian non-profit organization. We have made contacts with them and they are interested in working with us in Ojos de Agua. There are a few obstacles to begin a partnership. We are seeking the Lord's will of course. Join us in praying for this opportunity.
Visit to Ezel Church, Ciudad Delgado
Yesterday, July 31, Camilo was given the opportunity share his testimony with the congregation at Ezel Church in Ciudad Delgado. It was a special Sunday afternoon dedicated to missions where the promoter for missions on a national level arrived to share about the Salvadorian missionaries we have around the world.
Please join us in prayer for the following:
- Our health. Since the inauguration and a few vacation days, we have been under the weather with colds and digestive issues, please pray for complete healing and energy!
- Immigration. We are in phase two of the immigration process. We are waiting to hear back from the Embassy about a medical exam and then an appointment for an interview. Please pray for God's timing in this process.
- Mission Field: El Zapotal (read info. above)
- Possible partnership with Compassion International.
- For our ministries in the church: Deacons, Worship Team, Youth Group, Sunday School Program,and Phillip Project evangelistic home Bible studies.
- For God's provision in our construction project.
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