November 2014 Visit to Cojutepeque, El Salvalvador

Hello all!

Thank you so very much for your continued prayers this year for the work in El Salvador. God has continued to bless the work at the church and the school in Cojutepeque. Many have gotten saved and baptized this year in the church. The students in the school (K-4 through 9th grade) are excited to finish their studies for the 2014 school year. (The school year there runs from late January to late November).

Students from my former 9th grade-graduates in 2013

I have heard from my students, church members, and friends in El Salvador almost daily since returning to the US. I am so excited to be able to return for a 10 day visit. My goal will be to see my former students, help in the church, encourage the missionaries there, go soulwinning, and serve wherever needed during my time there. It will be a joy to see my former students again, and even more so at graduation. I can't help but be proud of my students, knowing that those who were in classes last year have completed this school year and are graduating 9th grade this year.

Teachers and staff on graduation day, 2013

Sonia, the favorite staff member of the school,
as she runs the school snack shop. 

Carlos and Steven, two members of my 3rd grade class, 2013,
and two faithful attenders in the children's ministry in the church. 

Although the school in Cojutepeque currently does not extend beyond 9th grade, many of the former students attend the church and youth group functions regularly, receiving encouragement from other teens. It thrills my soul to see young people serving the Lord, even more so because of my invested interest in them. Praise God for changed lives and answered prayers regarding these young men and women.

Graduation Day!

I am so excited to see how the church body has changed. Towards the end of my year there many new visitors that were coming to the church. Some for the first time, and some returning after being away for quite a while. I've been praying faithfully for the girls in my Sunday school class there, and for those new visitors, of few of whom were saved before my departure.

It will also be exciting to see how the church building has changed. Construction began just days after the school year ended. The old building was completely demolished to accommodate a growing church family, and a nursery was added as well. I praise God for the opportunity to return and see all that God is doing there, and look forward to sending a few updates while away. 

November 2013 Cojutepeque, El Salvador

God has continued to graciously pour out his blessings on the ministry here this month as he has this entire year and its been wonderful!

At the end of October in the U.S. its common to celebrate Halloween, but that's not so here. However, on November 1st and 2nd crowds flood the street in celebration of Day of the Dead. Its usually not just one day, but a 1-3 day celebration...as such, people are actively selling flowers and decorations to adorn the grave sites nation wide as they visit with family and mourn the loss of their deceased. This year it fell on a Saturday, our normal day to go door to door inviting people to church. With 20 people divided into 3 groups, we were able to stand in virtually one place and hand out 1,800 Gospel tracts and church invitations in just one hour. Praise God for this great opportunity. Please pray that there will be visitors in church because of this!



Woman at the town square looking an invitation during soul winning on All Saints Day

Following "tradition" we hosted more baby showers this month. As the church has grown and doubled in size this year, we have added new members of all ages. We have had a baby shower almost every month since April and they have mostly been for boys!  We were delighted to follow the first baby shower of November for Hazel with a very special baby shower for our pastor's wife, Esther. Helping plan and coordinate baby showers was a lot of work this year, but after helping do a lot more in preparation for Esther's baby shower, I have more respect for her and all the time and hard work she puts into them-each month!! What a joy to have had two baby showers in the church this month!!

 

As always I really enjoyed the time that I was able to spend with the teens in my Sunday School class. I was able to spend quality one on one time with Wendy, Zenaida, Alejandra, Adriana, and Johannah this month, and what fun we had just getting to know one another better!!  What a joy to take time apart from church just to know what is on the hearts and minds of these teenagers, and encourage them to seek Gods face, and maintain a right relationship with Him and others.

