Lavinia Becker (then Fernandez) had plans to learn legal advocacy through a formal internship, the summer of 2012. God had other plans.
In the spring of 2012, I was in my third year of the Biblical Studies program at the Institute for G.O.D., preparing for a 2-month summer “immersion” trip to El Salvador. I had felt called by God to participate in the advocacy of land rights for women a few years prior and was excited to meet with as many lawyers as I could that summer. I had plans to find local lawyers to intern with. After taking a class on the book of John, I made a resolution that while I was abroad I would wake up every day and pray for the strength to serve others like Jesus did while I tried to learn about legal advocacy.
During our first week on the ground in El Salvador, the team got organized and set up our different service opportunities for visiting mission groups. As I walked on my first day from the bus to our campus, I saw a group of children I knew sitting by the school. Pausing to talk to them, they told me that school was closed for the day so they were sitting there passing the time. This continued for the next week. I felt a tension, of wanting to “stay focused” on my task of being an advocate but seeing so much need in those kids. I remembered Jesus taking off his outer garment and serving, and knew that the same Lord who called me to become an advocate had put those children in my path.
Instead of finding a lawyer, I started to plan a children’s program and invited all the children to our campus. Twice a day we held what I called a “Club de Niños” (Kid’s Club) where we chose a story, wrote a script, held play practice, and even prepared costumes and set design. The club was held for all 8 weeks, incorporating VBS activities and sports camps.
Women in El Salvador who lack land rights live in constant fear of their homes and livelihood being taken away
Throughout the summer the mothers of these children began to invite me to their homes. I would sit for hours with women in the local community. It was during these times that they began to share their stories with me. As I listened, I learned: none of the lands they lived on belonged to them, men who had long ago left or passed still held the legal titles. “If I marry another, the father of my children who left for the states 10 years ago say they will take my land.” “I have lived in this house for 30 years, but it could be taken at any time.” Women of all ages lived, worked, and raised their children in fear.
I had started my trip thinking I knew the need - I thought a lawyer in the city could teach me. But it was through service to children that I was welcomed into their families and into their stories. Through service, I was given a vision for why women need advocacy.
As I finish my third year studying at Nashville School of Law, it is the image of those women, and their children performing for their community, that drives me through the hard work of studying law. It is that mother saying “they will take my land” as her daughter practices her lines in the background with excitement, that keeps me focused. In choosing God’s agenda over my own I was given sight and calling. At that moment I became an advocate.
It’s our goal to raise $250k before December 31st, in support of the kind of advocacy that Lavinia brings up in this article: advocating for children’s literacy, farmers’ education, sports camps to develop youth, and so much more. Will you join Lavinia in being an advocate?
1 Timothy 6:18-19 - Do Good, Be Rich In Good Works, Generous, And Ready To Share, Thus Storing Up The Treasure Of A Good Foundation For The Future, So That You May Take Hold Of The Life That Really Is Life.
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