Once again God blessed us with the privilege of attending the school over the New Year’s weekend. Visitors from other countries began arriving several days early and were entertained and taken on outings by their Salvadoran hosts. One busload went to the town of Usulután to share the day with the little ecclesia there. They were treated to a delicious lunch followed by a Bible talk. Other days they spent getting to know each other, visiting local parks and lakes and sharing meals.

On the Thursday night before the school everyone met at the hall in San Salvador to witness the baptisms of two new sisters! They were Lea Castillo, daughter of Bro. René and Sis. Crissia, and Lucia Araúz, daughter of Sis. Betty. We thank God that in these last days he continues calling out people for His glory.

On Friday morning we drove up to our hotel in the hills of La Palma. Altogether there were just over 100 of us. Besides the Salvadorans there was a large group from Costa Rica and other visitors from Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia, Argentina, the US and Canada, plus Bro. Ian and Sis. Nishla Neblett and their 2 children from Panama.

The theme for the weekend was “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” The 4 main talks were given by Salvadoran brethren. Bro. Ian gave the men’s class and the exhortation and Sis. Nishla led the ladies’ class. Bre. Lucas Genner of Buenos Aires and Cristian Mamani of La Paz, Bolivia taught the young people.

On Sunday morning we were blessed with the baptism of another local CYC member, Orlando Quintanilla Jr., son of Bro. Orlando Sr. and Sis. Iris. He had waited until Sunday so that his sister could be present to witness his confession of faith. We pray that God will guide and bless our new brother and sisters until the return of our Lord and the Kingdom.

Shortly after the end of the school it was an enormous shock to hear that Bro. Santos Chévez had fallen asleep in the Lord at the age of 67. Though Santos had been ailing for some time he had hoped to attend the school, so no one anticipated this news. He served faithfully as Rec.
Bro. of the San Salvador ecclesia for 10 years. As is the tradition in Latin America, family and friends spent the night before the funeral together, sharing their grief and memories. We are grateful to have been there to support Santos’ family and the ecclesia in their loss.

May our Heavenly Father watch over the brethren, sisters and young people in Latin America and strengthen their bonds in the Truth that together this fellowship of our faith may continue into the Kingdom.