One Million Lights

Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry - June 21, 2012

Tonight I stood up above the city of the San Salvador, high above one million lights. I was at Los Planes de Renderos and from the lookout I could see San Salvador wrapped around hills and pushed up against the San Salvador volcano. We made a quick stop at the lookout with a group that is volunteering this week from a church in North Carolina. Their oohs and aahs at the beautiful city lights reminded me of my first time standing above the city nearly 3 1/2 years ago. I saw those million lights the very first time I came to El Salvador. Tonight a small voice inside reminded me of what I thought of all those lights the first time I saw them. I remember thinking of the more […]

Intern Orientation Week

Crossing Cultures, Interns, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Training - June 18, 2012

I can already tell that this summer is going to fly by! Last week was a great start with our Intern Orientation. LeAnna and Heather will be working with us to do all of our ministries, get stuff done around the base, and host the teams that will be passing through El Salvador this summer. They are seriously awesome and we feel like we hit the jackpot getting to work with them all summer! Last week they had a full week with orientation to all of our ministries, training that focused on cross-cultural issues, and a brief overview of El Salvador’s culture and history including a visit to a local museum run by an ex-guerilla from El Salvador’s civil war. We ended the week with a trip to go hiking at La […]

Short-Term Season

Crossing Cultures, Interns, Prayer, Short-Term Missions, Stuff We're Reading - June 11, 2012

The “short-term missions season” is upon us. Our kids are wrapping up their last week of school, and our summer interns are on their way to El Salvador as I write this. We will have North American teams and volunteers passing through our doors all summer long. We hope that it is a valuable experience for everyone. Short-terms missions have become a billion dollar “business” and millions of North Americans travel around the world each year to serve. This is a good thing, and many people have benefitted. We have been incredibly blessed with amazing volunteers who have come to El Salvador to learn from and encourage local missionaries and Christians. We also have seen people develop a heart for missions as a result of a short-term trip. This is a good thing! But […]

Trip to Apaneca

Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Third Culture Kids - April 5, 2012

One of the things I love about our job is that we constantly get to meet new people and do new things. For the last few weeks we have had the opportunity to meet lots of great people by teaming up with Possibilities International to host a short-term mission team in El Salvador. This organization is aimed at helping dreams come true for the hopeless. They brought a team from Ontario, Canada into El Salvador to build a home, feed the hungry, and serve in poor communities around El Salvador. We were so blessed by getting to spend time with them! After their week of hard work, they did some “touristy” stuff and we got to tag along! A highlight was a trip to do the zip-lining canopy tour in Apaneca […]

Summer Internship 2012

Crossing Cultures, Interns, Short-Term Missions, Training, Urban Ministry, YWAM - March 2, 2012

We are excited about this summer! I know it’s only March, but we are already looking forward to it! The thing that I am personally the most excited about is launching our Mission to El Salvador Summer Internship Program! We are praying and looking for volunteers who are interested in being part of our summer staff. As part of our staff for the summer, interns will be an integral part of all of our ministries and will gain experience in the Spanish language, urban ministry, ministry to kids at risk, youth ministry, working on a multi-cultural team, and working with those in poverty. Our interns will also help us with some of the logistics of our summer short-term missions teams. Each week interns will participate in these ministries, but also […]

A Great Day in the City

Family, Gangs, Kids at Risk, Short-Term Missions, Third Culture Kids, Urban Ministry - September 12, 2011

Saturday was a great day doing ministry in the city as a family. On Saturday morning, the kids and I headed with our team into Gerardo Barrios. This is a squatter’s community where we have recently begun a regular Saturday morning kids program. It includes songs, games, a craft, snacks, a Bible story and a memory verse. The kids earn points each week and at the end of the six week session they can win prizes. Tori and Ian have been participating each week along with the kids in the community. I love watching them interact with the other kids. These kids live in houses made of sticks and garbage bags, with no running water, and poverty conditions. But my kids don’t see that…they just see new friends. While we […]

Back to School!

Family, Language Learning, Short-Term Missions, Third Culture Kids - August 25, 2011

Summer break is over around here since Tori and Ian started back to school last week at the International School of San Salvador. Ian started “big school” with Tori this year. He is in Kinder (sort of like Pre-K) and Tori is in First Grade. I can’t believe how big they are getting…I know that’s what every mom says at the end of every summer break, but still, I can’t believe it. As I sent the kids back to school I reflected on the fact that I totally dropped the ball on all the summer plans I talked about here. My good intentions were just that..good intentions. I confess that no, I didn’t work on Ian’s English, or teach the kids the Star-Spangled Banner. I know, I know, I’m ashamed. But Ian hung […]

Living the Good (Busy) Life

Family, Life in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Third Culture Kids, Urban Ministry, YWAM - August 15, 2011

So, I haven’t been blogging too much lately, because it’s been a little busy around here. Instead of blogging, I’ve been… Hosting short-term teams. We’ve had an average of three teams a month for the past few months and we’ve done tons of ministry projects with them. It’s been fun! And tiring, and busy, but really, it’s been fun. Disciplining my kids. They’ve had a great summer, but all the coming and going of so many new friends (see above), and a disrupted schedule has caused them to flip out a little bit. Planning for the next couple of months. Jon and I have been talking and dreaming about what we’d love to see happen in El Salvador. Working with the students in our Discipleship Training School. We have five great students […]

Love Your Neighbor

Gangs, History of El Salvador, Justice, Short-Term Missions, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry - July 25, 2011

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself’.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Yesterday we attended a church service in a little church that meets in the garage of the pastor’s house. The church exists to make a difference in their neighborhood. It is situationed in an area that has a lot of things working against it. Part of the community is home to those who lost everything back during the civil war from 1980-1992. They were given this stretch of land to build new homes. The homes are made of of pieces of wood, sheet metal, and any other materials that people can find to make […]

Lots of Linkage

Discovery, Short-Term Missions - June 27, 2011

Right now we are in the middle of a great two weeks with the Discovery teams! Keep checking the Discovery in El Salvador blog for updates on the men’s construction teams that is already hard at work at CISNA! Also, one of the member’s of last week’s team took lots of great pictures. You can check the photos out here. This week we are excited about welcoming new missionaries to El Salvador! Jake and Becky Hjemvick and their two kids are moving to El Salvador today to work with an organization called Christ for the City. We’ve known the Hjemvicks for a long time, and this is a huge step they are taking in their own lives. Tori remembers their kids from the States and she is looking forward to seeing them […]

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