Just GO... (El Salvador Missions - Counting Down)


It's 11:00 PM on July 3rd, 2014. In less than 8 hours we will be boarding a plane and heading to El Salvador. Four members of our missions team are in our house at the moment, our bags are packed (or in my wife's case, being packed) and our caravan is departing northern Virginia at 2:30 AM. However, no one is sleeping. As I peruse Facebook, we aren't the only ones eagerly awaiting this opportunity to be the hands and feet and mouthpiece of our Savior and Lord. Each of us heard the command to "Go" so we have decided to follow Jesus.

But why start writing a missions report the day before we leave? What could be so interesting about sleepless nights and anticipation? The truth is, it might not be so exciting for you reading this today but we would like to invite you to join us as we pray for the Lord to glorify His Name - we are expecting great things as we provide humanitarian aid and THE message of hope to our brothers and sisters in El Salvador. Because of the financial support of so many of our friends and church members, not only do we have an incredibly capable team in place to distribute food and medications, fit eyeglasses, perform dentistry and aid our Salvadorian medical staff, but we also have raised enough funds to purchase 5,000 Spanish New Testaments. That means that we can distribute Bibles to everyone we meet in El Salvador - some of whom have never been able to read the Bible for themselves let alone owned one. It is an incredible sight to behold people who so hunger for the Word of God - for the truth to be born in their lives. In November 2013, we could only give Bibles to those who had made decisions to follow Jesus. At the end of the week, we had just one box left over and in the last village we visited, there were enough for each person who attended our clinics. For some, these "books" were valuable just because they were being given away. Others voraciously read verse after verse and chapter after chapter, for hours as they sat and waited to be treated or served. That was when members of our team began dreaming to see everyone receive a copy of the Scriptures:

 "For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart."


The man in the photo above gets it but I wonder if we are as hungry to hear from the Lord. Do we crave the meat of scriptural nourishment or are we simply content to dine on leftovers of bygone sermons and practically unopened Bibles? I'm just as guilty of being apathetic at times to what it means to read and apply God's Word and how blessed we are as a nation to enjoy the freedoms to do just that. But even in our own great country, we may all have to choose one day to salute a flag or align ourselves with the Truth of the Text. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for this team, we will go until we die. As for our church, we know that IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS! It's all about His glory. It's all about His mission.

This week, commit yourself to LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE, and CHANGE OUR WORLD! Pray, give and go - wherever and however the Lord leads. Just put your "YES" on the table and follow through. Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for giving so that the Word of God will go out and not return void to our Father. It is going to be an awesome week so stay tuned for updated everyday on Facebook and right here! Check out the video (Thanks, Gary!) below for a brief look at some of the work we will be doing or CLICK HERE for additional information on Jireh Latin American Ministries and how you can get involved.



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