Ministry

     For this October post, allow me to speak about my husband, Phil, and how he was truly destined to become a missionary. For those who already know him, he has a genuine heart of mercy and compassion, and he greatly desires to let every person know about God's love. Not only does he serve the people through dentistry, but I am actually talking about a person who actually tells a person that walks by him that Jesus loves them. I spent an entire 40 minutes following this guy in a different car going to the camp and witnessed him stop by every person he sees and tells them, "Jesus lo ama mucho!". Translation: "Jesus loves you very much!". And to my surprise, every person smiles and responds very well. I personally am not that brave. Yes it is true that there are a million missionaries out there, but there are those few like Phil that radiate the love of Jesus! I am sharing this tidbit about Phil because I want you all to know that Phil is creating a new atmosphere in El Salvador wherever he goes. Phil loves to pray for everybody no matter where we are... at the grocery store, at the mall, and even in the streets. This has been a great example for me and the girls. Just by having his presence here, seeds are being thrown out left and right. God loves people and desires to heal them inside and out. He reminds us that prayer is powerful and can be done in faith wherever we go. Please see testimony of Dr. Bailey below:

     Last week, a team from Lakeview Church, Indiana led by Pastor Rob Haslert came to serve at Castillo Del Rey. During this whole week, the evangelist team shared the gospel with over 1,000 people and over 300 gave their lives to the Lord. They also brought a medical team: June, Nurse Practicioner; Dr. Jim Bailey, Dentist; Dr John Bailey, Dentist. In addition, we also have a recent addition to the Castillo Del Rey medical team, Dr. Josúe Hernandez, Dentist.  Dr. Phil and Dr. Josúe were able to join this medical team, and all together they saw a total of 418 patients. 96 of these patients were dental patients. 9 of these patients gave their lives to the Lord and all the patients heard the gospel message. Many seeds were planted and watered. It is said by the local pastors that after a team comes to visit a town, there is always an increase in church attendance in this area. Stay tuned for a video we are putting together to show you all the work and testimonies of lives being changed here each day.

The Camp of Castillo del Rey

Dr. Phil, Dr. John Bailey, Dr. Josue Ramirez and Tamika
working at a remote location

Dr. Jim Bailey, Fallen, Phil treating patients

The section where fillings are done

The Medical Section. Patients were seen for health concerns andfor glasses, and medication were given.

The awesome team at the pharmacy that was set up.

      As for myself, it has already been 8 weeks since I have been co-teaching a Basic English class at the Bible School for Castillo Del Rey.  Along with another missionary, Jessica Grace Wolf, we have been teaching the students basic English with a purpose. This means we have been teaching the students bible verses, Christian songs, religious vocabulary, and a few grammar lessons to help them converse in English. This has definitely been a surprise for me since I never imagined I could ever be a teacher. Most young moms would agree that when you have more than 1 child, patience and self-control becomes a big challenge. When we were in Costa Rica, I had to do a few homeschooling activities with Selah, and that always was a great test of my character. When Ms. Terri Triplett approached me and asked if I could help teach English to the Master Commission Students, I thought to myself, " God does have an interesting way of choosing how one will serve in ministry." Teaching was not on the radar for me. However despite the fear and intimidation, I embraced the opportunity to see if this is where God wants me to be. Every time I step into the classroom, I am always filled with anxiety, but when I start teaching, a supernatural love for the students simply overwhelms me and causes me to survive each class. I pray that God fills me with wisdom and discernment  on how to teach each student strategically and effectively.

Teaching English at the Bible School, Castillo del Rey

     Overall, these students are just amazing... They work so hard and they love the Lord with all their heart. They are passionate about missions and hungry to win hearts for Jesus. It has truly been an honor to work alongside each of them, and it has been a pleasure to get to know all of them personally. My prayer is that God will continue to guide me and give me wisdom on how I can effectively equip these students to minister and speak to the nations.. To make Jesus' name famous all over the world! 

     Thank you for the opportunity to serve here in El Salvador. We are currently seeking monthly financial partners who will help us to continue this journey for the next year and a half. We have lost a few partners due to financial reasons but we are trusting that God will provide for us these next couple of months. If God has given you a heart for the nations and would like to know how you can send your donations, please click on this link:

https://giving.ag.org/Give/Details/600001-296109?MinistryName=Phil%20gendreau&Page=1

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may His face shine upon you all the days of your lives...

Blessings and Much Love,

The Gendreaus
Phil, Mia, Selah, and Shiloh

Reaching Out

Here are some photos of our outreach to the community in the past months.