I was also privileged to meet a new teen this month whose name is Ashley. She came as a first time visitor, and during the invitation her first service, I asked her if there had been a time in her life when she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Saviour, and she said yes. The Lord put her on my heart that week, and I prayed for her return. God answered my prayers, and she returned! As we sat through Sunday School and another Sunday service the Lord prompted me to ask her again. This time, she told me that she had never accepted Jesus Christ as her Saviour, and she did not know where she would spend eternity if she died. What an answer to prayer to be able to walk her through the pages of Scripture and show her that Jesus loves, her, that He died for her, and that she can know for sure that if she died, she could go to Heaven if she accepted Christ as her Saviour. This was all new to her, and as such, she needed some time to process and study a bit more. I encouraged her to re-read John 3:16, and the Romans Road verses, and prayed that she would return. She did not return in the month of November, but I pray that she will return to church, hear the Gospel, and accept Jesus Christ into her heart and life.

Towards the end of August, I began lending out books to a few select students that asked for them. Within two weeks, my students were arguing over who would be able to borrow and read what book, so, we talked to Pastor and set up a library. I began with 20 books, and ended with 100 kids books, and 200 short printed sermons on various topics, along with about 15 longer books for young adults, and the faculty and staff. In just 8 weeks, my students (and some of the teachers) checked out a total of 1,492 books from our library. Towards the end of the year I even allowed the kids to "check out" my ipad and read or play educational games during recess so I could collect the librarys' books. What a joy to see students excited to read and learn!!

As the school year drew to a close, my students became frantic about raising their grades right before finals week, so its been a great joy to spend "quality" time with them helping them cram for their finals. What a joy it was to see all of our hard work pay off when the final grades came in! My students are so intelligent, it's great to see them rise above and achieve high grades after studying hard! I'm so proud of them!

Mid year, around June, all of the students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade were required to take part in a spelling bee, with only English vocabulary words on their lists. The entire school was able to watch as the older kids participated. The winning class was to get a pizza party, and the winner got a cash prize. Well, after a successful spelling bee, the other teachers decided they wanted to model after what we had done within the English classes, so they began teaching their kids new words in Spanish, with the correct accent marks and spelling. They planned and coordinated their own spelling bee on the last day of school, with morel grades involved this time, from 4st-9th grade. What a joy it was to see students compete and win, after they have studied hard, and worked diligently. Surprisingly, Pastor Fridenstine announced at the finish that I needed to come to the front as my students had something special to say to me. I was in shock as student after student came up to me by grade and handed me gifts, letters, and mementos, asking for pictures and hugs, and giving speeches, and crying.  2013 has been a busy year, and with each passing day my heart grew a little more fond of my students. It was hard saying good-bye to so many, and my heart is heavy, but I hope one day in 2014 to go back and see what they have accomplished!

We were privileged to have Pastor Carlos Navarrete from Lancaster Baptist Church visit mid-month, to speak at the graduation ceremony of Kindergarten and 9th grade on November 15th. His son Micah accompanied him. Brother Galdamaz (whose uncle founded the school 50 years ago) came as well for this special occasion, bringing his family as well.

What a blessing it was to receive an exciting gift this month as well-a second vehicle! We had been praying for a 2nd vehicle for about 6 months now, and God not only answered, but provided it in the form of a GIFT! God is good!!  

For the Sunday School hour I generally help Esther in her class. I was delighted to get to teach the younger kids this month as a substitute. It was so much fun to teach them about the building of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament! During my time in El Salvador, I wrote a Sunday School Curriculum for teens based on the veracity of Scripture. What a joy it was to be able to teach some of what I had researched for teens to my very own class! My sneaky class, along with Esther preceded my lesson time by throwing me a wonderful surprise/going away party with a gifts, letters, speeches, and my very own candy filled piñata! Who doesn't love candy for breakfast during class?!?

Much time this year was spent building a data base of every visitor and member in the church. The goal was to put on a roster every person who had visited, or was currently attending to allow us to reach out to them more effectively through visits and calls. Praise the Lord I was able to finish it. I know that it will allow the church to make more calls and visits to those that need it most, and to pray and reach out to those that need it most! What a blessing and praise to get this project finished!!

The dear members of our church decided to throw me an early surprise going away party. 3 going away parties, and this one was the hardest. Watching people in the church come, and get saved, and baptized, and watching their lives change, investing time in each one, and helping them along the way....it was very difficult for me to listen to their kind words and farewells, knowing that I would no longer be working in the church that I love so much with these dear, sweet Christians!

