sixteen years

November 22nd, 1993, around 11:00pm on a beach in Santa Monica, I committed my life to follow Jesus wherever he led me. I was baptized as a Christian and began this incredible journey that I have been on ever since. I am in awe of the love and patience that God has shown me over the years. I have no words for the excitement I feel right now about where he is taking me in the years to come.

I have a marriage now that I don't deserve and would never have been able to pull off without him. We recently celebrated our 19th anniversary. We've almost been married longer than we weren't. And we still like each other.

I have a teenage daughter who loves me and likes to be silly with me. And, she loves her mother like nothing I have ever seen.

I have a son who loves to create, who can't go to sleep at night unless I have tickled him, and who's favorite activity is to give me a "jump hug." That means he takes a running start from the other side of the house and jumps onto me at high velocity. I don't know how much longer my body can withstand the impact, but I'll do it as long as I can just to have that moment with him.

I have a great relationship with my parents that keeps getting better as the years go by.

Every day, in my job, I get to watch people's lives change as they fight for their relationship with God. I get to see miracles. I see marriages saved, families reunited, addictions overcome, inaccurate views of God made more clear, forgiveness granted and received, and the peace that transcends understanding. I get to see teenagers make real decisions to follow God and reject the lies that the world is feeding them. I get to see people learn to worship God with all of their heart and soul, and not just their mind.

Thank you to all of you have been my friends over the years, for the encouragement, the love that you have shown me, and the many times you have forgiven me for the ways I mess up.

Thank you, Father, for this gift of forgiveness, for a real sense of purpose, for this life that I could never have imagined for myself. I can't wait to see where we go next...

"...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future..." Jeremiah 29:11

things are moving

I love it when God moves.

There is nothing quite like being witness to the Creator of the Universe when he is busy doing his thing. I have been amazed at the different stories I keep hearing about people who are excited about growing and changing. I'm really excited about Sunday when I get to share more about our trip and preach about where we see the church going.

We made some short videos of a few different story lines from our trip. I will use a few of them on Sunday. You can check them out at www.youtube.com/turningpointla.

I keep thinking of the lyrics from the bridge of "Hosanna" by Hillsong.

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show my how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I go from earth into eternity

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Psalms 27:8 (NIV)

Batman Begins

What a great weekend. We had such a great time at the marriage retreat. Our philosophy has always been that the strength of the retreat needs to come from the reminder of the gift of marriage,and the time away with our spouses, and not so much from the speakers or their message (although we love all the speakers we have had!). We proved that this weekend! It was a great time with everyone, and the spirit of the people who were there was so encouraging and healthy.

I love our church, and the people here. It is great to have been in the battle together for so many years, and to see the miracles that God has done. We always spend time in our Sunday worship service sharing about what God has taught us, and things we are grateful for about our spouse. Then we spend about an hour singing, praying and anyone who wants to can get up and share their favorite scripture. It is always amazing to hear how God directs the scriptures in a way that moves all of our hearts. It's great to be together. Plus, I just love the Mission Inn. What a great place.

I just got an email from Josue in El Salvador. We were praying for their special contribution yesterday that they would collect $9000. The church responded in such a great way to the call, and gave $10,200! I am so excited about what God is doing there.

Also, he told me that Armando (Batman) and his wife are coming over to the Ortega's house on Friday night to study the Bible. Also, Sandra is continuing to study with the singles ministry. Please keep praying for them.

Traci and I stayed an extra night at the Mission Inn, and had the best time talking about our family and different decisions that we are making about the changes we want to make in our lives. I can't wait.

And, my mom and dad get here this Saturday! They come every Thanksgiving, and it is one of my favorite times of year. Can't wait!

get into the flow

I am having the best week. I'm always aware that mountain-top experiences are often followed by a desert low. I'm not expecting them, I'm just aware of my patterns and I know that it is a possibility. So, I have been aware that the challenges could come at any time. Any time now...

In the meantime, I'm having such a blast. We had a great staff meeting today and talked about plans for how we can help our brothers and sisters in El Salvador. We also spent time dreaming about other mission plans we have for next year, and the years to come. Our new website is almost live, our live worship double album is set to be released in the next month or so, and our new book for young Christians is going to the publisher this week for final edits. Plus, 45 people have made the decision to follow Jesus in the Turning Point this year so far, with more to come before the end of the year.

It's a little humbling. I'm reminded of David's prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-21 (NLT)...

"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?...Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereigh LORD? What more can I say? You know what I am really like, Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have shown them to me."

