Plans change for Lomas del Tecana

Monday August 18
So today we were supposed to run a kids camp because the children had the Canadian version of a P.D. Day. So after a trip to Walmart to pick up supplies we headed out to Santa Ana only to be told that there was school and we would be starting to give our talks to 2 classes that day. Only some of us talked because we had a distinct lack of translators but it didn't seem to matter because we were able to reach the kids.
Then we had dinner at Pizza Hut before going to the church service in Santa Ana. Vanessa, Melissa and Natasha presented their testimonies. Allan spoke a sermon after asking questions to each presentor.
The biggest surprise was that 2 of our translators led the worship time and have amazing voices. In the future we are going to have at least one of them in the "music class" with Vanessa. Please continue to pray for us that we will have the strength to keep presenting the gospel no matter where we are.
This post is by Bethany Gilstorf

Sunday August 17

Our day started out with our morning devotions. So our team was all ready to go out in the name of God and show His love.We attended a service in the morning that some of the El Salvador YFC team attend and had the chance to see many familiar faces.  We had a great sermon; Allan shared a talk with everyone about the influences of taking action when God places things on your heart. We worshipped with music. We are so blessed to have our own superstar Vanessa who shared her amazing talent with us. She sang all her songs in Spanish too. We then headed back to Agularies to share more love with the children. We had been working with this church for 4 years now and the number of children has more than tripled. We shared a service with them and then had an awesome kids program. We set up for the kids; we had face painting, crafts,  games, lots of candy and, of course,  a pinata (the size of a 6-year-old kid). Our friend Vincent was there who has been conquering a battle with a major tumor just below his left eye. We were told a few years ago that he would not make it through the surgery so we love our little miracle and all that he is. He is one of the happiest kids there and is always fun to be around. God has blessed him and his family. After an afternoon of fun with the kids, we headed out and had some traditional El Salvadorian food (pupusas) and then went to an amazing lookout to soak in some of the country's beautiful landscape.
This post is by Natasha Skwarok

Saturday August 16

Today we went to Agularies to do activities with the children. When we got there we got set up but it did not go as planned as to what OUR plan was but all of us agreed it went according to God's plan because He has an amazing trip planned. I had such a fun day with the children that we got to meet for the first time and see children we had seen over the years and have grown up now. I love to see the children laughing and smiling no matter what we are doing. Even when the power went off we still had fun. One thing that I think is really awesome was going to Agularies and seeing the children's faces light up when they saw us and ran to see us. It just made my day to see new children and see children that we had built up relationships with over the years. I am so excited to see what God is going to accomplish in this church.
This post is by Jessica Saunders

Safe arrival

It is a beautiful sunny day here in El Salvador. Sorry for the delay but thank you to all the people who prayed for our safe arrival. All of us arrived safely even if our luggage did not!
You read correctly, only 4 out of 13 bags arrived with us so there were some challenges when it came to clothing, toothpaste, sunscreen and supples for our first kids program. But we all recognize the Lord's handling of the situation and are thankful for all His blessings.
Thank you for all the love and prayers that accompanied us and we'll be in touch again soon.

'Twas the night before....

Theme for 2014: Stand Firm
Our last meeting in Canada is tonight at Dairy Queen (my, this mission stuff is such a hardship!). Last minute questions and details and, of course, ice cream will be the main topic of discussion. Our theme this year is STAND FIRM. Even in our last minute preparations we need to keep our focus on God and remember it is only because of His blessings that we can undertake such a monumental task. Please keep our team in your prayers and for the family and friends we are leaving for a couple of weeks.

Day 14: Beach!

On the last day of our trip, we went to the beach to have a bit of relaxation. It was a beautiful resort sort of place. The day was amazing. That same day, we had some baptisms. We all had the opportunity to get baptized that day and 5 of us did. Natalia, Gabby, Carla, Jessica and I, Gabriela, all got baptized! It was so wonderful to finally be able to be baptized in El Salvador (The Savior). The last day was such a great way to end out trip I El Salvador. We went out for dinner later that night with the whole team. 

After dinner, we got together to say some words and goodbyes until next time. It was awesome hearing what everyone had to say and hearing how much the trip had impacted us all. 

Thank you to everyone who supported us, whether it was through prayer, donations, helping out, anything: you are all part of this team. Thank you and may God bless you all! 

Day 13: Last day with the kids

On day 13, we spent the morning at an orphanage and the afternoon back at Goldtree school.

We got to the orphanage a bit late in the morning, but still had enough time to interact with the kids. We set up a face painting station, music with Vanessa, games, and another part where Mr. Day showed the kids some pictures from the last 2 years that we've been there. They've all grown up so much! The kids were a bit shy at first, but after we started talking to them a bit more, they started talking and walking around the stations also.

At the music stations, Vanessa started playing some songs on her guitar. We always try to sing songs that have a Spanish version to them so they can sing along. A group of boys came over and sat down with her and started singing. Some of the boys were learning / already knew how to play guitar. At the end, Vanessa decided to donate her guitar to the orphanage. The boys we all so happy that they'd have a guitar to practice on!

After the orphanage, we went out for lunch quickly and went back to Goldtree. All the students were so happy to see us once again. We gave our talks to all the classes and played some games, talked to the kids. It was so much fun. Once we had to leave, we were all really sad. The students were sad that we wouldn't be coming back after that day!

- Gabriela