First Week without the STINTERS

Hola amigos! We are almost done with our first week with the STINTERS gone and us all on our own. It has been difficult because our main university we will be on, Matias, has been closed this whole week. For the first time, we have had to plan and create our own events and activities for the students of Vida Estudiantil. God has blessed us with so many different opportunities to do with the students. Tuesday night, Manuel and Cecy (the local staff couple for Vida Estudiantil) invited us to go see an Athletes and Action basketball game. We met up with some of the students and cheered for the players. Anna was able to share the gospel with a woman who was sitting on the bleachers. Seeing this made me realize that we are not just here for the Salvadorian students, but to ANYONE we encounter here at El Salvador. Jennifer, a student at Matias, made us homemade popsicles from her family's business. They were dish dish delish! Yesterday, we invited all the students to go see the hit Pixar movie, Up. Little did we know, we were about to watch a whole movie in Spanish with no English subtitles! It definitely forced us to practice and learn more Spanish. All the students loved us and it was just a good time to get to know and connect with all of them. This morning, we had a "date lunch" with Jesus. We all spent about three hours just with the Lord. It was just so cool to meditate on Him and be able to devote time where it is just us and the Lord. After, we organized a soccer game for any of the students to come and play with us at a local park in San Salvador. We had a pretty good turn out of students from Vida Estudiantil and also we were able to make friends with the locals who happened to play with us. It was so enjoyable to play in the rain and and not care at all how muddy we were! Seeing the huge smiles on the students' faces when they scored a goal or make a good move was so amazing to witness. Reflecting back on just that game, I felt reassurance of my purpose here. I am so excited for what God has planned for us this weekend. I pray that our team can just rest and find comfort in God and the unknown head of us. A praise for Mike because his health is gradually improving and is almost 100% better! If you could keep praying for healthy and safety for our team that would be amazing! Thanks for reading and we will talk to you soon!