This morning we did a little souvenir shopping in Santa Ana. Santa Ana is the second largest city in El Salvador and gives us a glimpse of urban life here. After the little alleyway booths had all of our money, we walked around the city square. We could not see the theater this time because a show was in progress but we did look inside the cathedral. In the square, James stopped for a boot-shine. His boots have never looked better, and he got a great chance to interact with the shoe shine man.

Lunch today was another great meal in a church members home then we were out for more visits. One thing we have begun to see is how our visiting has progressed from year to year. That’s a good reminder of our role here: to share.

This evening I helped Sam and Kacey with the children’s class. It was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed singing their loud songs and answering questions as I talked. It made me think that we really lack joy in our churches back home sometimes. I hope we aren’t making worship another chore for our kids, when it should be a time of celebration.

We have been invited to visit a local school tomorrow. I’m really excited about that. What is most exciting to me is seeing how God is using those on our teams and how they are growing through the mission trip experience. It seems that every day we learn something new. I hope as we go home we will also be open to all that the Lord does around us and grow daily in Him.