October - December 2009

i apologize for the strange formatting on this blog, i am losing my pacience, the preview never looks like the final post

McGee Family

In October, our dear friend Jenny was diagnosed

with breast cancer. The McGee’s spent three months as our neighbors. They quickly left El Salvador to seek the best possible care and treatment in the U.S. Dave and Jenny have impacted so many of us during their seven years of service to this country. They are terribly missed! Please pray for Jenny that she may be healed completely from this cancer and for their whole family that they might be comforted by God’s peace as they are fighting this battle together.

October Trip to U.S.

In October Cindy and Lucas had the opportunity to travel to the U.S. for a special visit. At Tulare Union High’s homecoming football game the newly built weight room was built in honor of her

dad, Del. Cindy’s brother Brett and his wife Tree

came down for the event. Brett, who is a pilot for the U.S. Navy gave a special presentation to the high school students about his journey to where he is today and was Grand Marshall of the homecoming parade. It was a great time to see family and friends that they hadn’t seen in a very long time and an extra special time to remember how much Cindy’s dad served the Tulare

Union High community. Cindy and Lucas will be traveling again from Dec. 9 – Jan 6. Please pray for travel mercies.

Construction

Thanks to monthly donations we have been able to lay more bricks. Saturdays have been dedicated to fill in the ditches and level out the ground. We appreciate our church volunteers who give there time and give their part to the construction. Please pray for God's provision for this project.

Indigo Workshops

After a few months without work, we have started up the Indigo Workshops again. Saturday, Nov. 14^th, Cindy with four members of the church took a trip to Suchitoto to the 2^nd Annual Indigo Fair. We were inspired by the creativity and look forward to trying out new techniques! Please pray that we will be able to sell our products.

Hurricane Ida

Just as we thought the rainy season ended, Hurricane Ida snuck up on El Salvador when no one was looking. Many people completely lost their homes, which was the case in Verapaz, San Vicente. Other communities were buried under

mud and other homes stuck on the edge of a cliff after mud slides. The disaster took 190 lives,

75 are still missing, and some 13,000 people have been left with nothing. The government

estimates that approximately one billion dollars will need to be invested to rebuild what has

been lost. Salvadorians have responded the need of their brothers donating food and clothes and international aid has arrived.

The small community of Ojos de Agua organized a large donation of food and clothes.

The donations that came from some of the poorest families made the biggest impression on us. A group of youth traveled to Central American Mission’s Genesaret Camp at Ilopango Lake. The donations were carried by boat across the lake to the camp where people from the neighborhood arrived to pick up their ration of food and clothes. As a result of Ida, this area became isolated and a couple weeks passed before government help arrived by helicopter. Last week, a the same group with about 15 others from Ojos de Agua (believers and non-believers) took a second trip to the camp to dig out mud one meter high from the church building. The idea was to clean out the building so it could be used as a shelter for those that were without homes. Currently the road to the neighborhood is being worked on, but people continue to be in need. We praise God that He is providing us with positive relationships with the community in Ojos de Agua and together we were able to respond to the needs of others. God is constantly at work!

Pastor search continues

We continue to search for a pastor that would be able to work alongside us in the ministry for the next of couple

years that we will be in Ojos de Agua with the intention that he and his family would stay for a long period of time. We would like to introduce you to the Elias Grandino Family.

They have visited Ojos de Agua twice. Last Sunday, Pastor Heber shared the message at our church service and the congregation had a chance to interview the family. This Salvadorian family has been serving at a MCA church in Honduras and feels the need to return to serve in their home country. Their home church is EZEL church in Ciudad Delgado, San Salvador. God continues to confirm this

family’s calling to Ojos de Agua, and we are excited to see

how God will work these next few months as we begin to share the vision for our church with this family. Heber

and his wife, Mercedes have two lovely daughters, Cecia (18) and Raquel (8). Please pray for God to guide us in this process.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for what is mentioned in bold above and for our health we all have been sick with colds.

Thank you for your support!

Some recent photos:

Cindy is still active with the town's Environmental Committee, here she is giving a talk about solid waste management.

Camilo leading worship at one of our recent church services at the construction site.

