Category: Blog

This summer we were visited by 10 work and 4 vision teams totalling more than 160 people who served their global neighbors in the churches and communities of San Jacinto, El Progreso, El Ranchador, San José El Naranjo, San Antonio En Medio, El Espino, Santa María and San Martín! Thank you all for your sacraficial service to El Salvador!

Old Friends!

Two groups from Seacoast Grace Church in California came to the region of Ahuachapan to work hard and create friendships with the Nueva Jerusalen Church in San José El Naranjo and Voz Que Clama en el Desierto Church in San Antonio En Medio. The first team repaired more than 300 feet of a steep road that had been prone to mudslides and endangered the lives of pedestrians and motorists. The second team completed digging almost 300 feet along the community’s main road. When finished, the water channels will prevent road erosion, keeping the road safe and clear. Not only do these projects generate safety and more opportunities for agriculture and other economic activities, but they also help the local church reach out to their neighbors in ways that create profound connections and long-term transformation.

 A Church is more than a Building!

The Miraflores Public School is one of the only public institutions that exists in the area of El Espino. For years, the school’s only security was a wire mesh fence tethered by concrete posts. This substandard security left students, teachers, and the infrastructure itself exposed to outside disruptions such as animals, passersby, and gang members. Since 2008, the need for a perimeter wall has been a priority to the administration, parents, and community members. Stregthened by their work with ENLACE and the newfound confidence in their ability to transform their community through cooperation, Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church partnered with the local community association and the councillor of San Pedro Perulapán to work on this project. Timberline Community Church from Fort Collins, Colorado came twice this year and was an integral part of the first stage of this project. They helped build the wall and supported local health initiatives by bringing a short-term medical team.

 Witnesses to God’s Mercy!

Vineyard Church from Pataskala, Ohio returned to support Zurisadai Church in San Jacinto this year. In 2010, during their first visit to the region, they joined the work of the church to help construct a retaining wall which prevents landslides along one of the area’s main roads. This year, they supported the local church in its effort to give shelter to one of the 25 families that the church and community identified as being the most vulnerable. Through this housing project, the church has further strengthened relationships with the community and also ties of friendship with the Vineyard Church who collaborated in the building of a home for Jose Marroquin and his family. While in San Jacinto, Vineyard Church members also helped move materials for another housing recipient, directed activities for the community’s women and children, hosted a marriage seminar, and visited homes to those in need of food and prayer. 

Click here to go to see more about the summer

The school’s wall is a great achievement because it has an important meaning for students and parents. There are gangs all around the school and this wall means security for the children and teens. This is not just important for the school, but it is also important for the church. As the pastor, I feel we are achieving the goals we have set. Pastor Santos Carpio.

Miraflores Public School has classes from kindergarden to ninth grade and is the only option for formal education in the community. The school has a staff of six teachers and currently serves 353 students between the ages of five and 17. Until recently, the school’s only security was a chain-link fence around its campus, which was insufficient to protect students, teachers, school, equipment and the school building itself.

The need to build a cement block wall around the perimeter of the school was identified nine years ago. Although the school sought help several times, they could not move the project forward. A few years ago, however, the urgency for security in the area increased due local gang activity and violence. Alarmingly, throughout the country, attacks on students have been rapidly increasing, with 52 students reportedly killed in 2010 and already 108 in 2011.

Rosa Lilian Martinez and Children of the Public SchoolWith these high numbers in mind, Rosa Alicia Martínez, the principal of the school in Miraflores, admitted, “One of the greatest needs for the school has been a perimeter wall” because “there are people who don’t belong in the school who come in at any time. That affects the normal process of the classes and the students’ comfort.” The principal is thrilled that Pastor Santos’ church has helped to pave the way to create a safer environment for students and teachers in Miraflores.

Thank God the Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church came to us! This is a dream for me. We have seen the results of their work, and people from the community are responding. It wasn’t until the church joined us that the mayor’s office helped us a little. Church members come and work, and parents also play a role in the work. Older students are volunteers on the project too, and now, even Americans have joined us to help build the wall!. Rosa Alicia Martinez, School Principal in Miraflores.

The construction of the wall has been divided into four stages, corresponding to the back, front, and two sides of the school’s campus. Timberline Church from Fort Collins, Colorado was the talk of the town as they picked up shovels and joined the local church from two weeks to work on the wall from the very beginning of the project’s first stage. Community members told us they were impressed to see 15 teenagers and their youth pastors working passionately on the wall. When the second Timberline group came, there were 17 more adults and five teenagers who worked on the wall, brought a medical team, and visited homes in the community.

“The impact was enormous, and everyone was motivated by the visit from the Americans. Their service has made the community feel like they can do great things, and the church has confirmed that what they are doing is for the Lord. Now, they feel strengthened and more committed.” Nuria Reyes, Church Coach in El Espino.

