ISB El Salvador & Costa Rica - Oct 2011

El Salvador & Costa Rica ISB 25th September to 8th October 2011

Can I firstly thank all who prayed for me, my wife and family, and the entire team during the Blitz Never ever have I experienced a peace and seen God’s power working in peoples lives in such a clear way.

God, and The Gideons, gave me the opportunity to go on an ISB to El Salvador and Costa Rica. There were 23 of us on the team helped by the local Gideons and exceptionally gifted entrepreneurs who are on fire for the Lord. The two countries are so different; 

El Salvador

El Salvador has big problems with gang warfare with many young people between the ages of nine and sixteen being murdered by rival gangs, (interesting stories to tell at a later date) El Salvador is 75% Roman Catholic and the R C Churches are very large and very grand while the evangelistic "churches" are mostly in sheds or hut and in one case a tent. BUT God is very active and real in El Salvador.

The people don’t have much, fancy houses or fancy clothes but the Christians have a real desire and a passion, (which should put us in the western world to shame) to see the lost won for Christ. Most people we spoke to were very open and the majority accepted a testament.

On the Monday I was with a team at the Technological University in one of the many  poor parts of the capital San Salvador, I was speaking to a man from Columbia who had served twenty years in prison for murder but is now a born again Christian. I noticed outside the university gates a man being talked to. He had accepted a testament and as he was walking away started to read it and realising what it was, came back to the Gideon who gave it to him and started to talk to him about Jesus, the man broke down in tears and said he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart. The Gideons laid their hands on him and prayed with and for him.  That was the first of many definite conversions which we were privileged to have witness over the next two weeks.

We had a real openness in the schools and had the freedom of explaining the plan of salvation to the young people with some of them accepting Christ
Two weeks after I arrived home I received an e-mail informing me that Ernesto Saldana, a local Gideon who had been helping with the blitz had been murdered in his home. We thank God for His protection for the team and for what He enabled us to do.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a beautiful country and is also 75% Roman Catholic but it has been drilled into them not to read the Bible as it is only the priests who have the ability to understand the Scriptures. Many of the people are very materialistic having big cars and wearing designer clothes, feeling self sufficient not wanting do gooders like us interfering with them. (Just like the UK).

One morning we arrived at a school at 7.45 where the local Gideons had already started giving testaments to the students as they entered the school at 7am, about half an hour into their distribution the police stopped them and made them move. There was also a car with loud speakers going round telling the people not to take anything from us as we were a sect and that we were evil.
Our team leader Randy Smith had the privilege of presenting the President Laura Chinchilla with a personal workers Bible.

While there were some negatives, there were many positives as well. Rolando led a young man to the Lord who was helping us carry boxes one day and came to Christ in the van. He had heard the plan of salvations explained by 3 or 4 Gideons as he went from class to class and was reading his testament intently. Rolando questioned him "What happens when you die?" "I go to purgatory like I have been taught, I guess". Rolando talked more, tears, prayers, and them Salvation.

We have an awesome God. A God who wants to forgive the sins of the sinner after they have come to that point in their lives when they have repented of their sin.

Please pray for the 382,426 testaments which were placed into the hands of individuals, that God will use them to bring men woman and young people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you
Ossie Wallace, South Down branch