Central America Revisited – Day Twelve

Today started the same as the others. I tried to take a cold “shower” – I stand in the shower stall and pour buckets of cold water over me. If nothing else, it will wake you up. Roasaria had breakfast for me when I came out. Juan’s father arrived around 8:15 to take me to the church. Today we completed our discussion on homosexuality, addressing issues such as membership, ordination, marriage, etc. We then moved on to the topic of prosperity theology. It seems strange talking about this topic in a country that has so little and yet we found that our discussion focused on the blessing of God when we share in community. By this standard, the people of El Salvador are very rich and have been blessed greatly by God.

I find it difficult to ignore the struggles these pastors have in trying to minister to their communities. The Methodist church has many obstacles to overcome. The pastors have a gentle spirit and a servant mentality. This is a blessing to witness. I spoke briefly with Brian and with Juan about the possibility of finding ways to support these pastors financially, because they are doing great things with no resources. Volunteer in Mission teams come down, but this is only for construction. The pastors often have to go long periods of time without being paid and the pay they do receive is minimal at best. I pray that God will open doors to provide some significant support to a very committed group of pastors.

Tonight some of us attended the Aldersgate service at Nueva Jerusalen. It was a moving service with the youth involved in a play and then Marta, the pastor, reading from John Wesley’s diary on his experience that night. After the service we shared in some hot chocolate and bread. I had an opportunity to talk with one of the youth, Alexander, for a while. He of course asked me a lot of questions, but it was good to be able to share with yet another wonderful individual.

Tomorrow we are traveling to San Salvador. I don’t know all that we will see, but I am looking forward to the change of pace. Two days of dialogue is mentally taxing.

(Posted after my return due to the unavailability of internet)