October 2025
Buenas tardes friends!
I'm so thankful for your prayers and partnership which allow Ado and I to continue in ministry here.
I spent the majority of the month of July in San Miguel assisting with two mission groups and the first week of August is a week of vacation here in El Salvador. Consequently it felt like the whole month was 3 weeks long.
At the end of 2024 the owner of the building our church rents told us that she would be ending our lease, wanting to sell the building. Pastor Ivo negotiated with her so that we could stay on a 6-month-basis until she found a buyer. The building is pretty old and is constantly presenting problems, some of which we've had to fix and others she has sent workers to patch up. This past month she has been painting the whole building, confirming what we've now known for a long time; our time here is coming to a close.
As a church we are raising money to put towards whatever comes next, whether it's purchasing a property or building a small outdoor pavilion area that can be used for the CDI and Sunday gatherings. Either way, there is still so much up in the air and we are praying for a miracle. Please be praying for this effort on behalf of our church, specifically that the Lord would provide the funds needed and also the building permits.
Build Update
Praise God we are *finally* done with the blueprint revisions and have now turned all the information in to the institution responsible for giving us the permit we need to begin building. We are praying that the Lord gives us peace in the waiting, knowing that His ways are higher than ours. We've received the observations and corrections, which are minimal, and are in the process of finishing the process. We're trying not to raise our expectations, as everything has taken way longer than we had expected, but are still hopeful to begin construction before the end of the year.
This whole process has been extremely stretching, and each day is full of contradicting emotions. Please keep this in your prayers.. it's so easy to get discouraged. We are constantly reminding each other of God's faithfulness.. how important it is to our faith to recall all that God has done in our lives up to now!
CDI
CDI continues to run smoothly as we now turn towards finishing up the school year. My classes and I have started reading the story of David after finishing up the story of Moses and the Exodus. Reading through the different Bible stories has always been my favorite part of giving class at the CDI.
Next year is going to look very different as our two cooks, Melany and Esther, won't be returning. They've been with the CDI for a very long time and it's going to be so sad to see them leave, for us as much as for the kids. Please help us pray for their replacements!
Missions 2025
As I said, for two weeks in July I was in San Miguel with Ethos church serving the community. It's always one of my favorite times of year! We returned to a local school where the team made a new basketball court over the course of the two weeks, and we spent time with the kids in their classes. They painted and restored desks and chairs in another school, as well as threw a party at a local orphanage. One of the greatest joys is being able to serve alongside friends who come back every year!
Conexión
Our youth group has continued to grow with new faces joining us recently! We have been selling snacks after church to raise money for our end-of-year excursion to "The Mountain Spirit," a beautiful mountain lookout camp spot known for its incredible sunrises over the Fonseca Gulf.
As the young adults leader, Ado has been frustrated lately as our young members don't seem to want to make the "commitment leap." Last week his uncle Giovanni shared an important reminder with him.. it's not up to us to change hearts. We share what God is teaching us and He is the one who changes hearts and minds so that all the glory goes to Him. With that in mind, the following meeting we had only 5 people show up.. but it included deep conversation that maybe wouldn't have happened had we had the usually 15 people. We don't know who God has chosen as the next youth leader, church leader, worship leader. But we continue to equip as we've been called to do, knowing that when the time is right He will raise up the next generation. Perspective is so important, and recently we've been reminded that our mindset on this earth needs to be a heavenly one. Eyes on the Kingdom, for this is not our home.
My parents came to visit at the beginning of August, and we got to spend the week hanging out and relaxing together!
In September we tried again for a tourist visa for Ado, for which he was denied. This is more frustrating than we can express.. but we know that God is sovereign and it's not his will for us that we travel to the US right now. We honestly are not going to try again, as we were told that being married basically makes it impossible for him to get a tourist visa (backwards, right??) Essentially they say that every person soliciting a visa is seen as a potential immigrant, and it's each person's job to convince the consul that they're not at risk for overstaying the visa. The fact that we are married means that my family is now Ado's family, and immediate family in the states = higher risk of overstaying his visa. His job doesn't pay high enough for it to be perceived as a reason to pull him back to El Salvador, even though he explained that I live here as a permanent resident and it's not our desire to move back to the States. We think a lot of it has to do with the mood that the interviewer is in that day (laughable, but true). Either way, it's an expensive process and he's been turned down three times. We've been told that now that we've been married for 2 years, he could easily been given an immigrant visa, however that would imply a more long-term stay in the States which we also don't feel lines up with our ministry goals.
At the same time that this was happening, Ado was offered a promotion at a new location of the bank that is being built near our soon-to-be residence. Between the prolonged building permit process, the denied visa, AND the job promotion, we are at a loss as to how to plan for the future. It's been a humbling few months, learning how to depend on the Lord daily, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. But we DO know that God remains faithful and still believe full-heartedly that this is where our ministry lies.
Support Update
Over the last year we've been raising support to reach our goal, and we are still in need of about $500 monthly. In order to raise this support, both the one-time and monthly amount we are short, I will be making a trip back to the States to meet up with you and share ministry updates! It will most likely be during January-Feb for 3 weeks to 1 month. There are two specific ways that you can support me during this time:
1. Would you please pray about making a one-time or monthly contribution?
and
2. Consider helping me share about our ministry:
Who do you know that would be interested in hearing about our ministry in El Salvador?
Pray with Me
- Pray for our church- that the Lord would lead us to a property, building, or confirm plans to build a temporary structure, and that our church members would remain faithful and strong through the transition
- For Pastor Ivo- Ivo has chronic health problems that he deals with on a daily basis, many of which have flared up recently. Please also keep him and his health in your prayers!
- PRAISE! Ado's promotion at the bank- he will be in a new position when they open a new location nearby, which allows him to continue growing in his career and will be new challenge for him. He's very excited! He will probably started training in November to be ready by December when the new location is set to open.
- The Lingo Academy- now that were 3 months from the end of the year, I'm going to start reaching our and searching for volunteers for the English Academy we hope to put here. Please be praying that the Lord lead me to the right people and that he raise up volunteers to be part of this project with me.
- Pray for house permits and building, and for our emotional and spiritual health during this time of waiting.
I'm continually grateful for your prayers and financial support which allows us to continue ministry here in La Libertad. 5 incredible years next month! None of this would have been possible without you.. THANK YOU, for your faith and generosity.
In Christ,
Alyssa
So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
1 Peter 1: 7b
