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

Our Final Days in Costa Rica

      We finished taking our Final Oral Proficiency Exam also known as ECOS. When we first arrived in Costa Rica, we had to take a similar exam so that the teachers can determine our level of knowledge in Spanish. The final exam is taken to see how much we have learned in the last 8 months. We were so nervous because we didn't know how much we actually learned, but thankfully we survived. Both Phil and I are far from being fluent, but we are comfortable to have a decent conversation in Spanish. We are looking forward to applying everything we learned at CINCEL (including the customs and values that we learned in our small community). 

     Thank you for praying for us to complete language school so that we can be more effective in serving the people from El Salvador. If you would like to be part of this amazing ministry, please send us a message so we can give you more information.

        Here are photos of our final weeks in Costa Rica.

The day of the ECOS test!

With the girls at CINCEL

Our girls with their friends and saying goodbye to Teacher Cindy

School activities with Teacher Raquel

Preparing to Say Goodbye

     We only have two weeks left before Graduation Day! As this important day fast approaches, we face bittersweet emotions. Although we are very excited to see our family and friends back in California, we are also sad to leave a country that has grown very close to our hearts. We also need to stop by California to fix all our paperwork and important documents to prepare for our 2 year journey to El Salvador. Costa Rica will leave an unforgettable mark in our lives that we will cherish forever.  

    From the moment we arrived up to this very moment, we have felt the warmth and acceptance of the Costa Ricans.  A fellow missionary asked me the other day, "What is it about Costa Rica that I will miss?" I responded to her that I will miss the community that we experienced here at CINCEL. The friends that we have gained through language school have become almost like family to us.  It is not always easy to find a community where everyone gets along, but with the staff and fellow missionaries here at CINCEL, we have found a community that is filled with harmony, servanthood, friendship, and love.  With fervent prayer, we have prayed for a community that would help each other through cultural integration and the obstacles of language learning. God has provided grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, and brothers for our children that have been a huge blessing to help them transition through this big change. Some say it takes a village to raise your kids, and we have found that to be true here in Costa Rica. Without this community, adjusting into a different culture would have been very difficult.

     Coming from a crazy lifestyle where Phil and I worked crazy hours, it was very hard to spend quality time with each other. Living in Costa Rica for the last 8 months has allowed us to learn Spanish; to appreciate the Latin American culture; and to value the precious time that we got to spend with each other throughout this entire journey which is so far from over.  As our season at CINCEL draws to an end, we still have to prepare ourselves for the real mission ahead which is our trip to El Salvador this May 2016.  Although we have learned the Costa Rican culture, it will be a completely different experience trying to learn the Salvadorian culture.  

     Despite the differences between these countries, it was important that we learned an important foundation of cultural integration which is to Listen, Observe, and Apply. We learned to listen to how the locals speak;  we learned to observe the locals customs and traditions; and we learned to apply the lessons that we learned in class. 

     The key to adapting to this culture was to be intentional about hanging out with people who only speak Spanish. Even if we knew they could speak and understand English, we still chose to speak to the locals in Spanish. We are so thankful to the Costa Rican families that we have met, and so amazed by how gracious and patient they have been to help us understand their culture.  In addition to learning their culture, we have also learned to adapt and humble ourselves to the concepts that we thought we already knew, and to accept that we are still constantly learning and understanding new things every day that can never be taught in a classroom or a textbook. Living life amongst the Latin American people is the best classroom we could ever have. 

     An important lesson we have learned from this entire experience is that our family can be content in any circumstance.  The Bible says in Philippians 4:12-13, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

     Before we left for Costa Rica, I personally thought that I would not be able to get through this with our girls. Phil has been a rock and a pillar of faith throughout this entire experience.  Although Phil and I had so much disunity about coming here, I am happy to announce that God can change hearts.  The real testimony behind all this is that God is able to bring unity in marriages, in friendships, and in church communities, if and only if we choose to seek His will ahead of our own will, and to trust that God is in perfect control.  The moment we surrender and release our dreams and desires to Him, we will then only experience complete freedom and peace.  

