Consecrated for Return

On Reformation Sunday our Pastor consecrated us for our return to El Salvador. Pastor asked us if we as missionaries will commit to Godly promises and behaviors and we responded “Yes, with the help of God”. The first two questions our Pastor asked were familiar, but then he asked “will you look for the face of Jesus among the people you are serving?” That is a spiritually and emotionally challenging question.

We planned to stay in El Salvador for 10-14 days, but after a blizzard of emails regarding the after-effect of the storms and the pending tasks we need to complete, we will stay for three weeks. We will be purchasing desks and school supplies for Alambre and will be meeting with the directors of another school in Canton Guadalupe. We will also have first time meetings with mayors of two different communities on issues of infrastructure. Much of this activity will be in accompaniment with our partner Oikos Solidaridad.

We are attending two more local Rotary Clubs with the hope of building partnerships to address food and income security issues. These meetings will help us plan for short term mission trips in 2012 and 2013.

We have been home for 3 ½ months. We email our church partner team regularly about our medical delay, but the information does not trickle down to the congregations. We received an email from a friend who recently visited in the churches we serve. The people asked her, “where are the Americans, they left us, they have abandoned us”. It was good that we heard about this lack of communication, so we can work on restoring relationships when we return.

We fear the people will expect too much from us. We are Americans; in their eyes we have it all. Initially we plan to stay at a local hotel allowing us to assess damage to our home and clean up the 3 ½ months of dirt. We will also be aware of the presence of cockroaches, bats, spiders and other unwanted and creepy creatures.

We are alone in the east. Many in our community admire our being alone. They smile and greet us, overall cordial. But alcoholism, drugs, unattended developmental disabilities and now the recent desperation rampant throughout the country creates the need for extra caution for us.

The Executive Director of Oikos recently emailed us “The rural population is disintegrating and its social composition is gang-like due to the lack of food, income, and jobs.” With the recent rains, the situation is worse.

The need is great, the responsibility is humbling, but our God is an Awesome, All Powerful, Abundantly Grace-giving God. We pray to continue walking in His Way, His Truth and His Life. We said “yes, with the help of God, we will look for the face of Jesus among the people we are serving.” We return to fulfill that promise.

David y Nancy\