The clinic is packed up and ready to go to mobile sites.

Natan was one of our translators. We are getting the bus ready to head out.

The patients waiting to be seen in Candelaria.

These kids were great and happy patients.

Some happy patients that we had the privilege of seeing.

Andee is a missionary who is getting trained at the camp. He now knows how to take care of his teeth so it won't hold him back from serving the Lord.

Children in Our Community

     July is always a busy month for the Gendreaus wherever we go because both our daughters celebrate their birthdays on this month. We decided to celebrate their birthdays this year at their school, Liceo Castilla, with all their new classmates. Selah celebrated her birthday on July 8 and Shiloh celebrated her birthday party on July 21. A few weeks prior to their parties, God told me he wanted to use the girl's parties to share the gospel. With the help of the Master Commission students from UCCR (Ultima Cosecha de Castillo Del Rey), we were able to share the gospel, sing worship songs, pray with the kids, and provide opportunities to receive Jesus.

    For Selah's class, 17 classmates accepted Jesus in their hearts! For Shiloh's class, 6 classmates received prayer for healing. It was a great feeling to know that as we celebrated their birthdays, they also had a chance to share about Jesus and minister to their friends. 

    Living in El Salvador has been a blessing to our family. There have been times when we would have to reinvent our routines due to the changes in our environment such as water shutdowns or power outages, but God always helps us find a way to make things comfortable for the family. We learned to be resourceful and content in every circumstance. It has been an answered prayer for me and Phil to find a community for our family especially for the girls. Every afternoon after the girls do their homework, the girls play with the children from our community. Our neighbors are very friendly and loving towards us. El Salvadoreans go above and beyond to make sure you feel comfortable and accepted. Because the girls are transitioning so well in this country, Phil and I can start focusing on ministry work.

     Phil has successfully been able to set up the clinic at the camp. He has been able to treat several patients and he has assisted in a few medical teams that have come from the U.S. With the equipment that we have, Phil is able to clean teeth, do fillings, and extract teeth. We are working on getting better equipment to be able to do other procedures such as root canals. 

     Phil has worked with a few teams so far in the last couple months in different towns such as Nueva Esperanza, Lago Coatapeque, and Candelaria.  The most recent team that Phil worked with came from Coweta, Oaklahoma. When they visited the town of Candelaria, they had a chance to see a total of 450 patients. Each patient was given spiritual counselling; offered a chance to hear the gospel;  and received the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ. A total of 120 of these patients made decisions to follow Christ. In addition, local pastors were able to follow up with the patients. According to Pastor Erick Zamora, one of the local pastors of Candelaria, there has been an increased church attendance after the team visit. 

     We want to thank all our partners for allowing us to share God's love to the people from El Salvador. Our ministry's goal is to make Jesus' name famous all over the world.

     Stay tuned on my next post about more information about the clinic and also about my new role as a basic English teacher to the first year students of UCCR....

Prayer Requests:

1. To maintain our monthly support for the next 2 years.

2. To have open doors to share the gospel and God's love to everyone we meet.

3. To have perfect health for the entire family.

4. To build a stronger community among the missionaries.

Blessings and Love, 

Phil, Mia, Selah, and Shiloh

El Salvador... We Are Finally Here!

We have arrived!

     It has been almost a month since we arrived here in El Salvador. A missionary from Castillo Del Rey, Anne Prentiss, picked us up at the airport, and the first 2 weeks, we stayed at Don and Terri Triplett's apartment at the campgrounds for 2 weeks to help us have time to look for our home.  Don Triplett is the founder of Castillo Del Rey. They were in Ecuador during the first few weeks that we arrived here, and we are so thankful that they allowed us to stay at their place until we could find a home.

Castillo Del Rey, Coatapeque, El Salvador

     Thankfully, we have been able to find a nice home in the city of Colon which is a 30-40 minute drive away from the camp of Castillo Del Rey. With much thought and prayer, we decided to move in. In addition, we also purchased a reliable second hand car to help us get around the city safely. Most importantly, we also found a good bilingual school, known as  Liceo Castilla, which is about 5 minutes away from home. We are slowly settling in and making sure that the girls are transitioning well in their new environment. They seem to be loving their new school and making new friends each day. Once we have established a good routine for the kids, we can spend more time doing ministry work.

First meal at our new home with our friend Jessica

Shiloh at her new school in Liceo Castilla

     We have cleaned and organized the clinic little by little to see what items are still needed in order to perform basic cleaning, oral surgery, and restorative procedures. We have started to make toothbrush kits for the patients and Dr. Phil has started to give fluoride treatments to some of the children.

