Category: Blog

In El Salvador, especially among people from rural areas, there is a common response to the question “Que tal?” or “How are you?” People often say, “Por aqui, siempre en la lucha.” Translated literally, they are saying, “Here I am, always in the struggle.” And from my experience, as a hopeful observer and missionary volunteer, a difficult struggle it can be indeed.

In the communities in which ENLACE works, the lives of the poor can be of constant labor and toil. The result, despite their hard work, is often poor housing, unclean water, lack of basic health care and decent roads. Such living conditions wear down even the most valiant rural resident and bring with them fatalism, selfishness and fear. Communities struggle to survive as its residents often struggle between each other for survival.

Time and again, governing bodies such as mayors’ offices, government ministries and federal departments often create public policies that do not respond to the needs of or capacity of local communities to respond to their visions of change.

As an organization that sees its role to come alongside local churches to help them to transform their communities, ENLACE has increasingly been led to help local churches connect with their local public entities. We have learned that if the local church is serious about wanting to transform its community, it will confront the political realities of injustice and expediency.

It is critical for ENLACE to accompany churches to build just relationships with their local governing bodies so that they respond to the needs and vision of the local community. In our experience, community transformation begins with restored relationships that ultimately lead to effective local organizations and governing bodies that truly respond to a community’s identified needs and ability to manage sustainable initiatives. As ENLACE helps the church to connect to its community institutions, we are continually aware that it is only through just relationships that just policies will be birthed.

Pastor Miguel Duran and Ron Bueno signing agreement with a government-funded water company

Every year the Women’s Ministry of the Southern California district in the Assemblies of God take on a project. They call this yearly endeavour “Project Hope.” We are so excited to announce that the women of Southern California have selected Project Milagro as their 2009 project.

Please take a minute to watch their promotional video.

SILPA HERNANDEZ TURCIOS, LEADER, IGLESIA EL BUEN SAMARITANO, LAS DELICIAS

I think the church should collaborate with the community because we’ve been called to serve. In the same way that we want good things for ourselves, we should think about our neighbors–to see what can be done for their needs.

PASTOR SANTOS ESTANISLAO CARPIO, IGLESIA TABERNACULO BIBLICO, SAN JOSE EL ESPINO

 In general, we in the evangelical church have attended to the spiritual needs of people–everything that involves a person’s spiritual problems. But there are few of us who attend to physical needs likefood, housing, and clothing. I believe that we, as the church, should enter into a new stage where we work to attend to the needs of people in accordance with the resources we have because God’s covenant with us is integrated. God wants us to be well spiritually and to be well physically. The mission of the church is to satisfy all the needs of people, to look for ways that bring us closer to completing the work that God delegated to the church. Jesus didn’t preach the word of God to empty stomachs; he was willing to feed the hungry.

Many of our friends and partners are frequently interested in current events in El Salvador. One such person who has an eye on the events in El Salvador is a Wisconsin resident named Tim, of Tim’s El Salvador blog. On January 8 Tim posted his annual top-ten list of the previous year’s news stories in El Salvador. So, for a quick run-down of the news in El Salvador in 2008, check out Tim’s blog by clicking here.

NURIA DE REYES, CHURCH COACH, ENLACE

We ourselves really can not change the community or even less the church. Change comes only through God touching the heart of the church for its community. In the churches where I am working the people are now realizing what the work of the church is all about. Before [the community] was not much interested in the local church. They might say, “There they go to church again. There they go to meet again.” But now the community is seeing something new. The church is serving them and not just speaking the gospel with words, but living it out. This is the most beautiful thing I have seen through work I have done.

Pastor Miguel Angel Duran, Iglesia El Buen Samaritano, Las Delicias

God told Abraham in Chapter 12 of Genesis “I am going to bless you…and you will be a blessing.” God didn’t say,”Look Abraham, I am going to bless you so that you will be a great and rich man.” No, God said “I am going to bless you so that you function as a blessing to others.” The one thing we have learned in our church is that it is through giving that we receive. We can’t look at what little we have and think we have nothing to offer. We must follow the call of God no matter what. God is in charge of multiplying everything.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 2008 CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER featuring an interview with long-time ENLACE partner Bill Manwarren, Initiative and Program Highlights as well as Opportunities to Give!

