Prayer Focus :: Saturday, July 24, 2010

Focus Topic :: Safety

Focus Scripture :: Psalm 91

Focus Team Members :: All 14 (Nicole, Diana, Carrianne, Neil, Allie, Christopher, George, Kim, Georgie, Nikki, Mariela, Thaymee, Rick, Angela)

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your protection over our team during this trip. You have sustained them and kept them. I pray that You give them safety as they travel home. Be with them as they begin their journey. Place them on the right flights and with the right flight crew. By Your hand, guide them safely home. Thank You for all that You have done through them on this trip. Give them even more opportunities to minister at the airports and on the plane. We trust them into Your care! In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

.....but the greatest of these is LOVE. 1 Cor 13:13

Thursday was our big day of ministry. We started at 8 am and loaded the 150 bags of food, sound equipment,

ministry supplies, and the entire team on to the pick up truck. As we traveled up to the mountain top "brannnccccchhh" was not shouted out as much as in last year's trip, the tree trimmer must have been hard at work prior to our arrival.

At our arrival, we came to a field were the school boys were playing soccer, so of course we had to join in. It did not go so well for us. We lost 3-0 and I am not going to tell you the age of the boys we played, but I will say that most of our team are up there in age. Next year we want a rematch. If you have any soccer skills we need you!

After the loss we set up for the program. It was one of the largest one we have done all week. We had people from age 1- 90 there. The program was great and we had a great prayer time with them afterwards. We just loved on them with every thing we had.

The food distribution was such a blessing. People we so grateful. An old man 88 who was starving walked himself down the mountain and received his bag of food. Women with health issues received the gift of food and love from the Kingsway Church - Thank you to all of you who supported the missions trip.

After the morning was over we had lunch in Pastor Alfonso's Church, there we all shared about the week so far and what it has meant to us all. This was a great time to hear how God is impacting the lives of our team and the people we were serving with. Pastor Alfonso spoke of when our team we there last year. He was discouraged and not seeing much happening on this mountain with the hearts of the people there. Then 2 weeks after we left last year a girl and her family showed up at church. They shared with him that one of our team members had a fruit and put the fruit to their daughter's nose and told her to smell the fruit. She had never been able to smell and was healed instantly. Our team member did not know of this and the impact it had on the girl, family, mountain top and Pastor Alfonso. With our return this year he stated that it is a comfirmation of what God is doing in Purterillos.

Also, Diana, a woman who loves to embrace the people of El Salvador, even without know the language had a special story this day. Don Triplett , shared that Diana really touched the heart of a woman there. She stated that these people (our team) come here and love on us, embracing us, we have alot to learn from them.

The rest of the day we did more programs, seeing God working through out the day. Dinner time was spent at Pizza Hut with 45 of us - every year this is a great time to spent with the nationals and the kids always enjoy this time.

Love has been the theme of this week - In so many ways we see His love being poured out, through us and on us. What a blessing it has been.

Prayer Focus :: Friday, July 23, 2010

Focus Topic :: Wisdom

Focus Scripture :: James 1:5

Focus Team Members :: Angela Pacitti, Rick Pacitti

Prayer: Lord, You say that if we lack wisdom, we should ask. I pray today that You would flood our team leaders and team members with wisdom that only You can supply. I pray they hear Your voice and they will follow You. Grant them wisdom in all that they do and say. I especially pray for Rick & Angie. Speak to them in a new way. Guide their steps. Show them something about You that they have never seen before. Use them to pour out Your love and wisdom on every person they meet. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Prayer Focus :: Thursday, July 22, 2010

Focus Topic :: Divine Appointments

Focus Scripture : Psalm 32:8

Focus Team Members :: Mariela Ortiz, Thaymee Ortiz

Prayer: God, You said, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Please guide each team member today. May every place they walk be closely watched by You. Bring specific people across their path; superintend every circumstance and situation; govern their interactions and conversations. Be with Mariela & Thaymee today. See what they need from You today and be their supply. Provide them with divine appointments that testify to Your power and love for the people of El Salvador. For Jesus' sake, Amen!

Meircoles.