It makes me think about how much God wants to do with my life if I will just make myself available to him. Nichole Nordeman sings a great song called River God, about letting the flow of God's love smooth down our rough edges so we can become more useful for him. I want to be in that flow, letting God constantly refine me and grow me.

Getting in the flow, though, is a choice I have to make. You've heard the phrase "go with the flow." I'm not sure that's how it works with God. His flow is always flowing, always moving, but our choice is not about "going" with it. Our choice is more about "getting into" it. Many times, I find myself resisting what God wants to do in my life by not actively seeking him, or by allowing small, seemingly harmless sins to remain in my life. Then, I'm standing on the bank, watching the river go by, and wondering why life doesn't feel fulfilling. I have to make the choice to get into the flow so that I can be a part of what God is doing in the world and in my life.

So, now, I'm just trying to stay in the flow...

I'm also so excited about our fall marriage retreat. We have two retreats every year, one in April and one in November. The one in November is always in Riverside at the Mission Inn, which is one of my favorite places in the whole world. Unfortunately, John Mannel, who along with his wife Nancy, was supposed to be our guest speaker, lost his mother this week. So, the Mannels will not be able to be with us this time. So, Traci and I are preparing a last minute lesson for tomorrow. I'm actually really excited about it.

Please say a prayer for John & Nancy this weekend.

Also, please pray for the El Salvador church as they collect their special contribution on Sunday.

catching up

I think the adrenaline is finally wearing off. I spent the day catching up with people, emails and voice mails. It is good to get back into my every day ministry. I really started to feel fatigue setting in around the middle of the afternoon, though. I am mentally and spiritually excited, but physically I need to catch up.

I wrote a lot today in my journal about ideas and dreams I have for the church here. The needs around us every day are staggering. I got some emails from a sister in the church today about teenage prostitution and sex trafficking in the US. She had read my post about the prostitute that I encountered a couple of weeks ago. I was so saddened to feel the depth of hopelessness that people feel every day, and the traps that Satan has them in.

Then, there are the very real, intense issues facing the Christians in my ministry every day - the hurt, the disappointment, the brokenness that keeps people from experiencing God in the way he has intended.

It can all be quite overwhelming. I kept coming back to Luke 12. What a great chapter. I love vs 32-34 where he tells them to not be afraid, but to store up a treasure in heaven that will never fail. This whole week, I have been asking myself before any activity: will this time spent help to advance the Gospel? And if so, is it the most important one for me to do right now?

I am praying every day for wisdom. I am so grateful that God is expanding my heart and mind. I need to grow so much. There is an old hymn that says "There is much to do, there is work on every hand." I feel that way, and it could overwhelm me, but I know that God only expects me to do my part, and not his.

On another note, please pray for John and Nancy Mannell, elder in the East Region of the LA Church. His mother passed away today. She was 102, but loss like that is always difficult. They were supposed to speak at our marriage retreat this weekend, so we will have them come back either next April or next November. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

phase two

It seems strange to let a day go by now without blogging, so I felt compelled to write something tonight. I am so excited and moved. Tonight was our midweek service with the Turning Point, and I was so blown away by the hearts of our people. It is amazing to see God work, and I am so honored to serve this group full time.

Tonight, we had everyone from the El Salvador team get up and share about one of their favorite or most impacting moments, and what God had taught them. It was so moving to hear everyone's perspective. But the great thing was what God did among the church. I felt like I could feel their heart breaking, just like ours did while we were there. Afterwards, so many people approached me about wanting to go on the next trip, or wanting to donate money, or with a great idea about how to help.

A few people put money in my hand and said "send this." One sister was so moved by the story of the bathrooms at the school in Suchitoto that she donated $2000 right on the spot to go towards that project. Everyone was excited about Robyn Foyle's idea of "Lattes for El Salvador."

I can't wait to share more with the whole church on the 22nd and come up with some great ideas of how we can help. My goal is to come up with things that are sustainable and long lasting, rather than short bursts of emotion

It's moments like this that I really, really love what I do. I love seeing God open up my eyes, and other people's eyes, to things that seem so obvious. I love that he is so patient with me and doesn't get irritated with me because I don't see things quickly. I love being able to see the process, when I look back over the last few years. I love the thought of where this is going to go.

This sounds like such a cliche, but everything feels different these last few days. My gym, my neighborhood, my house - everything feels different. Ministry situations that have already come up since I have been home - I have such a calmer, more patient spirit about them, because my perspective is so different. I am excited about leading this church to be more aggressive about making money so they can help more people. I am excited about calling them to a new level of sacrifice. I am excited about making changes in my own life to maximize my efforts so that I can be more productive for God.

