June Newsletter - Rebecca's El Salvador Trip

Our June newsletter has been posted to our website. Click here to read the latest news update. This month's focus is on Rebecca's first international missions trip to El Salvador.

El Salvador - El Fin

Well, our week of ministry in El Salvador is complete. Wayne, Tammy, and Rebecca all saw the newly expanded teams off on Friday morning, then drove to the airport for the return flight. The expansion came as three different teams merged together for the final day of distribution and the start of Hope Celebration. It was bittersweet to see them off. Even Rebecca expressed wonder as to why we were not getting in our van, next to her favorite driver, for another day of ministry.

Rebecca was amazing this week. She wasn't real sure how to react to all the attention she got during the week. However, by mid-week she had clearly warmed up to the kids and to all the attention they payed to her. God has a special plan for everyone, including Rebecca. We always knew that but did not know what to expect once Rebecca could visit other countries. This week was an eye opener. Without exception, in every school we visited, dozens of children would gather around Rebecca. They would ask Wayne about her: Why she was in a wheel chair? Why cannot she talk to them herself? How do we communicate with her and how does she answer us back? As best he could with the Spanish he knows, Wayne would answer each of their questions. At one school, this opened the door for Tammy to share a message that focused on the special value that everyone has in God's perfect plan for this world. It was truly a special time of ministry and the beginning of Rebecca's role as a member of our international ministry family.

The trip back was easy. Rebecca sat next to the window and Wayne next to her. She squealed with excitement and perhaps a little fear as the plane was rising high above the city of San Salvador. Wayne explained to her that this was the city we had been ministering in all week and she smiled one of her classic big smiles. Then she laid back, closed her eyes, and enjoyed a well earned period of rest while the plane flew to Miami.

We want to thank everyone who prayed for us on this trip. God was truly with us. Rebecca did great, everyone stayed healthy, thousands of children and youth in the Soyapanga area were impacted by the gospel as we distributed books and invitations to Friday night's Hope Festival and El Salvador premiere of the new Latin American version of The GodMan. Your prayers and God's grace and provision made it all possible.

One final item that needs to be mentioned is finances. This was a personal trip for the Brown family paid for with personal funds. No ministry funds were spent as a result of this trip. This is important as we are currently running short of ministry funds each month. If you have made a commitment to our ministry, we really need you each and every month. If you have not committed, we encourage you to do so today. Visit our website at http://YourWorldMissionaries.com and click on the support link. There you will find information on how to give one-time and monthly. Thank you for your support!

El Salvador Report - Day 5

I have limited Internet time, so this report will be brief. We split our time today between distribution of the Book of Hope, a little free time, and the start of the Hope Celebration. We visited two schools in the morning, both very large schools. Rebecca did great and really enjoyed the interaction with the kids. We used some of our free time to go to the store and found Rebecca a nice El Salvador bracelet. He loves it! Finally, this evening, we had an opportunity to hear the history of our work in El Salvador from Rob Hoskins, as well as testimonies from those who were touched by the Book of Hope ministry in 1987 and now in 2007. It was an awesome evening. I will try to post more about this special day this weekend, after we return to Florida.

Tammy Distributes Books at Llcelo Bautiste Iropanga School

El Salvador Report - Days 3 & 4

Tuesday and Wednesday in El Salvador have been awesome. Our work with the team was limited to the morning on Tuesday, when we visited two schools in the Soya Pango area. After lunch, we returned to the hotel so that Wayne could attend a meeting with the coordinators from across the country who are responsible for doing The GodMan. The meeting was very productive and this team is working daily to ensure that every child who receives a Book of Hope is given the opportunity to see The GodMan.

On Wednesday, we visited three different schools, distributing books in three sessions, invitations to the upcoming Hope Festival in four sessions, and showing The GodMan in one session. It was a busy, but very rewarding day.

Rebecca really came out of her shell on Wednesday. I know, those of you who know Rebecca cannot believe that she would ever be in her shell. The first two days of distribution seemed to somewhat overwhelm her. However, on Wednesday, she was the happy, joy filled Rebecca that we all know and love. She was interacting with the students, the teachers, and the team members. We have had lots of questions about Rebecca this week and on Wednesday she was able to answer some of them for herself using her eyes to reply yes or no. It was amazing to see the reaction of the students to her.

Enjoy our pictures below and look for more updates as we complete our last day in El Salvador on Thursday and prepare for our return flight home on Friday.

Wayne and Rebecca answer questions from students at Llano Verde School.

