Walking With El Salvador

Today the San Miguel volcano spewed forth a great cloud of smelly gas and hot ash.  Tonight, families from the small towns, little farms and coffee plantations on the sides and the skirt of the volcano are sleeping in nearby shelters.  As the next few days pass, assessments will determine the status of crops, of trees, of animals, and of homes.  At this time, thanks be to God, there has been no word of human casualties. In the dark night, away from their familiar beds, children and parents and elders are no longer planning their New Year's Eve fiestas, but instead are worried about the added economic strain that this disaster will have upon them and are no doubt fearful of additional volcanic or seismic activity.  When we celebrated Christmas in El Salvador in 2005 (see Capacitación  Christmas I and II ), one of our goals was to work with Salvadoran Lutheran Church leaders to develop fun and meaningful Bible School experiences for kids using music, art, drama and games.  One

This is a continuation of the story  Capacitación Christmas  . . . During the registration process, participants had been divided into four groups.  Following worship, the groups each went their separate ways, to each of four different activities. Part II:  Story Time Story-telling with illustrations Story time included three different ways of experiencing the Parable of the Sower from Luke 8:11-15.  The team first introduced vocabulary from the story, talking about words like "parable."  This was fun for the team because while teachers in the US usually need to explain what the word "sower" means, the Spanish translation used the word "farmer" which is a familiar word.  We really learn a great deal from each other when discussing vocabulary! Acting out the story Next, the story was told in simple language, using large illustrations which the team prepared ahead of time.  As a reminder that the story is more than just a tale but is the Word

For my kids, "Take Your Child to Work Day" was not a unique and rare occurrence.  Back in the days when I served on a church staff, I depended on my kids to help out - a lot.  No doubt they have fond memories of getting dizzy going round and round big tables collating and stapling documents and setting up classrooms for Vacation Bible School. I recently found a video of the boys as young teens marching in a local July 4th parade.  They were dressed as Moses and Joseph.  "I can't believe you got them to do that," my husband said. So...one year...when we suggested to the kids that we spend Christmas vacation in El Salvador where they would help to run a Vacation Bible School Training seminar for Salvadoran pastors and lay-leaders, they stepped up to help.  And they were not alone -- a group of youth ages 10 to 20 joined adults from our church to put on a big Salvadoran escuela bíblica. We arrived in our sister church community on Christmas Day and shared a big