August Report

More happened this month than I can possibly write about! The start was a bit slow with Della being sick and me having to learn how to best take care of her but praise God she is doing better now. The latest doctor’s reports are that both Della and our baby, Charlotte, are 100% healthy! The only concern is little Charlotte is still breeched so our doctor has scheduled her birth for the 12^th of September via caesarean.

I spent the month focusing on Spanish when we were not working with a group. I managed to complete the Practice Makes Perfect Vocabulary book and started into two others. Our teammate Lucky rejoined us from her stay in the States on the 7^th. Since her arrival I have had the opportunity to practice and learn more Spanish with her.

Two groups worked for a week each with the Ataco Church of Christ which has resulted in an explosion of new baptized believers. Between these two and the standard outreach there have been more than thirty baptisms in this month! The amount of work that is available to do here makes my head spin.

The first group was from Gainesville Florida and they worked from the 9^th until the 16^th.  They did what no other group has done. Their time was spent focused on the teens of El Salvador. They organized a four day campout that was packed with activities and engaging lessons. At this point I had only had 1.5 weeks to truly focus on Spanish but none the less, I was a translator for a group of 10. I felt I was unready for the responsibility but I was thankful for the chance to grow. After each lesson the 60 campers would break into small groups that were maintained throughout the week for discussion. This made the lessons personal and gave everyone a chance to let their voice be heard. God added five young souls to his family through this outreach. And after the campout Gainesville hosted a VBS for two days. On the day of my return from the camp Della and I celebrated our 9^th and last anniversary without children.

The second group was from Guatemala and they worked from the 25^th until the 31^st. They were of the Biblical Institute of Central America (BICA) which is a small preaching school. Their focus was intense evangelism. Lucky and I went out with them each day and over the course of five days of outreach, eighteen people were baptized! I had never witnessed such a group with such knowledge, passion, and capability as this. I even had the chance to have one of the BICA members help me study with a friend that I have been reaching out to since the first month that we arrived, but he is going to take a bit more work.

We were also part of many other activities this month. We attended a marriage seminar that had visitors from many churches. We visited some friends of Lucky that live 3.5 hours one way from Ataco on the Honduras boarder in a city called Citilá. We have continued our sprint through the bible covering the books Jeremiah through Daniel. I am thankful for the time that I have had to spend studying Spanish and hope to have more time next month. We are both overwhelmed by the thought of having little Charlotte join us in just a few days!!

In Christ,
Caleb & Della

8/31/14: Day 182: 18 in 7 Days

Lucky left early to cook lunch for the church. Della, Samuel and I came later and the building was packed. After service three more people were baptized! We had spaghetti at the church and then we came back home to rest. At 4:00 Lucky and I went to a sister’s house to have afternoon service. After it was over they served hot pineapple pudding for everyone. Then we came back to the church building for another baptism. This is the 18^th baptism in the last 7 days! There are so many people; I don’t even know all their names! Be in prayer that we can continue to study with all the new Christians and that they will have the chance to mature in their faith.  Around 7:00 Paolo and Bryan came over for the rematch. We played Tikal and two games of Samurai until 11:00. I also cooked chocolate bananas for everyone.  

Kids eating spaghetti at the church building 

Morning assembly

A family added to our family

Welcome our new sister!

Welcome our new sister!

8/30/14: Day 181: Inmaculada Medical

We got to the church building at 6:30 to start working on the pancake breakfast. I set up the chairs and went to the market to get coffee while Della and Lucky cooked. At 7:30 people from the town started coming in to eat. Our first guests were the police from across the street. At 8:20 BICA arrived and they studied with those that were eating. There was one baptism and several seeds planted as a result of this outreach. At 9:30 we left for Inmaculada and we delivered some food and had two bible studies. We tried for a third study that was 30 minutes of walking down a muddy road but our contact was not there. At 12:30 I took a crew back to the church building and ate lunch. A medical mission was hosted in Inmaculada from 1:00 until 4:00. I rejoined the group at 5:00 for the campaign. We managed to dismantle the canopies in record time. As I was taking down the last one there was some water that had accumulated on the top that soaked me. I got a bit cold and my watch died.  Then I took a load of people back down to the church building for dinner. We had pupusas for dinner and I arrived back home at 8:00. 

