Memorial Day is a holiday that normally finds me home. I don’t know how you spent the day – BBQ, picnic, family, whatever – but I spend the day on an airplane coming home from El Salvador. This is my final installment in the journal of my recent trip.

Amigos

Here is a photo posted on FaceBook from our get together last night with some of my dear friends from years ago. What a special treat to be able to spend some time with them. When you have a family type relationship with people, it doesn’t seem to matter how many years have past when you finally get together. It seems as though it was just yesterday you saw each other.

Thanks for your prayers for Hilary Mehl. Once I found out which hospital she was in, I discovered it was only a couple of minutes from Luis’ house where I was staying. So, we left a bit early for the airport so we could stop and check on her. Some of you might have received Kathy’s email report, but just let me say I was very encouraged. This condition, Ludwig’s Angina, is nothing to take lightly. However, it appears that progress was made overnight and the the current round of antibiotics is beginning to take effect. We had a very sweet visit with mom and daughter.

My plane touched down at KCI a little bit after 7:00 this evening. It’s great to be home. Even though my Memorial Day has been different, this is the day we set aside to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Here’s a great post from my friend Tina that I think you will find interesting and a fitting topic for this special day. Click here.

We awoke this morning to the news that the President had put the country on Red Alert due to the continual rains of this tropical storm. Guatemala is the country that has really suffered. The last I heard the death toll was over 80 and rising.

Pastor Luis knew that this would quite literally put a damper on the attendance this morning in church, as they were announcing in the media for people to stay at home and not travel unless absolutely necessary. We  were, however, pleased that more showed up this morning than we might have expected. I preached both services and it was a very sweet moment to be back in this same pulpit after all these years. Most people are new since my era, but I have been able to reconnect with a good number who are still here.

One urgent prayer request. Our KCBT missionary family here in San Salvador, Jim and Kathy Mehl, have a very sick 17-year-old daughter. Hilary had her wisdom teach pulled not long ago and developed a condition known as Ludwig’s Angina, a very serious and powerful infection. She has been hospitalized the past several days and will probably be there for a time to come until the antibiotics they are giving her begin to take effect. A couple of doctors in our KCBT family of churches spoke to her by phone today and assured her that the treatment and medications she is receiving are the same she would get in the States. I know that had to make her feel better. I contacted a surgeon friend of mine here who happens to know the Mehls and he reported the same thing to me after speaking with Kathy. We got back too late tonight, but I hope to stop by the hospital on my way to the airport in the morning. Continue to pray for Hilary’s speedy recovery from a very critical condition.

Speaking of prayer, last Tuesday we prayed for a family to get their visa to return to the field of service in south central Asia. I spoke with them this morning and their visa finally came through. They should be leaving shortly. Again, thanks for your prayers.

This evening, some of the folks who were young people when I was here organized a get-together at one of their homes. What a great time it was! We laughed, told stories, shared our hearts and were reminded that no matter how long the separation may be, when there is truly a family type relationship, you can meet after an absence of many years and it seems like hardly any time at all has passed. In the morning I’ll start my journey back to Kansas City.

It was raining when I arrived late Thursday morning and it is still raining. There have only been a few brief breaks in this almost constant rain. This is the beginning of rainy season, but this much rain at the beginning of the seasons is rare. No one can remember a start to the season quite like this. Rainy season normally means a good storm rolls in sometime in the late afternoon and rains for a couple of hours, maybe a bit longer, and that’s it. They are telling me that there is a tropical storm that is hanging over Guatemala and causing this.

For any friends of mine in San Salvador that haven’t heard from me since I’ve been here, please do not think I’m mad of that I don’t care and that’s why I haven’t called. It’s been years since I have been at the Miramonte church and they are making up for lost time. It’s been a constant stream of activity. I’m sorry, but I’m sure you understand.

This morning  early I was the teacher for a four-hour counseling seminar. Pastor Luis was worried that some would not be able to attend because of the rain, but if anyone was missing they sure fooled me. During our time this morning I was able to greet some more dear friends I had not seen for years.

I spent the afternoon with Drs. Jose Roberto and Roxanna. We first met when they were dating in medical school. They said they have a picture of me at their engagement party from way back when. Some other leaders from the couples ministry accompanied us as we spent a wonderful afternoon together having lunch at a great restaurant chain that began from a place in Nicaragua where Cheryl and I used to eat when we lived there many years ago. Jose Roberto loves coffee as much as I do and we finished off the afternoon with yet another cup of Salvadoran brew.

One more day in San Salvador. I am very excited to preach tomorrow in both services. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A group of about 30 pastors gathered this morning for a meeting the Miramonte family of churches. My job was to minister to them. I wanted it to be a very informal time with freedom to discuss and ask questions. They did a great job with some mature and probing questions. I laid out the first chapter of Nehemiah with some observations and applications for pastors. A few of the men dated back to my days, and it was great to see them again. For the most part this is a new generation, and at times I felt a bit old.

We spent the morning together and then ate lunch at Pollo Campero. Let the good times roll!

Tonight was a dinner for married couples. In just a few minutes, I was able to revolutionize their sex lives, diagnose any sexual problems that have been haunting them, spell out the remedy and still deal with any miscellaneous sexual questions they might have lingering. Well, it might not have been quite like that, but this was more or less the theme that I had for tonight and I did the best I could.

Again, as was the case this morning, there were several there tonight from years gone by and I was thrilled to see them. Some were dear friends I had not seen for years. Others were people that I did not recognize but some told me they came to Christ under me and that I baptized them in such and such a year. Some could even recite specific sermons I had preached. Wow! I couldn’t do that.

Tomorrow morning it is up early again to begin a four-hour counselor training session at 8:00am.

Entre nos

Me quedo asombrado ante los muchos cambios en Cuscatlán. Una de las cosas que más me ha sorprendido tiene que ver con el café. En mis tiempos, los guanacos tenían fama  de producir buen café, pero exportaban casi todo y no tenían idea que hacer  con esos granitos de color café. Había algo que se vendía en los supers que se llamaba Café Listo. ¡Guácala!

Hoy he visto la evidencia de la obra de Dios aquí. Por todos lados hay un creciente número de lugares que preparan y venden el buen café. Los guanacos ha llegado a ser consumidores bien cultos y educados. ¡No saben el  gozo que eso me da! ¡Felicidades a mis queridos guanacos!

Me han dicho que el país ha decidido que no es posible competir con los gigantes como Colombia y El Brazil en cuanto a cantidad. Así que se han dedicado a cualidad y es obvio que les va muy bien.  Soy un niño muy feliz.