Like Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight

So, while we were unloading 100 lb. bags of concrete, two Jehovah´s Witnesses walked by us. They were white Americans with white shirts, black ties, dress pants, and name tags. Keep in mind, this is in one of the poorest neighborhoods around.

We were covered in mud, laboring alongside our El Salvadorian brothers in Christ as well as some pre-Christian El Salvadorians. For a moment, I became very angry with the Jehovah´s Witnesses. I was thinking, "You are showing up in a tie, telling the poorest people in the world that they need to do good works to know God. Are you kidding me?!"

What I wanted to do: Say, ¨"Jesus Christ is God and He came to this earth as a servant. What the heck are you doing?" (Since this is a Christian blog, I have edited out some of the words in my thoughts.)

What I did do: I didn´t know what to say, so we watched them walk by and heard them say "How´s it going?"

I was upset about the whole thing. I was so excited to be taking the gospel to another country. It upset me that someone else was there teaching a corrupted version. Later I asked out translator (Claudia) if they were effective. She said that the Jehovah´s Witnesses and Mormons target poverty-stricken areas, becasue the people are excited to see North Americans. They let them in quickly and then visit their churches to see if they are recieved with love. Claudia says, they visit all kinds of churches until they see the real love of Christ. She teared up a bit as she told us how this happens in their churches.

The Jehovah´s Witnesses have nothing on a God who steps down into our existence and humbles himself as a servant. I don´t think they get that. Maybe that´s why they were in ties and we wore work gloves. Its "like bringing a knife to a gun fight."

I think I like a Jesus who gets Hands dirty a lot better than one who shows up to a home-building in a tie. The love of Christ prevails!

Work Glove Sermon

(Upper: This is a picture we took of one of the streets near us that has been washed out. Many of the streets have some degree of erosion. Lower:This is not a picture we took. We haven´t uploaded all the pictures yet. However, this looks a lot like the homes we are working near.)


So, the sermon Sunday night went well. There is something about speaking to a group of people through a translator that forces you to remove jokes and fancy words (they don´t translate). The only thing that is left to make something interesting in the sermon is the Holy Spirit. Praise God! He showed up Sunday night. I spoke from Acts 1 about the need for the Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfill the Great Commission. Our El Salvadorian brothers and sisters in Christ understoond well. My translator, Ricky became a fellow teacher, not just a translator. It was a great experience! God is advancing His Kingdom in El Salvador!


Continuing the theme of Holy Spirit ministry, we have been working very hard. We helped dig out a hillside for a house we are building. Many of the people here live in homes with dirt floors. We hope to provide a home for this family through some good old fashioned hard work. The work isn´t easy. We are in mud. It sticks to the shovels and makes for very hard work. I am experiencing the strenghtening of the Holy Spirit in new ways. The temeprature is hot, which usually causes me to have migraines. Not this week. I haven´t had any problems! In fact, we have all been feeling very well. God has His hands on us. Keep praying that he keeps protecting and using us!



I´m starting to think that the reason He brought me here was to show me that He is as faithful and powerful in El Salvador as He is in Elyria, OH. Praise God!

I have a few things for you to pray for.

• Continued strengthening as we work and minister.


• Continued sustenance of our families at home.


• Protection and health


• Continued advancement of the Gospel


• God would be glorified as much as possible.

Thank you for your support! What questions do you have about El Salvador (can´t find question mark on this spanish computer).