November 18th, just 72 hours after the school year ended, and graduation concluded, destruction of the building began by hand. Several faithful men showed up, and worked alongside Pastor to destroy the current building. The goal is to knock down almost everything, and use some of the old building for the new expansion. The first service will be held on Christmas Eve in the new building.

While destruction was in progress, we (the ladies) had a great time cooking for the workers, and helping with other things. We had a great time decorating the playground in the kindergarten area (our newly converted and temporary worship area) with Christmas trees, lights, bows, and decorations. What a joy to have everything prepared for December!

At the end of November just before Thanksgiving, I was fortunate to have some of my close friends from Lancaster, California come and visit. The Urquilla family is from El Salvador, but they live in California. They arrived for a visit with their family and were kind enough to take me along with them! What a joy to spend some time with church friends from Lancaster, but to see them in my home in El Salvador! They  were able to meet our church family and attend a baptism service with us at the lake. What a pleasure to be able to introduce them to four of our newest members,
Beatrice, Sandra, Jennifer, (from our teen girls Sunday School class) and Edwin (who accepted Christ this year after a receiving an invitation on the street). What a joy to be able to show others how The Lord is changing lives one at a time through Immanuel Baptist Church in El Salvador!

The Urquilla family was nice enough to adopt me for three days and let me stay with them and their family in another city. Staying with a Salvadorian family was a bit of a different experience, but helped me understand some of the differences, culturally.  Its one thing to know how other cultures live, and another to actually experience it. It was a little bit of an adjustment to have 5 people in a room, in a 2 room house, with a tin roof, on a farm with ducks, chickens, a horse, and an outhouse. Needless to say, it reminded to be even more grateful for all of the things that I have been blessed with. And it certainly made me grateful to have my own private bedroom!!

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day. The Fridenstine family hosted missionary families from around El Salvador.  What a blessing to fellowship with other missionaries from America in El Salvador. We gathered with people from Texas, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Oregon, and a few other states as well, I'm sure. I had a great time after lunch listening to each person as we went around the room and we each said what we were thankful/grateful for. God has been so good to each one of us this year as we've served Him.

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Below is a quick blessing about how a tract, an invitation, or just saying hello to someone can make a difference.

I met a man last June here, his name is Rodrigo. He likes to sit outside of the neighborhood gate and watch the cars go by as he talks to a few other gentleman that like to do the same. As I enter and exit the neighborhood on the way to work, I say hello to the gatekeeper and whoever is there. I had specifically invited Rodrigo to church a couple times, and I saw him again during the Sword of The Lord Conference. I invited him, and he came for a portion of one of the conference sessions. I didn't see him for a long time after that.

Fast forward to the afternoon of November 17th. I invited him to our Sunday Night service (November 17) and what do you know? He said YES! So, we picked him up a bit later and took him to church with us.

During the church service he raised his hand and signed up to come with us next Sunday (Baptism Sunday at the Lake-we take a head count for transportation and food cause its an hour away at a church camp site). But get this! He hadn't even been there for 30 minutes at that point! Well, He came on the perfect Sunday. I forgot to tell him that 18 Nov. we were knocking the church building down completely and starting over, so after church, we would be an extra 2 hours taking down ceiling fans, bathroom décor, chairs, tables, bulletin boards, etc. Opps.

The message wasn't on salvation, but, he sat next to Francisco during church, whom he had met in June, and the Lord was working in his heart. Walter, a faithful church worker was able to lead him to the Lord after the church service. WHAT a praise. Not at ALL what I had in mind for the day, but even better. I learned the next day that Rodrigo had asked Walter, "Could God REALLY save someone like ME?"  Yes He can.

Despite forgetting to tell him we were working after church, and everyone was changing their clothes to do so, Rodrigo was a great help as we removed every item from the church in preparation for the buildings' destruction the next morning.