I have a deep desire to be a better steward of everything I have - my money, my car, my house, my office, my desk, my computer, my clothes, my health. I don't want to become ungrateful, and I am begging for God to help me keep my heart soft.

Now, though, I am going to go to bed and get some rest.

anniversary sunday

We are back home now. We made it into LAX around 11:00pm last night. It was so great to see the George, Teresita & Lorena Chavez, Leo Landaverde, and Henry Solano there to greet us when we walked out of customs. Billie Henry picked up the Minor family, and we headed home to sleep in our own beds. We are so fortunate to live where we live. This morning, we are unpacking and trying to settle back into life here. I was so happy to get a post from Josue on my wall on Facebook.

While we were there, El Salvador was hit by a major storm related to Hurricane Ida. It rained on us all day Friday and Saturday. The rain really came down hard Saturday night. The storm flooded many parts of the city, and caused major damage. They are estimating now that around 200 people have been killed because of mudslides and flooding. Many people have lost their homes. About 20 people from the church there did not make it to service on Sunday, and they are currently trying to figure out if they are safe. Please pray for the country there.

By Sunday morning, the rain in the city had stopped. We were praying for people to still make it to church, even with the rain. There are only 100 Christians in the church there, but the attendance was 420 people! The service was incredible. It is so great to sing and praise God, even when you don't understand the language. It is pretty easy to get the idea, and it moved me to tears several times. I had a blast preaching, and was really grateful for a great interpreter.

The highlight, though, was all of the people who came. Batman came and brought his wife. He was beaming. He told Traci and I after the service that "we want to be like you." How humbling is that? Robin also came, as did Spider Man. Sandra, the seventeen year old girl who was our assistant tour guide, and studied the Bible on Saturday, got sick and couldn't make it to service, but she is really excited about her next study.

Also, we met four people at the University on Wednesday that all came to church. They loved it, and are all wanting to study the Bible with the church there now. They are in the foreign language department there, and loved speaking English with us. Please pray for them!!

Teresa Chavez' mom, sister and brother all came to church as well. And, Angela Sequenzia's brother, who she has not seen for 21 years, came too!

The rest of the day was spent having lunch and in tearful goodbyes. We can't wait to share with the Turning Point about all of the great things we have learned, and figure out together how we can continue to be a support and encouragement to El Salvador in the years to come. I will be sharing about the trip on Sunday, November 22nd, since we have a marriage retreat this weekend. However, we will be doing more of an in-depth and personal sharing at midweek tomorrow night. I know the married women and the singles are scheduled to be there, but anyone is welcome to come if they want to hear more about it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you for your prayers. Please consider praying about changing your lifestyle in some small way so that you can do more to help other people know God and to experience his love. We have some ideas, but would love to hear some more too.

To God be all the glory.

suchitoto

We leave today. I´m not ready yet. This place has gotten into my heart and I am so excited about helping the Turning Point to feel more connected with the church here in El Salvador.

Yesterday we drove out to a small town called Suchitoto, about an hour from San Salvador. There is school there that serves this rural community. They have four classrooms, but only enough funds for three teachers. One of the teachers is a disciple in the church here. She used to live closer to San Salvador, and walked to work every day for eight years, forty five minutes each way because there is no public transportation out there. Then she decided to move with her two small kids to live near the school so she could help more.

The church here does a lot to help this school. They recently pushed hard for a collection to be able to build a small concrete area so that the kids had somewhere to eat their lunch instead of sitting on the ground. It cost them $200, and has made the biggest difference there. Also, members of the church have started ¨sponsoring¨a child in the school, which means they adopt them, in a way, and get to know the family, and bring them clothes, presents, etc, and encourage them to keep going to school.

Our goal yesterday was to give them all of the toothbrushes and toothpaste that you guys donated, as well as giving them the clothes that we brought. Also, they have a field where the kids play soccer every day, but it was filled with rocks. Big rocks. And sheet metal. Did I mention that the kids play barefoot? So, we also were clearing the field of all of that so the kids could have a great place to play. So many disciples from the church came, and it was such a great experience.

The big moment for me came when we had walked over to visit one of the families who lived close by. Liz Gitto sat down with one of the boys who lived there and was helping him with preparing some flowers or seeds, or something. He was twelve years old, named Julio, and had such a sweet spirit. He quickly fell in love with her, and I happened to walk over right as he looked straight in her eyes and asked her to be his sponsor. Of course, she had no idea what that meant, since it was in Spanish, but it was obviously important to him, so she asked for someone to translate. The person who translated said it meant ¨sponsor¨or ¨godmother.¨ Liz didn´t know about the sponsorship program, but the term godmother put her over the edge. She said yes, as any of us would, and then tried to figure out what she had agreed to. Josue explained it to her, and she was so excited. None of us could hold back the tears. The family probably thought we were a little crazy.

