Dear Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying this holiday season and spending lots of time with family and friends. Recently, Joshua, Anna, and I went to El Salvador to minister across the country for the week. We were preaching at Nuevo Pacto Christian School all week, at a youth conference and at churches across the entire country. I also got the chance to lead worship several times, both in Spanish and English.
One of my favorite experiences was when I got to preach at a women’s meeting. It was a small group of women, mostly a little older than myself. A lot of them had small children, and as a new mom it was great to share about our identity in Christ. After I shared, one of the ladies told me about how it was exactly what she needed to hear. She was a new mom and needed to be reminded that her identity was in Christ and He had a purpose specifically for her! Some of the ladies had tears in their eyes as I was sharing what the Lord wanted me to say to them. It was so great to see how God was using the season that I was in to touch others in that same season.
As it was Anna’s first mission trip, my involvement in ministry was very different than in times past. There were times when Josh would leave for an evening service, but I would have to stay back. I would feel as though maybe I wasn’t making as much of a difference. I had a conversation with Josh one night about how I wanted to be doing so much more, but there were just times I had to stay with Anna, as she is only 8 months old and couldn’t stay out as late as the services demanded. The very next day one of the girls at the school gave me a letter. In the letter, she thanked me for what I had preached and the fact that I cared enough to come to her small country and even bring my baby. She recognized that it would have been easy to stay at home because I had Anna, but that because I came, it demonstrated great love to her and value in her life. God was showing me that my part in El Salvador, though it looked different, was still very significant in the people’s lives and that my role was still significant.
This reminds me of the part that so many of you play. Your role may look a lot different than Joshua’s role when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission, but it doesn’t make it any less significant or any less important. Your prayers and your financial support make all of this a possibility, and on this trip, I was reminded of that reality and so thankful for you, our faithful partners.
Since returning we received an incredible testimony. A teenage girl we had meet last year asked us to pray for her mother, as she was going into surgery the next day for a brain aneurism. She messaged me a few days after we returned to let me know that when the doctors went into her brain to do the surgery they no longer found anything wrong with her! The Lord had fully and completely healed her! She was so excited to share this news and the family gave all the glory to God! This is just one of many stories of God saving, healing and transforming those to whom we were able to minister!
This is Joshua’s third consecutive year to travel to El Salvador, and my second. El Salvador is a nation that has been ravaged by gang violence. The government has been ineffective in stopping the gangs as there is much corruption there. After Joshua’s first trip there he saw the need for Jesus in this country, and so we have continued to return to this nation. After three years of ministry, it is such an encouragement to see the way that the Church is growing and God is moving in this country as each year is better than the year before.
God used all three of us to impact the nation of El Salvador. It is so incredible how He uses us in our different seasons of life to minister to others and connect with different people to help them through the things they are going through. God is so faithful to use us when we are willing vessels. So, no matter what season you are in, listen to the Lord, He has specific people He wants you to minister to where you are. Your testimony, and what God is teaching you, has a purpose and can impact the people around you! God wants to use you today as He used us in El Salvador!
God Bless,
Michelle