     Despite all the amazing breakthroughs, we ask for your continued support and prayers for the following:

1. Open doors for a safe and comfortable home in El Salvador.

2. Wisdom on which school to choose for our children.

3. Continuous monthly support for our term in El Salvador till 2018.

4. Opportunities to share the Gospel and help those who are in need.

5. Protection from any sickness or health issues.

6. Supernatural comprehension of the Spanish language.

     Thank you to all our partners.  We are humbled by how God has provided for us to finish language school and proceed to serve in El Salvador this coming May. 

     We will post a final update on our final exams, also known as ECOS. This is a test to measure how much we have learned in the past 8 months here at CINCEL.  We take our studies very seriously because we know that this is an important tool to communicate with the people from El Salvador.  We are far from becoming fluent, but we have come a long way from where we started, and we are forever grateful for that! Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Blessings,

The Gendreaus -Phil, Mia, Selah, and Shiloh

At Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Our Time Here in CINCEL is Coming to an End

      We are in the middle of our second semester here at CINCEL.  It feels a little odd being the veterans here on campus. We have a smaller group compared to last semester,  but we are enjoying our time getting to know everyone personally. Although we had so much fun with all our missionary friends from our first semester, we are also blessed to have so much fun with a smaller group this semester. God has found ways to help us experience different seasons and different perspectives so that our family can learn and understand how we can be content in all things. The girls have experienced so much love and care this semester. We are so overwhelmed how God has put so many amazing people here to help us grow and discover the importance of family. With a smaller group, which we like to call the power of 7, it is easy to become more intentional and purposeful with one another. Here are the powerful missionaries of  CINCEL 2016 First Tri:

The Castros- Brian and Michel Castro are missionaries called to serve in Santiago, Chile. They have a passion to share the gospel to  students in universities. The are part of the Chi Alpha group, and they also have an amazing talent in photography and making videos. We pray that their ministry will soar and that they will be able to use all their giftings in their future ministry! 

Beth Shaffer- a former fourth grade teacher who is here as a missionary called to serve in the country of Ecuador. She will be working with an indigenous tribe known as the Quicha.  She has a passion for helping women find their identities in Christ. Our children often refer to her as Beth Shaker, which could be a prophetic name that could mean that she will be shaking dimensions of this world to stir up passion for the love of Christ! 

Beth Ellen Glenn- our dear missionary friend who has received a call from God to also serve in Ecuador in the administrative side of the mission field. She is an intelligent woman who loves the Lord with all her heart, and is admirable for her devotion and obedience to follow God's call on her life. My heart has connected so much with Beth Ellen because we have so much in common, and we are so excited to see how God is going to use our friendship to further His kingdom! 

Last but certainly not the least...

Kiersten Hakes- Kiersten is another veteran student here at CINCEL.  Her ministry is to serve the people of Nicaragua. Kiersten is part of our family... she is an aunt to our children, and she is priceless beyond measure. Kiersten is so many things that one could write pages and pages of all the wonderful things God has used her to touch people's lives, but to try to wrap it up in one word for me, she is truly " Irreplaceable! ". Her wisdom is definitely way past her years and her love for the Lord is pure and genuine. We love you Kiersten! 

Honorable Mentions:

The Selers- Denny and Debby, directors of CINCEL, have been a tremendous blessing to us. They may be our directors, but they have a genuine servant's heart. They have also been the grandparent figures for our daughters here at CINCEL.  We have the utmost respect for these two leaders, and we are so thankful for all they do for the students.

Jeremy Wootten- Assistant to the director, CINCEL also known as "The Enforcer." We appreciate Jeremy for all the things he does here at CINCEL. We often refer him as the "glue" that holds everything together. Thank you for all that you do.

     There are 8 more weeks to go before we graduate, and I am already discarding items that we won't need to bring back to the U.S. We are also planning our food purchases to make sure that we don't leave an excess of food behind. Costa Rica has been a wonderful experience, and our girls have learned to call this place home...of course you know the saying " Home is where your heart is... where we can also say,  Home is where  mommy and daddy is...or Home is where our toys live...

      It has hit me by surprise how attached I have become to this amazing country.  As our semester is speedily coming to an end, we want to thank everyone who have been faithfully praying and partnering with us through these months of learning Spanish, and to prepare ourselves for the real journey ahead of us which is the journey to El Salvador.