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TRIP REPORT – EL SALVADOR – FEBRUARY 20 – MARCH 3, 2008

The words of Paul to the Philippians in the third and fourth verse of his letter reflect my gratitude to you as supporters, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel…”

Testimony of the MINTS “Mission Seminary” Approach – On this trip José Jesús Ramirez accompanied me throughout the 11 days of travel. José is a student of MINTS in Toronto who is from El Salvador. He has graduated from MINTS with his Bachelor’s in Theology and is six courses shy of his Masters in Theology. He has already begun to teach some courses at the Toronto MINTS Centre. When he heard that I was planning a trip to El Salvador, he offered to accompany me in my travels. He asked me to join him in visiting with his family in a mountain village on the West end of El Salvador, near the Guatemalan border. It has become the focus of one of the new MINTS Centres that were established on the trip. During the trip José was instrumental in being a spokesperson for MINTS and shared in the presentation of the conferences that were taught on eight different occasions throughout the trip. His testimony about his leadership development through MINTS and his participation in the conferences we taught were an encouragement to me, and a blessing to his fellow El Salvadoran countrymen. It was a testimony of the “mission seminary” approach of MINTS in which students are encouraged to teach the courses they have been taught under the supervision of formal professors and in which they are tutored to write courses and teach them in different MINTS Centres. I am thankful to the Lord for students like José who have committed themselves to bless others with leadership training in the same way they have been blessed.

Working with the MINTS Internet Program – In one of the communities we visited there were three MINTS students who have been studying with MINTS through our flourishing internet program of studies. These students have been taking as many as ten courses through MINTS on-line. My visit there was intended to be a visit of encouragement for them. But it ended up being the seed for starting yet another Centre. We obliged their enthusiasm by gathering other church leaders in their community to teach the first “at distance” course. What a testimony of God’s work in the ministry of MINTS.

Eight New Centres are Born – I went down with the expectation of starting five Centres. But as the trip developed, not only did these five communities respond positively, but in one community they chose to form two Centres in two different churches, and in another they chose to form three Centres in three different geographical areas. We even had a Christian police officer participate in our conference in the far eastern portion of the country along the Honduran border. He was so excited about what MINTS is offering that he is starting up a Centre not in a geographical region but in a “distinctive group” setting. He has five fellow police officers who have committed themselves to studying MINTS courses together and using this training in their respective churches. This is the first time I have had the privilege of starting a Centre among police officers.

Among the eight new Centres that were formed, about eighty students are in the process of registering with MINTS, each of whom received the course conference on Biblical Hermeneutics that José and I were able to teach in order to get them started with the MINTS program.

Rev. Eric Pennings,

Miami International Seminary (MINTS)

Central America Regional Coordinator

Canadian Donations: Hispanic Christian Ministry, c/o Covenant Reformed Church, 265 Albion Road, Toronto, Ontario M9W 3P1

US Donations: Hispanic Christian Ministry, c/o Faith United Reformed Church, 8270 120^th Ave., West Olive, Michigan 49460