Adventures and Blessings

     We just want to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during our time here in El Salvador. This past week another church group from Connecticut arrived at the camp with eleven people. We were blessed to get to know each person and hear their testimonies and what God is doing in their lives. One day during group devotions we thought how interesting it was that Christians experience the most joy when they are taken out of their comfort zones and every day life. They were sharing that coming to El Salvador is like recharging their batteries. As a christian we come to a foreign country and see its beauty not just through the landscapes but through the hearts of people and realizing that true joy only comes from serving God and seeing his kingdom grow. It is amazing to see people become filled with wonder and joy as they hear about Jesus' love for them for the first time.


     This week was fun-filled with adventures and blessings. Kaylee was able to ride horses owned by a local man with the group.

Anna walked down a foot-wide trail on a volcano to pick oranges.

We both witnessed in schools that had never heard the gospel before.

We watched a soccer game between a local El Salvadorian team and the men and a couple woman from the WOL and CT team (can you guess who won?)

We learned a part in the spanish play "Colors of life" and preformed it for the first time.
And went snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean.

  

     Tuesday night is normally papusa night, but since it was our last one the team had a special goodbye time for us. They shared how they care for us and gave us advice for the future, and we shared somethings God has shown us while being here (there may or may not have been some tears). We love the WOL team and see them as family. Roy reminded us in 2 Timothy 4:5 that we should always be watchful, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. And the night wouldn't be complete without Linda's amazing brownies. 

Only two days before the Cave Spring group arrives!! Which means only nine days before we return home. 

XOXO ~ 

Kaylee & Anna 

Growing in Christ

     Sorry we haven't posted in a while! Just to catch up, during our second and third weeks we stayed at the WOL office and helped sand and paint all the props for the different dramas. We also stayed with Linda over the weekend while the rest of the team went to their home towns to vote for the new president. On the fourth week we left the office to go to the WOL Camp. We arrived two days before Valley Bible, a church from CT, to help clean for their arrival.

     When the group arrived we were excited to meet new people from the US. They also were surprised to see two American girls, this allowed us to explain how God has called us to be here for part of our senior year.  This church group came to do construction at the camp, they worked on building a pavilion with bathrooms and showers by the pool, as well as cutting down trees, and building a new gate at the entrance of the camp. The woman and a few men focused more on evangelism by going out with the WOL team and preforming dramas that clearly explain the Gospel. The first drama is called the “Empty Heart” which depicts a man who is searching for something or someone to fill his empty heart. He encounters people who represent various sins. Each person hands him a heart too small to fill his own, and leaves him feeling empty. Eventually the sins encircle him and binds him with chains. In his state of hopelessness, a Christian comes and shares the Gospel with him and hands him a heart that says, “CHRIST” which completely fills his empty heart. After the drama one of the missionaries explains the Gospel, and then separates the school children into smaller groups where a WOL translator and a person from the US breaks the gospel down using the evangicube.   

     This time gives us the privilege to share our faith with others. As we are sharing the evangicube we scan the crowd looking every student in the eyes and in the moment you can see whose hearts are open and ready to receive Jesus. Each of us had a different experience while sharing our faith:

Kaylee: For me, I have been praying for God to show me my spiritual gifts. Since I’ve been to El Salvador before I already knew what it was like to share the gospel with the evangicube.  So doing it this time I was less nervous and more eager to share. After the first two schools my translator told me, “You explain the Gospel very clearly, and I can see that it is the Holy Spirit speaking through you.” This was a big eye opener for me. I realized when I share my faith it is no longer me speaking but God inside of me. It was a wonderful realization because it made me think about how I may be the only “Jesus” these people ever see, because he lives within me. Another day of the week I had a different translator and she also said to me, “You do a great job explaining the Gospel” but then she added “I think that this is your gift” and as soon as she said those words I got chills and started crying. Her words were from God and he was giving me the answers that I have been praying for.  

Anna: The first time I shared with the Evangicube last week it made me realize: though I could have deep conversations about God and creation, defend the Bible, and tell my testimony… it was a struggle for me to simply lay out the beautiful plan of Salvation to those who were so eager to listen. That night I cried out to God asking Him to speak through me, reveal Himself to me, and to show me Chandler. The next day we went to a school that contained 400 teenagers. As soon as I opened my mouth I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me. As I scanned the eyes of the students, I saw their hearts- that they were searching for God in their lives. At the end, I said it’s difficult to think about death when you’re so young—that’s when I told them about Chandler… That life is short, but if you are saved, death is the beginning of eternal life with God. That’s when I saw their hearts change, become open to the Gospel, and make a decision to follow Christ. It’s amazing to see how the story of Chandler’s death continues to touch hearts and is resulting in eternal life for so many of these teenagers. I’m grateful to serve a risen Savior who is faithful to answer prayers.

