El Salvador Top Ten March 19, 2009

I say this every year, but this year’s trip was truly the best yet.  In fact, it keeps getting better and better.  It was great to see old friends and see God do some really cool things.  One of the thoughts I’ve come away with from this trip is that I want to be faithful to give God the space to work in me and around me.

So, in no particular order, here’s my top 10 ten moments from the trip:

1.  Hanging out at the beach with the girls from the Hope House.  By the end of the week I had 12 new sisters (or daughters–I think I’m old enough to be their mom, for real).

2.  The sing-off with the girls at the detention center.  I got to be at the top of a cheerleading pyramid.  How sweet is that!

3.  Seeing the new library at CISNA–We took books down two years ago to start a library.  Now, Shirley Daniels a volunteer with Orphan Helpers, has transformed the library into this really pleasant calm space for the boys where they can read and relax.

4.  Getting to know Idalia, the coordinator at CISNA.  She is a sweet lady with a big heart for the boys and girls at CISNA.

5. Playing chubby bunny with the kids especially Roxanne’s laugh.  I’ve never seen anyone laugh so much at chubby bunny.  It’s great to see the girls at the detention center laugh and just get to be girls instead of murderers and thieves and gang members.

6.  The Evangacube Theme Song and singing with Blake and Becca in the van.  We never used the Evangacube for its intended purpose, but we sure did have fun singing the theme song.

7.  Amy having the courage to share her testimony with the girls and seeing their response.  I still cry when I think about how God has worked in her life.

8.  Catching up with William and Jorge.  These men love God and the kids.  Jorge has the most gentle, humble spirit of anyone I’ve ever met, and William is a big kid himself and big brother to the guys at the Faith House.

9.  Remembering how hugs and smiles and presence can communicate across language and culture.  I sat beside Astrid,  one of the provisional girls at the detention center all week.  I made a point to always say hi to her each time I saw her.  At the end of the week, she hung on tight as she was hugging me bye.

10.  Praying for the provisional girls on our last day there.  Remembering that God gives second chances and praying that these girls never forget who they are in Christ.

11.  Omar telling me he would be my brother since I’m an only child and seeing that Arturro (who I first met when he 8 years old) is now 13 and taller than me.

Back Home March 9, 2008

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Originally uploaded by jarobers

We made it back home last night safely. I say this every time, but this had to be one of the best trips ever. I have many stories to share over the next few weeks. For now, you can see pictures if you click on the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/gp/9791629@N02/gY4143

Coming around the Mountain March 8, 2008

We spent the last two days at Cisna with the boys. Boys will be boys and all 115 of these boys were all boy all the time. We had a great time playing with them and teaching the Bible lessons to them. The main thing we wanted them to know was that they all hve value to God no matter what they have done. It was great to see their smiles and hear their laughter. But sobering to also know that deep down underneath the smiles are some very wounded hearts. Pray that these boys will know the strength that is theirs in Christ.

My favorite time at Cisna was teaching English to a boy named Omar. He was so hungry to learn. We sat for about an hour each day writing down different words in Spanish and English.

Today we got to go to a volcano in Sonsanate called Cerro Verde or Green Hill. It was a beautiful sight. El Salvador is a beautiful country.

We leave early in the morning and arrive in Charlotte around 4 and then drive back to Bristol. Pray for safe travels.

It’s Wednesday March 5, 2008

We had a great day at Ilobosco yesterday. Itks so neat to see ow different our relationships with the girls are from day one to day two. I was wishing we could stay longer. Right now there is no Orphan Helpers staff at Ilobosco. Pray that they will be able to find a godly Christian woman to work with these girls. The girls are desparate for someone who can listen to them and encourage them.

We spend today and tomorrow at Cisna. Pray that we will form good relationships with the boys and share the joy of knowing Jesus with them.

Greetings from El Salvador March 4, 2008

I’m finally getting a chance to post about our trip. We’ve had full days the last few days. We arrived late on Saturday night and drove into San Salvador in the dark. The city is really beautiful during the day and even more so at night. We went to churchSunday morning. The sermon was on 1 cor. 7. We had a great time of worship

Sunday afternoon we went to Cipi, a girl’s orphanage. Everytime I’ve been there the girls are more stand offish and reserved. This time was very different. By the time we left in the afternoon, we had made 50 new friends. The girls were hugging us and didn’t want us to leave. It was great to see how open the girls were to us.

We spent yesterday and will spend today at Illobosco, a detention center. We are working with the girls at this center. These girls were a liitle more difficult to reach. We weren’t exactly sure how they received the Bible lesson. They say a lot of right answers but it is hard to know how deeply their hearts are impacted.

We did notice that the girls are (like American girls) are very interested in movies and having boyfriends. In fact it seems like a lot of their identity is built around needing to have a boyfriend. They were perplexed about why some of us don’ have boyfriends (especially those of us who are older). We hope that we can show them that or true identity is found in knowing Christ.

The team is doing great. We have been getting back to the hotel late and getting up early, so pray that we’ll get rest. Some people have some sinus troubles, so be praying that that will clear. We are really blessed though with a great group o mature Christians

We’ll have dinner tonight at the Hope House.Chef Roberto is cooking amazing food for us. I’ll probably gain ten pounds. It has been good to see friends from past years here. Please pray that we will be an encouragement to Jorge and William, Orphan Helpers staff that we are working with this week.