Dara and KayaFamily
As we close in towards the end of the year, our family is smiling. It's been a rough year, but God's favor continues to shine on us. The kids are thriving in school. Both PJ and Isaac are playing basketball after school and have made some good friends. Hannah has had some bumps but is adjusting well to the big new world of Kindergarten. Both she and Kaya are beginning to speak Spanish beautifully. Both Dara and I have grown in the relationships God has given us here. God has given us both some precious friendships. We have also realized the blessing God has given us through this trial, as we have watched our family grow closer to Him and to one another through it all. Even still, we are looking forward to being back in the States for couple weeks for Christmas and starting off the year afresh.
This week the boys dressed up for their school's festival day. PJ was a flip-flop and Isaac was a trash can with a person upside down who had been dunked by a bully. Hannah was an infermera. You can see these and some other recent photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/peter.desoto/07HarvestCostumeParade
ENLACE
God is working through ENLACE. More than ever, I feel so honored to be a part of this work and organization. Over the last year our team has grown immensely. I love the community that we have as a group, and the deapening friendships we have with the pastors and leaders we serve in El Salvador. We just hosted a pastors/leaders retreat last month where there were 11 churches in attendance. The stories that were shared only affirmed that God's heart is to use His body (the church) to restore the world. Countless testimonies showed how these humble churches were shining admist instense challenges. One of the things I love most about the work down here is the high frequency of laughter. You would think that there would be a somber tone over most of our meetings because of the major challenges that face the churches. Yet, instead there is laughter, rejoicing, and celebration. Only in the body of Christ can there be authentic celebration admist struggle. One of my highlights was playing "steal the bacon" with the group. Ron, our executive director, threw the ball into the sky as he called all of the names. Rushing towards the middle were people from all walks of life, rich, poor, country folk, and city folk. In these moments, our earthly positions are traded in for our eternal ones and we find the community of saints that the Bible describes. For photos and some more stories please visit: www.enlaceonline.org.
Pray for 2008. We are trying to serve more churches, manage more mission teams, and support more initiatives. Specifically, pray for our team, that we can be the light God wants us to be as we serve. Also, pray for the water project in Las Delicias. We have made some progress, but still need to raise close to $1 million to provide water to about 2,000 families. To get an update, please visit http://www.enlaceonline.org/las-delicias-water-project
RECOVERY
closing up the cabin
In September, I returned to California to get away alone. I retreated to a cabin in Lake Tahoe where I was able to get alone with the Lord. I intend to write up more about the experience at a later time, but for now all I can say is that it was such a valuable time. The first couple days were euphoric, being free from roles and responsibility. But for a good part of the week I struggled through my times with God, reconnecting with the emotions of this last year. I recognized that the shooting had taken much more of a toll on me than I ever thought. I felt strong emotions of fear, anger, isolation, even though I was in my favorite place in the world. Yet, after seven days I left the mountain feeling a nearness to Christ. God is working through this trial to connect me to my deapest need which is to be in His presence. The vulnerability I've experienced has made me aware of how much I desperately need and want to abide in God. Through this God is bringing healing.
In terms of my voice, there have been small improvements. I still have a ways to go, but I'm trusting God to continue to restore it in His time. I was able to see a doctor from USC in September who confirmed that I have some permanent nerve damage due to the shooting. But, out of all that could have happened to me, I am so grateful that this is it.
I got a chance to speak a few times during my visit to the States. It was a joy to share what God has done this year and what He continues to do in His church. One of the places I spoke was at the Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA. If you would like to download the message you can save the following file and listen: Master's College Message Sept. 19th.