ENLACE’S ANNUAL PASTOR’S RETREAT from ENLACE on Vimeo.

Founder and Executive Director of ENLACE, Ron Bueno,recently had the privilege of interviewing one of ENLACE’s long-term supporters and friend, Bill Manwarren. Bill Manwarren is a lay, mission’s leader of his church in Santa Ana, CA. He created a partnership group comprised of church and community friends who have funded multiple initiatives throughout El Salvador for the last 12 years. It was a great opportunity to reflect together on the impact of the partnership group on ENLACE, their lives and the church. Below is a sampling of some of the questionsRon asked him and his answers.

How did you decide to get involved with ENLACE?

My friend, Hal Adams, and I started a post-retirement business. We decided together that we would tithe on total sales. God blessed us and so we started looking for opportunities to make a difference. Through a mutual friend, we heard of ENLACE. After praying about it, we decided to fund the first capital for the credit program.

How did you organize a partnership group?

Hal and I wanted to expose other people to ENLACE. We decided to host a booth at a local pastors’ conference. We needed more people to help us design and host the booth so we asked several other people from church to help us. After the booth, we started meeting twice a year to give ENLACE updates and present new initiatives. The group loved hearing about the projects and how it was going. They loved seeing where their money was going and the impact it had. But the real key was the mission trips. When the group really saw the need first hand they would respond. The team members would also go back and tell their friends. The group grew to include over 60 people.

How did you keep the partnership group going for so long?

You have to organize a team, present projects and then get out the way and let God do the work. The key was to get other people involved. I focused on getting the group together and following up on the donations. I spent a lot of time personally inviting people to come. Hal, along with our friend, Esther Pearlman, another deeply committed member of the team, focused on reporting on the projects and presenting new needs. It was critical to get people out to hear the need and God would do the rest. We also visited El Salvador every two years to keep people engaged and excited about what they had funded but also to expose new people to ENLACE and the needs in El Salvador. The trips were really important. The team members will never forget them! They saw first hand how people live and saw how their lives had changed physically, emotionally and spiritually. The trips really helped them focus on what this was all about: being God’s hand to serve those in great need.

What impact has being part of the partnership group made on your life?

It has changed my life. Visiting and walking alongside poor families with great need has created empathy and compassion in my own life. I learned how important it was to commit to people over a long period of time to really assist them to do it themselves and not just give them a quick hand-out. I also became convinced of the importance of the church as being the primary agent of change. I must be honest, there were many times when I thought that I was too busy and that did not have the time to continue, but God would always remind me, “I can make sure that you have even more time if you want.” Being involved has made me more missions oriented and compassionate.

What impact has it had on the members of the partnership group?

The biggest impact has been to expose people to missions. Many people were not missions minded when we started. They saw outreach as an obligation. But through the group, they have really seen and gotten involved in missions. It all comes down to the fact that they saw the need and after responding to God’s call to give and serve people’s lives changed. We have seen how God has used us to provide a house for a poor widow, provide food through agricultural programs, provide electricity and housing to other communities. Because our group has been able to partner with ENLACE for so long, we have been able to see the long-term change in so many of the communities that we have served. Missions has become so much a part of our lives. Esther even became a full-time missionary to South Africa.

What impact can a partnership group have on your church?

The group could have a large impact on your church. We have been able to get more people involved in missions. The group members feel like ENLACE is their ministry. They feel like they are the representatives of ENLACE to their church. We have also been able to reach out to our neighbors and friends through the group. I have presented a housing project to a neighbor, who has now become a great friend, and he was able to contribute significantly to the initiative. A partnership group can really get people excited and active about presenting needs and mobilizing resources to meet them. It can change your church.