After years of wishing and waiting for a school wall, the community has finally achieved their dream through the leadership of the local church and the collaboration of the school, parent’s association, and mayor’s  office. The work would not have been possible without the area’s partnership with Timberline Church which has helped to provide ENLACE coaching and technical support, as well as filling in gaps of funding for the much-needed wall. We would like to thank Timberline Church for its generous support and congratulate the Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church for all their hard work in Miraflores!

Click here to see the Picture Gallery from Timberline Church’s works

In a recent blog missionary volunteer Kim Frederick wrote about the recurring references to Psalm 23 during one of the dozens of trips she hosted while in El Salvador. In Spanish, the second stanza of the well-loved psalm of David reads “Nada me faltará” which is best translated “I will lack nothing that I need.” These words describe a situation that we’ve experienced at ENLACE many times over the years. We’ve been reminded by Executive Director Ron Bueno that if we don’t have the funds to do a project, then its not the right timing to accomplish it yet. Likewise, if we haven’t found the right person for the job, then it isn’t time to hire. But time and time again, funds have arrived to help implement projects and people have arrived to help right where we needed them to be. 

Kim’s arrival in 2010 to help in the areas of Communications, Public Health and Mission Team Management was another example that ENLACE will not lack anything it needs.  

Michelle Zuniga is a passionate young woman who has truly impacted El Salvador through her service with ENLACE this past year. Michelle built intimate friendships with dozens of ENLACE staff as well as church and community members throughout El Salvador. In addition, she exhibited the true nature of the word ‘enlace’ by acting as a ‘link’ between local churches and dozens of groups from the U.S. As Jeff Costa of the Crossing said, it is evident that “God is with her as she serves side by side with each group that comes down.” This sentiment was reiterated by everyone who had the privelege of working with her. ENLACE’s medical doctor, Dr. Zuleyma Chahin, worked side by side with Michelle many times and says that Michelle worked “with a sense of compassion and God’s love that was reflected in all that she did.”

At ENLACE, we believe that restored relationships are at the root of any lasting change. By coming to her mother’s native land with an open heart to serve, the relationships that Michelle leaves behind will continue to help transform communities for many years to come!

Thank you, Michelle!

Contact us today if you are interested in applying for a long-term volunteer position with ENLACE!

Alejandro and his wife PatyChilean native, Rodolfo Alejandro Pérez Olave, seems to have no shortage of enthusiasm and energy. After marrying a Salvadoran and settling into life in El Salvador many years ago, Alejandro brought his excitement and expertise to ENLACE. Alejandro has been an agronomer with ENLACE since the very beginning in 1993 and has helped thousands of people transform their lives through medium-scale agricultural endeavors and most recently with home gardens. 

Alejandro began his career in agriculture working for the Chilean government with its national reconstruction plan after which he studied the environment and bacteriology in Canada. In 1992 Alejandro traveled to El Salvador as a part of the Organization of American States. It was during this time that he met ENLACE co-founder David Bueno, who was working with farmers in Ahuachapan. Alejandro never looked back, and since then has worked with farmers and community members in a variety of traditional and non-traditional production of vegetables. 

“What I like most about working with home gardens is to see how people learn and progress while also living in such humble circumstances. [Participants] welcome others into their homes with the little they have. They make my work worthwhile.”

Alejandro directing one of his home garden training seminarsAlejandro recalls how he used to work primarily with male farmers. Over the last five years, however, he has worked primarily with churches that help women with home gardens. Since women are the main caretakers of children and the elderly, their gardens support the most vulnerable in each community. According to Alejandro, “ENLACE has nailed it with the home gardens because they have great social and economic impact. Through them, communities can help themselves by eating more healthily, making a little more income and fixing their homes; I have seen their lives change completely.”

Today, Alejandro works with new partner churches in the regions of San Martin, San Rafael Cedros, Santa Ana, and San Jose El Naranjo. He provides ongoing technical support and teaches how to plant, cultivate, prepare the soil, and control pests totally organically.

Just as Alejandro has been a witness of change and transformation in the communities in the past 16 years in El Salvador, he has also been transformed by his work. Alejandro said that ENLACE has become his second family. He has been changed and transformed by God’s love, the people with whom he works, and by the friendships formed with his coworkers in the office. 

Take a moment to read our Summer Newsletter 2011 highlighting ENLACE’s Economic Development Program

Your donation of $100 will be leant nearly 30 times in the next 15 years totaling more than $1500 of credit for ambitious entrepreneurs in El Salvador!

Despite his best efforts to provide for his wife and four children, Pablo never had the opportunity to afford adequate housing for his family. Their makeshift home was repeatedly flooded during the rainy season, bringing them sickness and stress. They did not have much hope of improving their situation alone. When the local church reached out to him and other neighbors with a community housing initiative, he was overwhelmed yet extremely joyful at the prospect of finally having a secure shelter for his wife and children.

