A Wonderful Homecoming

What a joyous time coming back to Lakeland to our church family who has given, worked, and prayed so much for this trip!

In the next few days we'll get into more of the stories and see some pictures and video of what the Lord accomplished.

Those Crazy Missionaries

"You must be crazy to go there!"

I've heard that before when I've told people where I was going to work for the Lord. That's OK. If Jesus is sending us there, we'd be crazy not to go. If we're going to be crazy either way, we're content to be crazy for Jesus, if that's what the world would like to think.

So here we are, your crazy missionaries!

Let's Go Down to the River

What was the river Jordan like? Jesus, the pure Son of God, might have chosen to be baptized in the purest of waters, but He didn't. He chose the river.

Let me tell you the stories of Daisy, Robert, Michael, Rosa, and Aldo.

Daisy grew up an Adventist, but felt that she was too restricted. She left the church as a young lady and went her way becoming a lawyer, and for a time, living in Utah. After a terrible car crash, she began to think, and to change her life. She came to Suchitoto to work for God in the prisons. Hearing that we were coming, she decided it was time to come back home and she came to our meetings. She asked for baptism, but wanted it to be more, so she came down to the river.

Robert is Daisy's husband. He doesn't speak as much English as Daisy, so I don't know all of his story, but I know that she has had an impact on him by his love for the Lord. Even though he was burning with fever from a mosquito borne illness and headed to the hospital, he didn't want to go until he had come down to the river.

Michael is Daisy's nephew. He speaks only a bit more English than I speak Spanish, but he too is a product of love. He grew up without much in the way of this worlds goods, needing to go to work before finishing school and only reaching the 6th grade. Daisy and Robert have adopted him, and now he has joyfully thrown himself into helping us at the clinic and avidly drinking in the evening meetings. He couldn't wait to come down to the river.

Rosa and her husband worked in a restaurant that serves pupusas. (I hope I spelled that right. I think my Spanish spelling is probably as bad as my Spanish pronunciation!) Daisy and her family came into the restaurant frequently, and Rosa watched them. She noticed that they were different, that there was something about them. Finally, curiosity got the best of her and she asked what it was that made them different. She heard about Jesus, the Seventh-day Adventists, about our clinic and our meetings. She decided to see it for herself. She and her husband came to the clinic and a few nights of the meetings. After those few nights, the restaurant owner heard that they were coming to the Adventist meetings, and both Rosa and her husband were fired on the spot. They kept coming to the meetings anyway. Rosa's husband was baptized on the last night of the meetings, but Rosa wanted more. She came down to the river.

Before I tell you Aldo's story, I have to confess a habit I have. When I meet someone new who loves the Lord, I ask them about their story. Have you always followed God? Have you always been an Adventist? Aldo had come from the Avon Park church, and I knew he would have a good story. Was I right!

He confided, "I'm not an Adventist, but I've been around the church for a long time, and I wanted to come on this trip and help people."

"What's stopping you from being baptized and joining the church?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered, "I've just never done it."

"Now's the time then," I assured him.

"Yes. . . Yes, I think it is," he concluded.

And so, on Sabbath afternoon, thousands of miles from Avon Park, Florida, one of our own missionaries came down to the river.

If these stories are not exciting enough, and wonderful enough to tell you about the awesome God that we serve, let me tell you my own personal highlight of this trip. As Daisy's cheeks were already wet with tears of joy before plunging beneath that cleansing flood. As Robert would not go to the hospital before he had come to the Lord. As Michael came with a wide grin pasted on his face. As Rosa stood for her faith though it cost her a job. And as Aldo came in his own quiet way. I got to share in each of those stories when I came down to the river.

You see, there is very little in the life of a pastor (or anyone else for that matter) that is more wonderful than seeing someone come to the Lord. To know that someone has begun a new life in Christ, and I somehow have been privileged to act a part in the symbol of that new life getting started is something I live for. How thrilling is that?

Take in the scene with me. We were on a mission trip from Lakeland, Florida all the way to Suchitoto, El Salvador. How did we get there? So many people have worked so hard, and so long to get us there. So many sacrifices. So much prayer on the part of so many and so much blessing on God's part.

And here we were. All of our planned activities were a huge success. So many helped in the clinics. So many kids blessed. So many made decisions, with more to come. We had baptized over 70 so far during the week! Now it was our last Sabbath there.

The moment sank in for me as I came down to the river. Here was the culmination of it all. Here was the capstone for me of our mission trip, I got to personally baptize five souls in a muddy river in far away El Salvador. It doesn't get any better than that. I can only humbly breathe, "Worthy, worthy is the Lamb." God has done so much.

An Amazing Trip

What an amazing trip we had!

Two of the big things that made this mission trip a success were the medical/dental clinic and the VBS.

