I title my blog "And then there was one.." because one of our short-term missionaries, David, left this morning to head back to the states. I will be the only short-termer here for a little over a week...but then we will receive another girl soon! Living with 5 people for two months and now not, has given me much more time to think and reflect. I am so blown away by how awesome our fellowship was that only God blessed us with. It was absolutely incredible and I for sure miss everyone, but we have all been called to different places in different ways and times.
With this free time I've really been praying and thinking much more about my future. To be quite honest, I have no clue what the next step of my life will be after this trip. I know that this time here in El Salvador is not only a time to serve and be transformed, but to prepare me for what is next. The only thing is that I do not know what God has in store for that "next" part of my life. But the beautiful thing is that I may not know what it is...but I know WHO knows. I am continually giving it up to Jesus to steady my anxious heart for the unknown in the future. I would appreciate your prayers that God would give me peace and joy to not worry about what is next and KNOW that He will reveal the next step in His perfect timing, like He always does.
As far as ministry activities down here, all has been wonderful! English class has been fantastic and the students are really learning, but most of all ENJOYING it. We had a going away party for David on Wednesday and it was awesome to see how much of an impact he has made on these students. How sweet it was to see this poor community bringing gifts to him, buying a cake and drinks for the whole class to have! One of the moms even began crying as we were talking with her. It was such a beautiful thing to be apart of.
I was also blessed to be able to feed the homeless for the 3rd time here. Every time we go out, it's such a great wake up call to see that people literally are living on the streets and the meal we give may be the first one they've had in a while or for that day. Thanks to Jesus for providing the resources to make it possible!
I have a little more than a month left here and already do not want it to be that close. Every day the people, kids, culture, and language grows closer and closer to my heart. Please be praying like you have been...because I sure can feel it! I cannot thank you enough for you love, support, and encouragement! I feel truly privileged and blessed!
Praising the Lord,
Lauren
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Praising Him for opportunities.
Buenos dias mis amigos!
I hope that all of you reading this blog today are finding joy and peace in our God Almighty. He is so good and worthy to be praised. I hope to encourage you all with a few stories that I have to share about some great opportunities that the Lord has presented me with!
This past week we had a group of people come to give/install some water filters to the Island that we work with. I was talking one night with a boy named Pedro who is Guatemalan but goes to high school in the US. One question he asked me was if my parents supported me doing the mission work here, and somehow it lead to me talking about my life with Christ and what it was like without Christ. One cool thing was that it was all in Spanish! Hallelujah! The second thing was that this boy actually was not a Christian and he told me that he was really encouraged to search more and think more about faith. I was really encouraged by one of our missionaries here, Ashley, as she told me that I basically just shared my testimony in Spanish. It's funny because before I came here I was asked by our short-term coordinator to share my testimony in Spanish, but I was not confident at all in my speaking abilities and could not do it. Then to add on top of that night, one of the girls from that group straight up asked me what my testimony was. She also is a Spanish speaker so that whole conversation was also not in my native language. I just smiled seeing what the Lord was doing that night. What a cool God!
After having that night to share spiritual things in Spanish, I felt more confident and also prompted to do more. I felt that God was showing me...Lauren you can speak Spanish well enough to share what I've done in your life and the experiences you have had as a Christian. So this Monday I gave the devotional for the afternoon session at the soccer school. I talked about my experiences running track in college and how my first year I really didn't understand what it meant to honor and glorify God in my sport. Many times I was only running for myself, my coach, or my team. But God taught me that it doesn't matter if I win or lose, it matters HOW I win and how I lose. I can honor God by having a good attitude, respecting my coaches, having humility when I when, or still having joy when I lose. So that is the sum of what I shared with them...just to encourage them that there is peace, freedom, and joy when you play your sport for the Lord. But it's their decision to either play for God, or someone/something else. I am so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to share that with them...but im even more grateful that He gave me the words to say in SPANISH! Although I'm sure that my Spanish was not perfect, I think the guys all understood it and God was moving and speaking to their hearts!
Could you please continue to pray for opportunities such as these to share the word of God and how incredible He is! Also pray for our missionary Ashley who just left this morning to go back to the States. That means the only short-term missionaries left here are David and myself.