Free breakfast!

People eating free pancakes and the Word

Della taking a rest from cooking

Samuel talking about God

Nest talking about God

Neftali is the guy in the red. He was baptized today!

Della with only 13 more days to go!

8/29/14: Day 180: BICA Inmaculada

Only two weeks from today until our baby arrives!!! I woke up at 5:15 to go let Paolo out because he had an early class today. Then at 8:30 I went to the church building to join the morning devotional from BICA. Then Carlos and I went to Triunfo to study with a contact he had made. We studied for a while with a lady named Juanita and she said she wanted to get baptized. So I walked as fast as I could back to the house to get the car and then went back and got her and her family. After she was baptized her son, Darwin, said he wanted to be baptized too. Then we took them back to Triunfo. I told my evangelizing partner Carlos about Bryan and he said he was ready to study with him next. On our way to Bryan’s house we saw him in the market and he rode with us to my house. We studied for a long while but it turns out he needs more time before he sees the light. Bryan then ate lunch with us while Carlos went back to Triunfo for another study. At 3:30, Wendi and some other ladies from Ahuachapán came to visit Della and attend the evening campaign. It poured rain so at 4:30 I went to the church building to get towels and took everyone up to Inmaculada. We dried all the chairs and then my evangelizing partner Carlos gave the lesson. His preaching was quite impressive but the turnout was a bit low due to the rain. We got home at 7:30 and Paolo couldn’t make it for the games so everyone went to bed at 9:00. There were a total of three baptisms today. 

Welcome our new sister Juanita

Welcome Juana's son Darwin

Juanita and her son Darwin

Wendi!!

8/28/14: Day 179: Out of Shape

Samuel taught the morning devotional for BICA. Then Carlos (Our teammate) came and outlined the plans for the rest of the day for BICA. We started by going up to the cross that overlooks the city of Ataco. A couple of the guys thought it was a good idea to run up the mountain so I got stupid and joined in. When I got to the top, I felt like I was going to die. I lay down with my head spinning and did my best to hold on to my breakfast. I managed to get back home after laying there for 15 minutes. Della and Lucky said I looked super pale and rested on the couch for an hour. I am apparently super out of shape. At 12:30 Carlos brought his other daughter over and Della, Lucky, and I went to visit his wife, Linda. Linda was now at home and we got to see her beautiful new baby. Lucky even got to hold her for a while. Then we went by the fabric store and the grocery store and then back home. At 6:00 Samuel, Paolo, and Bryan came over and we played board games till 11:00. We played Power Grid and Tikal and I managed to win both but they said they were wanting to play again tomorrow night and they were gonna win.

BICA group at the overlook

Lucky Briana

8/27/14: Day 178: Another 5!

Today was another blessed opportunity to watch BICA in action. We started by listening to a short devotional at the church building. Then we walked to Triunfo again. Yesterday another group had made a contact that wanted help today so Carlos and I joined them. The study lasted about 1.5 hours and Carlos covered many of the same verses he did in his studies with others yesterday. At the end the young mother we were studying with said she was ready! So we rode back to the church and I was told that they were out of towels. I went back to the house and Della said “Take two just in case”. Just after baptizing the young mother another lady appeared who had walked back who said she wanted to be baptized too! I wonder if there would have been another if I had gotten three towels… It was about lunch time so I went back to the house and ate. At 1:00 BICA hosted a medical mission in Triunfo and they saw 41 people throughout the day. Lucky and I joined back with them at 3:00 and met Carla (one of the teens) and we walked with her. Lucky was telling her about yesterday and Carla kept saying ¿En serio? Which means, Seriously? Or For Real? But she said it really funny so I kept repeating it. At 4:30 I went back to the church building for a third baptism! Then I walked back to Triunfo and listened to the campaign. At the invitation a man named Francisco came forward and said he wanted to be baptized. So we went back to the building and after he was baptized another older lady appeared that said that she too wanted to be baptized! So today, God added another five to the Kingdom!  Then I went back to the house and got to speak to mom, dad, and Christina on Skype. Samuel spent the night again and we played on the computer until 10:00 and then I went to bed.

