Hello, friends! So much has been happening since I last sent out an update. I’m excited to share with you what God has been doing recently in San Salvador.
At the end of February, Silvia and I made a whirlwind trip back to Ohio to attend a fundraising event for the Dental Clinic that opened last year as part of our Volcano Children’s Center. We were also able to touch base with several of our friends and partner churches in the area. Please join me in praising the Lord for over $50,000 raised at the event put on by the Rotary Club of Maumee, Ohio! I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity that we saw there.
Mission Team Mania!
In March, we hosted our first two missions teams of the year. The first from Total Health and Pompey Community Church, and the second from Rock City Church. The Total Health provided free medical consultations to 211 people in the Volcano and in a beach city called La Libertad. They also brought some great crafts for the children at our Centers. Two women accepted Christ with this team during evangelism at the clinic!
It was great seeing some dear friends from my home church, Rock City, when they came to serve with others I had yet to meet! They spent time serving the children at families at our Centers in Soyapango and the Volcano. They put on Bible studies, taught the kids about God’s love for them, and worked on various small construction projects. For the fifth year in a row, Rock City also put on a Shoe Give event at both of our Centers and in total provided about 250 pairs of shoes to those in need! They also supported our San Salvador church at an evangelism event where we put on a concert at a public plaza, sharing the gospel and inviting people to church.
You can see short videos of the Total Health trip HERE, and of Rock City’s team HERE.
He has risen!
In El Salvador, the week leading up to Easter (Semana Santa) is a national holiday, so most people don’t work and schools are out for the week. This meant that our team got some much needed rest after all their hard work with the mission teams. We took advantage and did a little sightseeing as well!
This chapter touches on three main topics:
- We are called to be a living sacrifice for God (v. 1-2)
- We are called to serve humbly using our unique gifts to complement the Body (v. 3-8)
- Love is shown in action, not in words or by doing what is easy (v. 9-21)
I’ll be the first to say I’m a long way off from Jesus’s, but I’ve been motivated by this Scripture to be more intentional in these three things. I hope you will be as well! Let’s keep working together to advance His Kingdom.
Bendiciones,
Ali
Prayer Requests
- For the multitude of planning that I’ll be doing in April and May to prepare for the seven mission teams that will be with us in June-August.
- With all of the action in our ministry, I’ve been less diligent with my devotional and daily quality time with the Lord. Please join me in prayer that I will be able to make that time my top priority as I truly believe it impacts all that I do here as a missionary.
- For my dear friend and fellow missionary, Ashley Arend. This is her last month on staff with us at Iglesia Gran Comisión San Salvador. She will also be getting married in June! Her and her future husband, Mario, will still be living in San Salvador but she has a lot of changes coming her way. Please pray for the shifting of responsibilities we will be making due to her departure and for her and Mario as they prepare to begin married life together!
alihoward.co 