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Incredible Joy In El Salvador
September 29 2006 / ShareHim in Salvador, Jul. 14 - Jul. 29 '06 #69by Carol Reynolds
Personal Testimony of Carol Reynolds.
Incredible Joy in El Salvador
When the Lord opened the way for my son, Daniel, and I to go and preach with Share Him in El Salvador this past July, I asked myself a number of questions:
Why should we spend our money (when we can barely keep ahead of academy and college bills), volunteer almost 3 weeks of our time, leave our family behind, and go to a foreign country to preach the gospel? Why not use the money/time to do something good here in the USA, where after all, there are so many needs and unsaved people all around us? Why not send money to them and let them preach it in their own language – couldn’t they do a much better job than we could? After all, we’re not well acquainted with Latin American culture, have never studied Spanish, and have little experience in preaching. Our 17 year old son has never preached before. Would it be a positive or a negative experience for him? Would he ever want to preach again?
Well, the Lord truly answered these questions and more during our richly rewarding trip to El Salvador. Here are some of the things the Lord taught us:
When God calls, our part is to answer that call. Daniel had had a call on his heart to preach somewhere, sometime for over a year. He mentioned it often, had taken a preaching class at YD camp a year ago, and he had responded to Pastor Finley’s call to young people who felt God’s call to preach at GYC the end of last year. I had also been feeling the call. But, when and where? We prayed about it, but the Lord didn’t impress us about any thing, so we put it on a back burner, thinking that the way would open in future years. Our summer plans were totally full. We really didn’t have any extra money for such a trip, anyway. Besides, we’re just laymen –a mom and an academy student. Maybe God needed others who were trained - pastors perhaps, not us.
When El Salvador came to our attention only a few weeks before the trip, everything just fell into place. All our obstacles were removed one by one. Daniel was able to get a youth subsidy, and borrow Share Him equipment. I thought I’d go as a support to him, but they told me they really needed a few more preachers. Me? Then, my friend offered to loan me her equipment, so I had no more excuses.
The timing of the trip was perfect, and my husband and other sons urged us to go. We had been medical missionaries in Asia for a number of years, and had done a few other short-term mission trips, but had never preached before. This was totally new, exciting, yet scary. But, God had clearly opened the doors for us, so we stepped out in faith.
God wants to stretch and grow our faith in Him. I am not a computer whiz, and was terrified of the equipment. The preaching didn’t scare me as much as the equipment. How could I do this? I’d be the only foreigner at my site, with no one to help me if anything went wrong. What if the electricity went off? What if the computer wouldn’t work, or the projector burned up? What if . . . .? I couldn’t seem to understand how to use it at all before we went. But, I trusted that the Lord would help me, and praise Him – I never had a major problem, and He even gave me Mario, a computer expert for a translator. I learned to edit, use sermon synchronizer, power points, and best of all, how to preach. In the beginning of the series, I would often feel overwhelmed, and totally out of my comfort zone. But, I knew that it was up to the Lord to bring me through, and He was so faithful!
One day both of our computers weren’t working, and we had our group leaders working on them all day. Finally, after calls to the US, both were fixed. Because it was late when they were done, Daniel did not get to practice his sermon the usual 2 or 3 times at all. In fact, he didn’t even get to go through it totally once. And, the topic was the 2300 days!! He was so nervous, He remembered that his academy Bible class had spent nearly 2 weeks on the 2300 day prophecy. How could he make it understandable and feel like he was prepared himself when he had not had time to go over it thoroughly? But, he gave it to the Lord, told Him the situation. Later he told us that when he stood up to speak, he felt a power from above rest on him, and the sermon went very smooth, one his best. “It wasn’t me at all!!” He kept saying. “It was totally the Lord.” What a miracle!! He was thrilled.
Daniel’s first experience in preaching at Perla Escondida Church was transforming and thrilling for him. His pastor and wife (Pastor and Mrs. Oscar Garcia) were so wonderful, supportive, and loving. They mentored him beautifully. We knew that the Lord had matched him to them. By the end of the two weeks of intensive nightly preaching, he was exhausted, but walking on air. There were 15 precious souls baptized in his church. He knew that the Holy Spirit had used him, and he felt humbled and full of joy. I believe that if the Lord opens the way, he will jump at the chance to go and preach again. Total dependence on God and constant prayer yielded many miracles that we will never forget.
God’s Word is living and powerful, and changes our lives. As we preached God’s word night by night to our audiences, “Amen” was the frequent and fervent response. The sermons are well prepared, the illustrations and graphics were great, but it was the amazing power of God’s Word that was experienced by all of us – preachers and audiences alike. I think we preachers were the most blessed, for when you teach others something, you learn it best yourself. There truly is power in God’s Word!! I loved watching the faces of my people as they listened to the beautiful messages from the Bible. They would light up with understanding and belief. At times I could see the great controversy being played out in their emotions. But, when the appeals were given and people responded, I was amazed. I was thrilled to find that God would use even me.
