Saved before the Bell

Salvadorian students listening intently

Let's think back to those great tv shows of the 90's and remember this tune: "It's all right, cause I'm saved by the bell!!!" Today some Salvadorian children were actually saved before the bell :) We were able to enter PUBLIC schools and share about Jesus!

We split into 5 family teams and went into 5 different classrooms to teach a character lesson on honesty. We targeted the 4th-6th grade classes which had about 30-40 children per classroom.

Christ Chapel kids practicing their illustrations

One of our mini-missionaries leading the illustration

The students were engaged, interested, and really taking in the truths we taught. The American children with us were great helpers doing the ilustrations to go with the lesson and passing out candy as a reward to participating students. In each classroom we tied in our honestly lesson into the Gospel. We emphasized that though you may have lied or committed other sins in the past, if you trust in Jesus he will wash away each and every sin. The kids really seemed to respond to the personal stories we told of how we had lied and God had forgiven us. We asked the kids to pray if they would like to accept Christ as their Savior and many kids in each class raised their hands to say that they had. Each and every child we visited will be followed up by a local church to be led in a study of the Bible.

The most encouraging part of our task is the fact that after we introduce them to Jesus, we don't have to leave them alone in their faith. There are wonderful local missionaries and churches just waiting to build up the faith of new believers in the places we go.

We will do this same lesson every day that we are here and are excited to share in God's work in the hearts of these people. More stories to come!

Welcome to El Salvador!

View from the Hotel

We are on the ground in San Salvador for our first full day. Yesterday was more about getting acclimated and comfortable. But today was when the real fun started.

We celebrated Sunday with the Vida Nueva Church at the Crowne Plaza San Salvador. Pastor Julio brought an interesting sermon on Living the Christian Life in Hard Times. Thank goodness they had translation available for us gringos.

Worship with Vida Nueva (New Life) Church

Our group headed out to a nice gated community in Lourdes, a suburb of San Salvador, for a Family Fiesta celebrating Father's Day. We paired up with some translators and hit the streets to invite people to the party. We had bounce houses, entertainment, drama, food, and a presentation of the Gospel.

Some of our kids at the fiesta

In the end there were about 300 residents that showed up for the party. There was a good number that indicated making a decision for Christ. Those people will get follow up visits tomorrow evening (I know! Pretty cool! Right?)

As for us, we are off to the schools to teach about honesty and share the Gospel story again.

~Kevin Harris

Mini-Missionaries

                         

                                                                                             The photos below were drawn before we left by teams of siblings as they tried to envision what they

    thought their family would look like in El Salvador.  
(click on the picture for a closer look) 

                                                                          

I love the fact that this trip is a FAMILY mission trip. Parents and kids get to serve the Lord side by side as a family. I LOVE that! Did you know that almost half of this mission team is composed of kids!? Out of 27 people on the trip, there are 12 kids under the age of 12! Our airplane will be full of mini missionaries. This is a first for CCBC to bring so many kids on a trip overseas and I hope that it won’t be the last!

Even as children, if these kids are believers in Jesus, they are just as much called to the Great Commission as us adults. Jesus didn’t say, “Go and make disciple of all nations only if you are legally an adult over age 18…” No! I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the disciples Jesus was talking directly to at this moment were indeed under 18. In fact, the Bible is chock-full of examples of God using the youngest believers to further His kingdom. There is Samuel, King David, King Josiah, Mary the mother of Jesus, some of Jesus' disciples, and Paul's trainee Timothy, just to name a few. God has always used the young to make His name great!

If you have been a part of the children’s ministry at CCBC in any way, I just want to say thank you. As the kids on our trip have gone through CCBC’s children’s ministry, they have been trained well for the task ahead as they go to make disciples in El Salvador. In the children’s ministry, sharing the gospel with every single kid that walks through the doors is a huge priority. But it doesn’t stop after a kid becomes saved, that is when the discipleship begins. They are then trained in ways to share the gospel with others as mini-missionaries. They are given tools to use, such as evangecubes or color-coded bracelets, which help to tell the story of Salvation. For the kids going on our trip, sharing the gospel isn’t something new that they have to figure out. They are ready! In one of our meetings before the trip, we were practicing sharing the Gospel in front of everyone using an evangecube and one of our mini-missionaries explained it so well, so clearly, and so confidently.  She, and all the other kids, have been trained well by both their parents and their church.

I am so excited to see the ways in which God uses these children to further His kingdom in El Salvador. As a Mommy, I am especially excited to see how God uses the youngest member of our team, my 11 month old baby,to bring Him glory too! The kids will be able to minister in ways that adults wouldn’t be able to. They will better be able to connect to the Salvadorian children. The childlike faith may be the thing that encourages a grown-up if they have unsure faith. As we visit homes together as family units, we hope that the Salvadorian’s hearts will be softened toward us as we relate to them family to family. If strangers from another country came knocking on your door, wouldn’t you be more likely to listen to them if they had cute little kids by their side!? Of course! But not only will those kids be able to minister to the Salvadorians well, but I know they will be such examples to us grown-ups from Christ Chapel too.

I pray that 2 Timothy 4:12 becomes true for them:

 “Let no one despise you because of your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”