Our new sister Fatima

Our new sisters Wendy and Fatima

Lucky with two girls from Triunfo

Welcome new sister!

Our new brother Francisco 

Welcome new Sister

8/26/14: Day 177: 6 Births!

At 1:00 AM little Briana was born, daughter of our teammates Carlos and Linda. Lucky and I went to the church building and we met the BICA group. They were singing and then gave a short devotional. Then each stood and gave their name and dream. After they finished it was our turn to introduce ourselves and I said my dream is to speak Spanish. Then half the group walked with Lucky and I and the other half rode in the van to Triunfo. We split into teams and I was put with the only one who knew a little English. My partner, also named Carlos, and I proceeded to start knocking on doors and talking to people on the street. Carlos knew his bible well and was full of passion. BICA is a preaching school in Guatemala that is here to grow the church purely through door knocking and nightly campaigns. BICA apparently came last year about this time and some of the current members of the Ataco church were contacted then. From 9:00 AM to 11:30 Carlos and I (mainly Carlos) talked at length with three people. Then Lucky, Della, and I went to Ahuachapán to visit Carlos and Linda. We stopped and got lunch on the way and brought it to them but sadly we were unable to see the baby at that time. Public hospitals here are difficult; commonly you can’t even meet your own baby for 12+ hours after birth and only one visitor is allowed in at a time with you as their escort. The birth went well for little Briana and they will be released from the hospital at noon tomorrow. Then we went back to the house and I had to work on making a copy of some of the ESL material before I could rejoin the group. While I was working Javier came over and I helped him get a Shakespeare play in Spanish printed off the web.  At 4:00 Lucky and I rejoined the BICA group. I was told that they had had two baptisms in the afternoon from contacts made in the morning. I stood in on another study that Carlos (from BICA) was having. Then the campaign started and lasted until 7:00. When the campaign ended three more people said they wanted to be baptized! Two of which were in a family that was first contacted by Lucky months ago and they been attending activities of the church now for a long time. Praise God that he is at work adding to our family! Then we took down the canopies and went back to the church building to eat pupusas for dinner. Samuel then spent the night with us. So today there was one physical birth and five spiritual births! 

Linda and her new baby!

The BICA team

One of the siblings of our rabit 

The mom and next litter of our rabit

Evening campaign

Welcome our new sister!

Welcome George!

Welcome Juana!

Juana, Lucky, and George

Lucky and our new sister

8/25/14: Day 176: Scheduled!

I studied Spanish from 7:00 until 10:00. Then we went to Ahuachapán to pick up some copies and go to the grocery store. When we came back to the house, quickly ate lunch and then left for Sonsonate for the baby doctor. We had lots of questions for the doctor and we discussed them on our way. We arrived at 1:50 and there was a crowd so we had to wait until 4:30 to be seen. The doctor said little Charlotte has one week left to get in the right position or we are going to have to have a C-Section. We are very thankful to have her as our doctor. She took the time and care to answer every one of our questions. So, pending a turn, little Charlotte will be joining us on September 12^th!!! Only 18 days from now!!!!!! On our way home we stopped and got a rocking chair. 

Rain at the doctor's office

Our new rocking chair

8/24/14: Day 175: Almost Rejoiced

We woke up and got ready for church. Just as we were walking out the door little Carlos showed up asking us to pop 6 bags of popcorn so we ended up a little late. After the service big Carlos and 14 teens came over for class from 10:00 – 11:30. Della was feeling tired but every time she tried to lay down the doorbell rang. Each time it was one of the teens looking for Lucky who was out this afternoon. Lucky met a lady who wanted someone to study with her boyfriend so I came to the church at 3:00 to do that. We studied from about 3:15 till 5:30 and I know he is on the edge. I was thankful for the opportunity to do some evangelism because I have been spending most of my time at home studying Spanish lately. The study went right through the afternoon service.  Then we spent the rest of the evening talking.