Thank you for YOU and I'm praying that God is doing amazing things IN and THROUGH you as well! :)
With much love,
Lauren
I hope that all of you reading this blog today are finding joy and peace in our God Almighty. He is so good and worthy to be praised. I hope to encourage you all with a few stories that I have to share about some great opportunities that the Lord has presented me with!
This past week we had a group of people come to give/install some water filters to the Island that we work with. I was talking one night with a boy named Pedro who is Guatemalan but goes to high school in the US. One question he asked me was if my parents supported me doing the mission work here, and somehow it lead to me talking about my life with Christ and what it was like without Christ. One cool thing was that it was all in Spanish! Hallelujah! The second thing was that this boy actually was not a Christian and he told me that he was really encouraged to search more and think more about faith. I was really encouraged by one of our missionaries here, Ashley, as she told me that I basically just shared my testimony in Spanish. It's funny because before I came here I was asked by our short-term coordinator to share my testimony in Spanish, but I was not confident at all in my speaking abilities and could not do it. Then to add on top of that night, one of the girls from that group straight up asked me what my testimony was. She also is a Spanish speaker so that whole conversation was also not in my native language. I just smiled seeing what the Lord was doing that night. What a cool God!
After having that night to share spiritual things in Spanish, I felt more confident and also prompted to do more. I felt that God was showing me...Lauren you can speak Spanish well enough to share what I've done in your life and the experiences you have had as a Christian. So this Monday I gave the devotional for the afternoon session at the soccer school. I talked about my experiences running track in college and how my first year I really didn't understand what it meant to honor and glorify God in my sport. Many times I was only running for myself, my coach, or my team. But God taught me that it doesn't matter if I win or lose, it matters HOW I win and how I lose. I can honor God by having a good attitude, respecting my coaches, having humility when I when, or still having joy when I lose. So that is the sum of what I shared with them...just to encourage them that there is peace, freedom, and joy when you play your sport for the Lord. But it's their decision to either play for God, or someone/something else. I am so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to share that with them...but im even more grateful that He gave me the words to say in SPANISH! Although I'm sure that my Spanish was not perfect, I think the guys all understood it and God was moving and speaking to their hearts!
Could you please continue to pray for opportunities such as these to share the word of God and how incredible He is! Also pray for our missionary Ashley who just left this morning to go back to the States. That means the only short-term missionaries left here are David and myself.
Thank you for YOU and I'm praying that God is doing amazing things IN and THROUGH you as well! :)
With much love,
Lauren
Friday, April 6, 2012
Much to tell...
Well hello my friends and family!
I know it's been a while...so hang in there with me as I update you as best as I can on everything that has been going on!
For starters, this week has been Semana Santa (Holy Week)...so for our organization we've had the whole week off for vacation! It's been great to relax and just have fun! Monday was extremely chill...we just hung out in the house, went and got coffee, and just took time to really rest. Although it can be boring sometimes, I think rest is much needed at times in our busy lives. Tuesday, however, was much different. All of us missionaries and the staff for CPCI shoved ourselves into a van and headed out to the beach! It was a great day, filled with sunshine and great fellowship! It was my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean. I definitely got beat up in the ocean from all the rocks that were near the shore, but being able to body surf and swim in the waves was so worth it! Our lunch was also phenomenal! Such a huge spread of fish, veggies, potato salad, bread, and beans that were out of this world! Such a blessing to enjoy God's creation and beauty at the beach, and enjoy it with people that I love. Wednesday was yet another blessing to be apart of! The 5 of us missionaries have gotten pretty close to a boy at the soccer school named Henry. He is a great person and his dream is to become a pastry chef! He would love to be able to study the art of pastries in the U.S. one day, and that has been our prayer for him...to be able to have the means to one day study in the States and pursue his passion. So on Wednesday we invited him over to cook some "American" treats with us, and we had a blast! Not only did it bless us to be able to spend time with him in fellowship while cooking, but he also expressed interest in coming to church with us that night. That was also another great part of our day because me, Douache, and Ashley (the 3 girls) had the wonderful opportunity to sing a song, in English, for the church we attend. We sang "Revelation Song" by Kari Jobe and it was amazing how God blessed us with 3 unique voices to sing a 3-part harmony. The highlight for me of that night was seeing how moved our friend Henry was after the service. He was very touched by the message that he began to cry. So we gave him a bible and all wrote in it, which was just awesome! Thursday was yet another great day! In the morning we planned a lunch meeting with the kids at the soccer school and their parents. It was the very first one and went SOOO well! We were able to inform the parents on the principles and goals of this ministry, show them a slideshow of photos, eat lunch together, play some games, give out items from a raffle, and just fellowship. It was the first of many to come and I think everyone had a great time. We were then able to go to a market to do some souvenir shopping the rest of the night.
