Dear Friends,
Recently Joshua and I had the pleasure of spending a week in El Salvador with some of the most friendly, accommodating, loving people I had ever met. In a week the two of us preached over 30 times to people of all ages and saw the Lord do incredible things!
We spent the majority of our time with the Nuevo Pacto School. I was able to share with 6th - 12th grade girls about God’s plan for their lives. I was able to talk to many girls after speaking to the group, but one girl in particular stuck out to me: Grace. Grace pulled me aside and talked to me about how she had never heard anyone talk about what God really thought of her and how she was in an unhealthy relationship that kept her from God’s plan for her. The very next day she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend and she was ready to really live for the Lord!
El Salvador is beautiful and the people even more beautiful, but sadly this country is one that is currently plagued with gang violence. There are more gang members than there are police and military combined. There were many times where we experienced these problems. At times we would drive through a red light. Our contacts would explain, "If we stop at that light, there is a good chance that our vehicle will be stopped by the gangs and we will be robbed, or worse."
One night Joshua was asked to preach in a city an hour’s drive from the capital. As they entered the city they saw a woman lying on the ground. Her arm had been cut off and she had been shot in the chest. The gangs had murdered her. It had happened only minutes before they had arrived at the scene. I had stayed back that night, as it was very late and I am pregnant and felt exhausted, but before they left I felt a strong sense to pray for Joshua and our contacts as they traveled. I pulled Joshua aside before he left and prayed for his and our team’s safety. After hearing the story the next morning I knew that this was God protecting Joshua and our contacts as they ministered.
Through this, and so many other stories, I was reminded of the power of prayer and the protection of the Lord as we minister. I want to thank all of you who faithfully pray for us as we travel. Our trips are not vacations. They are not always convenient or safe, but that is not why we go. We go so that we can bring a message of hope to people that are so desperately in need of it. Through your prayer and support, El Salvador is changing!
For the Lost,
Michelle