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 Joselyn (Josie) Burgoyne |
 Pastor Aguilar encourages mother, son and daughter. |
 Baptising son and his wife. |
 Baptising mother and daughter. |
Mom comes back to Jesus and brings three more. . .
August 8 2006 / ShareHim in Salvador, Jul. 14 - Jul. 29 '06 #47by Joselyn (josie) Burgoyne
Personal Testimony of Joselyn (Josie) Burgoyne.
Story for the Quiet Hour: Mom comes back to Jesus and brings three more
On Sabbath, July 22, 2006, Pastor Francisco Aguilar came to the hotel in San Salvador at 8:30 am to pick me up. That Sabbath was the second of the three Sabbaths our group of 35 adults and young people held evangelistic meetings in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America. When Pastor Aguilar and I arrived at the church, Ciudad Delgado, the pastor was called aside to the courtyard of the church to speak to some people. Since my translator hadn’t arrived yet, I stood nearby. The first elder, Santos Rivera, also joined the small group. A mother, her son and daughter were speaking, and the mother began to cry. Then Pastor Aguilar spoke to them, and even though I couldn’t understand everything he said, his tone of voice was full of encouragement and hope. But I understood when he said these three people would be baptized this morning after my translator, Ruth, and I “preached” the sermon together.
At the end of the service, Pastor Aguilar stepped down into the small baptismal pool on the platform of the church. The last slide of this morning’s presentation was a close-up of Jesus’ face, so I left it projected onto the wall above the baptismal pool. The surprise was that Pastor baptized four people this morning – the sons’s wife decided to be baptized with the others! See the photos!
A short time later, while we were at a church member’s home just before Sabbath dinner, Ruth, my translator, told the story of the people who were baptized this morning: The mother had been raised as an Adventist, but had drifted away. The other of her two sons had been murdered, and it was then she realized that Jesus’ coming must be near. That was the reason she came back to church and attended the meetings. I realized that was why she was crying when she spoke to the pastor this morning at the church, and the reason her son who was standing beside her put his arm around her. The gentleness of the pastor touched her heart and the three of them were all quietly weeping as the pastor prayed for them. God breaks the language barrier when prayer is offered to Him, and I was touched by Pastor Aguilar’s encouragement to them.
The next Sabbath was the last day in El Salvador, July 29, and the four who were baptized were at church to receive their baptismal certificates. I gave them the Desire of Ages, translated into Spanish, and they were so thrilled to have it. There were tears in our eyes as we hugged, and I realized again that the language barrier was broken. Our Father in Heaven is wanting his earthly children to all accept His love and surrender to Him, and be saved! Jesus is coming soon!
Joselyn (Josie) Burgoyne
Southern Adventist University
Staff member
PS: The miracle projector kept working through much prayer - my projector would not turn off when I tried using it the first Friday afternoon in El Salvador. It had worked perfectly during practice times at home in the U.S. There was no choice but to pull the plug to turn it off, leaving a very hot bulb in its most fragile condition. Normal use is simply touching a button allowing the bulb to turn on for projection, then off and the fan continues running to cool it. But a hot projector in a hot church does not have a chance to cool off, so the Lord provided kind people with an air-conditioned vehicle to take me back to the hotel every evening. I cradled the projector in my arms until we arrived at the hotel, and in my room put the cooled off projector back in the case with the laptop. It lasted every evening and through 18 sermons! Thank you, Jesus!
On Sabbath, July 22, 2006, Pastor Francisco Aguilar came to the hotel in San Salvador at 8:30 am to pick me up. That Sabbath was the second of the three Sabbaths our group of 35 adults and young people held evangelistic meetings in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America. When Pastor Aguilar and I arrived at the church, Ciudad Delgado, the pastor was called aside to the courtyard of the church to speak to some people. Since my translator hadn’t arrived yet, I stood nearby. The first elder, Santos Rivera, also joined the small group. A mother, her son and daughter were speaking, and the mother began to cry. Then Pastor Aguilar spoke to them, and even though I couldn’t understand everything he said, his tone of voice was full of encouragement and hope. But I understood when he said these three people would be baptized this morning after my translator, Ruth, and I “preached” the sermon together.
At the end of the service, Pastor Aguilar stepped down into the small baptismal pool on the platform of the church. The last slide of this morning’s presentation was a close-up of Jesus’ face, so I left it projected onto the wall above the baptismal pool. The surprise was that Pastor baptized four people this morning – the sons’s wife decided to be baptized with the others! See the photos!
A short time later, while we were at a church member’s home just before Sabbath dinner, Ruth, my translator, told the story of the people who were baptized this morning: The mother had been raised as an Adventist, but had drifted away. The other of her two sons had been murdered, and it was then she realized that Jesus’ coming must be near. That was the reason she came back to church and attended the meetings. I realized that was why she was crying when she spoke to the pastor this morning at the church, and the reason her son who was standing beside her put his arm around her. The gentleness of the pastor touched her heart and the three of them were all quietly weeping as the pastor prayed for them. God breaks the language barrier when prayer is offered to Him, and I was touched by Pastor Aguilar’s encouragement to them.
The next Sabbath was the last day in El Salvador, July 29, and the four who were baptized were at church to receive their baptismal certificates. I gave them the Desire of Ages, translated into Spanish, and they were so thrilled to have it. There were tears in our eyes as we hugged, and I realized again that the language barrier was broken. Our Father in Heaven is wanting his earthly children to all accept His love and surrender to Him, and be saved! Jesus is coming soon!
Joselyn (Josie) Burgoyne
Southern Adventist University
Staff member
PS: The miracle projector kept working through much prayer - my projector would not turn off when I tried using it the first Friday afternoon in El Salvador. It had worked perfectly during practice times at home in the U.S. There was no choice but to pull the plug to turn it off, leaving a very hot bulb in its most fragile condition. Normal use is simply touching a button allowing the bulb to turn on for projection, then off and the fan continues running to cool it. But a hot projector in a hot church does not have a chance to cool off, so the Lord provided kind people with an air-conditioned vehicle to take me back to the hotel every evening. I cradled the projector in my arms until we arrived at the hotel, and in my room put the cooled off projector back in the case with the laptop. It lasted every evening and through 18 sermons! Thank you, Jesus!