Today is just a day to relax again and do some reflecting. For me I have been learning a lot about peace and unity. I never realized how much Jesus talks about unity just in the chapter of John alone. I think it has been a blessing to experience that peace and unity with the missionaries here. Today was a bit sad as we said our goodbyes to Douache as she is going back to the states. But we all talked about how cool it is that God called us here at the same time, and also how unified we all have been! Praise the Maker!
Tomorrow we are traveling back to the mountains of Jicalapa for the third time with our church and some of the soccer school boys. We will be playing some games there and simply reaching out and spending time with this community that doesn't get too many visitors. It's a long and hot trip up there...but soo worth it! Please be in prayer for our journey up there, and just for God to open doors to reach out and share the love of Christ with this community!
Sorry this was a long one, but hope you have been encouraged by it and feel apart of the ministry the Lord has placed me in!
With Christ's love,
Lauren
I know it's been a while...so hang in there with me as I update you as best as I can on everything that has been going on!
For starters, this week has been Semana Santa (Holy Week)...so for our organization we've had the whole week off for vacation! It's been great to relax and just have fun! Monday was extremely chill...we just hung out in the house, went and got coffee, and just took time to really rest. Although it can be boring sometimes, I think rest is much needed at times in our busy lives. Tuesday, however, was much different. All of us missionaries and the staff for CPCI shoved ourselves into a van and headed out to the beach! It was a great day, filled with sunshine and great fellowship! It was my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean. I definitely got beat up in the ocean from all the rocks that were near the shore, but being able to body surf and swim in the waves was so worth it! Our lunch was also phenomenal! Such a huge spread of fish, veggies, potato salad, bread, and beans that were out of this world! Such a blessing to enjoy God's creation and beauty at the beach, and enjoy it with people that I love. Wednesday was yet another blessing to be apart of! The 5 of us missionaries have gotten pretty close to a boy at the soccer school named Henry. He is a great person and his dream is to become a pastry chef! He would love to be able to study the art of pastries in the U.S. one day, and that has been our prayer for him...to be able to have the means to one day study in the States and pursue his passion. So on Wednesday we invited him over to cook some "American" treats with us, and we had a blast! Not only did it bless us to be able to spend time with him in fellowship while cooking, but he also expressed interest in coming to church with us that night. That was also another great part of our day because me, Douache, and Ashley (the 3 girls) had the wonderful opportunity to sing a song, in English, for the church we attend. We sang "Revelation Song" by Kari Jobe and it was amazing how God blessed us with 3 unique voices to sing a 3-part harmony. The highlight for me of that night was seeing how moved our friend Henry was after the service. He was very touched by the message that he began to cry. So we gave him a bible and all wrote in it, which was just awesome! Thursday was yet another great day! In the morning we planned a lunch meeting with the kids at the soccer school and their parents. It was the very first one and went SOOO well! We were able to inform the parents on the principles and goals of this ministry, show them a slideshow of photos, eat lunch together, play some games, give out items from a raffle, and just fellowship. It was the first of many to come and I think everyone had a great time. We were then able to go to a market to do some souvenir shopping the rest of the night.
Today is just a day to relax again and do some reflecting. For me I have been learning a lot about peace and unity. I never realized how much Jesus talks about unity just in the chapter of John alone. I think it has been a blessing to experience that peace and unity with the missionaries here. Today was a bit sad as we said our goodbyes to Douache as she is going back to the states. But we all talked about how cool it is that God called us here at the same time, and also how unified we all have been! Praise the Maker!
Tomorrow we are traveling back to the mountains of Jicalapa for the third time with our church and some of the soccer school boys. We will be playing some games there and simply reaching out and spending time with this community that doesn't get too many visitors. It's a long and hot trip up there...but soo worth it! Please be in prayer for our journey up there, and just for God to open doors to reach out and share the love of Christ with this community!
Sorry this was a long one, but hope you have been encouraged by it and feel apart of the ministry the Lord has placed me in!
With Christ's love,
Lauren
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