This is Not a Good Bye

Blog post written by Crys Bettes, McKinney, TX

“And do not forget to do good, and to share with others.  For with such sacrifices, God is pleased.” - Hebrews 13:16  

I’m writing this blog post on our bus ride to the airport as we head home. I can’t help but sit here and think over the events of this last week, especially our last day. We spent our final day of this mission trip gifting a day at the beach to the staff and volunteers of Sus Hijos along with their families. This day gives our missionary partners, who spend so much of their time and energy loving on so many, a day to be poured into, to be prayed over and to be lifted up by their brothers and sisters from the United States.  It gave us the opportunity to really connect with them and time for their families to just relax and have fun. Jenni, the director of His Hands His Feet, takes great care to instruct the team to be intentional with our time at the beach by asking members of the team to volunteer to pray over each person who has served with our team throughout the week. My husband John and I prayed over two young men whot made so much of an impact on us in just one short week. They each spoke life and brought so much joy into our time here. They gave us so much more than we could ever give to them and it was an honor to pray for them.

My husband and I came to El Salvador with heavy hearts as a result of many different events that transpired in one of the most difficult years we have ever faced. Through their hearts to teach, lead, and bring laughter and joy to those around them, God used both of these men to help us to lay aside the things that had stained our hearts and to start the new year with a better outlook, with so much more joy and hope for the future. We will never be able to fully express the gratitude we have for our amazing missionary friends but I hope that they feel our prayers for them from miles away. I pray they know that they will forever have a special place in our hearts. May they know that their sacrifices don’t go unnoticed and that they now have gained two more “Gringo” siblings from America! I hope we will see them again. Although it was difficult to leave to our missionary friends, we know that this was not a “Good bye,” but a “See you later!”