ENLACE volunteer Michelle Zuniga translating for Pastor Mauricio during the ending ceremony of Vineyard’s mission tripGod is doing great things in San Jacinto. Things we would have never imagined. In the past, our church wasn’t reaching out and serving in our community. It wasn’t until we started working with ENLACE that we learned how God cares for this community.

Starting to serve your community is like jumping into water. You can’t tell others what it’s like until you’ve jumped in yourself. Until you yourself have tested the water, you don’t know what it’s like. Is it hot or cold? And you can’t invite others to join you unless you yourself get wet. 

Now we are more effective and have gained momentum. Serving our community with you didn’t feel like work but a privilege. We are excited, renewed, and have a new vision of God’s heart for our community. God has much more work in store for us.

Please continue to pray for us because God has a lot more work for us to do. We will send you a picture of when these bricks that you have spent time to build into a house become a finished home.

Thank you for the blessing you have been to us. Thank you for caring for us. God bless you.

By Kim Frederick

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  (James 1:27)

Beautiful scenary on the ourskirts of town near one of the new homes. Quietly standing in the shade of Marivel’s home as her children lingered around corners, on hammocks, and inside of their dirt floor adobe home, I helped translate as we boldly practiced a pure and faultless religion. When we arrived at their house, a skinny teenage girl shyly opened their scrap metal gate, and two muddy barefoot boys were doing their homework on an old wooden table outside. Marivel’s eyes filled with tears and she gave thanks to God as we explained that we had come to visit and pray with her. She is a widow with eight children. She is a strong believer in God and member of a local church called Arca de Dios, but she and her children rarely go to church anymore due to threats from a local gang. She says that she hopes this “difficult time” will soon come to an end, but she appears tired and worn. Her pastor, Franciso, knows her well and visits often. It is Pastor Fransico who brought us to her home to encourage her and share a bag of basic foods with her family. He knows and visits many people in his community, despite the prevalent gang activity in the area.

This week, a group from Willow Creek Crystal Lake in Chicago came to build relationships with the people in El Ranchador and construct two cement block homes to support current efforts of the local church to serve those in need in their community. The group’s desire to learn from the community and willingness to listen and respond to the community’s needs was admirable.

“The Lord is my sheperd, I shall no want.” Psalm 23.1Throughout the week, everywhere we went, Psalm 23 was written, sung, read or taught. It was laughable each time a reference to the verse seemed to pop out of nowhere. Although the reference (in some translations) to walking “in the valley of the shadow of death,” and it’s popular use at funerals or hospital beds was a little discomforting, it seemed to build a nice theme for my week. Despite the physical labor of moving over 300 cement blocks, mixing cement by hand, and hauling dirt and rocks, being in El Ranchador all week away from desks, computers, phones, clocks, and advertisements was a restful time. The images of “lying down in green pastures” and “leading me beside still waters” provoke powerful feelings while surrounded by mountains and enormous Ceiba trees in a small town filled with mud and metal houses with waste water running through the streets.

Alvaro and two of his four children help build their new home. Despite the numerous gang tags and knowledge that we were being carefully watched, we never felt threatened; we never felt alone. Instead, the truth came alive through our presence there, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff–they comfort me.” We ate all of our meals in the community with the pastor and other volunteers from the church, and we were welcomed with overwhelmingly open arms which reminded me that He “prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” and “my cup overflows.”

1 Jehovah es mi pastor; nada me faltará. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Housing recipient, Douglas and his family in El Ranchador. Before leaving Marivel’s home, the Crystal Lake group gave her a large plastic bag with basic foods like rice, beans, oil, sugar, and cornflour. She asked me to pray for her daughter, Marivel de los Angeles (translated, Marivel from the Angels). She showed me a that her hip bone was protruding awkwardly beneath her skin. It looked broken, and her mother said it was from a golpea, or some kind of blow. We prayed with her and asked that God “restore her soul” through these difficult times. Her certainty that she would one day have the freedom to return to church was a proclamation of the strong hope to which she clings. Thanks to the local church’s work in El Ranchador, Christians and non-Christians alike are receiving mercy and esperanza (hope) through home visits, latrines, home gardens, new houses, and restored relationships. This church’s efforts are just another example of how we, as the body, can reach out to one another, helping others to experience the truth in the last verse of Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”

Click here to go to Kim Frederick’s blog page

Like tools in a tool box, micro loans and business training are necessary tools in community transformation. And so along with helping churches identify needs in their communities such as infrastructure (roads, homes) and health (home gardens, clinics, improved stoves), the need for economic help in the forms of business training and micro lending is also important. In the following story, we learn how a small loan and business support have had a huge impact on the live of hardworking entrepreneur living in impoverished communities in El Salvador.