As we loaded up in the back of the truck and drove away, Julio stood in the middle of the road waving until we were out of sight.

Last night, we all sat around sharing about our experience this week, and what God has done in each of our hearts. Those of you that have been somewhere like this know what I´m talking about. It changes you at a core level, and you don´t ever want to go back to how you were before you came. I pray for the Turning Point that our hearts will all be moved more to help other people move toward Christ, whether it is in Sherman Oaks or San Salvador. I pray that we can let go of the things that hold us back, and the temptation to focus on our own lives and our own problems to the exclusion of the needs of the world around us. I pray that we can find what moves us and then we will let ourselves be moved. Jesus came to share good news with the poor and freedom for the prisoners. If we claim to be in him, we must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6)

Today, we will go to church. It is the Anniversary Service, and we are expecting over 400 people. Remember, there are only 100 disciples in the church here. I have the opportunity and great honor to preach. Please pray for God to move through my message to help many people here find him, even in spite of the language barrier.

After church, we will spend a little more time with our host families, and then we will leave for the airport around 4:30pm, to arrive back in LA around 10:45pm. I can´t believe we are home tonight.

Thank you for reading these blogs. Thank you for caring about other people. Thank you for your kind donations of clothes, shoes, dental supplies and money. Thank you for your prayers for us, the church in El Salvador, and more importantly, the lost in El Salvador. The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective.

Love you guys!

letting God lead

Friday night. 10pm. Back at Casa Ortega. Let me work backwards. We just made it home from the Parenting Workshop. Traci and I got to speak to a lot of the parents here in the church and it was a blast. They were such a great audience, and so kind to us. We got there on time tonight. A brother named Carlos picked us up and gave us a ride. He spoke no English, but we had a really great time together. I asked him to explain the difference between ¨te amo¨and ¨te quiero.¨ It was hilarious trying to figure out what he was saying.

The afternoon was spent at Gladys´house. You may remember her from the post on Tuesday. Our team was very impacted by her situation, and we could not leave this city with a clear conscience if we didn´t do something to help. We had to really work hard to make it happen. We couldn´t get in touch with her to see if she would be there, so we were just hoping that she would be there and that she would welcome our help.

Liz Gitto, Jason Hill, JP, Traci and I went to PriceSmart (think Costco) and bought sheets, pillows, pillowcases, new cookware, brooms, cleaning supplies, some toys for the kids, and lots of other stuff. However, as we got up to the checkout stand, Liz was going to pay for it with her AMEX card, but she forgot her passport. It became a huge issue, with the manager, and all five of us Americans standing around, pleading with the manager to let it pass. He wasn´t going for it. We were praying, trying to figure out what to do.

In the meantime, Angel, a brother from the church who I also wrote about in Tuesday´s post, was working there. He had come over to help with our checkout, and he finally stepped in and told the manager that we went to church with him, and the manager decided to let the deal go through! It was one of those ¨God moments¨that let you know that he is right there with you, even when you don´t think of everything.

We arrived at the house, and she was so excited. She cried, and was so grateful for the help. We attacked her kitchen, living room and bedroom. Jason Hill and Liz Gitto were the driving force behind making it happen. Teresa was invaluable by helping us really communicate with Gladys and her family. Sandra and Mariela and Vanessa worked so incredibly hard. Jayelle, Jonathan and Ana washed every dish and worked so hard to clean this house. All of us were in tears at the end.

It was one of those difficult situations where you realize that you can´t fix everything, and also that lack of financial resources was not the only problem. The disciples here are going to follow up with her and help her make some changes in her life and habits that will help her to move forward. However, sometimes, it is important just to do the things that may not seem like they will make a big difference in the long run, but will really touch someone´s heart now. Jesus was like that. He was willing to look at people, to listen to them, to reach out and touch them, to spend time with them, so that they could feel loved and important. That was our ministry today.

Now, I have to tell you about our experience at the beach. We were scheduled to go to Costa Del Sol, a beachfront community where Karla Perkins´relatives have a beach house. All of us, with the exception of the kids, were having some serious internal struggles about going to a tropical paradise situation when there is so much work to be done in the city and with the people here. It felt somehow wrong and self indulgent. However, no one verbalized it because our hosts here set the schedule for us, and they were honestly looking out for us so that we could rest. The house was free, and especially in the weeks before the trip, it seemed like a great idea. However, as the week wore on, and we were with the people here, we were all pulled by the need to keep working.

