Yo regreso! (I'm back!)

[kimana517]

Yep, I'm back. It was an exhausting and wonderful trip, and very different from last year (though last year was also exhausting and wonderful). I intend to write a real trip report later, but for now, here's a taste.

Our first morning in El Salvador.

Things I miss when I'm in El Salvador:
- air conditioning
- my family
- pizza
- air conditioning
- speaking the same language as 99% of the people around me
- normal cars (in E. S. we pile into the backs of pickup trucks. It's actually pretty fun, but takes some getting used to.)
- seeing healthy, loved dogs (it was so good to see Mandy yesterday - shiny coat, loved, no patches of fur missing, and you can't see her ribs)
- french fries
- air conditioning
- food variety - i.e., not rice, beans, rice, potatoes, rice, chicken, and rice
- my soft, padded bed
- air conditioning
- chocolate
- tank tops
- sleeping/cuddling with Isaac (they don't have enough rooms for married couples to sleep together)
- sleeping in
- my LJ friends
- air conditioning

Things I miss when I'm home:
- fresh fruit at every meal
- being with friends all the time
- sweet El Salvadoran people
- adorable kids everywhere
- gorgeous scenery (Y'all know I love Florida, but E.S. is pretty much perfect in the scenery department -- it has gorgeous mountains, but also beautiful white sand beaches with palm trees, and it's warm enough to enjoy them both year-round!)
- being immersed in ministry most of each day
- not forgetting my devos, 'cause we do them as a group each morning.
- plantain chips
- cooked plantains for breakfast - yum!
- brightening someone's day just by saying hi and smiling at them (and not having them think you're weird for doing so when you don't know them)
- rain pounding on a tin roof, putting me to sleep
- a visible reminder of why Isaac and I are going to adopt all our kids
- spending 90% of my waking hours with Isaac

Things that both have in common:
- both are democratic countries with a socialist/communist likely to be elected this year. Most of America will likely survive intact despite a socialist president, but it will wreak total havoc in a country like El Salvador.
- fire ants (I got 8 bites, 4 of them spread between two toes. Apparently Repel does not repel fire ants.)
- a great church to be a part of
- the people need a Savior. Here, material things and other beliefs get in the way, and there the pre-Reformation-like Catholic church has a cult vice grip on people, keeping them living in fear. That country desperately needs a Martin Luther to open its eyes.
- they feel like home to me.

Comments

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Well, the bullying done by the Catholic church down there is very similar to the giant pre-Reformation church, as is the discouraging people to study the Bible themselves and emphasizing priests as God's intercessors, etc. The other things are where mysticism and such has crept in. But as for works salvation and lack of assurance, isn't that what Luther objected to in the first place, being so moved by the verse "the just shall live by FAITH"? So that was around back then. Plus there were the Crusades and all (well before Luther, of course), which get blamed on all of Christianity, even we evangelicals today. I could definitely see some crusades happening in E.S., especially if the communists take over and make it an even less stable environment. But yes, these days the Catholic church in most of the world would be appalled by what is done in their name in this and other third world countries. But because of how people associate all Christians with Catholicism, I hope it doesn't come out, because I think in the end it would do more harm than good, what with people saying, "Oh, you know those Christians, always trying to bully governments and wring people dry of their money," etc. But I think the Pope would be appalled.

[lupinskitten.livejournal.com]

I said their quirks and/or superstitions are much different from the pre-Reformation Church, not that the overall emphasis on intermediaries is much different from the Church of the past. I'm sorry if I was not clear.

If I remember right, Luther first objected to the selling of indulgences, and that prompted him to form a list of where the church differed from scripture. And then it all kind of exploded in his face -- he never meant for it to go the way it did.