Today was a packed tight day. After breakfast we met up in the warehouse to bag up the food we will be distributing tomorrow up in the mountains. We pack over a weeks worth of food for 150 families. Our team worked at rapido speed, so it didn't take us long and we had time to do something else, so the Nationals, with Thaymee's help decided to pull a little trick on us. Gladys, our leader, told us that we had to clear off the entire top shelf of supplies, (which is the entire length of the warehouse), dust all its contents, and restock it. Little did we know, they had "punked" us. Everybody found it quite comical. Afterwards, we decided to go out and fit in a program before lunch. We went out into the streets. A lot of mothers came out with their babies, and we even had them involved with the games. It was quite a sight. We prayed over a few sick children and those that wanted to accept Christ. After lunch we drove to Krissia's church and ministered to over 130 children. It was a great program, we had a herd rush the front for the prayer. Pastor Julio said it was a wonderful program and that kids were begging us to stay. We went to one more street program. Before we got to the kids, we prayed over an old woman who was being helped by her family members up the hill. They had just gotten back from the hospital. They wouldn't take her in and told her to return in seven days even though she had just suffered a heart-attack. All the kids we ministered to today were so smiley. It was a great day. We also attended Pastor Julio's church again tonight. Thaymee shared her testimony in Spanish and it was really moving. You could tell she was sharing straight from her heart. We also performed the Everything skit for the congregation. There was an intense prayer time afterwards as well over the youth of the church. Tonight most of chilled in the snack bar and busted on each other for over an hour. We pointed out everybody's quirky moves during the different dances and such. We all were in laughing fits. Tomorrow is our last day of ministry in which we will be riding in the back of the pickup truck up into the mountains. There is much excitement in the air. God has been so good to us this week. I am so thankful for the teams members and our leaders and the youth on our bus. Until tomorrow, goodbye!

Back to School We Go.

Today we did four programs, the first being at a small school. Some funny things went down at this location. Nicole has dreaded being picked to play in Mi Corazon for two years, but it finally happened. It turned out to be hysterical though, her and Neil had all the kids laughing. Mr. George also had his part in causing the giggles, he decided to join the ninos in a game where they had to get a cookie from their forehead to their mouth with only the help of the muscles in their face. It was quite a sight. At this school a small group of children came forward for salvation at the end after the message.

The next school we went to was much larger and energetic. This school that we visited on our very first trip to El Salvador is up at the top of a hill. Everywhere you looked kids were running around. Angela, or Gatito the Clown, had the children sprinting back and forth running for their lives. They really loved all the games the Nationals had them doing to win prizes. We also performed the Everything skit. When we began, students were laughing at it, and not understanding it. But by the part where Jesus defeats all the evils the girl is battling with, every student joined in a loud applause. There were a number of teenagers at this school who were hard to reach. We could sense the walls that they had put up during the message. Thaymee and Mariela had a chance along with some of the Nationals to pray over one teenage girl who had many problems at home. After lunch we returned to this school to minister to the next group of students. Just as many kids were sprinting across the playground with Angela and everybody had fun playing and connecting with the kids before the program.

We also ministered in a small town on the street. It was the same location of our very first program last year when we had the piggy back races. Overall today was a very productive day and many kids were reached.

All the team members are pretty beat and we have another long day ahead tomorrow. We will begin packing the bags for the food distribution tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. In the afternoon we will be heading back out to do more programs to children in the areas around the lake. Thank you all so much for your prayers and comments. I hope you all are having a wonderful week. Hasta manana chicos y chicas.

Prayer Focus :: Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Focus Topic :: Unity/Peace

Focus Scripture :: Philippians 4:6-8 / Isaiah 54:17

Focus Team Members :: Christopher Mickel, Nikki Mickel

Prayer: Father God, on behalf of our team, I am asking You for peace today. You have said in your word that we shouldn't worry about anything, but we should ask You for everything. And, when we do, You give us Your peace. Bring Your peace to our team. May Your Holy Spirit foster a sense of unity. I pray that "no weapon turned against you will succeed" and that Jesus will stop any attack that may come on the team today. I lift up Christopher & Nikki to You, asking that You would be with them in a deeply person and real way. Give them Your peace in all that they do and help them to be examples of unity to the entire team. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Prayer Focus :: Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Focus Topic :: Health

Focus Scripture :: Isaiah 53:5

Focus Team Members :: Allie Mickel, Georgie Mickel

Prayer: Lord, we know You are the Great Healer! Your presence in our world brought and continues to bring so much healing to every imaginable hurt. I pray that today, and throughout the remainder of this trip, You will be the Great Healer for our team and for anyone they encounter. Show Yourself in a real and restorative way. Touch Allie & Georgie today. Meet their needs, whatever they may be. We trust them to You. Empower them to share with others the healing You have brought to their heart. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen!