We got to the house, and it was beautiful. It was what they call ¨rustic,¨meaning that it was not enclosed. The living areas and kitchen were all open to the outside, while the four bedrooms had walls. There were hammocks strung up, and wonderfully comfortable chairs. The house led out onto the pool, which led right out onto the beach. We swam in the really warm water, played volleyball, and played Nertz into the early morning hours. It was really fun, but we all still had that nagging sense that this wasn´t quite right.

This morning, we all began to get up and spend some time on the beach praying and thinking. The kids got in the pool. One of our police guards, who we call Batman, but is really named Armando, started talking to people. First, he had a great conversation with JP about raising kids, and asked him for advice. Then, he sat with Vanessa on the beach talking about God. Then, he sat with Liz, who opened up the Bible and started showing him Jeremiah 29, vs 11, even through the language barrier. (You can´t stop Liz these days...) Jason and Vanessa came back from a walk and sat down with him and started asking some questions. Then, Chris Boyer showed up to spend a few hours with us, and so he sat down and Chris and Jason ended up having a really great Bible study with him for over an hour. He really opened up about his life, and talked about his need for people, and his desire to know God more. He shared with me afterwards that he respected us and was inspired by us, and that he was really excited to come to church on Sunday with his wife and daughter, even though they would have to take the bus for over an hour to get there. He said that before his assignment with us, he felt like his heart was dead, but now he felt that it was alive again.

If we had not been at the beach house, those conversations and that study would never have happened. We would have been busy doing other work, but we would have missed that opportunity to spend that uninterrupted time with Armando. Tears are streaming down my face as I type this, because I realize how God is always working, even when I don´t know it or don´t understand it. Even when I think I have a better plan, God´s plan is already set in motion, and will always be better than my own. I am overwhelmed by God´s patience and kindness with me, and grateful that he gives me so many chances to let him work, even when I think I am smarter than he is.

My life is so amazing. Why me, though? Why do I get to live where I live, to have the things that I have? I don´t deserve it, in that I didn´t do anything to earn my place in the world. I was just put here, and God gives me things to be enjoyed. However, he also wants me to use what I have to give back to others. That concept is starting to come more into focus every day, although it still seems so foggy and blurry, like I´m looking at it through dirty glass. How do I do that? What is the best way to leverage the time and money that I have? Why was I so stupid earlier in life and get myself into a financial situation where I am now paying back debt rather than freely being able to use what I have to help others? How can I change my lifestyle when I get back so that I have more to give somewhere else? What is the best way to give? I am trying to find the answers to these questions, if they are even available to me. What I do know is that God will lead, and if I will let him, then it always works out better than what I could have planned myself.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:8-10

Tomorrow morning, in less than eight hours, we will be leaving to go to the school in Suchitoto, where I hear that the situation is challenging and disturbing. We are taking the rest of the clothes and dental supplies that we brought to give to the kids there. We are going to teach them how to brush their teeth. We are going to work on building a covering for their porch area that the church here built for them recently, so that they have a shaded place to cook and eat their lunches. I am just hoping that I am smart enough to let God lead me through the day tomorrow.

My kids are doing great, by the way. Jonathan is getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, but he is having fun. Jayelle is just amazing. Watching her take all of this in is so inspiring and fills me with hope. She is getting to hang out with such great people and see their hearts being moved and challenged, and I know it is making a huge impact on her. They are both exhausted tonight, because we all got about an hour total of sleep at the beach house last night, but that is another post for another day...

Oh, and by the way, I have discovered that coconut milk right out of the coconut is amazing, especially if it is chilled and you drink it with a straw. God´s Gatorade...

faces with the names

Thursday morning. We are preparing to head out to the coast for the day, so I won´t be able to post anything later tonight. However, I wanted to send you these pictures of some of the people I have been posting about so that you can see who you are praying for.


This is Sandra, who is going to be studying the Bible on Friday. Julio, the tour guide told me last night that he is so grateful for us because of the impact that we have had on her. He has already seen her start to change this week since she has been with us. She is a great girl. Please pray for her!

Here are the two policeman and our driver. We have named them Batman, SpiderMan and Robin, from left to right. SpiderMan´s name is Alfredro, who we initially named Alfred (get it? Batman...) but SpiderMan is a little more manly, don´t you think? Anyhow, he is coming on Sunday. He´s the one who realized that the single mom that we gave all the food and clothes to was his 4th grader teacher.

