Missions | Waypoints

El Salvador Mission Trip Sunday Update

We had a great day of worship with the people of Vida Nueva. Kevin was able to give a testimony, Johnny helped lead worship and Blake was able to preach. It was so much fun to worship in both English and Spanish and it gave us a little taste of what heaven will be like with people from every nation! Because of the rain we were not able to go sightseeing so we went to an American restaurant for lunch…and boy did that American food taste good! We we able to spend some time with the interpreters and Candace and Vlady. We cannot say enough about how much we love and appreciate this tremendous team (Candace & Vlady)–they are incredible!

We are all looking forward to coming home tomorrow (Monday). Thanks for praying for our team!

El Salvador Mission Trip Saturday Evening Update

Another day in El Salvador which means….another day of rain. It has rained every day since we have been here. But today there was even more rain because Tropical Storm Agatha has hit! The rain didn’t stop us from our task and we had a great day of ministry.

This morning we worked with the youth from Candace’s church. We swam, played soccer, threw the football, played soccer some more, played Uno, played Wii and then played soccer some more. They absolutely love soccer and they put us to shame when we played with them. They stayed until lunch time and as they were leaving the 22 orphans we visited on Wednesday came to us. We were so happy to see them again. Kevin Johnson, one of children’s ministry summer interns, taught the Bible story until free time (and yes, soccer was involved once again). After eating pizza and snow cones we gave them each a new set of clothes donated by our church members We were also able to provide each child with a brand new Bible that was appropriate for their reading level. I wish you could have seen some of their faces when they received their clothes and Bibles. Like we mentioned in the earlier blog, we had the chance to give them some new mattresses and pillows for the kids who did not have either.

Thanks to your giving to FBCT we were able to provide these incredible gifts to the boys. It was hard not to get emotional seeing them load into the back what looked like a U-Haul truck and just hold on for their hour ride up to the orphanage on a dirt road. I have seen animals that have traveled in better conditions than these precious kids. As they left they all asked us, “Please say that we will see you again.” We have all learned so much from this trip, but probably the greatest lesson we have learned is just how blessed we are.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will go to church where we will participate in the service by preaching and sharing testimonies. Depending on the path of the Tropical Storm we may have the afternoon to go sightseeing before we head back to Birmingham on Monday. Thank you so much for your prayers.

El Salvador Mission Trip Saturday Update

Had a great, rainy day in El Salvador yesterday.

We spoke at a school full of 1st – 6th graders and continued to talk about honesty and then presented the Gospel. We saw many of them come to Christ. Afterwards we went to a mall and found a Christian bookstore and bought the kids at the orphanage Bibles and books. We also bought pillows for all of them since most didn’t have one (or had an old piece of foam). We’ll be presenting all of this tomorrow to them at the church when they come over to hang out.

After shopping, we returned to the same school and spoke to high school students. We discussed the importance of sexual purity and how we should live our lives according to God’s plans, not what culture tells us. We had the opportunity to share the gospel. The teachers and faculty were very appreciative of our visit and told us to come back any time.

We have been able to share the gospel with hundreds of students this week while they are in class….that still blows our minds!

Then it was time to set up for the movie but the bottom fell out of the sky and rained the movie out. But we ended up having great fellowship with the people of Vida Nueva over dinner.

The highlight of the night was at dinner when we taught Kenneth, our 18 year old translator, how to say “waffle fries” and “Chick-fil-a.” Can you guess which adult encouraged this English lesson? After teaching him this he is definitely ready for his visit to the States!

We are excited to see what God has in store for Saturday. We will be meeting and hanging out with some of Candace’s kids from church. Tomorrow afternoon the orphans that we have made friends with will be coming to the church to play games and swim if the weather allows. Later tomorrow night we will be holding a reception for the new believers from this week. Keep praying as we continue to talk and encourage them.