I met Carmen, a faithful Sierra Morena church member for 17 years. She had two young children. But, her husband, Victor, had never become a member, even though he attended church at times, and had even attended a few evangelistic meetings in the past. Somehow, Victor began attending the meetings, and we saw him there night after night. He struggled with his decision, and we prayed and prayed. I remember him hanging his head, and not being willing to make eye contact during certain appeals, but then he responded to the call for salvation, and accepted the Sabbath truth. When he came forward for baptism, we were so excited. What a victory celebration we had in that little church when Victor and two other precious young ladies were baptized. He had been resisting God’s call for 14 years!! He had even donated money for the new baptistery, and was the first one to be baptized in it! A few days later his mother also joined the church, and then another lady.
That night I was totally unprepared for my own emotions. I was so overcome with joy and wonder that I had to stay outside the church for a while until I could control myself. When back at the hotel, I literally wept for joy for a long time. My feelings were so intense, so personal, and so real, that I could not verbalize them to anyone in our group. The next morning the joy continued, and it rests in my heart today.
God’s church is an international church. We were so inspired by the intense and active faith our brothers and sisters in El Salvador have. Because the pastors have 6-8 churches or more each, the laymen are the ones doing most of God’s work. They are such active soul winners!! There are over 130,000 SDAs in San Salvador alone, and hundreds of churches. Their goal is to have one in every neighborhood. They are also very musical, and love praising the Lord in music. It seemed that all of them could sing – we never lacked for special music.
The children stole my heart! They always greeted me with hugs and smiles, and how I miss them now. The greeting at church was “Dios tebendiga” (God bless you) with warm smiles and hugs. My hermanos and hermanas (brothers and sisters) in Sierra Morena church will forever be in my heart. I realized that God has faithful children everywhere, and that when people have little, they often have a stronger faith. I often thought to myself, “How I wish I could bottle up their intensity and faith and take it home with me.”
There were other families and individuals I met with incredible stories of hardship, sorrow, and faith. There was Ramon, my faithful driver and his family. His sister was Sophia whose son was tragically murdered while we were there. Her faith triumphed over her sorrow, for she led his widow to Christ and baptism. There was Mauritza’s family and their incredible conversion story. I could tell so many special stories.
God is the owner of all things. We found that the money we spent on this mission was totally worth it. Somehow, God will repay us for our expenses, and in the light of eternity, what is a few hundred or thousand dollars compared to souls that are saved because we answered God’s call? Yes, there are many needs here in the USA, but what a broadening, enriching experience it is to go to a foreign country. The people there were so responsive, so our first experience in preaching was very positive. That may not always be the case here.
God can use anybody. I asked Mario, my translator, why the people would so faithfully come out and support our meetings, even though the translated sermons must have been somewhat boring. The Latino preachers seemed so much more eloquent, emotional, and intense. And they could do it all in Spanish!! He told me that because we had come from so far, and because we were Americans, they were very interested and wanted to make sure they were there each night. He did a great job of adding Latino expressions and emotions.
Several who attended the meetings expressed how they appreciated the more straightforward way the messages were presented. One told me that for the first time he understood the prophecies clearly. Another told me that he liked the less emotional and clear way the sermons were presented. All were blessed to either review our doctrines again, or to hear them for the first time. The series strengthened my own faith, and that of each of the members and visitors. It was a win-win situation! We truly have a wonderful message of hope for a dying world.
Mario, a computer consultant, has translated for several other evangelists in recent years. There is nothing he’d rather do than be involved in evangelism. He was converted only a few years ago, and has quite a testimony. When I told him that I thought God would call him to preach his own series soon, he swallowed, got tears, and said – “God has been telling that me, too.” The sermons were left for local use in each church, and our prayer is that they will be used to win more souls in El Salvador.
Each member of our team from North America was inspired and blessed by our association by the Salvadorian Adventistas. What we gained seemed so much more than we gave. They also were blessed by our coming to them. It gave them a feeling for the international movement we all are a part of. They had never had close association with American Adventists before, and how they enjoyed getting to know us. They wrote us such loving messages, and despite their limited means, gave gifts from their hearts. How hard it was to say good-bye.
We had a great team, and wonderful leaders who took the time to make sure we were trained and equipped to preach. They were so supportive and encouraging. We made many new friends among the group who were part of our team, and we will get together here in the US.
