Church in San Salvador

Finding a church home has always been an integral part of my life regardless of where I’ve lived, it’s been a constant and important part of my life. In addition to providing a place where I can grow spiritually and a vessel through which to serve, church has also enabled to integrate into a community while attempting to form relationships and acclimate in a new place. Upon arriving to El Salvador, I decided to search for a church based on these mostly logistical qualifications: within walking distance of home, Protestant, Spanish-speaking, and comprised of primarily Salvadorans (as opposed to ex-patriots). There was approximately one church that fit that bill, so on my first Sunday after orientation, I verified the directions on Google maps and took off!

I feel blessed beyond measure by the community I have found! It’s a huge Assembly of God church and a bit more conservative and charismatic than I would choose, but one can learn a lot from perspectives she might not always agree with. I’m only more recently starting to understand a high enough percentage to know that I have arguments to make! I inquired about small groups I could get involved with and got connected with an AMAZING group of 20-30-something single women who are delightful and have fully welcomed me into their social circle despite the fact that many of them don’t speak any English, and my Spanish needs to be handled with grace and patience.

One of the first events they invited me to was a Women’s Conference. Honestly, I was not looking forward to it aside from the fact that it would be an opportunity to listen to a lot of Spanish and spend time with my new prospective Salvadoran friends during breaks because I had already decided it was going to be all about female submission and being obedient to the head of the household. Thankfully, I was completely wrong! Instead here are some of the things that I took away from the 2-day event (some spiritual, others superficial)

*Despite the unwritten requirement of wearing a fuchsia shirt and heels that were no less than 3” high, they accepted me in my green shirt and chaco sandals.

*Jokes are much harder to understand in a second language. I missed a lot, but was excited when I would happen to catch one!

*Despite ejercito sounding like exercise, it actually means army which was said no fewer than 100 times. I think I finally asked my friend next to me after time #97.

*While I don’t typically appreciate war imagery with respect to matters of the faith, I was able to make exception because it was used in the context of a women’s conference and the verses referenced started with Deborah leading a huge army to take out a neighboring village because she was the only one with enough faith in what God was going to do. The story ends with a second woman Jael completing the mission by giving the leader of the opposition spoiled milk to drink instead of water and then nailing a peg through his temple while he was sleeping (Judges 4). Again, let me reiterate that I’m a much bigger fan of the parts of the Bible that emphasize the importance of loving one another, mercy triumphing over judgment and the challenge issued for the righteous one to throw the first stone. However, it was refreshing and empowering to hear about some of the women of the Bible who didn’t just sit nicely and quietly, but took action based on their faith (even if it was in a more violent manner than I would prefer)!

Isaiah 60:1, the theme of the retreat says, “Levantate, resplandece; porque ha venido tu luz y la Gloria de Jehova ha nacido sobre ti.” [Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.] I have definitely experienced the shiny goodness and welcoming embrace of friendship by my new friends and hope to be able to pass it on!