Batman is on the left. He is the one who was so moved by what we were doing for his country. Please pray for him!

Robin is on the right. He is a single man, and not quite sure if he is coming on Sunday, but we have a few days left with him to work on his heart! And, if you pray, that will help so much more.

Thanks for indulging me by reading these posts, and for the glory you bring to God by praying for us, and especially by praying for these people.

And, just so you get a picture into what it is like to travel with Jason Hill, here he is sitting at a homemade marimba on the street. Being 6 foot 2 inches, and a total ham, he is a huge hit wherever we go. People love him. Everybody needs a Jason Hill in their life.

miercoles

Finally! We made it to the University of El Salvador today to share our faith. We had a devotional here first so everyone could practice our script of Spanish phrases to invite people to come to the anniversary service on Sunday. We got to the campus and were waiting for some other disciples to join us, and I saw this guy with a Miami Dolphins tshirt on. I approached him and did my thing - quiero invitardo a la reunion de la iglesia. He said OK. I thought it was going great, so I said te doy una invitado, or something like that, and he said something in Spanish to indicate that he would be there. I was really excited and then I realized that he was the disciple that we were waiting for!

After that let down, Jonathan and I walked around the campus with Dolphin Man, and invited lots of people to service. He spoke about as much English as I spoke Spanish. It was great, though. We had a blast together.

Later in the afternoon, we went to have lunch together. Batman, one of our policeman, was telling Mariela and Teresa how when he was given this assignment, he thought it was only going to be protecting a group of rich Americans. He never thought that he would actually feel like a part of the group himself, and be having so much fun with us and talking about God. He said that yesterday when we went to serve the disciples families, he was embarrased and humbled because his people are killing each other, while this group of foreigners is coming to his country to serve his people. He was so impacted, and he told his wife that they need to come to church with us this Sunday.

Sandra, our assistant tour guide, agreed to study the Bible with the girls from our group on Friday.

Tonight was midweek. We left the house thirty minutes early for the ten minute drive. However, there was such bad traffic that it took us an hour and fifteen minutes. They had started the service almost a half hour late, and I walked in just in time to walk up on stage and preach. We missed the worship workshop because of traffic. We almost missed midweek because of traffic. I think I´ll leave a day early for the parenting workshop on Friday.

It was great speaking to the church. They are such great people. It was very strange and awkward preaching with an interpreter. He was very good, but it is just so unnatural for me. I hope I get the hang of it by Sunday.

Tomorrow, Teresa and Mariela are both going to spend the day with their families who live in El Salvador. How great is that?

The rest of us are going to take a day to spend at the beach. One of the families here has a connection with a great beach house, and they have offered it to us for the day, so we are going to drive there and spend the day together there with the Perkins. Friday morning, we are going to get up early, drive back to the city and go back to Glady´s house and do what we can to help her.

The church here has been very aware of not planning so many activities that we are exhausted, so they want to make sure we get plenty of relaxing down time. They have been so good to us! Our group, however, is chomping at the bit to do more hands-on work with the disciples and the poor here. It is a strange juxtaposition to see such poverty, and be experiencing such relative luxury ourselves. I know we will find a great balance, but we are still trying to land on that.

In the meantime, we are all still challenged to our core about the changes we all feel God is calling us to make. We are brimming over with plans and ideas for the Turning Point and how we can become more of a partner with the church here in the future. May God strike me down if I forget the things he has shown me here, or if I fail to do anything to change my life so that I can be more of a blessing to others.

We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are. - Max DePree

oh, and this is cool...

In trying to describe our day yesterday, I forgot to share about something really cool that has been happening as well. We have hired a tour company to drive us around in a microbus. The tour guide´s name is Julio, and he is such a great guy. He prays for us in the morning, and knows just about everything there is to know about El Salvador. He is coming to church with us on Sunday morning.

Julio also has an assistant named Sandra. She has been with us the last two days, when he couldn´t. She just turned seventeen, and is trying to learn English. Very sweet. Of course, we are all talking to her as much as we can. She thinks Jason Hill is funny. (who doesn´t?) Anyhow, last night she came with us into the homes of the disciples that we were serving. At the second home, we were talking with Angel about his faith in God. She was sitting back in the corner, not a part of the conversation at all, and all of a sudden she bursts out with ¨I want to find out about this church!¨ Of course, Teresa Chavez was all over that, and spent the rest of the night in the van talking with her about her life. She is coming to church with us on Sunday.

