El Salvador Missions Trip

Well, we are back from our first missions trip out of the country. It was incredible. Now this was a real missions trip. We walked for miles up and down mountains in Cocipara, sharing the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What a privilege God affords us to be a part of. Often my mind would drift back on the book of the diaries of the missionary David Brainerd. I remember reading how countless times he was wet and cold for days on end, how compelled he was to move on. How compelled and captured by the gospel his life was. Well, it rained on us as well. I thought how just for a fleeting moment our lives intersected in the same way, if only briefly. Then it hit me. This just isn't something that happened in the oh so distant past but is happening all over the world in the present. You see, I knew I was heading home soon, back to Mobile Alabama. But, there are no doubt missionaries who are standing in the rain and even far worse circumstances than having to deal with the issue of being wet. There are still some modern day David Brainerds in this world, who pour out their lives for the proclamation of the gospel. No, I am not one of these men. I find myself at times too entangled by the world and it's comforts, hot showers, running toilets, fast hot meals, washers, dryers, comfortable mattresses, vehicles and the like. How much more we should appreciate and thank God for these men and the work they do to advance the kingdom of God. I am so thankful that my wife was with me every step of the way. I have to admit, she is right after all, she really is in better shape than I am. She was so faithful to pray as I was sharing the gospel. I thought a couple of times about how different our life is now, in Christ. About how and what God has brought us through. In no way did we ever think that God in his sovereign plan would have us in the mountains of El Salvador sharing the gospel with people who have never even seen an American (gringo,LOL) before. Ephesians 2:10 comes to mind. Most had seen Americans before but some had not. A couple of times my mind went blank and she was there to help bump me on track. She would probably say that is not a problem isolated in El Salvador ( the mind going blank) but happens here "waaay" too often. As usual, she is right.
The pastor of the church in Cocipara was pastor Renee'. We set up tents in a local church and then the next morning bright and early we set off into the mountains with guides and interpreters to share the gospel. At the end of each day we would invite those we met to come to a gathering at one of the locals who allowed us to set up a tent in his front yard. His name was Don Le' Pi-to. I am sure that is not how you spell it, but close enough. Don Le Pi-to is not yet converted. But it seemed that everyone along the mountain side knew him. How awesome is God to stir his heart and allow us to set up in his yard. From what I gather he wanted us to set up there, no arm twisting it was his idea. At the tent meeting there would be a gospel proclamation and singing. Many people that we had visited came to the meetings. Some made professions of faith each evening. Oh, how wonderful to see. There was one lady who appeared to be above 75 years old accepted Christ one evening. The people who are members of pastor Renee's church often walk over two hours to come to a church service. Most cannot read or write. Therefore they understand by the power of the Holy Spirit the importance of hearing God's word preached. They hunger for the hearing as we hunger for the reading/preaching. They hunger for knowledge and they want to be discipled. It was truly amazing to witness firsthand.
We moved from Cocipara to Corinto. The pastor there was Pastor Ramiro, pastor Renee's cousin. We set up our tents in his small church. Each morning we would go to areas surrounding the church there and witness through interpreters. We would then invite them to a local theater where again there was singing and a gospel message. Many showed, although it rained considerably. I had the privilege of sharing my testimony at Ramiro' church. We stayed there for a couple of days proclaiming the Gospel. There were 18 of us who went from our church. We split into teams of 2. So, many people heard the gospel in those days. I pray that the seed that was scattered abundantly will eventually produce much fruit in Christ.
We moved from there and set up in Pastor Ramiro's fathers church in Gotera. Praise God that He has raised up a family of faithful ministers to shepherd His flock in these areas. I shared my testimony here as well. What a privilege and joy that God has given me a testimony.
I was blown away by the interpreters. We had 3 different interpreters that was with us, Otto, Omar Jr. and Albin. What a blessing to get to know these guys a little bit. It is something I will never forget. As I shared the gospel through the interpreters I couldn't help but think of Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel, as God caused confusion and everyone spoke with a different language. Revelation 7: 9-12 says those in heaven spoke in "A" loud voice. On the other side of eternity the brothers and sisters in Christ will not need interpreters. But even on this side of eternity the gospel transcends culture and language it is truly universal. Love is truly universal.
I was also taken aback by how important that Ramiro and the full time missionary Ryan think discipleship, doctrine and theology really is. They have began an institute that teaches new members and faithful men sound doctrine. They hope to train up leaders in the churches they currently shepherd as well as have leaders in future church plants. Those conversations just blew me away. It wasn't like the idea was to just make converts and leave them to themselves. No, discipleship and training is so vitally important there. There are many cults and propagators of false doctrine who want to lead people astray, and they get that.
I pray that God would allow us to go back. But, maybe not. But I do know in heaven we will all shout with one voice.

Nolan