In the Field: Todos los Ninos

The view from Castillo del Rey's cafeteria

Worship music played. The North American mission team danced as they sang along with the Spanish words. A group of girls had gathered to watch the gringoes in the street performance. When it was time for the altar call, the program leaders called the girls to the front. They all huddled together to receive prayer.

Off to the side stood one little boy, Jeremy. He was about four-years-old. He was shy, and he had the sniffles.

While the mission team prayed over the girls who had gathered, Jeremy caught Brittany's attention. She went to him and asked in Spanish, "Do you want to come with me?" He agreed, so she held his hand and led him to some men there that day.

"Every program I did, I decided I wanted to find one kid who I would specifically dote on and pay attention to and smile at and talk to," Brittany said. "We've heard stories of people who are in the School of Missions that the Castle has, that the reason that they know Jesus is because some American came when they were five, smiled at them, prayed with them and left. That American never knows they had that impact, but the Salvadoran is a Christian because of that."

Jeremy receiving prayer
Photo courtesy of Brittany Copeland, taken by Josh Jasper

That day, a day when Brittany was only supposed to be checking on the mission team and leaving, Jeremy was the child she chose. "What if he needed Jesus?" she asked. "All of the guys on the team, a couple of guy interns, and a couple of national boys were all laying their hands on him, praying over his life, over his sickness, over him to know Jesus. They were just surrounding him, and he was just covered in prayer."

Matt and Brittany Copeland spent this past summer as missionary interns in El Salvador. For two months, they worked with Castillo del Rey (King's Castle) helping in any way they could. They led North American teams as they did street outreach. Matt helped with construction and agriculture programs. Brittany helped with the medical clinic.

Brittany on her first trip to El Salvador in 2013
Photo by Kim Boley

Both Copelands had been to El Salvador on short-term trips in the past. Brittany went with Chi Alpha when she was in college, and both had been with their church twice. The first time Matt went, he ended up staying a week longer than he had planned to help with the agriculture program. He was asked to stay again the following year, but he had to return to the States so he and Brittany could get married. After they had been married for a couple months, they began discussing the possibility of returning to El Salvador. "We talked to one another and said, 'Hey, I really feel like God's telling us to go to El Salvador for all of next summer'," Matt recalls. "Very much confirmation from one another," he said.

"The first time I ever went to El Salvador with Chi Alpha in 2013 - I had been on a couple mission trips, and I went on some after that, but that was the only one I ever cried when I left," Brittany said. "I always remembered that, that I had felt such an attachment to the people there that I missed it, and I was sad to break that connection and not know if I'd see them again."

Castillo del Rey exists "porque los ninos necesitan conocer Jesus" or "because the children need to know Jesus." It was founded by Don and Terri Triplett. They have created programs with the idea in mind that every child in El Salvador will hear about Jesus at least once every year. There are several methods the ministry uses to meet this goal.

Clown costume Brittany made
for the street performances
Photo courtesy of
Brittany Copeland

One way is through what they call "spectacle evangelism." Mission teams go to the streets where they sing songs and dance. They perform skits. There are at least two clowns. It catches the children's attention because there are fun activities happening and because there are gringoes, a term used to describe North Americans and usually meaning white people. Each child is prayed for, and a local pastor follows up with them later.

They have also started Guardians of the Vision. Students are intensely discipled and preaching by age 10. "They have this idea, which is true, a child age 12 will preach with boldness, and then suddenly they start growing up and get afraid," Brittany said. "They let the children do it as much as possible so that they a. learn that they don't need to be afraid and b. get it out while they can. It's powerful." Guardians of the Vision is now in 27 countries.

"Don's goal big scale is to reach every child in the world with the Gospel one time a year," Matt said. "That way they have continued exposure to make a decision for Jesus."

Matt and Brittany were able to spend a week in one of the other countries. The Castillo del Rey in Nicaragua did not have any interns, so they spent a week leading North American mission teams there. "It was a big stretch," Matt said. "It was like, 'Why are you here? Are you here to send time with your spouse, or are you here because I've told you to be here?'"

