Camping 24/365

When you say the word ‘camping’ we all have a different reaction and way we define that word.  For many, camping brings to our mind fond memories of doing something outdoors together as a family or with friends.  It’s a break from the normal routine and often adventuresome.  For some, camping means taking a tent to a remote place and really roughing it.  For others, it means taking your home with you in the form of an R.V. and staying at a well maintained campground.  And yet, for others, it means staying at Holiday Inn.  But, for almost all of us, it is a temporary situation.  A weekend, a week, or maybe two.  After that, we are ready to get back to our comfortable homes with clean floors that you can actually sweep, running water to wash things, a bathroom just down the hall or even in our bedroom, electricity to power all of our appliances to help make us comfortable.

None of us would want to live on a dirt floor with no electricity and no running water for very long.  That’s why we only camp for a short amount of time, even those of us who truly enjoy camping.

But, for some, including the family I had an opportunity to minister to this month, this is not just a weekend, a week or two, but, it’s life.  It’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for life.  No electricity, no appliances, and water from an outside faucet for only two hours a day.  They cook over an open fire, wash clothes, dishes, and their bodies in a concrete sink outside.  They have a pit-toilet instead of a bathroom.  The floors in the adobe house are just dirt and uneven and become muddy during the rainy season because of leaks and water leaching through the walls. The children are ALWAYS filthy.  (You know when you are camping, it’s next to impossible to keep the kids clean.) This is LIFE.  Families like this one live like they are camping 24/365.  Can you imagine?

When we see this, it makes us appreciate more the things that God has blessed us with.  We enter this world by the hand of God.  We are born to parents in an affluent country by God’s design.  As I watched a young teenage girl rolling out tortillas on a stone slab with a stone rolling pin and placing them on a steel plate over an open fire I realized that even though this life she has seems crazy to me, it is perfectly normal to her.  She seems to accept it.  And yet how often we complain about our life and wanting more stuff when we already have far more than this girl could ever imagine.
 

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."  1 Timothy 6:6-11

I have to ask myself..Could I be content to live like this family?  Is the pursuit of stuff more important to me than the pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness?  Where my treasure is, there my heart will be. (Matthew 6:19-21).

I worked with a team that chose to give of their time and money to add a concrete porch and replace the black plastic that was covering their cooking area with a metal roof.

But, what if.......

The fourth of July just whizzed past us, and here we are, in the middle of a busy summer in El Salvador.  Of course, the Independence Day of the United States doesn’t get much notice here in ES.  But, it means a lot to us.  Lately, though, I have been thinking much more about spiritual freedom, than national freedom.  What devastating effects occur when a someone is bound in sins and destructive patterns, listening to the lies of Satan, following the marching orders of this world.  Why have I been thinking so much about this?  Because everyday, I see it all around me in the lives of young girls, young women… made to believe, by their families, by their society, by their culture, by their tormentors, that they are nothing more than their bodies.  As if this is all they have to offer.  All anyone wants from them.  As if their bodies are their only ticket to any possible chance at happiness or hope.  It sickens me.  I am tired of watching it.  Tired of watching my dear friends compromise their faith, because they decide to take a chance on another man that MIGHT stick around to father their child. A man that MIGHT really love them, and want them for who they are.  They are lonely, afraid of the future, poor, unable to provide adequately for their families.  So, they give in to their fears, compromise their faith, and begin an intimate relationship with “Mr. Knight-on-a-white-horse.”  Which, never works out for them.   Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?  Yes, it’s crude, but it’s painfully true. Women don’t expect anything from men.  Whatever they get, whether it is money, children, time…they have been taught to be content with that.  Marriage? Well, by all means, DON’T bring THAT up.  If he wants to marry you, HE will let you know!   I am speaking from experience with friends here in El Salvador.  I see this especially in the poorer areas of El Salvador.  But, I see it in the big city, too.  A pervasive over-sexualization of young girls.  Little kindergartners are taught to dance seductively in parades.  Nine and ten year old girls are encouraged to get a boyfriend, to dress sexy, high heels and all.  Having a mistress is completely acceptable, and common. I have even heard that it is common in churches. But, as women, you don’t complain; at least you have food and a house…you are taken care of, so you should be content with that.  Bound in destructive patterns.