If For Only One.

Buenos Noche People!

Today was our first day of ministry! It included eight million kids, five programs, two packs of beef jerky, and a partridge in a pear tree. (That one was for you Pastor Arlena, btw, you are missed. I thought I saw you at least three times today. Haha.). Right now most of us are mad chilling here in the snack bar. It's filled with laughter and jokes. Uncle Rick seems a bit tired?, he's cracking up, and I mean like doubled over, at his own jokes. (And he just died after hearing that.) All the kids have clicked well, and of course the adults have bonded in having to look after us. We headed out right after breakfast to travel around the lake to the townships surrounding it. Our first program was one of the most difficult I've ever been apart of. We hiked up a slope which was a mountain to us, but a piece of cake for the Nationals. And it was raining a bit with at least 4 pairs of dogs attempting to get in the way. But we did our best with the first tries at our dances, which surely looked pitiful, but Neil and Bri saved our backs by doing a clever job at the Mi Corazon skit.

Our second program was in a soccer field in that we had to borrow electricity from a small family for. We didn't have a huge turnout, but at the end we prayed over that small family. First for their shy, but adorable, little girl who was sick. Then the husband and wife shared with us, through a translator of course, that they are new Christians, two weeks old to be exact. The husband was actually suicidal before he encountered the Lord. They are about to lose their house however being that the husband has been unemployed for five months. The Lord had laid on Thaymee's heart to share with them the basis of the verse Galatians 6:7-10. Look it up, it's good, I'm serious. The family told us that they were so blessed to have us there, and Thaymee turned it around and said to them pretty much that they have nothing, and on the verge of losing their home, yet they shared their electricity. Letting them know that they will surely be blessed through this. Hugs were shared all around and tears shed. You readers can keep this small, yet strong family in your prayers. Pray that they can keep their house, the husband finds a solid job, and their little girl will be healthy again.

We then came back to the Castle and did a short program for the kids in the feeding program here. I saw a little boy who was here last year. He was wearing the same Bob the Builder pajama shirt and looked no bigger than he did last July. He, however, was contend being held on my hip as long as he had his empty Coke can to play with. After lunch we were supposed to head back out to do another program immediately after. But as we have come to learn, time doesn't mean much here in El Salvador. The Nationals and some of our kids started to playing soccer, kicking the ball in and out of the horses, and we eventually left some 45 minutes later to continue on with our programs. The bus pulled into a little township not too far from the camp. One that we also performed at last summer. This ended up being a wonderful program. Soooo many kids came running, we hardly had to go grab em. And they were already smiling. Half our job was done as soon as they saw the bus. I've never had so many kids leaping to grab the camera lens in my life, "FOTO! FOTO!" I'm also pretty sure that same herd of bulls and cows trucked right through our "stage"again. The B team did the David and Goliath skit very well and it was hysterical. The children were really dirty, but despite that fact, they were the happiest we met all day. Their smiles would literally melt you. One little boy, a familiar face from last year, Israel, couldn't be separated from Georgie after the Jesus skit being that he actually believed that Georgie was Jesus. It was the most precious thing. One old woman, Elise, brought her Bronchitis-stricken granddaughter, Monica, to me to have me pray for her. I had to go grab Thaymee for help, but we got some words exchanged. The many, many Beanie Babies were especially enjoyed at this site. The kids were freaking out.

Tonight we went to a service at Pastor Julio's church. The worship was so lovely, the constant clapping and tamborine-ing. Krissia, one of our National leaders, preached a sermon on John 11. Georgie, Mariela, and Susanna led one of the worship songs. And Neil gave his testimony with Pastor Julio interpreting, which was greatly received by those listening. Tomorrow, will most likely be similar to today...filled with bus rides and programs. It's pouring right now, so hopefully we will see a bit of Mr. Sun in the morning. Today's title is in reference to the prayer Neil prayed as we pulled out of the gates at 8AM. He stated that we are still here to do God's work, even if it's just for only one. That sick girl at the soccer field was just one that we prayed for, who represented one family, that impacted one team, that represents one church, living for the One God.

None of us have broken any bones yet, and we haven't lost any of the 13 members yet.....Did I get you? There's 14 team members, and we're all accounted for. ;-) Goodnight all. Talk to you tomorrow!

Pictures from Team