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I share the above story with you just as a reminder, so that you realize that your support here this year directly changed peoples lives here on earth, and their eternal destiny as well. Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support during 2013. I look forward to spending the Holidays in Iowa with my family and then returning to Lancaster, California by mid-January where I will work (I don't have anything lined up) and wait on the Lord. I have a wonderful church family there, and a great network of Christian friends and mentors to guide me in the right direction. I don't know what the future will bring but it would be my desire to work in a church, and in 5-10 years, to be in the ministry full time, as a missionary wife, or pastors wife. I appreciate and covet your prayers during my travels, and my future.

If you have interest in sponsoring a student at the school there, or have any additional questions about anything, please feel free to email me, and I will be happy to provide information.

Once again, thank you for your prayers and support during a tremendous year in the ministry in Cojutepeque, El Salvador.

All because of Him,
Crystal

October 2013 Cojutepeqe, El Salvador

Time flies when you are having fun! I've sure enjoyed this month as things continue to move right along in this ministry.

Praise The Lord again this month for all hes done. We have continued to see the amount of girls in Sunday School each week climb from 9-10 when we first got here, to a regular class size of 20, sometimes more. The few memories I have from my teenage years with my youth leaders are treasured. I hope that the lasting impression I leave with them will influence them well after I'm gone,  in a way that they will in turn influence others. We have also seen the class sizes from the 3-12 year age group triple in the past 10 months! What a blessing! For the most part, this growth is a reflection of what is happening with the adults in the main church services, and Sunday school as well. We owe all the credit to God! We have done nothing special, just moving forward.

I got the chance to spend time with the teen girls from Sunday school class each Sunday afternoon this month again. Its been SUCH  a blessing getting to know them more, and having new experiences around town! It was also fun to have Kenia with us this month! I was able to talk to her one day while running errands and after a few promised Sundays she finally came! Please pray that she would return for another hour of Sunday School with us! We would love to have her in our class every Sunday, and we would love for her to hear the Gospel and accept Jesus as her personal Savior!

Melissa and I during our fun afternoon!

Adriana showing me how to be "cultured."

My fun cultural experience for the month was going to the post office. We used to have someone from the church or school send them out, but, now that I've found the "post office" (its smaller than a 7-11 with PO boxes for 20 people in a town of 80,000....its dinky!) I like to go there myself. It usually takes about 15 minutes to mail whatever I have, even though I'm usually the only one that is in the building. This month when I went, they decided they were on strike. There was a brown paper sign written in purple marker that said "Closed." However, there was a man at the door who wanted to know what I needed. Funny you should ask, since I'm at the post office. .  . I told him I just wanted to mail some letters, but was denied. He said they were on strike, because they wanted to be paid more.  I came back 5 minutes later after purchasing something down the street and the sign, and the man was gone. I was able to mail my letters without anymore discussion, and the woman behind the counter said nothing of the "strike" nor why they decided to end it. I'm grateful that they have been open every time I've returned since that day!

All is well at school and this month brought the opportunity to go on a field trip with 7th grade to a beautiful national park! What fun it was to go on a field trip again! 

7th grade class wandering through the woods

When Sundays come around this usually means that I am with Esther in her class, leading the games, and learning from her lesson rather than teaching. Occasionally I have an opportunity to teach in Kids Church to kids ages 5-9. The opportunity arose again, and we had a lot of fun in one of our classes learning about baby Moses. (See Exhibit A below). I've learned a lot of things since being here, but one of the most important is learning to be flexible, and improvising at a moments notice! We had a fun time with this weeks Bible lesson, and I hope they learned a lot about Moses! They do know that Moses is a boy. . . .

Enthusiastic boys in Sunday School

Improvising-meet baby Moses!

As we move forward and add new people to the church, we have additional people that go door to door with us, visiting, soul winning and inviting more people to church. One of the newest to join us this month was Ana. She is newly married to Marvin one of our construction workers right now at the church/school. Ana told me that she was a little nervous, but as time wore on, she discovered its not scary at all to give someone an invitation to church!! By the end of the night, I turned around and noticed that she had intentionally gone out of her way, entered a gate into a school area, to invite three workers to our church. What a blessing it is to see II Timothy 2:7 in action. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Its true!