Weight room dedication at TUHS

July - September 2009 Update

Church Building Project

The walls are rising! The second week of August, a mason was hired to lay 1000 more bricks. Church volunteers also helped make cement, haul water, move bricks, and more.

New Neighbors

We would like to welcome the McGee family to Ojos de Agua. Dave and Jenny are missionaries in El Salvador. Dave works for ENLACE and Jenny is an artist. They have two beautiful children, Jonathan, 3 and Emanuela 1 ½ . We are excited that they have decided to come to Ojos de Agua for an experience in the country side and to be close to our family. They have been such a blessing to us! In this photo, Jenny and I are celebrating our 31st birthdays!

Partnering Church Visits

In July and August we visited two churches to thank them for their support and to give an update on our work in Ojos de Agua. In July we visited Brisas del Edén Church in Ayutuxtepeque. This is the church that Cindy served with before moving to Chalatenango. In August we visited Faro de Luz Church in Las Pavas. Two members of our church board joined us to present a gift to each of the congregations, and then helped sale indigo items after the service. We are hoping to visit other partnering churches soon.

Pastor Ismael, Iglesia Faro de Luz, Las Pavas

Baptisms

On Sunday, August 23 we traveled to Genesaret Camp at Lake Ilopango to baptize new believers. The day was long with a 3 hour bus ride to arrive at the camp. Upon arriving we met up with Templo Bíblico Betel Church from Nueva Concepción who were also baptizing new members. After the baptisms in the lake, there was recreation time of playing soccer and swimming. At the end of our day at the camp we held a joint church service. It was a beautiful day of fellowship. The following brothers and sisters were baptized: Reina and Remberto Molina, Sara Calderón, Erick Salinas, Aminta Marquez, and Neris Marquez. Pastor Osmin Corleto assisted Camilo with the baptisms.

This day was also extra special for two reasons: 1. Cindy was celebrating her 31^st birthday…thank you Brisas del Edén Church for the phone call and for singing via speaker phone! 2. This happened to be the same camp where Camilo and Cindy met for the first time.

Indigo Workshop Update

We are working on trying to find a market to sale the items that have been made, so we can purchase more materials. On our visits to partnering churches in and around the capital we have sold some. We have plans to visit as many artisan stores as possible for potential buyers. Please pray that God might open doors so we can get this co-op moving along.

Current Needs

Living expenses have gone up for us these past few months these include: car repairs, Cindy’s Masters Program, taxes, among others. We are looking for more partners who would prayerfully consider making monthly or one-time donations to our missionary efforts. There are a few ways you can send your donation:

1. The fastest, easiest way is using Paypal or Credit Card.

Click on the “Donate” that is towards the beginning of the blog. This donation is not tax-deductible.

2. If you want to make a tax-deductible donation you can send a check to:

ABC INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS

ATTN: LISA SCHNOVEL

PO BOX 851

VALLEY FORGE, PA 19842.

Checks are made payable to:

ABC INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS

Include a note designating:

FEBES-TULARE PROJECT.

(please note: these donations take up to two months to reach us)

3. If you are a member of Tulare First Baptist you can send your tax-deductible donations to the church office including a note that it is for our project. These donations also take two months to reach us.

We also want to thank all of our partners who have made us being here possible and thank you to those considering giving to the Lord’s work in El Salvador.

Phillip Project

On a national level the Central American Mission churches have started a series of Bible studies called the Phillip Project. The idea is to begin with three people, who are non-believers, take them through a study on John’s Gospel, and if the Lord calls them, lead them to Christ. The idea of this project comes from Acts 8:26-40. Camilo meets with a group of three young men on Friday nights, and Cindy’s group of four women meet on Tuesday afternoons. We are finishing up the first module of the Bible Study and for those who wish to continue we will be doing a study on what the Bible has to say about seeking a transformed life. Today, September 15, three women accepted Christ as their Savior: Soila, Maria, and Blanca. They are excited to grow and learn more about God's Word.

Community Service

The last few months we have began working in the community in a new way. Camilo is member of the newly formed, Community Development Association of Ojos de Agua (ADESCO). He is currently serving on the board of directors working with other leaders to facilitate development projects for the area.

