Click this photo to see more of Glad Tiding's TripOne of the biggest sacrifices for any missionary is saying good bye to family & friends.  Yet, as God calls, we follow—trusting that He will provide new friends and create a new family from his vast body of believers.  And God is always faithful to provide. Yet, it is a truly special gift when family & friends actually come to El Salvador, see the work we are doing and sometimes even work alongside us!  

 Shane Wimberly has been a missionary volunteer with ENLACE for almost a year and has been assisting with teams and project construction. In June, Shane’s parents Dueward & Sharon Wimberly brought down a small group from Glad Tidings Church in Texas to work in the community of San Antonio near San Jose El Naranjo.  Pastor Dueward shared a message with the community on Sunday and the entire team of 7 worked on 3 latrines. One of the team members, Sophie, also offered a hair cutting workshop to train some locals on some simple haircutting techniques, as well as offered free haircuts to anyone that wanted one.

 The team was a double blessing—offering encouragement and hope to the members of the San Antonio community that they served through their sweat and shoveling, but Shane was also blessed to have the opportunity to show family and friends how God is transforming impoverished communities in El Salvador through the daily efforts of the local churches that partner with ENLACE.  And sharing with people the truth about how God is providing hope, better health and better communities in El Salvador is one of our very favorite things to do!  Thanks to everyone at Glad Tidings!

Pastor Chris Coffman

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect when I flew out last week. I knew going into this that folks back home were asking God to open new doors of opportunity. So I asked God to speak to me and allow me to see how he is working in El Salvador.
 
Having never carved out a week to travel to a country for the purpose of prayer, learning, and listening to God, I was a bit anxious about this trip. With each day that passed the dissonance of my own thoughts was replaced with the unmistakable presence of Christ’s voice—Everywhere I turned Christ was speaking. Through stacks of papusas and stories of unimaginable suffering. Through the beatitudes and the “numb-buttocks” feeling that comes from four hours expeditions in the back Land Rover. In the most unexpected places I found Christ at play in the people of El Salvador.

All in all, this last week was one of the best weeks of my life. By God’s mercy, I was given a front row seat to the kingdom of God in El Salvador. I will never forget what it’s like to meet people that believe that a life of justice
(justicia) is inseparable from the life of Jesus.

We are often amazed to see God work week in and week out, but we never put those exact words to it. “A front row seat to the kingdom of God!” That is a good seat to be in!

See photos of the River West Vision Trip.

The churches in San Jose El Naranjo, Los Laureles, El Paraiso and San Antonio sought a way to provide help. The San Jose church, which has partnered with ENLACE the later 90’s lead the way in resolving the problem. They also saw this moment as an opportunity to walk alongside the churches working more recently with ENLACE, helping them to indentify the families most affected by the storm and work together with their community to resolve the situation.

After soliciting corrugated roofing material from ENLACE, the churches organized work teams from a variety of sources within their communities—including community associations, general volunteers and church volunteers. Together they installed 140 new roofs, providing 980 people with shelter.

The timing couldn’t be better. The first major tropical storm depression of the season brought five days of consistent rainfall two weeks after the roof installations were completed. Additionally, because of the way in which the churches walked with their communities to solve the problems they were facing, the project not only ended up filling a specific need but also strengthened the links of friendship between the churches and their communities.

pastor marcos with recipient 
recipient family
recipient family

 
Pastor Victorio Paz

Victorio Paz, pastor of Abelines church, said, “Many churches have a doctrine that separates them from the world. And before we didn’t have to and weren’t supposed to communicate with non-Christians. Through our trainings with ENLACE, we began to wake up to a deeper meaning of the Word. We now know it is our calling to show love to others. I have become a better friend to the community...We now feel the needs of others. Now, if there is a need in the community and I ask people to help, I can have 50 people ready to help within minutes... The community trusts in us and has confidence in what we preach and say. Before, when we preached it was a message that split people apart, but now we build people up.”

Reina with her son Gerson

Reina de Membreno, church leader and health committee member said, “Part of the way we preach the gospel is simply by paying for the medical care of people who can’t afford it…We are now more united as a community.”

Umberto Martinez , church leader, when asked about what changes he has seen in the community, he responded emphatically. “First of all, there is so much less illness! It seemed that people used to line up for kilometers to see the doctor because they were always sick… Now there is improved health in the area, and the church has been a part of it all. The people see the response of the church and they understand the leadership the church has gained through service.

“We’ve had experience with other organizations. [They] meet with us, promote their projects, and they leave. ENLACE has stayed with us.”

When asked what they would do if ENLACE were to leave, Victorio Paz responded, “We would continue on the path in front of us. The way one is taught is the way one continues forward. As long as our church is here, the progress won’t come to an end.”

Peter DeSoto recently spearheaded a new website project dedicated to raising funds for and reporting on the water initiative in the communities of Las Delicias, El Rosario and Las Animas. The local water board has named the project "El Milagro" or "the miracle."

