Category: Blog

by Michelle Zuñiga

Pastors, leaders and ENLACE staff holding on to miracles.During my first year as an ENLACE volunteer, I had the opportunity to travel to dozens of communities. It was obvious that most of these communities were poor, with high crime rates, and often distant from access to resources. Despite these challenges, pastors and church leaders are involved in daily efforts to bring reconciliation, justice, and help their neighbors in transformational ways. Their hard work is encouraging to say the least, but I sometimes ask myself, “What keeps them going? How can they continue all of this hard work in the face of such adversity?” The short answer is passion. A God-given passion for service seems to be the key element that these pastors and leaders all seem to have in common.

As 2010 drew to a close, more than 140 pastors and church leaders from all over El Salvador came together to commit their lives to serving God and serving their communities with this God-given passion. At one point during a session I could see Pastor Santos from El Espino, Pastor Miguel from Las Delicias, and Pastor Orlando from El Triunfo, all from very different areas of the country. As they heard speakers, each one was attentive, writing notes diligently, and worshipping with all of their hearts. This retreat was a time of camaraderie, spiritual refreshment and renewal of their passion for service. The pastors and leaders recognize that it takes enthusiasm and momentum to motivate their churches to continue serving in the face of adversity.

As we begin a new year I can see that it is with this contagious passion that churches truly become agents of change in their communities. A good example is the Good Samaritan where Pastor Miguel Duran has persisted for many years with a water project that will provide three communities with clean water. At the retreat he shared his experience with this initiative. His experience encouraged other church leaders to face with confidence the obstacles their initiatives may encounter.

Michelle smiling for the camera during the retreatOne of the most powerful moments was near the end of the retreat when everyone stood together, holding hands. We were connected with one another and we prayed as we squeezed our neighbor’s hand. We held on tightly knowing that we were holding onto miracles. As we look ahead to 2011 and beyond we know that for many communities in El Salvador, nothing short of a miracle will do. Money seems scarce, resources are hard to come by, but these pastors and leaders continue to strive to lead like Jesus did, with a God-given passion for service.


Make a year-end gift today and help us reach our December goal of $25,000!

So far, we’ve raised more than $10,000 in December which will provide home gardens for more than 40 families in 2011. But we need your help to reach our December goal and provide gardens for hundreds of families like Modesto Guevara’s family in Abelines who says, 

“We have a big family, but there was so much we couldn’t eat it all ourselves. So we went to town and sold produce there. Now my wife sells here in our neighborhood or people come to our house to buy.” 

Click here to read more about Modesto’s experience with his home garden.

$250 helps feed a family for a lifetime!  
$50 helps feed one person for a lifetime!

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Ron Bueno during the opening session of the event“To be a leader, you must lead,” started ENLACE’s founder and director, Ron Bueno, at the 2010 pastors and leaders retreat, “But to be a servant leader, you must first serve.” The theme of the retreat was, “Lead like Jesus,” and the weekend was filled with teachings and workshops conducted by influential pastors and leaders who work with ENLACE, as well as video workshops from Willow Creek’s Global Leadership Summit. Participants learned that to lead like Jesus is to seek God, serve others, and empower passionate individuals to take your people from an unacceptable, metaphorical “here” to a brighter and better “there.”

This essential and successful movement from ‘here’ to ‘there’ is precisely what is happening in the churches and communities partnering with ENLACE. For instance, in the community of Abelines, Pastor Victorio has used passionate, motivated individuals to help him move his community from a place where children were dying, families were without safe housing, the roads were readily inaccessible, and people were living without potable water or electricity to a present reality where there is hope for the future. Through partnerships with the local government and other local entities, Abelines has become a community with access to running water, electricity, latrines, safer roads, foot bridges, and the infant mortality rate has decreased significantly. Even more impressive, broken relationships between individuals and entities have been restored, giving the community a forward momentum that is being replicated throughout the surrounding area.

The number of churches working with ENLACE has grown 6 fold since 2005. We are now working with 32 churches and have a projected growth of 100 churches within the next five years. The success of what we are seeing is owed to the function of replication. Influential leaders are those who continue to move their people forward while also fostering and developing new leaders who have the vision to serve and lead their people. In the Abelines region, because of Pastor Victorio’s direct lead, nearly a dozen other churches have come to partner with ENLACE and at least as many are now interested to begin the process of moving their congregations and communities toward a better future. We are seeing similar movements of service and replication all over the country and hope to see El Salvador reach a ‘there’ in which local churches throughout the country serve as a beacon of hope and an instrument of change in their communities.