Below is a picture of Marvin and Ana, our newest married couple. Marvin is working with the school and church construction, and Ana makes a great soul winning partner! 

Marvin and Ana, the happy couple

As always, we have been having a good time here, going out twice a week to invite people to church, and to tell them about Jesus. The last month we have been entering new areas, seeing new faces, big dogs, interesting things (bamboo bridges for a start) and beautifully breathtaking views of the sunset over the lake. Praise God for the opportunity to go soul winning and the blessings that come with it, from the beautiful views, to those that come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.

Bamboo bridge, rock path, dirt stairs, railroad...

Beautiful view overlooking the lake.

As the church is growing with more adults, its also bursting with children! At the beginning of the year we never needed to open nursery on Wednesday nights as there were no small children but Micah and Joel, the Fridenstine's sons. Later on in the year we began opening it once a month, then twice, three times, and now; there are so many babies on Wednesday nights that we always have the nursery open.  Wednesday night Bible studies are currently covering common questions that many Christians have, but perhaps do not study and seek out the answers thoroughly.  Pastor has been covering a lot of practical lessons on Wednesday nights that address issues such as music, dress, finances, etc. that have been a point of interest, especially to many of the younger Christians in the church. What a blessing it is to serve in the nursery with the babies while the parents are in church learning more about their Christian walk!

Nursery fun!

Missions conference came and went in the month of October, and my what an exciting time that was. We were delighted to have the Callejas family with us. They are missionaries in San Salvador and have the only Baptist Church in San Salvador with services both in English and Spanish. We were also excited to have the Castro family. Mr. Castro is an evangelist. He travels throughout Central America preaching at churches, revival meetings, and special services encouraging churches and helping pastors.

Mrs. Castro teaching teen girls Sunday School.

Callejas family, missionaries in San Salvador

On our opening night we had split sessions with men and women while Joao Callejas, Stephanie and I were able to work with the kids. I invited Amy (my six year old neighbor kid that spends a lot of time at my house playing with my rabbit and asking me questions-always entertaining) to come with us for this meeting on a Friday afternoon. She said yes and were were excited to have her, and 6 others come with us too! What a joy to see so many people come and learn about missions from the invitation of just one! Please pray for Tatiana, Carmen, and the rest of Amys family to return with us one day, as they have promised.

All the kids listening intently to Joao.

Ashley, Mahomy, and Ashley working on crafts.

Its a small world! I had a great reminder the other day when I got an email from a friend that I knew in the Army. His cousin is here in El Salvador, sick in the hospital. What a blessing it was to be able to make some homemade cookies, and put together a care package with a Bible for this man to read this week while he is in the hospital. Please pray for the recovery of Jose as he is in the hospital. Also, please pray for Pastor Callejas, as he was able to visit him and deliver the care package, and present him with the Gospel.

In the US, October is Pastor Appreciation Month. We decided to surprise pastor by showing our gratefulness for his service with a quick fun video in the service. We also had a fun time this month throwing a combined baby shower and birthday party for Esther Fridenstine on her birthday. How exciting it is to pull off surprises like this on someone who works in every aspect of ministry in the school and the church! She came to the party iPad in hand, ready to take notes at the "teachers meeting."

Surprise announcement for Pastor Appreciation Month!

Opening all the gifts!

Sadly, this month brought another moment of sadness here. One of the kids that we had with us on kids day just three weeks ago was murdered. Please pray for the healing of her family, who have since come to visit us at the church as well. Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." We know that no matter the situation, God has a plan.

Praise the Lord for his goodness. When I left the US in January, I had enough money to cover my plane ticket and get me through January. Although, perhaps from the outside looking in, that's not the smartest idea I've ever had, but I knew God would provide, and He did. Little by little my needs have been met along the way, ever increasing my faith. I am currently at 93% of my support level and praying in the last 7% so I can purchase my plane ticket, as I will be flying back in December.

My smart first graders reviewing for a test.