Students at Fabio Castillo School read their Book of Hope immediately after receiving them from our team.

The students at Llano Verde School show us their books.

Rebecca gives two thumbs up to a skit being done by our team at Llano Verde School.

A seventh grade student at San Rafael School reads the Book of Hope he has just been given.

Children at the Las Brisas School are intently watching The GodMan.

Rebecca interacts with the children at San Rafael School.

Wayne prays with the students at San Rafael School.

El Salvador Report - Day 2

Today was day two of our missions trip to El Salvador. It was a wonderful experience. We went into the San Jose neighborhood and visited two schools. Each school has a morning and an afternoon session, so we actually made four presentations. It was a fun day for Rebecca and she made many new friends, even if she was very tired by the end of the day. The following are some pictures that help to retell our story of this day.

Wayne and the boys at Los Angeles School.

Rebecca and the girls at Los Angeles School.

Wayne and Rebecca settle in at Jardines de San Jose School.

This is what we do, we provide God's eternal Word to children around the world. Children like this young lady who is reading the book she just received at the Jardines de San Jose School.

Rebecca has not had the luxury of riding from place to place in her wheelchair. However, the sacrifice has not impaired her happiness. She enjoys being in the front seat, snugly positioned between her dad and the driver.

Mission Network News Article on El Salvador

Click here to check out the latest Mission Network News article on the work Book of Hope is doing in El Salvador in 2007.

El Salvador Report - Day 1

Today was a travel day for the Brown family. Although this was not Rebecca's first time traveling by air, it was her first international flight. And she was very excited. She was smiling from ear to ear when the immigration agent in El Salvador issued her visa and stamped her passport.

Even though this was a travel day, it was also a work day for the distribution team. We met this evening for training on some of the skits and interaction activities we will use when ministering in the schools this week. The picture to the left shows Tammy and Liz training the team on a choices skit. In this skit, a student is called on to come up and choose between what Liz has in her right hand or in her left hand. But first, the student must call on a friend to help her with this decision. When the student leaves the room, Liz reveals that she has candy in her hands, but has actually been sucking on one of the candies. She spits that candy out into the wrapper and then closes her hand. The student comes back in and the friend must help her to make the right decision. This is a great object lesson on good choices and having a trusted friend to help in those choices. It is also a great introduction into a personal testimony about how the presenter may have made bad choices because of relying on bad friends. With Jesus as our friend, we can always make good choices.

Wayne and Roberta worked with Liz on a big strong student versus smaller student challenge. In this skit, the big strong student has to stand on one leg, while the smaller student stands on both legs, spread apart, and firmly planted on the ground. Liz then uses a little bit of pressure, equally applied to both the big and the small student. Without fail, the bigger student will fall over. The object of this lesson is to show students that we need a strong foundation in our life. It leads into testimonies where the presenter can express how Jesus has given them a strong foundation to fight against the pressures of life.

We will visit two schools each morning and two schools each afternoon this week. I hope to be able to post a blog entry each evening that catalogs our work and shows how Rebecca is playing a role in bring the gospel to the children and youth of San Salvador, El Salvador.

Prayer Letter From The Brown Family

Please keep our family in your prayers over the next week. Rebecca will be joining Tammy and Wayne as we travel to El Salvador to distribute the Book of Hope and show The GodMan to students throughout San Salvador. Our work will be part of a special outreach that will provide God's Word to every child and youth in El Salvador in 2007.

• Pray that there will be no snags in our transportation plan and that Rebecca's wheelchair will make the trip free of any damage.
• Pray for safety in travel to and from El Salvador, as well as travel within the country.
• Pray for good health for all three of us and for all the members of the distribution team we will be working with.
• Pray for effective ministry opportunities.
• Pray that the lives of the children and youth we interact with will be impacted in a positive way by a dynamic presentation of the gospel message.
• Pray that those who join us on this trip will be impacted as well, that they may hear from the Lord and be called to a greater level of involvement in this task to take God's Word to Every Child.

Over 50 Million Watch The HopeGiver

In India, we call our movie The HopeGiver. We do this because the name GodMan has other meanings in this land that are not always positive. We were blessed with the opportunity to use broadcast over the Easter weekend to send this movie into millions of households throughout India. Check out the article in Missions Network News for more information.

In addition to the broadcast, we had thousands of volunteers who showed The HopeGiver in their homes using VCDs. Many of those homes are continuing to reach out to children and youth in their commumiites.