One of those "I am so in awe of my creator" sort of days.

This blog post is not so much a summary of an entire month like normal. It’s based exclusively on one day, a very special day with revolutions and resolutions that have had a great impact on my time here in Perquín and my spiritual journey.

I was incredibly blessed to have seen my dad and little sister at the beginning of December. It was a short but enjoyable week (more updates on that latter).  I was upset to see them go and even shed a few tears as we walked in opposite directions. It could have been a VERY depressing six-hour bus ride back to Perquín with a lot of negative thoughts and self-pity, but God had a different plan for me.

I knew I would end up taking at least five busses on my journey from the airport to Perquin. So I mentally prepared myself for the journey. As I sat at the bus stop I started making some small chat with a girl also waiting for a bus. I was about to leave when she said, “no you want the next bus”.  Thanks to God she was there because I did not have the time or energy to be getting lost that day.

I made it to the city and got of the bus. I was in the center of the San Salvador where the Palace, and Great Cathedral are. I decided to sit for a bit and enjoy the atmosphere. That was until it started to get a little warm out.

I saw a #-31 bus driving doing the street and knew from previous travelling that it was the bus I wanted.  As a side note, there is NO running for busses here. The driver wants you on his bus and will wait or stop for you at any point. If only the Waterloo busses could have a little bit of that leniency.  Ugh hum…. Rachel Dyck, Hannah Johnson.

I sat directly behind the bus driver, which was a really good thing because it is the safest spot to sit and I kept falling asleep. Falling asleep on a bus in the city is a bad idea but I was exhausted and couldn’t help it.  Due to my falling asleep I missed my stop and by the time I woke up I had no idea were I was. The bus that was almost full when I got on was now practically empty. I got off at the first familiar sight I saw. It was a bus terminal… not the destination I wanted but I knew it would be pretty easy to get on another bus from there. I got off, gathered my wits, paid 25 cents to use a bathroom and got on another #31 bus. This time I was NOT going to let myself fall asleep.

Then again…

Sometimes you just can’t fight sleep. Now normally I have a system when I travel which I believe I have mentioned on my blog before. I wear a specific pair of pants with lots of pockets. I spread my valuables in every pocket and then button or tie each pocket up. It’s a smart system. It’s the system I used travelling to the airport to meet my dad and sister. But one I failed to put in motion on the way back.

Instead I was wearing a pair of jeans with no pockets and was carrying my change purse in my hand the entire time. My thought was that if my backpack got stolen I would still have my money. If I were REALLY thinking I would have divided my money between my backpack and wallet. Good thing I have a very caring God on my side who is always making up for my stupidity.

All credit to the Lord, I woke up JUST in time to see a man walking of the bus with my change purse. It had ALL of my money in it. I grabbed his wrist and said “Eso es mio”, “that is mine”. I honestly think that through God’s grace he decided to give it back because if he had of said “no it’s mine”, pulled his arm from mine and got off the bus there wouldn’t be much I could do to stop him. Things could have gone much differently without a very caring God. 

I know what I would have done if he had of gotten away with my money. I have a cellphone with San Salvador contacts for these sorts of situations. It certainly would not have been the ideal finish to the vacation I was already upset to see end. And it definitely would have feed in to the negative thoughts and self-pity I was already experiencing. Thankfully the Lord had different plans for me.

After the incident a guy roughly my age sitting in front of me asked if I was all right to which I responded “yes but it was a close call”. Turns out we were both headed in the same direction so we had lots of time to talk. We talked about the differences between Latin America and Canada, education, school, food, work, ect. Eventually our conversations lead us to talking about God and religion and some differences and similarities between what we believed.

It wasn’t the deepest most profound conversation I have ever had in my life. It couldn’t be since we were working around a language barrier. But it was exactly what I needed. It was encouragement; it was further proof that God is working in people’s lives. It was someone to talk to after a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.

I got off that bus with a new feeling of motivation and determination. I thought about Gods role in my day, how he new what I needed and when I needed it. I thought about how impeccable His timing is.

I had two more busses before I would arrive in Perquìn. I got the last empty seat on my next bus, which is always nice in any country. The man beside me gave me a small smirk and I smiled back which seemed to open a space for some friendly dialogue. In English he asked where I was from. I get this quite often either from people who want to practice their English or people who just want to use the one phrase they know. I said I was from Canada. Most of the time conversations end there but this one didn’t.

He mentioned having lived in the States for six years. He said how he had a great opportunity there and was even able to go to school. Then he told me about how he got involved in gangs and drugs and ended up getting kicked out of the States. He talked about how even though he took advantage of an opportunity sent by God, God was still there for him and helped him turn his life around.  Now he shares his story with as many people as he can in attempt to show Gods love. As he got off the bus he said “you know some people like to say goodbye at the end of a conversation, I don’t like that so much. I prefer God bless, so Good bless you”.

Seeing how God is working in the lives of others is an incredible blessing. From every different story you can take away something different. I kept thinking about this mans lost opportunity. Being here in Perquín is an opportunity for me. It is where God lead me. What am I doing right, what am I doing wrong. How am I making the most of this opportunity for God. It was something I needed to think about, especially after some of the more negative thoughts that had crept into my head that morning.  Again, how impeccable is God’s timing?

Finally I made it back to Perquín. Still a little in awe of the day I had and how God had been SO present every step of the way. And I swear I am not making this up when I say He was not finished with me yet.

 At supper my host family and I were talking about going to church. Who in the family had regular attendance, who didn’t and why. The conversation blossomed into everyone sharing times where God had been with them during a trial. I could have shared my entire day but just went with the wallet story. For the fourth time in one day I felt incredibly blessed and encouraged.

Some days when I am understanding so little of what is going on around me, when I am tired of tying to communicate in Spanish, when the Internet is not working and I can’t Skype family or friends I can feel very alone. But one thing among many I learned on my journey back to Perquín is that God IS here with me. When He wants to He CAN make His presence known. And when he doesn’t who am I to doubt Him?

I was sad to be walking in the opposite direction of my little sister and dad. Besides my two days of sickness in Guatamala I don’t think I have every felt more alone then I did just after saying goodbye to my family. But I am not alone here, and on the day I felt the most alone of all God proved that to me.

I am in a great little town, surrounded by tons of loving people, and I have an amazing support system at home. I shouldn’t have needed a crazy God filled day to prove I have a very loving God with me at all times. I guess that was just an extra He threw in because He knew I needed it.

My hope is this bog post might bring you encouragement or maybe a little warmth this during the cold Canadian winter. Remember you have a God who cared enough about you to send His son. And he didn’t stop caring for you after that.  He cares for your smallest worries and your biggest problems.

Because of some computer difficulties I failed to wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy new year. But better late then never! So, Feliz Navidad y un próspero año nuevo para mi familia y amigos! I hope you all have great and relaxing holidays!

P.S. Sorry for a lack of photos, I know they make things more visually appealing. Please don’t “picks or it didn’t happen” me. Cough David Devries,  cough cough.

But here’s a photo of our Christmas display this year!

All the deets on how the holiday season is spent in El Salvador coming soon to a blog near you!