The month of December

The month of December

In order to recap the blur of activities since the last blog, we had gone to El Salvador in Early-December for a Latin American Pastor’s conference hosted by David and Gary Wilkerson of Times Square Church. David Wilkerson, as many may know had ministered to some of the most violent inner street gangs of New York City. That inspired his writing of ‘The Cross and The Switchblade” which also became a very popular play. The message at the conference was one of encouragement and non-complacency of the church leaders. Being invited backstage we talked with both David and his son, Gary. The senior would drop in and out of conversation as he intently scanned his bible searching for what the Holy Spirit would lead him to say in concluding the two day event. It would be a warning of the “Prosperity Gospel” preached by some church leaders in the United States now infiltrating the Latin Americas. The two men were very spirit filled individuals with a true compassion for the plight of the Latin American’s struggles. At checkout time, Michael handed me two crisp hundred dollar bills from David to offset my family expenses. My jaw dropped in disbelief that a man I had just met would be one of the first to support us in the mission field. Of course for you surfers out there you can’t leave El Salvador if you are a true surfer without surfing the world renowned Roca’s. The kids and I took a break and spent several days hitting the waves. It was a great week!!!! A great conference hosted by two premier men of God and great surf hosted by the Man himself!!!

It is now December 22rd. We are needed down on the jobsite to help prepare the second story floor for a concrete pour scheduled for December 24th. Time is running out and Michael and Rocky are needed to preside over a wedding. The Beene kids, my kids, William (the teacher from Pinalito), and I will work into the night cutting and hauling block to prepare the second floor for the pouring of concrete. There will be a full moon silhouetting the job site as we near completion.

It is December 23rd and we are going to spend the next three days in Guatemala City. It was great to see a few movies, have a tasty Christmas lunch, and just unwind. That is unwinding until the fireworks started on Christmas Eve. Fireworks are manufactured in Guatemala City and are very inexpensive. Everyone including ourselves had an arsenal. Late into the night and early in the morning there was a display of colorful rockets and mortars bursting in all directions. Firecrackers the strength of ¼ sticks of dynamite were exploding everywhere. If there were any veterans around the sights and sounds would induce a state of immediate shell shock.

The morning of December 26th, Cassidy, Austin, and I head back up to the mission to make sure everything is fine. We have left Dylan to accompany a youth team of 16 teenagers and 3 adults from Cashiers, North Carolina that would arrive later that day. Dylan and the team would spend several days tiling, grouting, and building cabinets for the dormitory. Early the morning of the 31st they head up the mountain to celebrate New Years with the villagers. The team breaks up in several groups heading off in different directions evangelizing. That evening a new arsenal of fireworks is introduced by the Youth Pastor, Michael Gonzalez much to the delight of the villagers. The villagers are served coffee and cookies as they keep an alert eye for the occasional misguided flying bombs.