The air was cool and the sun had just risen when we got in the car at 7:15 and began the 30 minute drive to San Salvador from our home. Suddenly, brake lights were in front of us and traffic came to a stop. Thus began a stop and go drive with Salvadorian drivers turning a two lane highway into a three lane highway. The skill with which people drive here is amazing and thankfully those who drive us around here are very skilled as well! The traffic was so heavy today because today was the first day of the school year for the El Salvador public schools. One advantage to driving that slow was it allowed us to really take in the scenery and the sights. San Salvador sits at the base of a volcano and the fog was gently moving across the top of it this morning producing a beautiful backdrop.
Once we arrived in San Salvador, we gathered together at the Blackstock home for some cultural training and learn how to better approach mission’s trip to foreign countries. It was very good and we had some great discussion. I was thankful for the time together. I was also thankful for the discussion because it created a distraction from a certain couple of “Gringos” who were already at the Blackstock home and were quite disturbed by our late arrival because they felt they could have slept longer. A quandary, to which the three of us who drove through the traffic, felt no sympathy.
We finished up the training at noon and then went to an Argentina restaurant for a quick lunch. Then Ben and I went with Ryan over to a house in which 10 American college students live. They are on a 9 month mission trip to serve here in El Salvador. Ryan teaches a Bible study there and Ben and I went along to spend some time with them. It was a great time and fun to hang out with them and hear what God was doing in their lives. During this time, the previously discussed “Gringos” enjoyed a lot of coffee and solved many world problems, such as which caliber produced the most desired results on prairie dogs at 400 yards.
We had a short time before leaving for church and most of us took advantage of it and prepared for different teachings we were doing. However, we had a great interruption when the bread man came by and honked his bike horn. Quite frankly, I have never seen Blaine move that fast and probably never will unless there is a 500lb furry beast growling behind him. Notice in the picture he did not even take the time to put on shoes! Thankfully, the Blackstocks had a mop to wipe up the trail of drool that went out the door.
The first night of the Discipleship Conference at the church went well. Acey did a great job teaching on the necessity for the Word of God to be the foundation for discipleship. Blaine also did a great job sharing his testimony of growth and what things the Lord has used in His life to mold him and shape into the image of Christ. I was thankful for both of them and what they shared. After the times of speaking, we spent 40 minutes in small groups discussing the information. It was great to hear what was on the hearts of the people here.
Once the Discipleship Conference was over, it was 8:30 and time for dinner. Everyone went to their homes, except our host family and Acey’s host family, along with a few people from the church. They took us to a little open street restaurant for some very authentic pupusas. They were quite good, but what was even better was some great fellowship and great times of laughing with our brothers and sisters in Christ down here. It was a full day, but a really good day. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring!