El Salvador Mission Trip Friday Update

Today was another great and safe day in El Salvador. Some highlights are:

Today we had an opportunity to speak to a private school…there is a big difference between a public and private school here (private school is much better)!
The question of the day: How do you say Imodium and Pepto Bismol in Spanish? Yes…the Latin American cuisine has hit!
Cindy and Joy continue to keep us on task.
Chad is the popular man today…he has the meds!
This afternoon I traveled in a 15 passenger bus…with 24 people… to an orphanage in a very rural section of El Salvador. Candace has been caring for 10 of these boys for over 5 years. If you are reading this in America…thank God for His goodness to you!!!
We spent time with 22 orphan boys, gave them a new change of clothes, hung new crimson (yes I had a problem with that) curtains in their rooms and put new bed sheets on their beds. It was a cool afternoon.
Tonight we ate some American food…Pizza Hut in an attempt to calm some digestive systems. Pizza for that? Oh well…maybe it will help.
Taylor and Andrew are having a great week. Andrew is picking up a lot of Spanish.
Macie is speaking Spanish like she knows what she is saying…apparently 6 years of Spanish really does teach you something!
Our translators are incredible people…wish we could bring them to the states so you could meet them!
Today three of us traveled back on the bus…with 21 people from El Salvador…the “greengos” sat in the back of the bus…I laughed to myself. They are great people to hang out with.

More schools tomorrow and Kid’s Clubs in a neighborhood!

El Salvador Mission Trip Thursday Update

Today was another great day in El Salvador. We continue to touch many lives and our team is honoring the Lord in incredible ways! Here are a few thoughts from the day:

It is amazing how receptive the Salvadorians are to the gospel. They are kind to give us their time and attention.
We had another opportunity to share in the public schools about honesty and purity and then share the Gospel with each classroom. It is awesome to see a classroom of children with their heads on their desk praying out loud…asking Jesus to be their Savior.
Today, a few of our guys…Matt and Kevin got involved in a “pick up” basketball game at the school playground.
The funny question of the day was a classroom of girls wanted to know if Johnny was single…Blake asked if they wanted to know if he was single and they said…not really!
Blake tried to buy 9 (nueve) chicken strips and came back with a box of 12 pieces of chicken, 12 rolls, 1 order of French fries and half a liter of pepsi. We laughed…and ate chicken!
Tonight our movie was rained out but was still had a chance to share Christ with moms who brought their kids to the park for our activities and then we walked through the neighborhood sharing the gospel.
Candace and Vlady rock…they are doing an awesome job for Christ!

Keep praying and thank you for being a church that believes in the Great Commission!

El Salvador Mission Trip Wednesday Update

All arrived in El Salvador and in good shape.

Yesterday we spoke to a school and shared Christ in classrooms. Several children prayed to receive Christ! What an awesome sight! Afterwards we went door to door, witnessing and inviting families to a kids club in the park and movie. Had a great turn out there. So amazing to get to share Christ with families as they came to watch the movie.

We’re heading back into schools today to share with other classrooms. Pray for a great explosion of decisions. Tonight we’ll enjoy another movie with families.

On Thursday, we will attend church with Candace and Vlady Vasquez. We’re praying for a great experience of worship as the Body of Christ.

One quick highlight: Johnny Dailey is a rock star over here. He had to sign over 100 autographs because of his guitar playing for a classroom. Rock on Johnny D!

Continue to pray for our team as we serve Him this week.

Thailand

Thailand…what an incredible trip. There are many things that could be highlighted but here are few that really stand out:

1. What a great team of missionaries we have. As a Southern Baptist Church we join with other churches and support over 5,000 foreign missionaries around the world through the International Mission Board (IMB). The team serving in East Asia is awesome!

2. There is a movement of young missionaries going on the field. It was encouraging to see how many of our missionaries are in the late twenties and early thirties. The future looks bright!

3. The sweet Asian people can teach us many lessons about hospitality. Their cordial and polite spirit left an impression on me. Even though they have a false hope they still have a kind approach to life.

4. There is still work to be done! The fields are white unto harvest but we need more laborers to go.

5. There was some stress among our missionaries because of some restructuring that is taking place within the IMB. However, it is encouraging to see the IMB looking for new ways to be more efficient and effective.

6. It is exciting to know that I have taken my last long trip by traveling “coach!” When your legs are longer than the space given for them you get really uncomfortable after about 6 hours with 7 hours to go! I will not do that again! Remember: A 747 is a big plane but does not have much leg room!

7. There is an entrepreneurial spirit among our missionaries. They do all kinds of things that allow them to live and travel in closed countries.

8. I am extremely grateful that there was “American” food in Thailand!

9. Because of this opportunity; our lives will never be the same.

10. It is pretty amazing that everyone made it back safe and sound…with the exception of major colds!

BUDDY CHAMPION