Reach Out USA

“Instead of sending a bunch of students on a mission trip, why don’t you just send the money that you would spend on expenses and airfare and just let he local people do the job?” Have you ever heard this question? There are no easy answers, but this is how the Cicero Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cicero, Indiana, responded to the movement of the Holy Spirit.

 

In 2013, our church prayerfully made the decision to go on a mission trip to Boaco, Nicaragua. We invited around 30 students and 25 adults on that first trip with the pledge to build a church. The team of young people and adults worked very hard and were able to finish building a church in less than 10 days! At the end of this mission trip Mr. Gidder Zelaya, the father of one of our students, approached us to tell us how impressed he was with our student’s commitment. Prior to his visit to the construction site, Mr. Zelaya, who at that time was the treasurer of the Paracentral Conference in El Salvador, had said to his son: “Instead of going to build in Boaco, why don’t they just send them the money and the local people can do the job?” But after observing our students, he understood the impact that missions have on young people. His heart was changed. He then asked us if we would consider again choosing El Salvador as a place to continue the exchange of blessings that come from mission work.

 

We came home and prayed that the Lord would lead us in the decision making. A small team made a visit to El Salvador’s Paracentral Conference and were introduced to Pastor Luis Aguillon, the president of the conference. He received us warmly and encouraged us. We continued to pray, and in 2014 we again committed to build another church. We had another wonderful experience. We learned that Salvadorians are hardworking, generous, warm, and very committed to the Lord’s work. They won our hearts! We began to see our calling more clearly. Since then, Indiana Academy students and Cicero SDA church members have gone to El Salvador every year and have now built seven churches with our teams. Additionally, through the generosity of friends and church members in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin, we have facilitated partnerships with Salvadoran congregations, and God has multiplied these efforts so that 100 additional churchs have been completed. Praise the Lord!

 

Today we see a new challenge. There is a great need in El Salvador for a place where youth can be educated for service to Christ. We are receiving a vision to work in partnership with the Church in El Salvador to build an educational institution for Salvadoran young men and women.

 

We want to appeal to you to join us with your time and resources in building a university where pastors, teachers, and other Christian workers can be taught so that the work of proclaiming Christ’s soon coming can be spread in all the world.

 

 

Aurora Hufnagel

Cicero SDA Church