Matt and Brittany out to see Mujer Maravilla (Wonder Woman)
with fellow missionaries
Photo courtesy of Brittany Copeland

Because Matt and Brittany had both been to El Salvador before, they were prepared for the cultural differences. They had an advantage in knowing some of the language and having worked with the staff before.  But there were some differences. Because they were there long term, they spent more time off Castillo property, attending church, shopping, and watching movies. And they still didn't know the language perfectly.

One day, a fellow intern popped a tire. Brittany and their friend Shannon, another North American who had started a year-long internship just after Matt and Brittany arrived were on their way to church. Few tire shops were open since it was Sunday. The ones that were did not look safe. "That's the thing about being a gringo in El Salvador. You don't go dumb places," Matt said. He explained Shannon's rule for stopping. "If the cars look jank, you don't get out of the your car. You turn around and don't drive there. Just because gang culture is a thing."

Matt and Brittany working around the Castillo
del Rey camp with their friend Shannon
Photo courtesy of Brittany Copeland

So the next day, Shannon, Matt, and Brittany asked a national for directions to a good tire store. They were told to go to Llanta Ria (Tire Vendor) in the nearest large town 45 minutes from their camp. The directions included three fingers held up, which they had to figure out if that meant three kilometers or three blocks. Then they were told, "Llantas, llantas, llantas todos" with hand motions indicating tires everywhere. When they finally found the shop, Matt and Brittany had to work together to figure out what was being said - Brittany because she knew the most Spanish, Matt because he knew the most about cars. "We were so proud of ourselves," Brittany said. Matt added, "Three gringoes that took care of ourselves getting a new tire. It was a real bonding moment."

There is a huge gang culture in El Salvador. The country is the most dangerous in the Western Hemisphere. Although the main effect it had on the Copelands was whether they stopped at some places or not, it regularly affects Castillo del Rey ministries. Sometimes street teams will have to stop in the middle of a program because a gang leader has decided they can't have any more time or someone showed up who shouldn't have.

But castle insignia can also give protection to the missionaries. The gangs respect Castillo del Rey because the missionaries stayed through the country's civil war and because of the work the ministry does. "Generally, the people in the gangs don't want to see their kids in the same system," Matt said. "They want better for their kids, but they can't do it on their own."

In El Salvador, the only way to safely leave a gang is to become a Christian. "They will stalk you to make sure you are legitimately a Christian and not faking it," Brittany said.

Cooking breakfast
in Nicaragua
Photo courtesy of
Brittany Copeland

Their experiences in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the hemisphere, this summer and on previous mission trips taught them more about the universal need for God. Matt explained. "Everyone needs Jesus, just in a different way, " he said. "In the States here, we have such a mindset of consumerism and materialism. El Salvador is no worse; it's just different. Nicaragua isn't worse; it's just different. Haiti isn't worse; it's just different. That was a really big thing I had my eyes opened to. Especially going on your first mission trip, it's tempting to say, 'Oh, they're so poor. I should be more thankful for the things I have.' Which is a good takeaway, but it doesn't stop there. God doesn't need to meet them more because they're poor. That's not true at all. We all have a reason that we need Jesus, and even our culture has a reason that we need Jesus. It just looks different in each culture."

Matt and Brittany are already discussing their next steps into missions. They are considering a missionary associate term in El Salvador, which will include eight months in Costa Rica learning Spanish. They don't know yet when they will leave again, but are learning more about the logistics for a longer term.

Brittany said of this summer, "It was a reality check of I know I'm called to missions. And I've always been really excited about it, but this is what it's really like," she said. "It was a progressive realization of all the things I'd lose but then a progressive realization of what really matters."

"It's going to be really hard," Matt said. "But this summer was a really good rejuvenation for me of I'm more scared to do it my way than I am to follow God's plan."

Prayer requests for the Copelands and Castillo del Rey:

• Finances for Castillo del Rey to continue carrying out their vision - to be able to send and equip more people as well as maintaining the camp
• Guidance as the Copelands figure out the next step
• That the Copelands would remain content and fully invested in their current place while preparing for what's next

If you want to learn more about Matt and Brittany's time in El Salvador and Nicaragua, you can read their blog from the summer here.