"Man, This Is Really Messing Me Up!"

That's the quote of the day - by Rick Pacitti. We've had a long day of ministry (which I will tell you about in a few minutes) but I wanted to tell you about yesterday.

After our training in the morning, we had the afternoon to relax. We spent most of it at the lake. The Kings Castle Ministry campground sits on a huge lake (formed by a volcano that erupted over 2,000 years ago). The ministry has a dock and a rather infamous trapeze that you can swing off of and into the lake (it's about a 20 ft drop). It was a gorgeous day and many of our team took a real leap of faith and jumped into the water via the trapeze. I probably should not name names BUT....Rick was the first to walk right up to the edge of the dock and jump in. Many others - Kim, Angela, Georgie, Michele, Heather, Chris, Nikki, Christine, and Marco - all jumped (some several times). Others of us were too chicken or too wise (depending on your point of view) to jump.

Last night, after dinner, we made our trek up to the Prayer Fortress. Since 1998, prayer has been lifted up from the prayer fortress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. It is a sacred place and we sensed the Lord's presence immediately when we stepped on the grounds. We had a powerful time of corporate prayer and then, prayer for one another - in preparation for our ministry this week. We know that we cannot minister in our own strength but only in the anointing and power of the Lord.

This morning, we got up and ate breakfast at 6:30am sharp and headed off to our first ministry stop at 8am. The ministry of Kings Castle is based on "spectacle evangelism;" the concept that we do dramas and dances to create a spectacle (which, by the way, we are AMAZING at) so that crowds will come, laugh, sense the love of Christ, and hear the gospel. When we arrive in a neighborhood, we walk around inviting people to the "la programma." Once a crowd gathers, all of us do a couple of dances; then, half of us stay in the program to do more skits and dances and half of us go onto the bus to pray. After the gospel is presented and the audience is asked if they want to accept Christ, all of us come around the children to pray.

The source of the quote for today came after our first program of the day when we were asked to pick up one child, hold them and love on them, and pray over them. We've been told by those who live here that many children experience abuse and violence in the home. So, any opportunity that we have to smile, hug, and play with them is really an expression of Christ's love for them. Many of the team were so overwhelmed by the love of God for these children, they simply wept as they prayed. And, when we got back on the bus, many of us were wiping tears from our cheeks. Rick said, "Man, this is really messing me up!"

We did a total of three programs in the morning; ate lunch and then did a quick two song program for the kids who are a part of the feeding program. Next, we worked in the warehouse all afternoon packing 300 bags of food that we are distributing tomorrow and Wednesday. This is the food that many of YOU helped purchase. Every family will receive five pounds of beans, five pounds of rice, two pounds of corn flour, and a bag of oil. THANK YOU everyone for your generosity! We can't wait to show this practical expression of God's love to the families in this community around the lake.

We enjoyed a 45 minute break and then, we went off to church to minister another program. We had a great experience worshiping the Lord with fellow believers and I (Pastor Arlena) was asked to greet the people on behalf of Kingsway (so you said hello to a wonderful church body here in El Salvador).

Tomorrow is a full day of programs and then the food distribution at 4pm (6pm EST). Continue to keep us in your prayers. We certainly need them. We are tired but SO glad that we have this opportunity to minister God's grace, love and peace to everyone we meet.

A word about our blog posts and pictures: my (Pastor Arlena) ability to post text is somewhat limited so the "Dustin, We Need You!" post was put up by Jan, via an email from Marco's phone. Marco is uploading pictures to his facebook page and Pastor Bryon is copying them and posting them on the blog. That's about the best way we can do it! Thanks for your patience. But, feel free to leave a comment. I check the blog frequently throughout the day so if you want to say hello to anyone - feel free!

We love and miss all of you but we're busy being messed up by God! More tomorrow!!!

Blessings,
Pastor Arlena