Cindy continues to work with the Environmental Committee with the Mayor’s office. However in July, a new board of directors was formed and Cindy was elected president (before her, the mayor was president), now she is more actively serving the community in the area of the environment. Plastic recycling continues monthly and the committee has worked alongside the

environmental committee of the ADESCO in activities such as river clean-ups and a reforestation project.

It is also important to note that a few members of our congregation are taking roles in these committees and associations, which gives us more representation as a church. We pray that all of these efforts be our service to the Lord and to our neighbor (the community).

ENLACE

As we look to serve Christ and our neighbors we have started meetings with the organization ENLACE. Directed by Ron Bueno, this ministry assists churches to recognize its strengths and weaknesses, and analyze its resources in order to serve God and the community in a better way. We have started our first assignments with our church leaders. Each stage of the process is focused on building foundations to strengthen leadership not only within the congregation but in living a true Christian life in our community. We are thankful for our friends at ENLACE who are serving the Lord in this way, helping many churches find their role in their communities!

Please Pray…

…that the Lord would continue to provide for the church building project.

…for financial provision for the Blanco family

…that we would be able to find a market for our Indigo products.

…for those attending our Bible studies, that their hearts would be open to accept Christ.

…for Leidy Marquez, one of our members that we are training to work with the youth, we hope to begin youth group meetings at the end of the month.

…that the Lord would give us grace as we work with different community leaders.

…that we might sale our car and pick-up quickly. We would like to find a four door pick-up (so the car seat will fit in the backseat).

Church Service at the construction site: August 2, 2009



















































Sunday School classes in El Tablón

Cindy’s trip to the U.S.

May 12 – 31, Cindy and Lucas’trip to the U.S. was filled with many blessings:

-as a family they presented three scholarships in honor of Cindy’s dad Del Jones, to well-deserving seniors at Tulare Union High School that are going into college

-Cindy was given the opportunity to share about the missionary work at Tulare First Baptist Church.

-They had a great time visiting family which included a trip to San Diego, spending time with Cindy's sister-in-law, Tree and Aunt Joan

-Almost everyday Lucas went to the park with Mom to play soccer, and went swimming in the pool with Grandma.

-Lucas played with his friends Joy, Christa, Zachary and met his second-cousin Sofia for the first time.

Construction Update

-We are so thankful to the Lord that we have been able to pay off the debt we had with some of the construction materials thanks to many generous donations from Tulare First Baptist Church and we’ve been able to advance even more on the project!

-The iron frame structure has been installed thanks to a generous donation from José Melgar.

-The next phases of construction include:

-building the walls (approx. $2,000)

-installing the roof (approx. $15,000)

-Thank you all again for your generous donations and prayers for this mega-project!
















Your prayers for Ojos de Agua have been heard!

Last month we shared with you all about recent tragedies that hit our community very hard and we asked you to pray for us. The Lord is faithful and more people are answering His call to His kingdom. On Sun. May 24, eight people accepted the Lord as their Savior and we have many new faces in our congregation. We pray that these people will take their decision seriously and stay strong in their faith. Thanks again for praying!


Indigo Workshops Continue

-After many workshops of practicing techniques, we have now entered the production phase.

-Along with the indigo workshops, some women are learning techniques in sewing by Gladis de Perez from a MCA church in San Martin.

-We are in the process of looking for outlets for selling the products. Please keep this in your prayers.

Please Pray…

…that we continue to trust in the Lord’s provision and direction in the construction project.

…for the Lord’s provision for Cindy’s Masters Program, finances and time management skills!

…for our health.

…that the Lord would guide as we decide how to meet the needs of our community.

May 2009 Update

Tragedies in Ojos de Agua
This past month, Ojos de Agua has been hit with a number of tragedies. There have been three attempted suicides, one of them a young girl of only 14 passed away after taking a rat poison pill. Her name was Norma and lived with her cousins because both of her parents left her and her four siblings, to go to the U.S. Two weeks earlier, her ex-boyfriend, Jonny, tried committing suicide by only taking half the rat poison pill, but by God’s mercy survived. Saturday, May 2, Norma was buried at 4:00PM and at 7:00PM Jonny’s schizophrenic step-father, Beto, shot and killed a 24 year-old young man named Manuel Calderon. Manuel was a friend of both Cindy and Camilo’s. He was an employee of the mayor’s office in charge of coordinating the environmental committee. Cindy worked alongside him in these matters. Manuel was quiet and never bothered anyone. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He left behind his wife and 8 month old daughter. We are stunned at all that has happened.
We pray:
-for strength for the suffering families
-that Beto will be found (he’s still on the loose and armed) and that justice will be done
-for the youth of this community and all of El Salvador that are suffering loneliness as a result of living in broken homes
-that parents would think twice about leaving their children behind as they attempt to seek a ‘better’ life in another country
-that the Lord would guide His church in Ojos de Agua in how to confront these situations and be a light to the lost
-that the Lord would use us to bring more people to His kingdom.
Will you please join us in praying these things too?

