Mission El Salvador 2011

I just returned last week from El Salvador and my first foreign missionary trip.  I went with a great group of guys that have since become true brothers to me.  We shared an experience that I will never forget.  God used our team of eight, along with the locals that we worked with, to save 147 people and 29 people rededicated their lives to Him!  I haven't seen that many decisions in all of my 12 years of preaching here in the United States.  I was inspired and challenged by what I saw God do there and I thought I might share some of the most memorable moments with you.

First of all, I was greatly impressed with the Christians in El Salvador.  We had some very dedicated volunteers who traveled with us to be our guides, our translators, and our support in a place that is very different than what we are accustomed to.  We could not have made it far without them.  But I was especially surprised by those we worked with in the local Churches.  I have never met more dedicated Christians in all of my life.  We had more than enough volunteers at each Church where we showed up to do door-to-door evangelism.  They came ready and willing to go out and be witnesses to their neighbors.  Together we walked all day long throughout each of their towns, working together to reap God's harvest.  And God truly sent out laborers into His harvest who were willing to work.  Oh what an example they were to me.  They had an obvious burden for the lost around them and they took action accordingly.  The Bible says that a worker in the harvest that has a burden like this "...shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6, NKJV).  Each night after a full day of door-to-door evangelism, we met with those believers for a celebration service at their Church.  I now know that praise to our Lord and Savior from a grateful heart needs no translation.  It was a beautiful thing to hear their rejoicing over each soul saved and you couldn't help but join in.

On the first day of door-to-door evangelism, I was in a team of four people witnessing our way through a mountain village.  I was with two locals, a man named Sabas and a lady named Alma, of which neither could speak English, but one of our translators, Pedro, went with us as well.  The very first person that we talked to was a man that we met coming down the street.  We shared the Gospel with him and he received Christ on the spot!  That got us all excited and we were really on the hunt after that.  We witnessed to both young and old, both in houses and on the street.  Some rejected the Lord, but most that we talked to accepted Him.  One of the most memorable examples from that day was when we stopped and talked to four mechanics working on a truck.  All four listened as we shared the Gospel.  When we asked them if they would like to pray and receive Christ, two of them laid down their tools and asked Jesus to save them!  Jesus called us to be fishers of men, but any kind of fishing is so much more fun when the fish are biting!  Well, I was having the time of my life that day.

The next day we were in Guatemala, doing another day of door-to-door evangelism.  The team of four people that I was with that day actually saw twice as many people get saved!  My favorite example was when we were visiting with a mother and her three teenage children.  Someone asked them if the missionary from Tennessee could ask them some questions and they said that I could.  I hadn't gotten very far when the woman's oldest child raised his hand and told one of those with me that he was already a Christian.  They asked him how long he had been a Christian and he said that he had just gotten saved earlier that day on the other side of town.  Another team had led him and his friends to Christ on another street!  The boy had just gotten home right before we got there.  And just a few minutes later, his mother, his brother, and his sister all got saved!  Apparently God wanted to save that entire family that day.  I'm just glad I got to be a part of what God did there.

On Sunday, I preached for the first time with a translator.  It took a bit of getting used to, because I had to make sure to pause between each sentence, but it was a good experience for me.  I'm not used to having the opportunity to think before I speak!  As for the Church service, it was nice to see another tribe and tongue worshiping the same Lord and Savior that we worship here.  Their worship was louder and more free than I'm used to, but it was like a breath of fresh air.  I found that even though I couldn't understand most of the words, I couldn't help but join in when they were praising the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.

The next day, I got to preach at a rehabilitation center for alcoholics and drug addicts.  That was right up my alley and, ironically, where I preached looked like an alley.  It was an open air space between two buildings that had apartments down one side, a wood stove and grill in the back, a broken down old truck in the front, and a chicken coup in the middle under a tree.  Though it may seem like an unlikely spot, God showed up and did something that He is the only explanation for.  I preached about receiving and living in the strength of Jesus Christ and I gave an invitation for those men to either receive Christ into their lives or rededicate their lives to Him.  At first no-one moved, but then a man came down to rededicate his life and then two more men came to receive Christ.  I later found out that the two men that got saved were new to the rehab center and that they were members of rival gangs.  They had spent the short time that they had been there avoiding one another, with the tension building to a boiling point, but that day they knelt down shoulder to shoulder to ask Jesus to save and change their lives!  What an awesome God we serve!  There is no barrier that He cannot break down.

One of the things that surprised me the most about this trip to El Salvador was the bond that was forged between our team and the Christians that we worked with there.  I have never felt that kind of connection with someone from another country before.  I guess that's because I haven't gotten to know very many people from other countries before, much less Christians from other countries.  I can truly say that the people I met there are my brothers and sisters.  I love them and will miss them.  One of the hardest things about the trip was leaving them.  When we walked past the final checkpoint in the airport, they had to stop there.  They lined up in front of a long glass wall and watched until we were out of sight.  I shared the same feeling of sadness that was revealed on their faces.  But it made me think of that homecoming that we will experience in Heaven.  The more I get to know the Christians of this world, the more wonderful I know Heaven will be.  My hope and prayer is that we will each bring many guests to that homecoming, through sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all the world in obedience to His command.  I praise God that I was given the opportunity to go with Him on mission in El Salvador and I can't wait to go again!