Giving Report: G.O.D. Youth Center is Completed in El Salvador

We are happy to announce the Youth Center is complete! Thank you to the 2020 Holiday Giving Campaign donors who made this possible.

The Youth Center serves G.O.D. cooperatives, student interns, and visiting ministry teams for biblical education, worship, fellowship, and skills development. A view from the rooftop shows the faithfulness of God. What once was barren land, now has diverse agriculture, ministry housing, and safe gathering spaces for children and youth. This summer, several G.O.D. Int’l ministry groups enjoyed a night on the rooftop (pictured above) for dinner, fellowship, and testimonies on the ways that God is working. “It was a powerful time. It was a preview of the fellowship, worship, and education in God’s word that will be a light to the surrounding community,” shares Matthew Parker, G.O.D. Latin America Regional Team Lead Manager.

The Youth Center project success goes deeper than its concrete foundation.

Cross-cultural Mentorship During an International Pandemic: An Interview with Jeremiah Watson & Marco Arroyo

Jeremiah Watson, Building Project Manager, and Marco Arroyo, Campus Project Supervisor and Translator, report that construction went well, despite the international impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (It slowed both labor and material distribution.)

Matthew Parker spoke with Jeremiah Watson and Marco Arroyo about the Youth Center in El Salvador.

PARKER: What was it like working remotely with Latin America Regional Team intern, Amilcar Alas, as Campus Project Coordinator?

Watson: Being off-site and having inconsistent WiFi on campus in El Salvador, “put a major weight on Amilcar Alas, Campus Project Coordinator, and Marco to carry the communication and to develop trust with the subcontractors. Amilcar did amazing.”

For international construction projects, finding the right contractor and crew, not just qualified and willing workers makes a difference. Due to travel restrictions and thus, less on-the-ground oversight, Amilcar had to “step up” in a way they didn’t anticipate him having to.

Arroyo: “The majority of our communication was through phone calls, but we would have loved to see his face to understand him a little bit better throughout this learning process and encourage him face to face; but every time, God helped us with words to offer him. We spent a lot of time clarifying things with him; teaching him how to deal with commercial building vendors, contractors, curious neighbors coming to the site asking him questions he did not feel empowered to answer.”

Jeremiah Watson (right) has participated in construction projects for most of his life; his primary occupation since 2009 and even began his own construction company in 2014. Jeremiah has demonstrated the safe use of tools to our cooperatives and student interns, as well as led sustainable building projects.

Marco Arroyo (right) reviewed the construction process with Amilcar Alas (left) this past July. Marco has represented Global Outreach Developments International as a premier translator for both legal affairs and Latin America communications since 2009. Marco has assisted our cooperatives and student interns in their growth of logistics and collaboration agreements with other entities.

Both Watson and Arroyo agree that it’s not just about a project’s completion, but it is also about empowering our G.O.D. International team in their capacity development.

Arroyo: “Our biggest success throughout the project was seeing Amilcar gain confidence and understanding about how important his role was. [Especially during the last stretch}, he took ownership of his role!”

At first, Amilcar didn’t see how important his role was or how it contributed to the success of the project. He began to realize that his responsibility was more than just work.

Arroyo: “We enjoyed seeing him understand that his capacity development was not only a benefit to him but also, a responsibility to bless others with what God keeps giving him.”

Watson: “Building trust and competence in Amilcar was a great success.”

A good lesson learned, according to Marco Arroyo: “as God’s people, we should always be ready and willing, in season and out of season, to teach and empower those that God has called us to serve. And to always demonstrate patience, love, and forgiveness, no matter what the process is.”

Amilcar Alas’s experience is primarily with residential building projects and learned construction techniques from G.O.D. Int’l team members Michael Johnson, Jeremiah Watson, Jason Roufs. See his most recent work with widow care shower projects here. Amilcar shares: “God has been faithful. He has taught me patience and I have been able to cement my life strongly in Christ. A way in which this project has benefited my development as a representative of the ministry, and as part of this wonderful team, is that now I can manage work projects.”

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

— Colossians 1: 9-12