From Canada to El Salvador: Following God's Guidance, Experiencing His Protection and Provision
By Alan Clark
Late in the summer of 1999, my wife, Diana, and I experienced several changes in our lives. Spiritually, we were praying that the Lord would lead us to a ministry in which we could serve together in a common spiritual effort. Despite prayer and desire, we could see no direction. Then, one phone call from a believer in an assembly in Manitoba, Canada, changed everything.
His request: Could we drive a school bus loaded with supplies from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to some missionaries in El Salvador? We felt it was an answer to our prayers. He gave us two days to be ready but then extended the departure date by a week.
Going where God leads
To describe the full activities of that trip would fill a complete report. Suffice it to say, we had several life-threatening experiences on our way through Mexico. The Lord preserved us, and we arrived safely in El Salvador. We spent about 10 days traveling around the country, visiting Christians and helping Craig Saword (Missionary Prayer Handbook Day 15) with some mechanical repairs.
We left El Salvador in a damaged van that needed to be taken to the US for major repairs. We arrived home safely, but only after experiencing parasites for the first time, which made Diana quite sick. At the end of the trip, my statement was: “an experience never to be repeated.”
However, the Lord had a different plan for Diana and me. Over the next four years, we made two more trips by bus and some by air as the Lord showed us the need for physical and spiritual work in El Salvador. After three years of praying, God’s words in John 20:21 convinced us of His leading: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” With the fellowship of the believers in Kapuskasing, Ontario, we were commended to the Lord’s work in El Salvador—the work the Lord had called us to.
In the summer of 2004, we packed our essentials and clothing in a Nissan pickup and started our drive—first to Texas, where we would meet Craig Saword, and then to El Salvador, to begin our life there.
From language to culture and customs, everything was a contrast to our way of life in Canada. For example, driving had rules, but they were ignored. If there was a spot on the road, you took it. At times, it was a thrilling experience.
We spent the first two years mostly helping the existing work in San Salvador and learning the language. Alan also preached occasionally, with John “Jack” Saword (MPH Day 15) interpreting for him. At the end of the second year, we asked the Lord to guide us to a ministry of our own.
Seeking new opportunities
After a couple of expeditions, we made one assembly in Acajutla the center of our work in western El Salvador. In the Acajutla area, three assemblies existed, and they were within one to one-and-a-half hours of our home in San Salvador.
For the first year of our work there, we encouraged the believers with God’s Word and, at the same time, assessed several elderly Christians’ needs. Using her background as a school nurse in the public health system, Diana evaluated their health problems and tried to seek relief for them with the help of a local doctor—balancing the need for food and medicine with that of spiritual help and encouragement.
We also involved ourselves in the assembly meetings. I helped teach and instruct the elders in their work and responsibilities. Diana started a sewing class for the women to make baby blankets and baby clothes.
We found an open door to distribute these items in the Sonsonate Hospital, about 30 minutes from the Acajutla assembly. Once per month, we visited the hospital to distribute the baby items, along with gospel texts and literature, in the main maternity ward. This ministry created the opportunity for visitation in all the hospital wards, using gospel texts and Via magazines. In time, we received many requests for Bibles.
In San Salvador, we found a book store where we could buy Bibles by the case at a reasonable price. We started taking a case of 32 Bibles with us each time we visited the hospital, but soon, we realized one case was not enough.
One head nurse requested a set for her student nurses and promised to use them. A man who worked in the hospital pharmacy told us he had a small church but no Bibles—not a single complete Bible among the congregation. They would take the pages of the Scripture passage he was going to preach from and photocopy the verses. As a result, we brought him one or two Bibles each visit.
Another time, a woman from the assembly was in the hospital for surgery, and a woman in the next bed was reading a Bible, one we had distributed. After some conversation, our sister realized that the woman had recently received Christ as her Savior. What an encouragement!
We saw several police officers in the hospital guarding injured gang members, and several of them asked for Bibles. Then, taxi drivers outside the hospital began asking for Bibles. Eventually, we brought two cases, containing approximately 70 Bibles total, on each visit.
A new door opened just before we came home for a short visit in the fall of 2019. A nurse introduced Diana to another maternity ward at the back of the main hospital—an in-and-out service mostly for young women who have limited financial means. The nurse asked Diana if she could provide clothing for the babies, who often develop bronchial problems as they move from the air conditioning to the outside heat when they are discharged. Women from the assembly quickly made 100 blankets and some diapers and shirts.
Accepting changes
We have been involved in the hospital work for more than 12 years. During the same years, we encouraged local Christians, helping with the assembly’s Sunday school, yearly conference, and special monthly meetings. These Christians live difficult lives due to unemployment and gang activity, which create a constant element of fear.
After three years, we decided to move from San Salvador, where our home was, to Acajutla. This move would enable us to be closer to the people from the assemblies in the area, and it would reduce our driving time on the dangerous highways.
Following our move, we continued our work in Acajutla as usual, but we also became involved with the children and adults in our neighborhood, distributing food, medicine, clothing, and Christian literature. As good a ministry as it was, it also created a problem.
One night, a group of young men approached me as I was leaving for a meeting. They demanded money, and when I refused to pay them, they threatened my life. I was able to drive away, somewhat disturbed by the threat, but when I returned home, I discovered a sign painted on our garage door indicating the gang’s intent: no money, then death. This threat was not uncommon, but our neighbors and the assembly’s elders advised us to leave immediately.
We stayed six more days, but we did not leave the house or open a door. Finally, we went to a hotel in the city of Sonsonate and stayed there for a month, going only to meetings and not returning to our house. Eventually, we decided to move from Acajutla back to San Salvador, where we could live with security guards and protection for our house.
Waiting on the Lord
After the move, our work in Acajutla continued and extended to many families in the Amatal and El Carmen areas, where we regularly distributed food to families in need. We also supplied medical and material help for Christians in this area. I began a Sunday afternoon study group with four young men from the Acajutla assembly. Their eagerness to learn God’s Word encouraged us, and we pray their desire will continue throughout their lives. Diana engaged in a Scripture memory work class with a group of women. Some of the women could not read, but with the help of their children and grandchildren, they learned many passages of Scripture.
We returned to Canada in February 2020 to renew our medical insurance and gather supplies for the Christians and the hospital work. We booked our return tickets for March 16. A few days before our flight, the COVID-19 outbreak in El Salvador closed the airport we were scheduled to fly into. We are waiting upon God, since the virus is rampant in El Salvador. We pray for and support the needs of the many Christians in the assemblies in the western part of the country. We value your prayers too. ■
Alan and Diana Clark are commended from Kapuskasing Gospel Hall in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada
