Today we had the privilege of visiting several families in the San Salvador Church that many of you have either met or heard about and been praying for, it was very faith building.  We met at the church building and piled in the van together with boxes full of groceries, bags of goodies and gifts from everyone at Turning Point. 

Josue Ortega and the Landaverdes brought us to the home of Angel and Inez first.  They were overjoyed to see us and although we showered them with love and presents until Inez said she felt famous, we were actually the ones who felt incredibly blessed.  Inez cried when we presented her with more gifts from the Gitto's, especially moved when she heard that their son sent his own money to buy food for them.  Inez was also very excited to show us all the beautiful scarf she made for Mama Simone with the yarn their small group sent on the last trip. 

Next we went to visit William and Gloribel and their 3 children - we had so much fun with them.  What sweet kids, we even got to meet some neighbors they were sharing the candy Frank gave them.  Ato played with their son and Gloribel shared her story with us.  Everyone remembers Mel from her visit and she was personally encouraged to see them again because this time it's more than "nice to meet you" it's "so good to see you, how have you been" and she could see how the children have grown, the impact your generosity has had on their lives.

Then came a surprise for all of us, it turns out we were not far from SUCHITOTO so we were able to visit this historic colonial city that has a become so precious to our hearts.  As it is the holiday season, there are no children at the school that TP supports however your gifts to Mercy, Liz sent a big bag for Julio, are surely being delivered. We had lunch at Harlequin, did some souvenir shopping and then we headed out to see the next family...Robert & Luby Gomez. They recently moved into a new home and have the cutest little baby. They were thrilled to see us and had prepared arroz con leche for us (still warm, so yummy). Will & Vashti presented them with a box full of things they need and Luby asked to share a scripture with us.  She read 1 Corinthians 13 and when she said "if I give all I possess to the poor...but have not love" I cried and I think we all realized that the most important thing we can give to them is our love.  These families need and appreciate the financial support but words cannot possibly express what the love they feel from everyone at Turning Point means to them.

We closed out the evening with a delicious dinner at the Ortegas.  It's been a life changing week for us all and we are overwhelmed with emotion.  Thank you so much for allowing us to serve here.  Please continue to pray for your brothers and sisters here in El Salvador, they love you and need you and are so grateful for the unity between our churches.  It is inspiring to everyone.  Your faith matters!

Mission accomplished!  Today was a day of celebration.  The whole community came out to see the dedication of the well.  Sharon, Sandra and Leo drove out to Sonsonate to join us (Brad was very happy) and were able to meet the families we've spent this week with as well as our friends from Living Water.  Leo translated at the ceremony for Brad, Mel, me and most importantly Paul - who had the vision for our church to get involved with this project over a year ago.  To see this dream come true was just so inspiring.  Jenny (from the LWI staff and now a close friend of ours) read John 4:1-14 and it came to life before our very eyes. Of everything this well can do to change the community the greatest gift by far is the living water that Jesus brings. To be able to share the gospel and pass out Bibles to people who were literally begging for them was the greatest honor for us. 

It was wonderful to spend the afternoon playing with the kids down at the soccer field, enjoying the moment.  The guys got a chance to run around and laugh with the children who were so happy to have them. Even our camera crew got in on the action - I have to say, they have worked as hard as and much longer than any of us.  Matt, Lance and Erik were everywhere at once and have filmed National Geographic quality video this week.  When Erik was able to present a soccer ball to a boy who had been asking to play with him all week, and placed him in a position of leadership among his peers we all rejoiced with him.  And when Mel gave one to Franklin, who stole all of our hearts the first day and was at every class early, in the front row, just waiting for us, we wept. There have been too many emotions these past two days to process.

It was only fitting that our evening devotional turned into hours of singing - the old songs, foot stompin' knee slappin' hand clappin' ones.  It was the most beautiful, hilarious, nostalgic and pure hearted singing you can imagine.  An evening of worship we will never forget!

