Wednesday August 20

Today we visited a different school in Santa Ana, much bigger than the previous one. The grades ranged from one to nine, with one set of kids in the morning and another whole set in the afternoon. My group didn't have a translator, so it was an interesting challenge to run
a 45 minute program for each class. Two years ago I would have been terrified to go into a class without a translator, but for some reason this time I wasn't scared at all. I am starting to enjoy it when God pushes me out of my comfort zone because I know He is going to help me succeed and bring me closer to Him. We had an amazing group of people on our little team, so that helped a lot. Some of the Salvadorians,  Mario and Pastor Jorge, are so incredible with the kids, and we managed to communicate with each other somehow to figure out a game plan before every class.
Once we started leading the classes together, we each figured out our role and how each fit
in with each other, and soon enough our program started to run like clockwork. Now someone could throw our team into another class and we could run the entire program smoothly without any preparations or translators- it was amazing to see how God brought our specific group together.
In the morning at school we started with the 2 grade 1 classes, and they were adorable. We sang music with them while I played guitar, we handed out salvation bracelets, Pastor Jorge and Mario gave talks to the kids (I never knew what they're saying but they always have the kids practically rolling on the ground laughing- both of them are good with the kids) and then we played a game (they love seven up). During the breaks we got to interract with the kids in the schoolyard, so there were a lot of hugs given out. Our third class of the morning was a grade 3 class, also adorable. They loved the music and bracelets. Our entireYFC team had been split into 2 teams for the day, and the other group gave talks in their 3 classes. After that it was time for lunch, so we ate at Pizza Hut.
In the afternoon we returned to the school, and visited another 2 classes each (our group visited the grade 1 classes). We were supposed to do another class but it didn't work, so we used that time to play with the kids in the schoolyard. I played guitar and met a precious little girl who wouldn't leave my side the entire time we were there. It was really nice to interract with the kids and show them love.
We headed over to the Santa Ana church once we were done at the school, and waited until the evening service. Natasha and I attended to a very important matter, filming Perfection's ice water bucket challenge. For the service, I got asked to sing with Aaron and Carlos, the guys in charge of the music at Santa Ana. They are actually SO good so I felt honored that they would want me to join them in leading worship.
The service started and it was excellent- the music was great, and we sang in both English and Spanish! Jessica gave an amazing testimony that impacted everyone, and Mr. Day gave a really good talk despite some setbacks. We finished off the night with pupusas for dinner, and then drove to the hotel.
Overall it was a really good day for me- I enjoyed leading the programs in the classrooms without a translator, and showing all the kids love and music. It was so much fun singing with Carlos and Aaron, and the service was great. However, our YFS team as a whole agreed that it was being attacked. Most people were feeling under the weather from the get-go in one way or another. People giving talks throughout the day couldn't find the words to say, and Kim was unfortunately very sick. Around noon we received an email from Bethany's Mom saying she felt we were being attacked by the devil who was trying to bring us down and prevent us from doing God's work. It all made sense- the devil knew the good work we were doing and he decided to try to take us down. We prayed hard all day and stood firm, Mr. Day's notes weren't working on his computer when he went to give his talk in the church and instead of deciding not to talk, he powered through. The entire team powered trough the day, and we didn't let the devil win. We thank you for everyone's prayers for us, and we ask you to continue to pray for protection from the evil one. We will continue God's work, and we won't let setbacks get us down.
This blog was britten by Vanessa Banks

Tuesday August 19

Today most of us presented our testimonies in the classrooms at Santa Ana. They were well received and the kids seemed attentive even when the translators had a somewhat difficult time translating what we were saying. A lot of people on the team are tired but still enjoying seeing people from other years and, for the first-time travellors, meeting new people and having new experiences.
This post is by Debbie Stuart

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.