Children involved in the home garden initiatives gain access to healthy foods and an opportunity for a better future.For Maribel Portillo, to think of the impact of home gardens is to think of her children. Maribel has seen a great impact in her own life since first starting a home garden a few years ago, but the influence on her children is what really stands out for her,

“…Our children are healthier. We now have an abundance of healthy food and this helps our children to stay healthy… We’re all learning how to work together. We’re more organized and we pass on what we’ve learned to the next generation.”

Having healthy children is a dream come true for Maribel, and the success also allows her the privilege to dream of a brighter future for her family. She recognizes that the gardens are already of great importance, but she dreams of using the gardens to improve her family’s economic situation as well. With great joy, she says, “[The gardens] help us financially because we no longer have to buy the vegetables that we cultivate and maybe one day we can even have our own business.”

Every two weeks, ENLACE’s agronomist visits the home gardens to provide ongoing technical support to individuals like Maribel Portillo.Because ENLACE provides ongoing training and technical support, Maribel’s dream of a healthier and more stable economic future can easily become a reality.

Over 500,000 people in El Salvador struggle with malnutrition and hunger every year. A home garden is the most effective way to eliminate these problems. In the past two years ENLACE has helped plant more than 350 home gardens, and we plan to help start at least 400 new home gardens next year! Your donation, no matter how small, helps ENLACE give training and supplies to church and community members all over El Salvador who desire to feed their families and generate income through home gardens and small businesses.

GivFood Today!
$250 helps feed a family for a lifetime!
$50 helps feed one person for a lifetime! 

Beatriz Amaya at her Home GardenIn the semi-rural community of La Loma home gardens have become synonymous with powerful and complete community transformation. Community members have become united in purpose– teaching, cultivating, and helping their neighbors to accomplish the work at hand. A sweet aroma of change is filling the air in La Loma and is spreading beyond the community’s small borders.

For many years, the members of the Assembly of Christian Churches in the area attempted to serve their community, but they were always met with a negative response. Although they considered the Home Garden initiative as another attempt to get closer to the community, they expected no more than to provide vegetable gardens for members of the church.

However, over time the home gardens have become a revolutionary initiative, impacting not only the participants themselves, but their families, their neighbors and the sellers in the area. As Pastor Felix Amaya says, “This initiative has changed our lives. As a community we’ve come together, made friends, we take care of each other… and we’re making money!”

ENLACE’s Agronomist Advises Pastor Felix and Don Serefino on how to care for the home garden Taking care of a home garden requires perseverance, patience and care. These three ingredients have not only resulted in healthier and more nutritive vegetables, but also in restored relationships and a spirit of cooperation among the community members.

“People now see the church as a friend… we are no longer distant brothers…There are people who we never used to greet, but now they are benefitting from the gardens and they are asking questions…” Juan Amaya, church leader.

 

 The beneficiaries of this initiative are now helping and motivating others, breaking the ideological barriers that have kept the church divided from its community. This new openness has motivated and strengthened the church leadership and has bolstered church’s image in the community. For example, pastor Felix is no longer seen as just a pastor, but as a friend to the community.

The impact of the Home Gardens Initiative has been so strong that people from surrounding areas have asked how they might have the success and economical sustainability that the people of La Loma now enjoy. The success of the Home Garden Initiative in La Loma represents transformation in every way: restored sense of personal worth, better health, increased income and truly restored relationships.

In the past two years ENLACE has helped plant more than 350 home gardens, and we plan to help start at least 400 new home gardens next year! Your donation, no matter how small, helps ENLACE give training and supplies to church and community members all over El Salvador who desire to feed their families and generate income through home gardens and small businesses.

GivFood Today!
$250 helps feed a family for a lifetime!
$50 helps feed one person for a lifetime!


ENLACE’s Executive Director, Ron Bueno, praying with pastors at a previous retreatOnce a year, the ENLACE staff has the opportunity to spend three days in close fellowship with pastors and leaders from all the ENLACE church partners who are daily working to transform their churches and communities. This annual time of learning and sharing nurtures and motivates us all to move forward in the transformation that God has allowed us to start in this country.