Isaiah 41:17-20

Today was absolutely amazing...we hit water!  It was a very emotional moment.  After hours of drilling through dirt, rock, mud, clay, sandstone and aquifers down a 40, 60, 80 then 120 foot deep hole, finally WATER came gushing out! Everyone screamed, Mel & I cried.  It was awesome.  There was an overwhelming sense of joy and relief and excitement.  We all felt very much a part of it but the men were the ones completely covered in mud...and the women were beaming with pride (the good kind).

The whole community came out today. We toured the local clinic and went through the village in the morning inviting people to the church for afternoon activities. There were literally over 100 children in our classes.  We taught them how to brush their teeth with clean water, how to avoid dehydration and rehydrate with an oral solution they can mix at home and basic nutrition. We get to share the gospel every day and witness living water spring up from the well.  This is truly a remarkable ministry, it is an honor to be here.

Please take a moment to enjoy the videos Matt has been making for everyone back home. We really want you to see this and experience as much as possible with us! We thank God for you every day!

Monday morning began with a devo led by Paul on purifying the heart which had half of us in tears before breakfast.  Since my part on the hygiene team included a lesson for the kids "clean hands, clean heart" it was particularly moving for me.  Jenny from LWI gave us a tour of the village we are serving in Guayapa Abajo and we were so impacted by how close-knit the community is. They live in extreme poverty and share all of their resources.  They were incredibly welcoming to us as we wandered through their homes - showing us how they live, do laundry and make tortillas, patiently smiling for our pictures and graciously answering our questions. The sense of peace and security among them set our foriegn hearts at rest.  As we walked we invited the women and children to the drill site, on their local catholic church grounds, for hygiene classes.  Meanwhile, they prepared a delicous feast for our lunch which we ate at a leisurely pace before the drilling began. We split into three groups: The Drilling Team - Ato, Brad, Frank, Jerry, Paul & Will; The Video Team - Erik, Lance & Matt; The Hygiene Team - Deb, Mel & Vashti.

As we each went about our work what really impacted me was that when children arrived at the church where we are drilling the well, they had changed their clothes and put on their Sunday best.  They were so eager to learn.  Before the drilling began the guys had time to engage the children in games like limbo and tag, football and red light green light. While they drilled 40 feet through solid rock and dry hard dirt, Vashti, Mel, Sarah, Jenny and I built relationships with the kids, did crafts, taught about hand washing, germs & the transmission of disease.  Thanks to our amazing cameramen, who managed to be everywhere at once and worked nonstop - we have fabulous footage of it all!  We love working together as a team and it feels like no matter what our individual responsibilities are, we function as one body. There is so much more I would love to tell you about, I'm sure the pictures will convey more than words and I am exhausted.  Please pray for us to make great progress tomorrow and be the hands and feet of Jesus in this village. 

Carlos, Norma & Sarah (already a friend after months of emails) from Living Water met us at church and we all went to lunch together with Laura, the Landaverdes. Then we squished into one van and drove through about an hour and a half to Sonsonate. We passed many small villages and saw the extreme poverty and broken bridges from flood damage, dirty river water that they were washing in, yet we were filled with faith (from Brad's message) and the excitement of knowing that we are here to help them access the clean water God has already provided them with. We are all staying in one big house with 4 large bedrooms upstairs, 3 guys in each and 5 women in one. Think family camp in a tropical paradise! I almost feel guilty writing this, but I must say...the weather is perfect, warm and sunny with a gentle breeze, sorry Jay, thank you Jesus. We are so close to the ocean I can hear the waves crashing as I write this - and the roosters crowing, no joke. We found rest for our souls at the beach and then had a meeting with the LWI team and went over the plan for the week. It is wonderful to hear how they involve the local community, the men drilling the well and women making lunches for the team, it is definitely a joint effort. Tomorrow we will begin early so I must go to bed. Please take a moment to watch the iMovie Matt made of our first day here.