Alyssa Sooy Bonilla
April 2025
Hola friends,
Is it just me, or is 2025 going waaaaaay faster than any year before? I can't believe it's April already!
We've got lots of big updates, so grab a cup of coffee and get cozy!
Ado and I have dubbed this year a "year of transition." We're learning to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and I'm remembering a lot of what the Lord taught me during my season of waiting while support raising.
The 3-year-long saga of house-hunting has finally reached its finale... As I wrote at the end of last year my land lord raised our rent again and wanted us to start paying maintenance fees for the neighborhood. We started looking for a place to live and let him know that we would be moving out. We found a piece of property within a neighborhood that we are planning to build on, however we still needed a place to stay in the meantime. Thankfully, my in-laws opened their doors to us and offered for us to stay with Ado's family while our house is being built because after months of searching we came up empty. We spent the first few weeks of March moving out of our home and built a storage shed on the front porch of their house to hold our things in the meantime. More than anything, the heat has been hard to adjust to, but we've been enjoying the extra time with his family. We know that this is a temporary situation and are confident that the Lord has led us to stay here for the next few months.
Upon turning over the keys to the house, the owner informed us that he would not be returning our deposit, and on top of that was charging us for maintenance that he had done on the house last October. We've contested his claims, however he insists that we pay him the extra money and we have no desire to enter into a legal battle with him. We decided not to fight him on the deposit, but if he pursues further action for the remaining money we'll have no choice but to go to mediation with him. Please be praying that this situation gets resolved quickly and smoothly.
As far as the house goes, we've seem to had every setback under the sun and are still waiting to start building. This is very frustrating, as we had planned on having at least the retention wall and foundation built by the time we moved in with Ado's parents. We're hoping that we can start moving our things over as soon as we get a roof on the first floor. This process has really been stretching me, as it seems completely backwards as to how we go about building a house in the States. I've found so much comfort in remembering what the Lord taught me during the time I was support raising and anxious to get to El Salvador: His timing is completely perfect and is working for our good. He has been so good to provide everything that we have needed so far and I know He will continue to do so.
Here is a 3D rendering of what the front of our house will look like, along with a picture of the septic tank being built.
CDI
I honestly can't believe this is my 4th year at the CDI already! I continue to give classes to the 'big kids' although we might switch that up in the upcoming month. I enjoy having the same students, as it allows me to know them better. Last year we spent the year in Genesis so we decided to continue the Old Testament story in Exodus, learning about Moses. This past week the kids made "comic books" to tell the story of Moses' birth in Egypt...
Please Pray!
This year we have the same team as last, 4 staff members (Me, Melany, Esther, Marielos), and 3 volunteers that help us out 4 days a week. It's a stretch with the 72 kids we have but we make it work. However, about a month ago Esther was at home walking up her front steps and a driver lost control of their car, went up on the steps, and hit her. She has severe bruises all over her body but the most concerning is that she has 3 blood spots on her brain, signaling internal bleeding. She was taken to the public health clinic nearby, then transported to a hospital in San Salvador where she stayed in the ICU for 4 days and then under observation another 2. We recognize that it is a miracle that she is alive. She was brought home at the end of the week and her family says that she seems to be doing much better, although she still recovering. Please pray for Esther and her recovery, that there would be no lasting effects of the accident on her body or brain, and also for her family as they cope with the situation and help Esther heal.
Conexión
At the end of the year we had our annual Christmas dinner with the young adult group. This year's theme was "wasn't it here?" (it was a video trend on Tik Tok 😂) Basically we had to dress up as anything we wanted to and we made a video walking in the door like "Wait, wasn't it here the_____ " (insert what you dressed up for, like a PJ party, the bank, construction job, etc). We always have a blast with the young adult group.
We took at a trip to the center of San Salvador to see the Christmas lights and the national library, which has 8 floors and is actually the only library in El Salvador! I hadn't seen it yet so I really enjoyed finally getting to visit.
Infinito
Each year the youth groups from the San Salvador, La Libertad, and Soyapango churches get together for an end-of-year retreat, which we call Infinito (Infinite). This year the theme was único Dios (One and only God) and we learned about the different unique aspects of our God. We also took an afternoon to go to a local park and share the gospel, as we've done in the past. My group and I had a really great discussion with some siblings who were reading in the park, and we invited them to the local San Salvador church. I really enjoy this part and also love seeing the younger members of our youth group share their faith boldly! We are planning to do this at the local Sunset Park in La Libertad as well at the end of this month.
"And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word."
Acts 4:29
Pray with Me
- PRAISE! for continued financial support growth and prayer for provision- that the Lord will provide the remaining $391 monthly that we need to continue serving full-time in La Libertad
- For Conexión youth group to continue growing in their relationships with Jesus and to continue growing as a group, and for our upcoming outing to share the gospel.
- For this season of transition and patience as we move forward with building our home.
- For health- this past month has been full of Chicken Pox and severe colds
- PRAISE! Ado was given a promotion at work to be a customer service agent at the bank, we are so thankful that the position is available to him right here in La Libertad.
Thank you for your constant prayers and continual support. We are honored to be in ministry with you!
In Christ,
Alyssa
Psalms 25:4-5
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.
