Making Good Use of our Nearness to El Salvador
Flying to El Salvador from Nashville takes about as long as flying to Los Angeles, and often doesn’t cost much more. With this proximity and ease of travel, our organization sends teams to El Salvador every month. This frequency allows for ongoing, quality support and education for our new cooperatives, Antonio and Lorena, as well as a variety of personnel to be on site throughout the year, working on projects specific to their specialties.
Last month, The youth helped create the music room they now regularly occupy--a great experience for all! Watch the video here.
Last month, a team of two set up a recording studio and music room in the community center, delivered materials and set up for the first Institute class in the region, and hosted friends and neighbors for meals, bible studies and worship.
This month, a group of ecologists and a public health worker will facilitate an agricultural seminar for local farmers, offer education on nutrition and childbirth, and deliver the next segment of the Institute Bible class.
These monthly trips by no means replace our extended missions in the region, but instead supplement and support our ongoing efforts. Our property is fuller than ever, housing one family and occupying youth seeking refuge and a healthy social environment on a daily basis.
Just a few years ago, the land was filled with volunteers who helped us build the first structures on the land. Now, the space is filled with neighboring children and youth, benefitting from education, counseling, sports, music and more.
The houses we built in faith that the Lord would fill, as his purposes became clear, are now used daily as our ministry in growing and expanding. Long hoped-for projects are slated for action. In the upcoming months, garden beds in local schools, teacher seminars, grey water disposal solutions, and more rocket stoves are all scheduled for completion.
Despite its proximity, El Salvador is a challenging place to do ministry. It is the only region we work in where English is not widely spoken. It is still recovering from a civil war that left much tragedy in its wake. Teen pregnancy, gang violence, and poverty are ever-present realities. Nonetheless, we have some wonderful things going for us--our proximity being one of them. We are using it to our advantage as best we can, faithfully following the way the Lord has shown us so far, and rejoicing in the ways he shows his nearness to us and or efforts.
Read about this month’s trip focus here.
Written by C.F. Edwards
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