Mega Dia - Photos

Today was Mega Dia, or Mega Day. This was something that was started by Castle in Nicaragua and it went so well that Brother Don decided to bring it to El Salvador. Today was also the first day of Intern Boot Camp. So, in the morning we had devotions and got to know each other a little then went outside to play ultimate Frisbee and baseball. It was great team building and we even got a funny story out of it as Ben, one of the interns, was so dedicated to his team during ultimate Frisbee that he ran straight into a barb wire fence that cut him up from head to toe. He even needed stitches. It wasn’t so funny at the time, but as with many of those things, with time they are.

We then helped with Mega Dia and used the drama we made up last night in the youth service as Jacob preached as he’s the pastor now. We got to pray for some of them and minister to them. Then we went and set up the gym for a basketball tournament and I got to meet Scott and Melissa. They, along with their two children, are Canadian missionaries here and will be hosting AIMs teams from Canada. Their children are adorable too!

Mega Dia was jam packed with tournaments, food, swimming, bounce houses for the kids, hundreds of kids from the church, an eating contest with pupusas and hotdogs, and even a water baptism at the lake! It was a HUGE day! After that, we followed it up with devotions. Big day, even bigger need for rest!

And the summer begins...

Wow! We spent all morning and part of the afternoon at the airport picking up interns. The majority of them arrived today. 11 came in the morning and 9 came in this evening. Of all of them, only one lost his baggage and he’s been a total trooper about it. We have two more coming in tomorrow and one more will come when she gets her passport issues fixed.

Josh, Jolie, and I all rode back in the van with 11 of the interns. It was a blast learning everyone’s name and getting to know their personalities. Everyone seems to get along really well and I can only hope the rest will bond as quickly.

The 11 that came in on the earlier flights today helped us work out a drama for the farewells this summer. We had a basic idea of what we wanted and told Kristal and she immediately thought of the song, “Legacy” by Rob Sperti. It fit perfectly and within about an hour and a half, we had a great powerful drama that we’ll even be able to use for Mega Día tomorrow. That’s a whole other thing though.

I’m off to bed to catch up on a little rest before training week officially begins! Interns have arrived which signals the official start to the summer. It won’t be long before we are running like crazy!

Last chance for rest

This morning we woke up and started going over all of the songs, skits, and dramas for this summer. We have to make sure we know them before all the interns and teams come so that we can easily show them how to do them.

The afternoon was slow and uneventful. I took pictures around camp. We walked to a local store to try to buy pupusas but they don’t sell them anymore. We got to meet Jeremy and Kelly, another MA comple that has been teaching English and Kelly is now pregnant with twins. It’s her first pregnancy too!

Then, we decided to rest up with a little nap and spent the evening playing card games with Jolie. Jacob and Faith returned late from a meeting with a cake for Jolie’s birthday. It was a slower day, but sometimes those are so necessary!

No electricity, no internet - Video

Sometimes you do what you have to do...

Josh drove through El Salvador and we lived to tell about it

Today we went into town to get Jolie a phone and to pick up the intern shirts as well as a few other things today. Jacob decided this would be a great time for Josh to learn how to drive in El Salvador. I was happy to let him use the steering wheel while I was the backseat driver telling him that he was about to hit another car! :)

Actually, in all honesty, he was a great driver and did much better than I would have in such stressful circumstances. It was an…interesting experience.

We got to check email again. Whoo hoo!

It was pretty much an afternoon of running errands. Over the last few days we did come up with ideas for a new drama for the team farewells at the end of their time here in El Salvador. I think we’re going to let the interns help us come up with the rest of it. Also, something that Jacob started last year with the interns that I really like is edifying and building each other up with the 2 for 1 rule. Every time you say something negative about someone or say a joke at someone’s expense, you must say two things that edify or build that person up by complimenting them in a way that speaks of their character, personality, or actions.

I would really like to start using that in my day to day life. It just seems like an incredibly smart way to live. How can people get upset or hold a grudge against someone that is constantly complimenting them. It will help me to filter what I say as well. I’m excited about it, even if I have been joking with Jacob about it.