Construction Update

We are in the process of slowly raising funds for construction, if you would like to contribute, please let us know! These past few months, we have held all-church work days on the property. The church members have been helping in leveling out the foundations and filling in the ditches. We are thankful that many have come out and put in their time and effort into the construction! For two Saturdays we prepared and sold cow-foot soup (sopa de pata) for the church building project, everyone loves this soup here (except maybe the foreigners, well that means Cindy!).

New Transportation

In March the Blanco family purchased a used pickup to haul construction materials and bring people back and forth to church services. Camilo welded railings and added benches so people can ride in the back more comfortably. We are so thankful that we have a more economical way to move people around. We are thankful to our partners who faithfully donate to our ministry; we wouldn’t have been able to purchase this without you!

What came about after celebrating Lucas’ birthday…Indigo!

For Lucas’ first birthday we took him and another boy, Oscar to La Palma with the purpose of buying Lucas and Oscar little guitars in the artisan market. We took the time to visit Semilla de Dios Artisan workshop and Co-op, where famous Salvadorian artist, Fernando Llort began teaching his art to the locals. Later we went to the main market and to the little shop of a woman named Santana to buy Lucas’ and Oscar’s guitars (she had made a diaper bag for Cindy about a year ago). Camilo asked Santana’s son about learning how to dye clothes with the natural dye Indigo. He told us that the next week his mom was going to give classes! We took advantage of the opportunity and attended two days of the workshops the following week. What resulted is the desire to start an artisan workshop here in Ojos de Agua, starting with our church members and then expanding to the community. We have the church board’s approval and have purchased the materials to get started, and we also have the approval of the mayor. This will be another attempt to try to create a source of income for this poor community. Please pray for us as we embark on this endeavor this coming week with our first workshop on Wednesday. We will be learning the process of cultivating the plant and then using it to create the dye. This is a process that goes back to the ancient Mayan civilization that is currently making a comeback in Central America. We pray that this not only will serve the community in meeting their material needs, but also we want to use this project as a way of demonstrating the love of God to others.

Special visit from partnering church of San Martin

On Sunday, May 3^rd, 30 brothers and sisters from a MCA church in San Martin came to Ojos de Agua for a joint church service. Cindy and Lucas led them on a walk to the church property to see the construction process, upon returning members from Ojos de Agua church arrived. The church service and communion was held at the Blanco’s home, and we still didn’t all fit! Pastor Salvador Perez shared the Lords message for all of us. His message was about the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-11). Without doubt God spoke to us that afternoon because we were all hurting over the terrible events that had happened these last few days. We are grateful the sacrifice this congregation made to travel all the way to Ojos de Agua, it is a difficult trip for some who are not used to the winding roads. We were very blessed and encouraged by their presence.

Activities with local MCA churches (Circuit 1:8)

These past few months we have been continually active with our group of MCA churches in the region, we have:

-Held joint church services in a number of different places, the most recent one was held in Las Cañas (finally Cindy got to see where Pastor Isaí Galdámez grew up!)

-Held joint meetings to pray for our Salvadorian missionaries and hear about new projects. The most recent was held on Saturday May 2, where we learned more about the missionary family of Julio Figueroa; they are planning to be missionaries in Iceland.

-Assisted monthly meetings for pastors and wives where Camilo continues to serve as vice-president and Cindy gives the monthly devotional for the pastors’ wives group.

Cindy continues her studies

Cindy has begun studying for a Masters in Theological Studies through Vision International University. This is an online program. Please keep her in your prayers that she will manage her time well to complete the program.

Prayer Requests:

-please see requests mentioned above in bold letters.

