Last year, volunteers from Gateway Church in Des Moines, IA came to El Salvador to partner with a local church as it reached out to its neighbors by helping to build tilapia ponds. After returning home, Gateway Church didn't stop there. In this interview in the DesMoinesRegister.com, Jeremy Harder, Gateway's mission pastor, talks about how he and his church took missions home and are listening and serving their Des Moines community. ]]>To celebrate this Mother's day, ENLACE interviewed a mother and daughter who came together to El Salvador on a service team. Their story is one of courage and healing. ENLACE wishes Marlene and all courageous mother's around the globe, who set amazing examples of love for their children, a Happy Mother's Day!
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Over the past several years, churches with whom we've worked have discovered that raising tilapia fish is an effective way to provide a high-quality source of protein for families and serves as an effective source of income when surplus tilapia is sold at market. Tilapia reach full maturity at only four months of age, and they require only two pounds of food to grow into a one-pound fish. Their speed of growth combined with strong local demand for this kind of fish provides a sustainable business opportunity for families who participate in the tilapia fish pond program. Many churches are hoping to help their neighbors build ponds this year. All contributions to the tilapia cultivation program provide the materials, fish, feed, and training required for a family to start its own tilapia business, allowing them to generate sustainable income and provide for their families.
A donation of $350 helps one family to eat better, live better and enjoy running their own business!
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Meadowbrook Church in Champaign, IL, made their seventh trip to El Salvador to support community transformation in the region of San Martín. This year they were divided into two groups. A medical team provided health consultations to 399 patients and eye exams to 713 patients. Meanwhile, another group built eco-stoves benefiting about 55 people in the area. The support and friendship of Meadowbrook Church continues to foment amazing transformation. Thanks for serving alongside your beloved friends in El Salvador!
]]>In the poor, rural village of La Estancia, a small church had a big vision: to provide healthcare to its surrounding population of 2,000 people. Two churches, one in the U.S. and one in Singapore, came alongside and helped to make this vision a reality. A new and improved clinic was inaugurated in January 2013. Watch this video to see what happens when churches befriend each other and support the mission to serve those in need.
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Josh served as a volunteer with ENLACE for two months in 2012Suffocating; That’s the only word I can use to describe Nina Chana’s kitchen. Like the majority of Salvadorans living in rural areas, Nina cooks inside, over an open fire. While this method of cooking seriously harms the health of Nina’s family and families alike, it has been the only method used for generations. ENLACE is helping families change this. ENLACE’s eco-stove project is creating a healthier future for Salvadorans living in rural areas through improved stoves that reduce respiratory infections by eliminating indoor smoke.
Nina's eco-stove being built in the community of La BendicionFor the past 6 years I have been studying Community Health in Long Beach, California, and through my studies and service with ENLACE, have developed a heart for church and community health projects. Before traveling to El Salvador for the first time 5 years ago, health projects to me meant creating a strategic way to motivate people to get off their couch, eat healthier and quit smoking. And then I traveled to El Salvador and saw how ENLACE, through the Church, is helping communities develop sustainable solutions to poverty, like clean water systems, latrines, and eco-stoves; vital solutions that provide families an immediate opportunity to live a longer, healthier life. Click here to make your tax-deductible donation today!
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Northeast Christian Church from Louisville, Kentucky, sent its first serving team to El Salvador to accompany the Tabernaculo Biblico Salem Church in El Espino. The nine-member team worked at the Miraflores Public School to help prepare the foundation for a perimeter wall which will make the property more secure and safe. The team also enjoyed spending time with community members during home visits and an even had time for an impromptu baseball game.
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Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois sent their final serving team of 2012 to San Jacinto in the Santa Ana Region. The dedicated six-member team joined Zurisadai Church, helping with a water project and ministering to the people of the community as well. Team member Joy Bork said, "This experience really helped me see how the local church is the hope of the world. Through pairing together with ENLACE and Zurisadai, I was able to be a tangible representation of Christ's hands and feet in the community of San Jacinto."
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