If God could use me, He can use anyone. If He can use a 17 year old, He can use anyone. If He can use a 12, 14, or 16 year old, He can use you. If He can use college students, laymen, business men, nurses, preachers, teachers, accountants, He can use YOU.
.
When the Lord opened the way for my son, Daniel, and I to go and preach with Share Him in El Salvador this past July, I asked myself a number of questions:
Why should we spend our money (when we can barely keep ahead of academy and college bills), volunteer almost 3 weeks of our time, leave our family behind, and go to a foreign country to preach the gospel? Why not use the money/time to do something good here in the USA, where after all, there are so many needs and unsaved people all around us? Why not send money to them and let them preach it in their own language – couldn’t they do a much better job than we could? After all, we’re not well acquainted with Latin American culture, have never studied Spanish, and have little experience in preaching. Our 17 year old son has never preached before. Would it be a positive or a negative experience for him? Would he ever want to preach again?
Well, the Lord truly answered these questions and more during our richly rewarding trip to El Salvador. Here are some of the things the Lord taught us:
When God calls, our part is to answer that call. Daniel had had a call on his heart to preach somewhere, sometime for over a year. He mentioned it often, had taken a preaching class at YD camp a year ago, and he had responded to Pastor Finley’s call to young people who felt God’s call to preach at GYC the end of last year. I had also been feeling the call. But, when and where? We prayed about it, but the Lord didn’t impress us about any thing, so we put it on a back burner, thinking that the way would open in future years. Our summer plans were totally full. We really didn’t have any extra money for such a trip, anyway. Besides, we’re just laymen –a mom and an academy student. Maybe God needed others who were trained - pastors perhaps, not us.
When El Salvador came to our attention only a few weeks before the trip, everything just fell into place. All our obstacles were removed one by one. Daniel was able to get a youth subsidy, and borrow Share Him equipment. I thought I’d go as a support to him, but they told me they really needed a few more preachers. Me? Then, my friend offered to loan me her equipment, so I had no more excuses.
The timing of the trip was perfect, and my husband and other sons urged us to go. We had been medical missionaries in Asia for a number of years, and had done a few other short-term mission trips, but had never preached before. This was totally new, exciting, yet scary. But, God had clearly opened the doors for us, so we stepped out in faith.
God wants to stretch and grow our faith in Him. I am not a computer whiz, and was terrified of the equipment. The preaching didn’t scare me as much as the equipment. How could I do this? I’d be the only foreigner at my site, with no one to help me if anything went wrong. What if the electricity went off? What if the computer wouldn’t work, or the projector burned up? What if . . . .? I couldn’t seem to understand how to use it at all before we went. But, I trusted that the Lord would help me, and praise Him – I never had a major problem, and He even gave me Mario, a computer expert for a translator. I learned to edit, use sermon synchronizer, power points, and best of all, how to preach. In the beginning of the series, I would often feel overwhelmed, and totally out of my comfort zone. But, I knew that it was up to the Lord to bring me through, and He was so faithful!
One day both of our computers weren’t working, and we had our group leaders working on them all day. Finally, after calls to the US, both were fixed. Because it was late when they were done, Daniel did not get to practice his sermon the usual 2 or 3 times at all. In fact, he didn’t even get to go through it totally once. And, the topic was the 2300 days!! He was so nervous, He remembered that his academy Bible class had spent nearly 2 weeks on the 2300 day prophecy. How could he make it understandable and feel like he was prepared himself when he had not had time to go over it thoroughly? But, he gave it to the Lord, told Him the situation. Later he told us that when he stood up to speak, he felt a power from above rest on him, and the sermon went very smooth, one his best. “It wasn’t me at all!!” He kept saying. “It was totally the Lord.” What a miracle!! He was thrilled.
Daniel’s first experience in preaching at Perla Escondida Church was transforming and thrilling for him. His pastor and wife (Pastor and Mrs. Oscar Garcia) were so wonderful, supportive, and loving. They mentored him beautifully. We knew that the Lord had matched him to them. By the end of the two weeks of intensive nightly preaching, he was exhausted, but walking on air. There were 15 precious souls baptized in his church. He knew that the Holy Spirit had used him, and he felt humbled and full of joy. I believe that if the Lord opens the way, he will jump at the chance to go and preach again. Total dependence on God and constant prayer yielded many miracles that we will never forget.
God’s Word is living and powerful, and changes our lives. As we preached God’s word night by night to our audiences, “Amen” was the frequent and fervent response. The sermons are well prepared, the illustrations and graphics were great, but it was the amazing power of God’s Word that was experienced by all of us – preachers and audiences alike. I think we preachers were the most blessed, for when you teach others something, you learn it best yourself. There truly is power in God’s Word!! I loved watching the faces of my people as they listened to the beautiful messages from the Bible. They would light up with understanding and belief. At times I could see the great controversy being played out in their emotions. But, when the appeals were given and people responded, I was amazed. I was thrilled to find that God would use even me.
