Feliz Cumpleanos at the beach!!!
Post written by Jenni Ramsey
I still can't believe that today is our last day in El Salvador. This week has been absolutely amazing, and the days have gone by so quickly! We are still processing all the things that God has done. We all sense that many of His plans and purposes for this trip will be revealed in each of our lives in the days, months and even years to come.
We started our day today by visiting the tourist open air market. We purchased lots of souvenirs and treasures to bring home. With the encouragement of the team, I purchased a beautiful Salvadorian dress for our future daughter. I have never purchased any clothes for her and it was an exciting step of faith for me. I will keep it in our daughter's room as we wait for the day when we finally meet her.
We arrived at the beach around 11:30 a.m. with 25 total in our caravan! Our group included our missionary host family (the Ackermans), the missionary family from the Calvary Chapel home (the Kneppers) and our three amazing translators (who became close friends and partners in ministry).
The Knepper Family, Calvary Chapel missionaries from So. Cal.
Stephen, Brittany, Christina & Chris (one of our translators who has a deep passion for the children of his country)
Orsy (the funniest translator in all of El Salvador). He gave our team unforgetable moments of laughter.
Kurt Ackermann (our host missionary) & Adrian Martell (one of our translators) who helped Susan and Jenni lead a teenage mom to Christ.
We had an incredible day of R&R at the beach. There were some amazing conversations and connections that God divinely orchestrated. Those details will be shared in the days to come. Needless to say, God was moving even as we relaxed and processed our week together at the gorgeous beach resort. We truly enjoyed the pools, restaurant, playground and breathtaking ocean and surf at the Club Salvadoreno in El Sunzal.
One last photo with Christina & Brittany before sending them off to Christina's Salvadorian family. They will be staying in El Salvador for 10 more days and hope to minister to the handicapped kids along with Kurt next week.
We also celebrated Stephanie's birthday today. Kurt purchased a cake for Steph and we brought it to the beach as a surprise. Even though many of us met for the first time this week, it truly felt like one big family celebrating together. I know that I will be back here again soon, and many of the team members want to come back as well. It's great to know that we can continue to serve alongside these missionaries (and translators) in the days and years to come.
We ended the day at a local "pupusa" restaurant. Pupusas are a native Salvadorian dish (like an American quesadilla cooked in a thick, rice flour tortilla. The food and fellowship was awesome. We enjoyed the Saladorian mariaches and the soothing evening rain.
The exciting night life at the mission house (checking emails & Facebook)
The exciting night life at the mission house (checking emails & Facebook)
We are packing our bags and preparing to leave the mission house at 6:30 a.m. I hope to post more tomorrow.
Thank you for all of your prayers, support and encouragement on our amazing adventure!
-Jenni for the team