-provision for the church building project

-a safe trip for Cindy and Lucas as they travel to the U.S. May 12^th – May 31^st.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

December 08 - January 09 Update

Construction Update

Praise the Lord the electricity has been connected on the church property and all last week we were able to run cement mixer to get the foundations complete. The metal structure is almost ready to be installed. We will now be raising more funds to be able to install the metal structure and build the walls. We need prayer for the Lord´s provision. Church members are having bake sales weekly to raise funds and we are planning to travel to local partner churches to look for donations. Our goal is to raise $3,500 for this phase of the construction.

National Convention

On January 30, Camilo and sister Leidy Marquez attended Central American Mission´s Annual National Convention. The theme for this years convention focused on meeting the needs of the community through the church. Annual reports were given and new members of the Board were elected. The next day, the majority of Ojos de Agua church members traveled to San Salvador´s Sports Palace for the conclusion of the convention. It was a special time of fellowship with the majority of churches in the country gathered to praise the Lord

Baptisms and a joint church service

On January 17, 2009, eight people from our congregation were baptized in the Lempa River near Nueva Concepción. These are the brothers and sisters who publicly testified of their faith in Christ (in order as you see them in the photo): Roberto Galicias, Gloria Calderón, Dinora Jordán, Antonio Salinas, Yesica Calderón, Jocelyn Galicias, Xiomara Liquez y Sara de Lue. After the baptisms we enjoyed time together as a church family relaxing by river. Later in the afternoon, we traveled to Nueva Concepcion and joined all the churches from Chalatenango (Circuit 1:8) gathered together for a church service. What a great day to have everyone together!

Children’s Sunday School Classes Expand to El Tablón
On Sunday, January 25, children’s Sunday school began in Cantón El Tablón. The day before Cindy and her assistant teachers, went house to house inviting children. The next day twenty energetic children arrived eager to learn more about God. Cindy will help teach the class, which is being held at the Blanco Family’s property, every other Sunday. On the Sundays that she is not in El Tablón, she will continue work in Ojos de Agua’s Sunday School Program. The teachers are still in training. Please pray for these young girls that want to be teachers that they remain strong in their faith as they face many challenges and temptations. They are: Beatriz, Yeni, Leidy, Martina, and Xiomara

Christmas in Ojos de Agua
In December we were blessed with a visit from Cindy’s mom for Christmas. This was a very different Christmas for Mary and Cindy, but we all enjoyed our time together!

Christmas Eve and New Years Eve Services
On Dec. 24 we celebrated the birth of our Savior with the entire congregation together in the Blanco family’s home. We began with a service at 10 AM and finished with a chicken sandwich lunch. It was a nice time of fellowship and great moment to share the message of Christmas to everyone including our neighbors. On the 31st at 7:00 PM we celebrated the coming of the New Year by giving thanks to God for the many blessings in 2008 and we were challenged to continue serving Him in 2009 with the goal to continue sharing the gospel. We ended the time of fellowship with banana bread and coffee.

Environmental Committee holds recycling campaign

In the beginning of December the environmental committee Ojos de Agua held a plastic recycling campaign. Cindy along with community members divided up among the various neighbourhoods and collected many trash bags full of plastic bottles. They even climbed through pastures to reach plastic that had been dumped! After the Christmas and New Year’s vacations, they got together to begin smashing the plastic to be sold. The money raised will go to Ojos de Agua Health Clinic.

Prayer Requests:
1. Praise the Lord the electricity has been connected on the church property and all last week we were able to run cement mixer to get the foundations complete. The metal structure is almost ready to be installed. We will now be raising more funds to be able to install the metal structure and build the walls. We need prayer for the Lord´s provision. Church members are having bake sales weekly to raise funds and we are planning to travel to local partner churches to look for donations.
2. Pray for the health of: brother Orlando who will need to undergo a third brain operation, and sister Alba Luz who has undergone treatment for uterine cancer and will be checked on in 6 months
3. Pray for the new Sunday School teachers, that they may stay strong in their faith and their commitment to serve the Lord this way.
4. Pray for the Lord´s guidance as we serve the community this year, we are looking to complete big projects as a church and need His wisdom.
5. For our (Blanco Family) health, protection and perseverance as we serve the Lord.