I met Carmen, a faithful Sierra Morena church member for 17 years. She had two young children. But, her husband, Victor, had never become a member, even though he attended church at times, and had even attended a few evangelistic meetings in the past. Somehow, Victor began attending the meetings, and we saw him there night after night. He struggled with his decision, and we prayed and prayed. I remember him hanging his head, and not being willing to make eye contact during certain appeals, but then he responded to the call for salvation, and accepted the Sabbath truth. When he came forward for baptism, we were so excited. What a victory celebration we had in that little church when Victor and two other precious young ladies were baptized. He had been resisting God’s call for 14 years!! He had even donated money for the new baptistery, and was the first one to be baptized in it! A few days later his mother also joined the church, and then another lady.
That night I was totally unprepared for my own emotions. I was so overcome with joy and wonder that I had to stay outside the church for a while until I could control myself. When back at the hotel, I literally wept for joy for a long time. My feelings were so intense, so personal, and so real, that I could not verbalize them to anyone in our group. The next morning the joy continued, and it rests in my heart today.
God’s church is an international church. We were so inspired by the intense and active faith our brothers and sisters in El Salvador have. Because the pastors have 6-8 churches or more each, the laymen are the ones doing most of God’s work. They are such active soul winners!! There are over 130,000 SDAs in San Salvador alone, and hundreds of churches. Their goal is to have one in every neighborhood. They are also very musical, and love praising the Lord in music. It seemed that all of them could sing – we never lacked for special music.
The children stole my heart! They always greeted me with hugs and smiles, and how I miss them now. The greeting at church was “Dios tebendiga” (God bless you) with warm smiles and hugs. My hermanos and hermanas (brothers and sisters) in Sierra Morena church will forever be in my heart. I realized that God has faithful children everywhere, and that when people have little, they often have a stronger faith. I often thought to myself, “How I wish I could bottle up their intensity and faith and take it home with me.”
There were other families and individuals I met with incredible stories of hardship, sorrow, and faith. There was Ramon, my faithful driver and his family. His sister was Sophia whose son was tragically murdered while we were there. Her faith triumphed over her sorrow, for she led his widow to Christ and baptism. There was Mauritza’s family and their incredible conversion story. I could tell so many special stories.
God is the owner of all things. We found that the money we spent on this mission was totally worth it. Somehow, God will repay us for our expenses, and in the light of eternity, what is a few hundred or thousand dollars compared to souls that are saved because we answered God’s call? Yes, there are many needs here in the USA, but what a broadening, enriching experience it is to go to a foreign country. The people there were so responsive, so our first experience in preaching was very positive. That may not always be the case here.
God can use anybody. I asked Mario, my translator, why the people would so faithfully come out and support our meetings, even though the translated sermons must have been somewhat boring. The Latino preachers seemed so much more eloquent, emotional, and intense. And they could do it all in Spanish!! He told me that because we had come from so far, and because we were Americans, they were very interested and wanted to make sure they were there each night. He did a great job of adding Latino expressions and emotions.
Several who attended the meetings expressed how they appreciated the more straightforward way the messages were presented. One told me that for the first time he understood the prophecies clearly. Another told me that he liked the less emotional and clear way the sermons were presented. All were blessed to either review our doctrines again, or to hear them for the first time. The series strengthened my own faith, and that of each of the members and visitors. It was a win-win situation! We truly have a wonderful message of hope for a dying world.
Mario, a computer consultant, has translated for several other evangelists in recent years. There is nothing he’d rather do than be involved in evangelism. He was converted only a few years ago, and has quite a testimony. When I told him that I thought God would call him to preach his own series soon, he swallowed, got tears, and said – “God has been telling that me, too.” The sermons were left for local use in each church, and our prayer is that they will be used to win more souls in El Salvador.
Each member of our team from North America was inspired and blessed by our association by the Salvadorian Adventistas. What we gained seemed so much more than we gave. They also were blessed by our coming to them. It gave them a feeling for the international movement we all are a part of. They had never had close association with American Adventists before, and how they enjoyed getting to know us. They wrote us such loving messages, and despite their limited means, gave gifts from their hearts. How hard it was to say good-bye.
We had a great team, and wonderful leaders who took the time to make sure we were trained and equipped to preach. They were so supportive and encouraging. We made many new friends among the group who were part of our team, and we will get together here in the US.
If God could use me, He can use anyone. If He can use a 17 year old, He can use anyone. If He can use a 12, 14, or 16 year old, He can use you. If He can use college students, laymen, business men, nurses, preachers, teachers, accountants, He can use YOU.
.