     Another aspect of our week was getting to know some of the teenagers who came with the group from Valley Bible. We enjoyed being able to encourage them in their walk with God as they also encouraged us. Together we spent a lot of time talking about God, and life as a young Christian. We were very grateful to get to know some American teenagers who are also in the same stages of life as we are.           

God is continuing to work in our hearts and transform our lives. We miss our families and friends, but are very happy and comfortable here in El Salvador. We know this is only the beginning of our lives as missionaries for the Lord. Only 24 days left!!

XOXO

~Kaylee & Anna  

Week Uno

       This week we have learned to adjust to life here, and we have so much to be thankful for.
1. That we learned our way to the market, vegetable stand, and most importantly-- the ice cream shop.

      2. We are thankful for all the laughter our "Spanish speaking" brings. Constantly being surrounded by a language that we don't understand can be frustrating, but we try to find the humorous side of it. Today we went to a restaurant (alone). Unfortunately, the waiter didn't understand anything we were saying. We babbled on, trying to communicate when we noticed that the man sitting beside us was rolling laughing. We then knew that he understood English but wasn't making an effort to help us out. We then forced him to translate our broken sentences. Thankfully, by the end of the meal, we were all laughing (and they were saying something about us.... And we still don't want to know what it was).
It really touches us how people go out of their way to try and communicate with us. Even if they only know a few words, they try to show kindness by saying nice things in our language.

      3. We were blessed this week to be able to go to the clinic. There, we played with children in the waiting room and were able to talk to Linda, a woman from the US who heeded God's call to serve in El Salvador. She is such an encouragement to us.

4. We are thankful to have been accepted by the people here, on the streets, and in the office. While the WOL team is diligently preparing for the groups that will be coming from the US in a couple of weeks, we've been able to help them prepare sets, but we have also had time go out on the streets and experience the culture.

5. We are grateful for the late night skype sessions that have kept us connected with our families (and Richard) and the laughter it has brought us.

Looking forward to the next 50 days!!



XOXO

~Kaylee and Anna

The Arrival

     We left our tearful families this morning at 7:00 am to fly to Atlanta, GA. We were fortunate to be able to see the sun rise as we ascended into the air. As the sun filled the sky with vibrant colors, we looked out over the horizon and realized how in control God is. Just to see His creation made us feel so small, but so blessed not only to see the creation but also to know the Creator.

     One of our greatest concerns was being able to navigate the Atlanta airport. As soon as we arrived in Atlanta we knew God had His hand on this trip because we asked for directions one time and found our tram and gate within ten minuets. We were then able to explore and rest before we boarded the next plane to El Salvador. Three hours later, we landed in San Salvador. We went through the immigration line, found our luggage, and went through customs in ten minuets. As we were waiting for some of the missionaries to pick us up, a kind man noticed how out of place we were, and offered his phone for us to use. Soon after, Emilia and Rodrigo picked us up and took us to the Word of Life office where we will be living for the next two months. We are so grateful to be in this beautiful country. Thank you to everyone who has and is praying for us, without you we might have ended up in Africa.

XOXO
~Kaylee &Anna

Four Days

     Our names are Kaylee Goad and Anna McKinney and we are two high school seniors who are looking to serve the Lord in any way possible. In January of 2013 we began praying about an opportunity to spread the gospel while serving in a foreign country. We contacted Word Of Life, which is an organization that has many locations around the world, working to spread the gospel. Together we chose to go to El Salvador. We applied to the launch program (a program that allows teenagers to experience what its like to be a missionary). We were accepted in October of 2013, and began making arrangements. This trip is possible because of the support of our family, friends, church family, and World of Life team. We will be in El Salvador from January 20th-March 14th helping the team spread the gospel.

 

     One thing we are especially grateful for is a youth group that has blessed us with their prayers, support, and friendship. Sunday we had the opportunity to present a presentation with details about our trip. The youth commissioned us through prayer as they surrounded us and laid a hand on our shoulders. It is beautiful realization that you have so many people who care about you, and as we left Sunday morning our youth pastor hung the flag of El Salvador in the youth suit to lift us up in prayer while we are away. We are blessed to be apart of what God is already doing in El Salvador. Four Days!

XOXO 
~Kaylee & Anna