My coworkers at my landscaping job asked if I was going to be building a church while we were in El Salvador. I answered “Absolutely!”

We were going to build the church in San Jorge by showing the people in the community that they were so valued and loved by God and the people of the Lutheran church in the US, that we were going to travel just to be with them. We were going to build the church by sitting side by side with the Salvadorans to learn ways we could work together to improve their lives. We were going to hear the stories about what people have overcome and what obstacles are still in their way. We were going to see the church in Usulutan that was being built by local builders, who were going to have a paycheck during building, thanks in part to Ascension. I don’t think my coworker was expecting such a long answer to his simple question, but building God’s church is more than building with bricks. And my coworkers are used to longer answers to their questions about God and church.

It is the same way we are building the Spanish ministry here at Ascension. We are slowly building this ministry by showing God’s love with hospital and home visits and working together with events like the Block Party and our summer lunches. We are excited to be celebrating our first anniversary this month and to see what God has planned for us in this next year.

We are grateful to everyone who attended our lunches this summer. It has helped our Spanish-speaking members to feel like they are a part of the bigger church body at Ascension.

¡Gracias!

Edwin