Joyful Monday!

On Monday the college team visited a few different schools and orphanages, delivering treat bags, stuffed animals, pillow case dresses and clothes. They also danced, played and brought joy to everyone they could find! 

     We started the morning with a worship session after breakfast to help prepare us spiritually for the day ahead. We then headed to a local school called "Juan Ramon Jimenezto" to share the love of Jesus through fun carnival activities with the students. We loved seeing each one of their joyful expressions as we handed out popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones. The carnival lasted about two and a half hours, and when it was over, our team handed out tee shirts, pillow case dresses, treat bags, and a few other items to the students.

     After we left the school, our team ate lunch at the States Diner. The Diner provides employment for the young adults involved in the transition program. They also provide excellent food. From there we went to a special needs orphanage. We took a tour of the facilities and contrasted the state and care at that orphanage with the one we had visited the previous day. It was much nicer and cleaner, and the kids were better cared for. Witnessing the mental and physical conditions that these children live with was truly a humbling experience. Our health is definitely a blessing that we should not take for granted, and we were reminded of that today. Each child we saw is a precious gift, and we could not be more thankful for the opportunity of spending time with them today. One of our favorite moments with these kids was randomly breaking into a dance party.
      Before a nice dinner, we got to meet several teenagers who live in transition homes, and take them shopping to pick out clothes that they had been needing. As they had been all day, our translators were more than helpful and we are so thankful they were always with us.
       As we did the previous night, we packed bags of food, and loaded them up (along with ourselves) to hand out to the homeless. Tonight's experience struck us in a different way, however, because we traveled downtown where we saw a large group of people. These people were in a deeper level of desperation. They had been in so much need that they completely gave their own bodies up for horrible things such as drugs and prostitution because they did not see any other way. We do not condemn their actions, but we say this because seeing them in person burdened our hearts, and we felt very sad to see them living that way.
     Our second day has impacted our view of fellow men as we strive to see them through the eyes of Christ and the light of His grace.

WKCTC El Salvador 2015

The WKCTC Team landed safely in El Salvador today. They spent the afternoon at an orphanage loving on expecting teen mothers, young boys & girls, and babies. 

We left yesterday and stayed the night in Nashville. Flew to Atlanta early the next morning and then a 3ish hour flight to El Salvador. We arrived at 12:00 PM local time and continued through to the airport into the bus stop. A quick pit stop at the mission house to dump the suitcases and we were off to CIPI. I played with some kids and spoke to them in my broken Spanish. I ended up finding myself attempting to face paint. Even though I have been here 2 times before, God finds a way to change my view of the world. This time it was through the children who wanted to paint my face. The girls didn’t care if I wasn’t a great artist. They had fun and laughed anyway. Of course, God wasn’t done. When it was time to go, some of the children hugged us “gringos” with a smile bigger than anything I could ever muster. On the way back, we stopped by the girls’ transition home. Finally back at the mission house, we begin to rest with food and a house full of diversity. After dinner, we packed meals for the homeless that the many of the team are delivering at the time I am writing this. I pray that God will touch their hearts as he has touched mine. - Erik

Today was a long day, but it was incredible how it changed as soon as we got out of the airport and made it to the mission house and the orphanage. I became completely unaware of my jet lag when we got to see the kids. 
We first toured the facility and all the people there were so good to see. In the single mother and baby wing, there was one little boy whose name was Jonathan. His mother gave him to Melissa, and when I went over to say hi, he leaned way over and came to me instead. He was the cutest. He was fascinated with my sunglasses and beard and tried to put both into his mouth with limited success on both fronts. He just stared at me. 
In the little concrete room with the separate rooms and the group of mothers sitting in their folding chairs it seemed like a place that needed some encouragement and excitement. Little Jonathan exemplified that and set the precedent for all the missionaries for the rest of the trip. - Aaron 

Psalm 100:2a

Many “Serve the Lord with gladness”. Many of the team members that have embarked on this journey to San Salvador, have done so with the expectation to see the world with new eyes. Gaining new perspectives through this adventure will help educate and promote the team to aspire to higher levels and to set new goals. Some have also come with the expectation to serve God in El Salvador through whatever ways possible. No matter the reason for coming, this service learning trip will allow us to gain new experiences on this leg of our journey.  - Josh

We hope you will continue to follow along and join the team on their journey to serve the children of El Salvador this week!