8/23/14: Day 174: Marriage Seminar

Lucky heard noises on the roof during the night so she didn’t sleep much and neither did we. Lucky started back the Café y Pan today and one of the teens came to help her. I picked up Della’s lab results. Then came back and I loaded the café in the car and drove them to the market. At 8:30 Della and I went to Apaneca for a marriage seminar. Parking was tight and our friend Ricardo scraped a pole. The location was beautiful; they even had a couple of monkeys in a cage. There were about 100 people there from about 10 different churches in the area. The guest speaker was from San Salvador. There were two morning sessions split by a 20 minute café break. Then lunch and then a question and answer session. Della felt like she needed some rest so we left after lunch. Bryan came over at 7:00 and we made the origami heart ring and unopenable envelope.  

Monkey

Lunch at the Marriage Seminar

Big moth in the house

8/22/14: Day 173: Citalá

At 7:30 we went to the laboratory for Della. Then I went to the market to get ice and a couple of Sprites. We left the house at 8:00 and went to Ahuachapán to check on some copies that we had ordered. They were still not finished so we continued on to Santa Ana to cash the insurance refund check. This is the third bank that I have had to go to and thankfully they accepted it. Then we continued driving for a very long time. We saw some beautiful landscape of El Salvador that we had never seen before. Lucky, Della, and I arrived in Citalá at 11:50. We were there for Lucky to visit a friend and to see the work that is being accomplished. A man named Marcos and his wife (Bessy) has been working with a small congregation there for the past one and a half years. We ate a picnic lunch with Bessy and then we toured the church building. The city of Citalá has a population of about 2000 people and about 14 regularly attend the services. There is a big catholic church and several other denominations. As we walked across town Marcos seemed to know everyone and he had an outgoing personality. We also met another missionary from the U.S. that was three months into her year commitment. After exploring the town we got in the car and traveled to two neighboring cities and visited the church of Christ in each. We first went to San Ignacio which has 60-70 members. Then we continued to La Palma which is a bit smaller but it has a school that is attached and some housing. There is a church in the states for each of the three and each sends a small mission group here twice a year. Marcos said that there were about 200 people who came to the campaign that the mission group coordinated in Citalá last month. We finished our time together by going to eat at Pollo Campero (Basically KFC). We left at 6:00 and I was a bit nervous having to travel through the middle of nowhere in the dark. I counted seven different crossing signs! There was a crossing sign for: rabbits, lizards, cats, cows, people, dude on a horse, and turtles! I wish I had gotten pictures of all of them. We got home around 9:00 and went to bed shortly after. 

Citala church building

Inside Citala church building

The catholic church in front of the park in Citala

The river that runs along side of Citala

Lucky, Della, Me, Marcos, Bessy

Cows strolling through Citala

Homemade bicycle with a moter on it

School at La Palma

Church / School at La Palma

8/21/14: Day 172: Memorize Spanish

I found a Spanish poem as I was studying that Lucky liked and it was full of new words for me. So I spent the morning memorizing half of it. Then in the afternoon I memorized some scriptures in Spanish. Around 2:00 Hector dropped by but he only stayed for a moment. Della felt good today so she came to the small group bible study with me. When we got home we ate dinner and then watched a movie.  

8/20/14: Day 171: Plans

Carlos and Ricardo came over for breakfast. Ricardo is a member of the church here in Ataco and he has been working on a project for over a year now. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast cooked by Lucky and then Ricardo shared the details of his vision. This lasted from 9:00 until 11:50. At 12:00 Lucky went to have a meeting and Della and I stayed at the house. Their meeting lasted three hours. At 3:00 I went to get some copies made for the ladies class and on the way I saw Lucky returning from the meeting. Della and Lucky cooked salmon sandwiches for all the ladies and then hosted the class at our house from 4:00 till 5:20. Della taught the lesson and from all I heard, she did a wonderful job. I spent the time in the bedroom studying Spanish. At 5:30 we went to the church building and had service until 7:30. When we got home we all talked until Bryan came over at 8:20. I had fixed his computer earlier today so I gave it back to him. He only stayed for a few minutes. Then we watched the movie we didn’t finish last night due to the power outage.

Ladies' class at our house