Another one joins the team...

Today we got up and had another meeting about our upcoming schedule (which it looks to be pretty crazy and every minute is planned out with something for the next few weeks). Then we went to the airport to pick up Jolie. She’s an intern that has been coming back year after year for a long time. She has also applied to be a Missionary Associate and was accepted. She’ll be itinerating starting this Fall.

We got to go to a coffee shop today to check email for an hour or two today. It was good to see the comments that were left on facebook even though we haven’t had the opportunity to respond to anything yet.

It’s very cool to have the old group of friends back together again. I knew Faith, Jacob, and Jolie before and Josh knew Jacob and Jolie before, but it’s very different to be here as a married couple and see how some things have changed. It’s been awesome catching up on everyone’s lives though.

Finally home...

Finally, after months of raising funds, traveling, speaking, stressing, doubting, fighting, planning, packing, storing, sorting, moving, and every other possible action associated with preparing for and getting to the mission field, Lisa and I are finally here. 

We woke up at 3:30 am in Oklahoma City yesterday, May 26th, and arrived at the airport at 5 am. Somehow God apparently caused our luggage to get lighter and all of our bags were under the weight limit, well one was exactly 50 lbs, but the others cleared the limit by about 2 pounds. After a tearful goodbye with my parents, Lisa and I walked through security to begin our first major adventure as a married couple. After a brief layover in Houston, we arrived in El Salvador at 11:10 am, tired and weary from weeks of living like nomads, long days, and short nights. Once again it appears that God was making His hand evident because from the time we got off the plane, it took a total of about 15 minutes to get our bags (all of which arrived!!), get our tourist visas, and go through Immigration/Customs. Now, how in the world 2 gringos with a cart full of luggage cleared Customs without getting searched I'm not sure, but God has his way, even in foreign customs. 

We were met by some good friends who are also MA's here, Jacob Noel and Faith Bates, and enjoyed the day getting back in touch and getting settled in our home for the next 2 months. We are staying at the Castle Camp on the beautiful Lago de Coatepeque, a lake that is in the crater of an active volcano. It is quite the beautiful sight, particularly as the sun comes up over the mountains and fog rests on the waters. It is amazing how a country so full of such beautiful vistas can at the same time be home to some of the greatest acts of violence and unthinkable attrocities. 

We have hit the ground running and will be going steady until August 3rd when we board the plane to head back to Orlando for General Council. Can't wait to get started and see all that God has in store for us. 

We're here!

Last night I forced myself to go to sleep at about 12 midnight only to be awoken by the rattling fan at 2:30 a.m. I laid in bed for an hour and eventually got up and just started eating breakfast and getting ready to leave. We had to be at the airport 5 a.m. where we met some missionaries on their way back to Mexico. After a few tears, 5 hours or so of traveling, and a showing of “Marley and Me,” I looked out the window to see the beautiful mountains of El Salvador. Josh was feeling a little nervous and had some anxiety about leaving family so leaving arriving seemed exciting yet bittersweet in the other.

We decided to do our first podcast video to post on our blog. I don’t know how well you can actually hear us though as we were starting to descend on the airplane. After waiting for the last round of baggage, we finally got our luggage and headed out to see Faith and Jacob waiting for us in the crowd of Salvadoran faces.

Oh, one thing about our luggage is that all 4 bags ended up being exactly 50 pounds or just under. Praise God!

Well, in true Castle fashion, we jumped straight into work for a lunch meeting about the summer with Jacob, Faith, and Kristal. We ate at a place called Go Green which I’m just about positive will be Josh’s favorite go-to restaurant here in El Salvador as all the serve are wraps and salads. Oh, and they’re delicious!

Jacob did take us to his favorite spot to have coffee which I must say was also delish! Then we went shopping for phones and came back to the camp late enough to hang out for just a few minutes in Faith’s apartment then make it down to our room to unpack and crash. It was an exhausting day but we are super excited to see what God’s going to do this summer!