As we look toward 2015 we are so excited for the future but we are also so thankful for what God did in 2014. I have asked Luke to share about one of our most recent trips to El Salvador. Luke and I were so blessed to have traveled to this beautiful country and to see the Lord touch thousands of lives during our ministry there. Luke has recorded some highlights from that trip below. As you read, I pray that you would be as blessed by the testimonies as we were to experience them. Luke, take it away…
In the month of October, Joshua and I went to San Salvador, El Salvador, and had the chance to minister at a Christian school—to teenagers ranging from 5th to 12th grade. While we were there we also had seminars for teachers, parents and pastors. In total we preached 15 times in one week so we were able to accomplish a whole lot of ministry. It was truly amazing to see what God did through us, and how we were able to impact this large city in Central America. I want to tell you a few of the many stories of changed lives from this trip.
Joshua spoke at a church in a city just outside of San Salvador, and his sermon especially touched a specific family in the church. This family had just lost seven members of their family to gang violence, which is a big problem in El Salvador. These family members had been involved in this church and had served in numerous ways, including being on the worship team, so the entire church was affected by this tragedy. It was a heartbreaking occurrence, but as Joshua ministered and showed them the hope that there is in Jesus, this family responded to the altar once again received joy into their lives!
While we were ministering at the Christian school, the mother of one of the High School seniors, who had been somewhat of a disruptive parent in the school, came into the principal’s office and told the principal that she could see a drastic change in her child for the better! After just two days of our ministry the mother could already notice a transformation in her son. She thanked us for helping her child become a better student, as well as a better person, and this broken relationship between the parent and the school was now restored.
On our first day of ministry, I was introduced to Sebastian, a boy at the Christian school in the third grade. Even though Sebastian attended a Christian school, he did not have a real relationship with God and was not a Christian. His parents were nominally Catholic, but he didn’t have a real relationship with Jesus. As I talked with Sebastian about Jesus he told me that he wanted to make Jesus the Lord of his life. I had the honor of leading this boy in a prayer for salvation, after I explained to him how much Jesus loved him enough to even die for him! At the end of the prayer, Sebastian was smiling and noticeably happy. The next day some of his teachers told me that they could already see a difference in this third grader.
These are only a few of the things that we saw God do in El Salvador in October, but it is easy to see from these that God truly had His hand on this trip! And this is why we go, and why we do what we do. We do it because of people. We do it because people matter. They matter to God and they matter to us. And we can also see that God, through His love, mercy, and grace, is able to restore broken families, mend relationships, and bring the lost to Himself.
For The King,
Joshua