After sharing our experiences in San Salvador, I’d like to conclude with some lessons I learned from this trip. If you want to read my story of this mission trip, start here with Part 1.
For me, it was a mountain high experience, literally. Yes, we stayed on the mountain and had a gorgeous view of the volcano every morning, but what made the trip a truly mountain top experience was two-fold.
I was able to read my Bible & pray every morning. There wasn’t the rush to finish and get on with my day, like I feel back home. Although I was dead tired every night, I awoke refreshed every morning, ready to hear from God.
If find it interesting that most people go on a retreat to relax and have a spiritual high. The opposite is true for me.
(This was a revelation to me)
The SHIP trip provided hard work & ministry leading to a mountain top experience. I think you have more of a mountain top experience when you work hard & serve others. God blesses us for our faithful work.
The SHIP trip was all about the people. As we worked hard each day, cleaning, building or painting, we worked alongside the people of Ciudad Delgado. My work project was cleaning & organizing the storage room. In between work times, I spent time with the kids and neighborhood families.
Each morning I helped with English class for six of the orphan kids. Every day I grew to care & love those sweet kids.
In the afternoons, the neighborhood kids came for tutoring & English class. They usually stayed all afternoon and into the evening, joining us for dinner. Their moms came, too.
One day at Juanita’s home, I learned how to make pupusas, a traditional meal of El Salvador. I know my pupusas weren’t as good as Juanita’s, but I had the privilege of working side-by-side with my new friend. Juanita’s home was chosen for the first Extreme Home Makeover, San Salvadoran style. The work crew added a bedroom to Juanita’s home and it now has a roof that does not leak, also.
This is the first mission trip where I worked with the same people day in and day out. With SHIP, I was able to get to know the orphans, the neighborhood kids & their moms, as well Juanita & Yesennia. We spent quality time with all of these sweet people, thus making lifetime relationships.
My Spanish is quite broken, but that didn’t matter. We were able to communicate with God’s language of love & service.
Now that I’m home, I’ve added each of these people to my prayer list.
I am praying for them each week, that God would grow them in Christ (if they are saved) or that God would give them faith to believe. I look forward to seeing how God works in each of their lives as I keep up with them on facebook.
To bring this to a close, I would encourage you to find ways to serve others. Involve your kids, if you can. I think you will be surprised at how much you will grow spiritually.
Question: Are you looking for ways to serve or be served? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
One Comment