The first retreat took place in 2003 and was attended by 20 people from five churches, as well as six ENLACE staff. Now, seven years later, we find ourselves knocking at the door of the 2010 Pastors and Leadership Retreat which will be attended by 120 people from 25 churches, as well as 20 ENLACE staff that will act as workshop facilitators. Participants are expected to participate in the workshops to assess this year’s accomplishments, evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses, and formalize their plans for 2011.

 Pastors and ENLACE staff during a workshop session

Each of these churches realizes that they are not the only ones that have been doing what that are doing in their communities. There are others. They realize that they have gone through difficulties, but also they have had the blessing of truly being a part of their community and helping their community to change its situation. Alfredo Vargas, Director of Operations

This year’s retreat is called, “Lead Like Jesus,” and for the first time, the event is being organized by the pastors themselves. A Pastoral Committee, comprised of seven strong leaders, has been meeting diligently to prepare speakers and plan the logistics of the retreat. This important time of introspection, reflection, and sharing among individuals from different churches and communities allows us to capture ideas, share experiences, and strengthen ENLACE’s processes.

We ask for your prayers for December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, that each pastor, leader, and ENLACE staff will be renewed in their heart and in their commitment to “Lead Like Jesus.”

Defining and measuring ‘community transformation‘ can be tricky. However, it is possible to identify and recognize the change that goes on when a church begins the journey of effectively serving its community. To this end, ENLACE tracks six areas of transformation and eight core outcomes for every church and community with which it works. 

During a recent trip from US partner church, Covenant Family Fellowship (Portland, ME), many of the team members began to see first-hand what transformation looks like in the remote community of San Antonio en Medio. Of notable interest to the team was the increased involvement of local and national government in the area. Pastor Ron Nevers, on his third visit with ENLACE, noted the difference and when asked about his understanding of community transformation, he said, “The story at the school, and seeing the construction, that says it all right there.” The school project was not one initiated by ENLACE, and that’s the beauty of it. 

According to community leader Roberto Mejia, the San Antonio church, with support from ENLACE that helped to train and to encourage the church to serve its community effectively, had spearheaded many sucessful community initiatives such as housing, road repair, a clean water, and reforestation. Recently, due to the community participation in these initiatives, the local government of the San Jose El Naranjo region recognized the community of San Antonio as being unusually organized and able to work together to accomplish large projects that benefit its residents. Because of their exceptional organization and cooperation, the government entrusted them with a $111,000 project to expand their public school.

Now, Roberto Mejia and other community members glow as they show off the active construction site. They are proud to mention that the project’s labor–paying jobs that rotate every two weeks–is being distributed fairly among the San Antonio community ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to benefit from the additional income.

Kids learning how to play “disco” of “frisbee” with frisbrees that the Covenant team gave to the local school.We often tell teams who are on their first trip to El Salvador to enjoy the details, the sights and smells, and the people in the communities because it is overwhelming to try to see the whole picture of community transformation at first sight. On his third trip, George Thebarge of Covenant Family Fellowshiph expressed his growing understanding of ENLACE’s role in the San Jose Naranjo Region.

“My first trip, I knew that what was happening was exciting but I could not exactly see the big picture. My second trip, it began to make sense and I became familiar with the community and some of the people. This year, my third trip, I can honestly say that I see the transformation in the people and the community.”

Churches like Covenant Family Fellowship who commit to multi-year relationships play an important role in this process of community transformation by visiting El Salvador and encouraging the local church in its endeavors. Additionally, as the Salvadoran churches seek to alleviate spiritual and physical pverty in their communities, US churches help to provide them with ongoing accompaniment from ENLACE. 

In dozens of churches throughout El Salvador, we are seeing that this equation of partnership ultimately results in ‘community transformation.’

Contact us to find out how your church or organization can partner with ENLACE to make a direct and lasting impact in the lives of thousands of people in El Salvador. 

Click here to see photos from the trip.

10%* of what you spend on gifts this holiday season could help feed one person for a lifetime!

Go to www.GivFood.org for more information or

Get Started Now in 3 Easy Steps: 

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Making an Impact…

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With a few clicks, forwards and posts, hundreds more people will have the same success as Azucena Fuentes, a home gardener in El Salvador. Take a minute to watch the video below.