Each day 80 or more people came for medical consultation with local doctors who donated their time and expertise. Many of the patients could not afford to see a doctor for any reason. If they had some illness, they would often go to the pharmacy directly and hope by describing their symptoms that the pharmacist would recommend something to them. In hopes of getting what they needed, they began waiting outside of the school where our clinic was held. It opened at 9 am, but they began arriving at 6. What an opportunity for them to come and see real doctors who would prescribe medications that we had brought--or at least the first couple of days worth of patients could do that. Unfortunately, our supplies were vastly unable to meet the need. Even so, several hundred people got help that they would not have gotten had not others been willing to give and bless.

Local dentists brought in their own equipment and were able to fill teeth right there. Sometimes though, the patients had not had any care and teeth simply had to be pulled. All of them were instructed on proper oral care and were given toothbrushes and taught how to use them. What a blessing to all that we could see, perhaps close to 200, who had been living with pain and poor dental health.

When we were finished, all the doctors and dentists asked us, "Please come back!"

The children's program, although held near the back of the school, could be heard all around the entire campus. Those kids were having fun! It was held twice a day, with different programs each time, once during the morning clinic and once during the evening meetings. Leilani and Robert sang songs in Spanish with motions. Gilbert, from the Indiana church involved the kids in stories that taught about Daniel and his friends, Jonah and the whale, Esther, etc. Then came the part the kids pushed and shoved for, in spite of us trying to hold them back--the crafts. They made crowns and rainbows, bookmarks and fish keychains. At the end, they each got a bag, ones that Cindy and her team had made, with a stuffed animal, pencils, markers, and a coloring book that reinforced the Christ centered messages. There were also health talks and each child got a toothbrush, maybe their first ever. Adding up each day's total participants, we had about 1,300 kids!

Like Jesus, we touched people where they were, met their needs, and won their confidence, as well as having bid them follow Him (see MH 143). And the Lord blessed mightily!

Editorial Note

We're back, but we're not done!

I wanted to get a quick note out to let you know what's happening. We didn't have internet for the last couple of days that we were in El Salvador, so I couldn't post everything that was happening. Over the next couple of days I'll publish the God-honoring things that happened toward the end in the clinics, the evangelistic meetings, baptisms, and more.

Unfortunately, I've had to take a bit of a detour from the rest of the group, and I haven't made it back to Florida yet. I'm a bit busy with what's going on, so please be patient with me. Things will happen here. So. . . .

Stay tuned!

Visitation

Yesterday, I asked Pastor Cruz, the local coordinator for this emphasis in Suchitoto, when I could go visiting with him.

"Right now!" he enthusiastically replied.

On the way, we met a young lady of about 15 or 16 who, along with her family, has been studying with the Bible workers. She is having a hard time making the decision to put Christ first in her life.

We went on to her house and met her sister and cousin. They too had some questions, but we spent some time showing them texts about the Sabbath and God's plan for our diet. We asked for a decision, and they made the right one!

We had expected them to be baptized the next day but they said, "No, we want to be baptized tonight!"

Wow, God is really moving in people's lives!

Nearly across the street was the home of a lady in her early 70's who lives alone. We had to wait a bit for her to get there because she was out--inviting others to our evening meetings. Just a short time ago the Bible workers had come to her home and begun studies with her and her ill husband. Soon his family came and took him to a hospital, but not in Suchitoto, and even his wife didn't know where he was. She looked everywhere.

"I'm about to die," he said when she finally found him, "but I want to be baptized before I go."

She comforted him, "Don't worry. God understands, and like the thief on the cross, you are baptized in your heart."

With that peaceful assurance, he fell asleep in her arms.

Already she is working for the Lord, helping those close to her find their place with Him. As we talked with her, she made the decision for baptism as well.

The young girl we first talked to was present for the baptism of her sister, her cousin, and the older lady. We urged her to take her stand, but still she is not ready. Please pray for her.

On this outing we visited with some people who are not simply believing, but demonstrating the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Praise the Lord! You can see their pictures here.

By the Numbers

I wanted to give you a statistical window into what's happening here.

Number of Bible workers doing pre-work: 5
Number of baptisms before we arrived: 24
Missionaries from the US: 32
Days for this trip (October 30 -- November 8): 10
Estimated average adult attendance at the evangelistic meetings each night: 550
Estimated average number of adults coming forward to accept Jesus each night: 30
Number of baptisms during the meetings (through Wednesday evening): 32
Estimated average number of children in the children's program each night: 85
Average number of patients at the dental and medical clinic each day: 140
Local doctors and dentist volunteers so far: 18
Approximate daytime VBS (school break right now) attendance, first day: 200
Number of meetings (they're held outside) rained out (A real miracle!): 0

God is doing wonderful things!