"We are excited to launch this website to help support the efforts of the heroes in Las Delicas, Las Animas, and El Rosario as they continue to strive towards achieving clean water in their communities.  Having worked alongside many of the leaders for the last few years, I am continually blown away by their commitment and their will to see this miracle happen.  In the coming months, and even years, we all have an amazing opportunity to walk alongside them and experience this miracle together. We have created this website as a way to bring you into the story, and to ask for your help.  Please check back regularly as we will be tracking the progress of the project and updating the site often." 

Check out the site and tell your friends about it: www.projectmilagro.com

We are so thankful to STOA for its help, and we think it's awesome to know that a few more people will be seeing better because of a one-week visit of a small group of caring people!

To see some of the photos for your self, check out our photo gallery at: http://www.enlaceonline.org/picture-gallery/stoa-eye-clinic/

Fritz with the Kirkpatrick family, Pastor Marco from San Jose El Naranjo and Arturo Perez, ENLACE church coach.

Recently, some good friends of Fritz McGough, ENLACE's Finance Director, came for their first visit to the country. Lisa wrote some amazing
journal entries and we would like to share them with you:

What we knew (or thought we knew) : we traveled to El Salvador to spend much needed time with a dear friend, his amazing wife and their three children; we expected to have adventures and see many things we’d never seen before, knowing that the brave founders of ENLACE would take us into remote areas of the country; we figured we’d feel ashamed by our privilege and comfortable lives. We hoped we could somehow be helpful.

What we learned (and are still processing): The true Angel Servants, the Pastors in the many impoverished villages showed us what it really means to serve others; Central America is frantic for access to clean water; most of all, sustaining relationships are what really make a difference long-term.

We expected to see poverty and despair. We were overwhelmed by the smiles and hope and love we received from people who have nothing. We are called to engage the lives of God’s children in a new and critical way, guided by the Christian hearts of ENLACE.

Click here to read more and see photos from the trip…

UW Students at the 2008 Pi Mile Run

On April 5^th, 255 students hit the streets of Madison, Wisconsin in the 2^nd annual Pi Mile Run to help raise money and awareness for the ENLACE water project in Las Delicias. Yep, that means a few hundred folks ran to help raise funds for ENLACE and then were promptly thanked at the finish line with a slice of delicious pie. Truly a win-win situation.

Ted Durkee, a mechanical engineering student at UW, volunteered with ENLACE two years ago and helped in the communities of El Tineral and San Martin. The relationships that Ted developed in Las Delicias inspired him to create the Pi Mile Run last year. After organizing a second run Ted explained, “The only organization I considered supporting was ENLACE. Having met and worked with people in the Las Delicias community, it was as easy to be encouraged to raise funds for the water project as helping out a neighbor or good friend."

Creating friendships and forging relationships is a time-consuming process but is the heart and soul of ENLACE. True and lasting change only comes as people listen to God and become connected to their neighbors. It is a great honor to see the impact that such a vision can have locally as well as internationally. As Ted noted in an interview after the event, "ENLACE...provides so many opportunities for people to connect with those in need. You're not just writing a check for some obscure project in another country, you're helping friends.”

The communities of San Martin that will be impacted by this donation express their gratitude to Ted and those at UW. They are also incredibly encouraged by the support of so many friends a world away. That is a gift that will multiply well beyond this year’s run.

To read more about the race, visit the UW website:

See more about Las Delicias and the water project.

 Support the water project.

When the First Assembly Fort Wayne team of young adults were planning their trip to San Jose El Naranjo, a small hamlet north of San Salvador , the ir goals were simple. Team leader Laurie Atz shared, “We wanted to be open to whatever God wanted to do ; t o build relationships with people and show God ’ s love.” And indeed the team showed up in El Salvador ready to help however they could. They were even able to keep smiles on their faces when the ENLACE staff announced that they would be helping dig the hole for a pit latrine. (We know it doesn’t sound great, but pit latrines do a lot to increase overall sanitation and health in a community. Statistically, along with clean water and preventive education, pit latrines can help reduce the infant mortality rate by 50%.)

The Fort Wayne team accepted the project and attacked the hard, sunburnt earth with spirit, energy and even joy. Throughout the week the team was able to maintain an amazing attitude . T hey even had energy afterward to play with local kids and ended the week with a special presentation for the kids about God’s love. Their presentation included a hip hop dance routine, about a zillion balloon animals and two piñatas. Team member, Bethany Till, shared where her joy came from, “God is so big and awesome and everything He leads us to do He walks with us and gives us strength and courage to do—whether it ' s digging a hole, sharing a word or singing a song. He is right beside us, encouraging us and stretching us and teaching us to use the gifts He has given us!”

At ENLACE, we are always touched by how much God can do when people show up with truly humble hearts fil l ed with God’s love. In everything this team did they glowed with the joy of Christ. We know their time blessed and encouraged the people of San Jose El Naranjo—and that hole will be a daily reminder of a group of happy gringos that came and dug in Jesus’ name.

To view a video about other ongoing projects in the same community, see this video on a vocational training workshop in San Jose El Naranjo.

To learn more about how your church can get involved in community transformation in El Salvador, click on missions or contact Peter DeSoto at pdesoto@enlaceonline.org or 1 (888) 675-2314.