The drive of the microbus is named Alfredo. He has spent most of his life in San Marcos, where Gladys lives. When we pulled up to her house, he got out of the van, and saw her, and realized that she was his 4th grade teacher! He was so moved by what we were doing for her, and he is now coming to church with us on Sunday. (This kind of stuff only happens with God...)

Get this. The two policeman that we have traveling with us are on loan to us from the Department of Tourism. Seriously. I think JP and Carla´s family has connections. Anyhow, these two guys have had such a great time. In this picture, I asked them to look really mean and tough. This is as good as they could do. We (really, Jason) has named them Batman and Robin. They don´t seem to mind. They have started teasing Jason as much as he teases them. Anyhow, after our last stop last night, Vanessa and Liz cornered them and told them that they have to come to church on Sunday, under the penalty of death. Jason learned to say ¨if you don´t come, I will kill you¨in Spanish. I think that convinced them. Anyhow, they are coming to church on Sunday.

Please pray for Julio, Sandra, Alfred, Batman and Robin to all come to church and become true Christians!

tuesday, really?

I´m not quite sure what to write about. I am so overwhelmed and moved by the things I have experienced today. I feel so sheltered, so unaware, so numb, like I´ve been stuck in the Matrix for my whole life.

The day started off in a great way. We had a great breakfast and devotional together this morning. Because of some details that don´t bear explaining, we did not go to the university today. Instead, we went to the church building and spent time preparing several suitcases worth of clothes so that we could take them to some families in the church who really needed them. We put left the rest of the donated clothes to take to Suchitoto this Saturday. More on that later.

Then, we drove up to a volcano that overlooks San Salvador called El Boqueron. It was beautiful and amazing. We drove down the mountain then looking for a place to eat, and stumbled onto a restaurant called Las Brumas that was absolutely amazing. The view was to extraordinary and the food was some of the best I have ever had, for hardly any money, relatively speaking.


Both of these experiences, combined with our wonderfully self-indulgent day yesterday, served in stark contrast to what we experineced next.

We drove into San Marcos, a neighborhood in San Salvador, where one of the families in the church lives. The famiy was a single mom named Gladys, with her two kids, Tato and Ana, with their grandmother Maria. The level of poverty that they lived in is hard to describe. The house was two rooms, and their kitchen, bathroom and laundry room were combined outside behind the house. It was the most shocking thing I have experienced in my life. I have, of course, heard about situations like this and seen things on film, but nothing compares to the experience of seeing it first hand. I was overcome with emotion and didn´t quite know what to do. So, I started watching the people we were visiting. They were so incredibly happy and grateful that we were there. I know this sounds like a cliche, but I can´t help it. We gave Tato and Ana each a stuffed animal, and their faces lit up in a way that defies description. They insisted on serving us soda that they had, and were so happy to do it. Josue, who leads the church here, was visiting their house for the first time as well, and he was just as shocked and overwhelmed as we were. We were all in tears afterwards.

Next, we drove to another house that belongs to Angel and Inez, and their three kids, Wendy, who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and their two sons Angel and Rodrigo. Angel recently lost his job and his wife was diagnosed with cancer. However, the joy that they expressed and the gratitude that they showed to us was unexplainable, unless you know God. We are trying to figure out their exact financial situation because their house is being foreclosed on. I know that we can figure out a way to help. I asked Angel Sr what meant the most to him about being a Christian, and he said that it was the way that God had helped him to change over the years, and how much more he knew that he could change his life, and that God had given him a chance to help others to change. How humbling that he never once mentioned the situation that they are in. He only talked about his faith in God and his gratitude for us.

I know other people have experienced this before me. I know that I have heard others talk about this kind of moment and I wanted to understand it and experience it with them, but I was just unable to do so. I thank God that he has chosen me and my family, along with the rest of our friends who are here, to be here to experience this, becuase it has changed our lives already forever. I am praying for inspiration from God about how we can help, and not just by sending money. I am praying for the church here in San Salvador to grow, to explode with faith, to reach many, many souls who have a passion for living like Jesus lived, and changing lives every day. I am praying for our church in Los Angeles to grow every day in their convictions about the need to serve the poor in other areas of the world, as well as reach the spiritually poor where we live. I am praying for an explosion of compassion that will inspire disciples of Jesus everywhere to throw off the sin that so easily entangles and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

We serve a great God, and he wants for us to serve others as he served us. It becomes more clear every day, if I choose to see it.

