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Will you remember me? Gifts from El Salvador

I’ve been sharing this week about intangible gifts of friendship and love that I received on my trip to El Salvador. Today are some of the tangible gifts.

While gifts we get can be wonderful, what truly makes each gift special is the person behind it.

When I see the gift, I will always remember the giver!

1. Ring/Bracelet from Glorhy
On Saturday morning I commented to my beautiful friend Glorhy that the ring she was wearing was bonita (pretty). She took it off and handed it to me. I tried it on, admired it, then gave it back.

But she wouldn’t take it back. She was giving it to me. I felt guilty at first, but when she said it was to remember her, I accepted it gladly.Glorhy_and_LisaWhen she found me later to give me the matching bracelet (also off her arm), I felt guilty again. But I treasure her generosity, and next time I go on a trip like this, I will wear jewelry so when someone likes it, I can take it off and give it away like Glorhy did. I love you, Glorhy!

2. Cup/Saucer from Mireya
The story of Mireya’s lovely gift is here. giraffe_cup_saucerlisa_and_mireyaMireya is very special to me.

3. Letter from Josselyn
I sat by Josselyn Friday night at the gospel meeting in Ciudad Real. Because she could speak a little English, I leaned over and asked her halfway through the sermon what buscar meant (to search). We talked more later. Josselyn_and_LisaletterShe brought me this very, very special hand-written letter on Sunday afternoon before we left. What a beautiful gift I will treasure.

And I treasure Josselyn!

4. Bracelet from ConnieConnie_and_Zach Connie (I think it’s really Consuela)—the mom of our trip’s leader, Hector—lives in a different part of El Salvador, but she traveled to stay in the Santa Ana region to help us with VBS and to visit with her beautiful grandson Zachary who was with us from Georgia.

She didn’t speak English so she and I mainly just smiled and hugged each day. On the morning we left, she gave me this beautiful bracelet.

Muchas gracias, Connie!bracelet_from_Connie5. Mucho from everyman
I tried talking in my muy poco (very little!) Spanish with the children when we had VBS. After conversing (sort of) with one young boy, he came back later and gave me one of these keychains. keychains_from_el_salvadorI followed him back to thank his family, and his young father then gave me this bottom bracelet that he had made. bracelet_and_VIDAAnd another keychain.

And later, this necklace. Wow. necklace_fishI never got his name, so to me he is “everyman,” representing the Salvadorian spirit of generosity in a people that I had once been timid to meet, but now am so grateful I faced up to my fear and did.

Praise be to the Father for revealing himself through many gifts and many people in unexpected ways when we step out of our comfort zones.

He is the ultimate Giver.
May we never forget!

* * *

14 comments:

Faith said...

how special to receive those gifts as tangible reminders of the Lord's work! Happy FFF and have a blessed, restful weekend!! (by the way, I shared your prayer acronym with my small group last nite...everyone loved it...it's gonna come in sooo handy for my self when praying for my daughters...thanks again!!)

Lisa notes... said...

Faith,
I am so glad you were able to share the prayer acronym with your group. I pray it will bless them and you as much as it has blessed me.

I wish I knew who to give proper credit to for it. But regardless, God is glorified through it when we turn to him in prayer.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What lovely mementos!

Jerralea said...

How beautiful to have those visual reminders from your trip!

I'm sure you made a real impact on your friends' lives.

Barbara H. said...

What a treasure trove of blessings! Not just the gifts, but the hearts behind them. Funny how generous people can be who don't have much yet how grasping we can be (speaking for myself) though we have so much more in this world's goods.

Beth in NC said...

Wow Lisa. What treasures! So precious and gracious.

Thank you for sharing with us.

Love!
Beth

http://mydestinysharinghope.com/

floyd said...

Good for you for doing the hard thing. What a blessing God gave to you due to your faith and obedience. Those are touching gifts. You'll be connected for a lifetime. You gave part of yours to them. God Bless. That is inspiring!

Lisa notes... said...

Floyd,
You’d think I’d have learned by now that God does bless us when we step out in faith. So why am I still too often afraid to do it? Go figure.

Yes, I did receive quite a blessing from him for reaching out to connect with my new Central American friends. I pray I keep this lesson with me for a long time…

Catherine said...

What nice gifts, and cherished memories you have to go with them. I'm glad you had such a nice trip.
-Catherine

nikkipolani said...

Wow, Lisa, I hadn't been following your trip to El Salvador and scanned through some of the older posts. What a wonderful powerful soul-touching time.

Willow said...

What a lovely way to remember people. Every time you wear those pieces you'll think of them and pray for them. Perfect!

Lisa notes... said...

Yes, the beautiful reminders of the beautiful people will be triggers for prayer. God is good.

Brenda said...

Its really about the people when we do these ministry trips, sounds like you made a lot of wonderful connections.

Susanne said...

What beautiful generous people and what lovely gifts you have to remember them by!

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