Setting up the Dental Clinic at Castillo Del Rey

     There is still a lot of work to be done, but for the first few months, we want to make sure that we are stable and that the kids are thriving in their studies. Homework has been a challenge since there is a lot of catching up to do since we started the girls in the middle of the school year, but we know that with perseverance, we will be able to get them up to speed.

     So far, we have been adjusting to the hot weather, daily water shutdowns, and occasional flooding in the house from leaking roofs, but with God's help, we will be able to maneuver our way through these little obstacles. We are so thankful that we are in a safe neighborhood, and that we have found a wonderful school that our kids will learn so much from, and so thankful for the leaders and missionary team from Castillo Del Rey for being available to help us when we need them.

      Most of you are probably wondering about the safety issue living here in El Salvador. It is true that there are many areas that may not be safe for us to drive around in, but the missionaries here have advised us well of which areas to avoid. So far, we have not felt threatened or unsafe. On the contrary, we have found that the people that we have encountered have been so warm and friendly..or as they say in Spanish “muy amable!"

       We will continue to keep you posted on our journey, and thank you for following us on this mission to bring the gospel to the lost, and to give free dental care to those who are in need.

Blessings,

Phil, Mia, Selah,and Shiloh
Gendreau 

Back In California

    

   We made it back to California a few weeks ago. We have spent the first couple days getting paperwork ready for El Salvador. Some of the requirements we needed to do while we were there was to get our birth certificates apostilled, get fingerprint and background checks for our resident cards to El Salvador, renew Selah's passport, replenish supplies that we can only buy here in the U.S., and reorganize the things that we will need to bring to El Salvador.

    After taking care of the paperwork, we were able to spend quality time with family, friends, and some of our ministry partners. The time spent here went by fast, but God gave us great opportunities to connect with the people we needed to see. I was happy to see my mom and help her prepare her things for her trip to the Philippines. I am happy that she will spend some time with family.

   As we prepare for our journey in El Salvador, we ask for prayer for the following:

    

    To find a comfortable home in a safe neighborhood

    To find a good school for our girls

    To be able to set up the dental clinic with all the equipment needed

    To establish community and build strong relationships with the Nationals

         and other missionaries

    To maintain our monthly budget for the next two years

    We thank God for all His provision. Thank you to all our family and friends who have helped make our stay here in California comfortable and memorable!

    Stay tuned for our next post about El Salvador.

Spent some time with my family

With our good friends in California

The kids having fun

We Will Miss Costa Rica

  

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you. 

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

                                                                            - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Photos above taken at Punta Leona, Costa Rica

          Our family photos were taken by Clarita Castro Photography, our fellow missionaries whom we met at CINCEL and are headed to serve in Chile. They will be working with the Chi Alpha group there which will be ministering to students in the universities.

   

The Graduates

   Four students have  graduated on this First Trimester 2016. Phil and Mia Gendreau- El Salvador; Kiersten Hakes- Nicaragua; Beth Shaffer- Ecuador

     The last 8 months have gone by so fast. Graduating from CINCEL has truly been life changing. Not only did we learn to speak Spanish, we also learned the importance of culture and community. The friendships we have made in this country are so precious. Despite the language barrier, we somehow were still able to make meaningful and genuine connections with both the missionaries and the locals.  We wished we could have stayed another semester to further our knowledge and spend more time with our new friends, but we trust that God will use whatever we learned so far once we get to El Salvador. Knowing that we were able to thrive in a different country in such a short period gives us hope that we can do this all over again in a different place. 

     A special thanks to the directors,  teachers, and staff for giving their time and skill to help us become the people who we are now- a family who is willing to lay aside their own cultural upbringing to better adapt into a new surrounding in order to serve in whatever way possible.

     As the staff mentioned in our last days at CINCEL, "Graduating does not necessarily mean we are able to speak the language very well...it only means that we are finally ready to learn Spanish. This idea may seem discouraging, however we  have found that this whole experience has been a huge blessing. It is not about who has had the best linguistic ability, it is all about cultural integration and the willingness to reach a culture in all forms of communication...that includes emotional and spiritual connections with each other. What good is a language if we are not able to communicate to the culture in the appropriate way? We came with hardly any expectations of what we would get from this school. From living a busy life in California to going to a country where all we had to do was go to school allowed us to have an attitude of thankfulness and humility. We are grateful that our friends and family have partnered with us on this remarkable journey!

    Thank you, CINCEL! It has been an overall positive experience.  We hope to see you again very soon.

Graduation Day