Tomorrow we will prayerfully go to the university to share our faith. Then midweek tomorrow night! Thank you for your prayers. We can feel them here.

monday

We had a great day today. Breakfast at Mr Donut was really interesting. I have never felt quite so inadequate as I did when trying to order food in a foreign country without speaking the language. I would do my best, struggling along until I finally gave up and yelled ¨Teresa!¨over my shoulder for help translating. My compassion for people in a country where they don´t speak the language grew tremendously.

We loaded up in our microbus with our two armed guards complete with machine guns and started our day. It was a day of sightseeing, since the whole country was on holiday. We drove first to the Mayan ruins, which unfortunately were closed. So we kept driving to a small town up in the mountains to see the oldest church in El Salvador, built over 300 years ago. (Mom, and Mom-in-law, please look closely at the machine guns in this picture. Make you feel better?)

Then, we walked through a cemetary where everyone had come to honor their family who has passed away. Every year, in Mexicao and Central America, this is a very important tradition. They bring flowers, sometimes will repaint the graves, and will even hire musicians to play their loved ones´ favorite songs. Very interesting.

Next, we drove to La Palma to buy some souveniers for all of our friends and family. It rained most of the afternoon, which was beautiful. We drove next to a beautiful area with lots of waterfalls. The group walked the one kilometer to the falls and back, but Jayelle didn´t feel like walking so far because her feet hurt, so she and I sat on the porch of a wonderful place that grows, roasts and brews their own coffee. The view from the porch was amazing, and the coffee costs a whopping 15 cents per cup!

Because of the traffic from the holiday, we were almost an hour late getting back, so I wasn´t able to get with the worship team tonight. I was really disappointed, but hopefully we can make it work another night this week.

The real highlight of the day was all of the discussions that we had about the country here. We learned so much about the history of the people and the civil war. Teresa and Mariela both shared about their families´experiences during that time, and how it has impacted them. The stories were so moving and deep, and I was struck by how much I don´t know about other people, even those I am close to. I felt like God was really opening my eyes and trying to teach me to dig deeper in my relationships with people, and ask more questions about someone´s past. The more you understand about where someone came from, the more you understand about who they are and why they think the way they do.

The older I get, the more I realize how broken I am as a person, and the more that I desperately want to grow so that I can help more people. It is embarrasing on one level, but so incredibly exciting on a deeper one. I am praying for God to continue to break my heart and teach me anything that he wants me to learn while I am on this trip. I know that he is just getting started, because we haven´t really done anything yet.

Tomorrow, we will spend time at the university sharing our faith. That should be fun, especially for us non-Spanish speaking gringos. Then, we are going up on a volcano that overlooks the city so that we can pray over San Salvador. Then, we will spend the afternoon visiting three families in the church who need assistance. We are going to take them some food and some clothes that the Turning Point family donated. I am really looking forward to what God is going to do in our hearts tomorrow.

One last thing - here´s a picture of me and Leo´s dad. Can´t you just see Leo in thirty years?

Thanks for praying for us. Please keep it up.

mucho gusto

We are here. We arrived in El Salvador around 730am Sunday morning. After a perfectly lovely red eye flight, we got all 22 of our bags and made our way outside. Jonathan Perkins and Chris Boyer were there holding up this sign. It was so encouraging.


Also, Leo Landaverde´s dad came to greet us at the airport as well. It was great to see him too.

We loaded up into our microbus with our tour guide Julio and drove to church. It was great to get there and be greeted by all of the disciples. Bievenidos! Mucho gusto! I love the hearts of disciples. They are the same wherever you go. It was great trying to sing songs in Spanish. One of them I knew - I hear God singing to me.

We had some translators sitting around us trying to help us keep up. Josue preached a great message about cleaning out your heart. At least that´s what I think it was about. The lack of sleep and Spanish service was too much for Jonathan. He feel asleep on his mom pretty early in the service.

After church, we all split up to go to our host´s homes. My family is staying with Josue and Veronica and their two wonderful kids, Aldo and Monse, ages 7 and 5. We took a really long nap, and then spent the evening talking and getting to know each other. They are such incredible people, and we feel so connected with them already. Then we taught them to play Nertz, of course. Aldo is a pro already.

Today is a national holiday - the day of the dead. Everything is shut down here in the city. So we are going to do some sightseeing up in the northern part of the country. We are going somewhere where they make and sell lots of touristy type stuff. We are going to start the day having breakfast and a devotional at Mr. Donut in about twenty minutes.

Apparently it rained really hard last night, but Traci and I slept right through it. I love sleep...

Tonight, I will get to spend some time with their worship team. I¨m really looking forward to that.

More to come...