Three Days to El Salvador!

Here we go!

In just three short days, the FYDC Mission Team will depart for El Salvador! Over the last few weeks, our team has been hard at work perfecting and praying through the final details, and we're thrilled to have shared some of those moments with our families and in our community. It all started with a special morning at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Colorado Springs!

We first had the privilege of dancing for the Daughters of the King Bible study in 2024, and have enjoyed spending a morning with them every Springtime since. It was such a blessing to share our story and a piece of our performance again this year! Check out the photos bellow, and be sure to follow along on this blog and FYDC social media this missions season... Our small Jesus figure, a sweet gift from a member of this congregation, will be coming along on all of our El Salvadorian adventures.

Next up, our team enjoyed a wonderful send-off day with a parent performance, prayer time, fellowship feast, and even devotions with "The Lamplighter" author Amanda Dykes. (A HUGE thank you to Amanda for making the trip to spend the afternoon with us, and to Monse's Taste of El Salvador for accommodating our massive order... it was delicious!)

Our students put together the final steps of their performance piece, prayed together, and were equipped with personalized missionary packets from Amanda with prayer and story prompts to share and discuss with the children we'll encounter over the next week.

Rather than trying to do the afternoon justice, we'll let Amanda tell you all about it! (She is an award-winning novelist, after all.)

Hello, everyone!

My name is Amanda Dykes, and it’s a privilege and joy to get to contribute an entry to the 2026 missions journal.

This past Sunday, it was more than a dream come true to get to fly in and attend

the performance, prayer, and dinner send-off evening with the incredibly gifted FYDC

Missions team, and to meet so many wonderful students and families!

You might be wondering, “who is this person and why in the world are they

writing this? Isn’t this space for the mission team?”

Short answer: I’m the author of the children’s story, "The Lamplighter," that the team will be reading, performing, and distributing in El Salvador. If you’d like a bit more background, you can read my account here about how this book and your team rather

miraculously intersected—and how it was a story years in the making, with God at the

helm. And you can read Miss Mimi’s version of that story here, because God was at

work in beautifully unique ways behind the scenes for both of us!

Longer, much more important answer? I’m someone who’s been completely blessed by your hearts. I arrived not knowing anything about what the team had been working on for reading and performing "The Lamplighter," and the incredibly beautiful dances that followed, embodying testimonies of light versus dark, in powerful ways.

What I saw…well, I don’t even have words for it. And that’s saying a lot, for someone whose job it is to put 300-page novels into the world! I think the only way to begin to come close, is to switch for a moment to write directly to you. Less of a journal

entry, and more of a letter, heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul.

What I saw in each of you who took the floor that evening…

I saw courage to step into a story and bring simple words to stunning life.

I saw creativity and imagination—bridges into every heart watching.

I saw skill—untold hours and even years of building the sort of finely-tuned

strength and artistry to master an art and create a space people can immerse in, get lost in, be found in.

I saw humility—to offer that masterful skill without pomp or pride, but with a spirit of complete service and love.

I saw joy—in embodying and offering the truth that there is no darkness Light cannot overcome…and that this truth is for everyone.

I saw grit and grace, hand in hand—seamless and beautiful performance upon a

foundation of fortitude and perseverance.

I saw deep care for and with each other. The sort that exudes a deep commitment of friendship and collaboration, and makes others wonder how to find camaraderie like that, community like that, a place to be seen and to belong.

Which I believe is exactly what you’re offering to each and every person who will be blessed to see your performances and interact with your shining spirits next week: a

place to be seen, and to belong, and to encounter the Light of the world.

Oh, how your light is going to shine in El Salvador. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, because I saw it shine right there in Colorado Springs—and that kind of light? From The Source, The Light, our God? It shatters darkness. It reaches into broken hearts and splintered places.

In this work, in this offering, you are chasing off shadows, blowing cobwebs of fear, doubt, worry, and isolation away, and beckoning others to a place of redemption,

care, safety, goodness, forgiveness, and love.

You are changing lives.

Go forth … and shine on!

With all my thanks, forever,

Amanda

P.S. Thank you for the pupusas!!

Trip Details:

• 11 students and three leaders depart for El Salvador this Sunday! Throughout the week, we'll visit hundreds of students at schools in San Salvador, Ahuachapan, and Comasagua, visit the city of Ataco, and spend a day with the resident children in Tia Ana's home.
  

• While visiting each place, students will read/dance the story of "The Lamplighter," or in our case, "El Farolero," using scarves to demonstrate how His light, reflected in our stories, can pierce the darkness and bring color to community. After the story concludes, students continue the message through danced-testimonies, weaving the gospel through a powerful demonstration of the arts. FYDC missionaries will meet with students at each location, encouraging them to share their stories, find the light of Christ within them, and change the world one story at a time.
  

• Each student has been tasked with writing personal prayers, scriptures, and messages inside copies of "El Farolero" that will be donated to the schools we visit. They're also equipped with special insert sheets with scriptures and prompts to personalize with each of the children they meet. (Thank you SO much, Amanda!)
  

• Each student has also been given a trip journal, and the assignment of sharing the stories that come out of each day on this blog! Be sure to follow FYDC on social media (linked in the FYDC.com footer) for links to the latest entries.

Prayer Requests:

• This week we ask that you join us in prayer for the people of El Salvador! We pray that hearts are open and receptive, and that the Lord prepares a way for us this week to move in big and mighty ways during our trip. We pray that He is seen and heard through each one of us, and that we plant seeds of faith in every heart we encounter next week.
  

• With temperatures near triple digits in San Salvador, we pray for protection from injuries, illnesses, and exhaustion for our team and leaders, and that the joy of the Lord would be our strength!
  

• Last but not least, we pray for smooth, safe, and stress-free travel this weekend... for calm hearts, open hands, and everyone's passport and bags at our final destination. 😊

Fun Facts:

• Two of our team members will celebrate birthdays while in El Salvador!
  

• Many team members have recruited groups to make friendship bracelets to give to the children we meet throughout the week, including groups at The Classical Academy High School study hall, Holmes Middle School, and several other family friends, family members, and church/prayer groups. The bracelet count thus far is in the triple digits with an in-flight assembly line in the works!
  

• While this is FYDC's second trip to El Salvador, this year marks the seventh time a Turning Pointe delegation will pour into this community.