El Salvador is a country that is still reeling from the destructive, soul-killing civil war that ended some twenty years ago.  Neither you nor I can imagine what this war has done to the heart and soul of these people.  I meet people all the time with stories to tell about the war.  You can see the pain in their eyes.  Here it in their voices.  It is haunting.  I just prayed with a friend this week because she had been a child and grown up in the war. She struggles with fear.  She has physical problems because of the fear.   When I look around me and see all of the things that just make me crazy, I have to remember what has made these people who they are. What has formed and forged them.  What forces still drive them today?  Desperate fear.  Fear of the future, fear of the past, fear of loneliness, fear that no one will love them, fear of gangs and violence, fear of abuse, fear that they won’t eat the next day.  With so much fear, it is no wonder young girls seek solace in a knight in shining armor.  An escape that usually ends with pregnancy, abandonment, and poverty. A vicious cycle we see repeated over and over in families.  There are whole communities of homes that are full of women and children.  Where are the men?  They, too, have bought a pack of lies, and are searching for fulfillment in the next pretty young woman. 

  But, what if?  What if someone could help them to see a better way?  What if we could get a hold of these precious little girls before they so firmly believe the lies that have been handed them by Satan?  That is the question that David and I keep asking ourselves.  That is the question that keeps me awake at night.  I can hear you thinking, “What about the boys?  There are two sexes here.  What about teaching the boys NOT to prey on women, NOT to have an incorrect view of women, and their relationship to them? “ I agree with you.  The boys/men need as much attention.  And I believe that God is moving on hearts to reach the boys as well.  But, for now, our hearts are drawn to the girls.  In reality, we don’t know what that looks like.  We have been praying and seeking God fervently for direction.  We know God is calling us and our hearts are aligned and united in this.   God is beginning to show us little by little how to proceed. Before we moved to El Salvador, God spoke to our hearts through Jeremiah 33:3, and this verse became our promise and our hope.  "Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know."  We have had days of discouragement.  Days when we have struggled to see what God is doing, and things didn't make sense.  But, as we have pressed on in faith, God has been faithful to His Word, and He is showing us great and mighty things.  We know He will continue to open the way before us in our desire to minister to the beautiful people of El Salvador. 

A Late Christmas Party

 Since the flooding back in October we have been doing what we can to help families that were affected in the colonia of Agua Shuka. This February we had the opportunity to give them a late Christmas Party. Eduardo is the pastor of a church in that community and we asked him to invite sixty kids along with their parents that were most affected by the flooding. We invited our friend Jorge Campos to MC the party with a group as well as the Global Year group to come and help us put on a party. We had gifts and piñatas donated to us by La Casa de Mi Padre. Jorge spent some of the time singing action songs with the children. Then we played some group games and relays with the kids. The kids all enjoyed the games and had fun participating with our kids and the Global year team. After they got all hot and sweaty we provided them with some sweetbread and a cold drink. As they ate a couple of the global year team members shared a drama and their testimonies with the families. And then it was the big event that is always at every Salvadoran party. That’s right – the piñata. You have to realize that these kids as well as their moms treat piñatas with reckless abandon. So the goal for us is to try keep anyone from getting hurt. Unfortunately much of the hurting happens when the moms are climbing over the kids to get candy or when the child with the stick keeps swinging while other kids are diving for falling candy. Who thought that something fun could be so dangerous? We managed to finish the two piñatas without any serious injury and then it was on to giving the gifts to the kids and giving a package of food to their moms. The gifts were nothing special for most, but for these it was all the Christmas gift they got and they appreciated them. We were glad that we got the chance to have this party for them and hope that we can continue to minister to some of these families in the future.

Families participating singing



Playing games together

Jorge Campos helping with the Pinata



Giving gifts to the children

Maddie doing face-painting with the children