Life... and life to the full! John 10:10 

Projects!

The relationship is always the project and our team was awesome meeting the people of Taura, playing with the niños, and serving the community. We even mourned together with the community as we watched a video put together by the family of Pastor Santos who passed away in July 2024. We were honored to be a part of the 16-year friendship between Young Life and the people of Taura.

House!

We have been able to dream with the community and help families by building houses. This week we got to see the completed house from last year that many students worked on and begin the work of building a house for another family to be completed this summer. We did a lot of digging and moving sand. We pray for Rosario and her family as they helped us work on their new home.

Sabbath!

We take time on this trip to honor the Sabbath. We take a day away from Taura to go to the beach, be encouraged from the scriptures, enjoy a nice meal, play with our friends, and rest. Students are invited to consider that we aren't created to be producers, but God delights in us because we are very good from creation. This time was significant for many students who feel burned out and stressed back home to receive from the Lord the gift of a day off.

Greenhouse!

We spent a lot of time working on the greenhouse - inside and out! We came alongside the young people who work in the greenhouse to turn over the soil, replace irrigation, treat the soil, replace growing posts, clean the mesh walls, pick weeds, and prepare for the next planting later this month. 

We also cut back a forest in order to prepare the outside of the greenhouse for the planting of papaya trees. This could be a huge benefit for the community as a papaya tree can produce up to 150 papaya per year and they can sell them for $1 - $1.50 each. We do ask for your continued prayers for the people as we need to decide how to get more sun on the greenhouse. It doesn't sound possible with the sun we're used to in Rochester, but there are a handful of trees' branches that may need to be removed to maximize production efforts. Lord, please lead us!

Praying with the People!

We were so blessed to have intentional time to meet with each family, hear about their year and pray for them. This started during COVID and has become a privilege to meet with each family. Also, this time is significant for our students who rotate through helping to hear the stories and realities of the people they are serving. In feedback we receive from the local committee, this time helps the people feel valued and know that God has sent us to their community.

Playground Mural!

The mural on the wall by the playground was it need of updating! The students worked with the niños of the village to pick out their favorite characters to bring them joy as they play on the playground. Our team designed the mural and added much color to the playground area. We pray for many days of joy and play for the children at the playground and they know their friends in Rochester are praying for them daily!

Meals and Club!

Our team was blessed by the service of Cecy Martinez and her Bible Study friends who pray for us for weeks and work tirelessly to prepare incredible meals. We ate great food and were filled with the Lord's daily bread as we sat at the table together and shared community and friendship. 

After dinner each night, we had the opportunity to hear about Jesus from a friend. We heard about following Jesus with all of our life, we heard about being the hands and feet of Jesus as we serve others, we heard about how our actions of love impact others, we heard about making a transformation when we turn our lives to Jesus, and we heard that our lives should overflow with the love of Jesus to others. Club created a great opportunity to have conversations with students about life with Jesus and how this experience can change our lives back home.

So much more than a fence!

A  special project we were able to help with was a fence project that Pastor Santos began years ago. Enclosing the church property and protecting it from dogs, chickens, cows and other animals has always been a dream of the community. A member of our team is a welder in Rochester and lent his skills to Santos' son, Daniel, to help finish his father's project. This was a special project to support the Church, Umanzor family, and remember Santos.

THANK YOU!!

I feel like at the end of the Gospel of John where it is written, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did, Were every one of them written, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25). But I thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please ask someone on the trip to tell you more and to hear the stories. The Lord is good and we are humbled to be used in this capacity to bring hope to others. Our prayer that we don't wait until we are back in Taura, but bring that hope to others every day in our lives at home. To God be the glory!

Thank you!

Dustin Bailey and the 2025 El Salvador Team