Category: Blog

As I talk with those interested in international development, I’m often asked why ENLACE is different. While I believe that there are many great organizations out there doing God’s work, ENLACE has a distinct church-focused, community-transformational approach. This approach understands that poverty and injustice are relational before material. In other words, broken relationships are at the root of poverty. If poverty was simply a lack of material resources, then the obvious answer would be to input significant resources. The majority of the time, introducing resources without working towards relational change, doesn’t work. ENLACE’s community transformation approach understands that relationships must be restored for lasting change to occur. In Abelines, a community we have walked with since 1999, ENLACE has seen that it is only God’s power that has transformed people’s hearts, enabling them to respond effectively to their neighbors, their community’s resources, and outside donations. I recently visited a church meeting there. Here are some of the things I heard.

 
Pastor Victorio Paz

Victorio Paz, pastor of Abelines church, said, “Many churches have a doctrine that separates them from the world. And before we didn’t have to and weren’t supposed to communicate with non-Christians. Through our trainings with ENLACE, we began to wake up to a deeper meaning of the Word. We now know it is our calling to show love to others. I have become a better friend to the community…We now feel the needs of others. Now, if there is a need in the community and I ask people to help, I can have 50 people ready to help within minutes… The community trusts in us and has confidence in what we preach and say. Before, when we preached it was a message that split people apart, but now we build people up.”

Reina with her son Gerson

Reina de Membreno, church leader and health committee member said, “Part of the way we preach the gospel is simply by paying for the medical care of people who can’t afford it…We are now more united as a community.”

Umberto Martinez , church leader, when asked about what changes he has seen in the community, he responded emphatically. “First of all, there is so much less illness! It seemed that people used to line up for kilometers to see the doctor because they were always sick… Now there is improved health in the area, and the church has been a part of it all. The people see the response of the church and they understand the leadership the church has gained through service.

“We’ve had experience with other organizations. [They] meet with us, promote their projects, and they leave. ENLACE has stayed with us.”

When asked what they would do if ENLACE were to leave, Victorio Paz responded, “We would continue on the path in front of us. The way one is taught is the way one continues forward. As long as our church is here, the progress won’t come to an end.”

Peter DeSoto recently spearheaded a new website project dedicated to raising funds for and reporting on the water initiative in the communities of Las Delicias, El Rosario and Las Animas. The local water board has named the project "El Milagro" or "the miracle."

"We are excited to launch this website to help support the efforts of the heroes in Las Delicas, Las Animas, and El Rosario as they continue to strive towards achieving clean water in their communities.  Having worked alongside many of the leaders for the last few years, I am continually blown away by their commitment and their will to see this miracle happen.  In the coming months, and even years, we all have an amazing opportunity to walk alongside them and experience this miracle together. We have created this website as a way to bring you into the story, and to ask for your help.  Please check back regularly as we will be tracking the progress of the project and updating the site often." 

Check out the site and tell your friends about it: www.projectmilagro.com

In April, ENLACE hosted a team from STOA Ministries made up eye doctors and support staff that offered eye care clinics in multiple communities in San Martin, EL Salvador. The team was able to test vision, dilate eyes to test for diseases, and distribute hundreds of eye glasses. Without clinics like this, most of these community residents would have virtually no access to glasses at all. The team was also able to bring with them a huge amount of medicine. In many cases they were able to give folks with glaucoma sufficient medication for one year. If you aren ‘ t familiar with this disease, glaucoma increases pressure in the eye and when left untreated, eventually leads to blindness. Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness in the world.

We are so thankful to STOA for its help, and we think it’s awesome to know that a few more people will be seeing better because of a one-week visit of a small group of caring people!

To see some of the photos for your self, check out our photo gallery at: http://www.enlaceonline.org/picture-gallery/stoa-eye-clinic/

Fritz with the Kirkpatrick family, Pastor Marco from San Jose El Naranjo and Arturo Perez, ENLACE church coach.

Recently, some good friends of Fritz McGough, ENLACE’s Finance Director, came for their first visit to the country. Lisa wrote some amazing
journal entries and we would like to share them with you:

What we knew (or thought we knew) : we traveled to El Salvador to spend much needed time with a dear friend, his amazing wife and their three children; we expected to have adventures and see many things we’d never seen before, knowing that the brave founders of ENLACE would take us into remote areas of the country; we figured we’d feel ashamed by our privilege and comfortable lives. We hoped we could somehow be helpful.

What we learned (and are still processing): The true Angel Servants, the Pastors in the many impoverished villages showed us what it really means to serve others; Central America is frantic for access to clean water; most of all, sustaining relationships are what really make a difference long-term.

We expected to see poverty and despair. We were overwhelmed by the smiles and hope and love we received from people who have nothing. We are called to engage the lives of God’s children in a new and critical way, guided by the Christian hearts of ENLACE.

Click here to read more and see photos from the trip…

CLICK HERE TO SEE A COPY OF OUR 2006 / 2007 ANNUAL REPORT

UW Students at the 2008 Pi Mile RunIt’s a new kind of math they are teaching at the University of Wisconsin! Apparently if you add an enthusiastic engineering student to a 5K run and promise people pie at the end of that race the aggregate sum is $4000 donated to ENLACE’s water project in Las Delicias. That’s math we can get behind!

On April 5^th, 255 students hit the streets of Madison, Wisconsin in the 2^nd annual Pi Mile Run to help raise money and awareness for the ENLACE water project in Las Delicias. Yep, that means a few hundred folks ran to help raise funds for ENLACE and then were promptly thanked at the finish line with a slice of delicious pie. Truly a win-win situation.

Ted Durkee, a mechanical engineering student at UW, volunteered with ENLACE two years ago and helped in the communities of El Tineral and San Martin. The relationships that Ted developed in Las Delicias inspired him to create the Pi Mile Run last year. After organizing a second run Ted explained, “The only organization I considered supporting was ENLACE. Having met and worked with people in the Las Delicias community, it was as easy to be encouraged to raise funds for the water project as helping out a neighbor or good friend.”

Creating friendships and forging relationships is a time-consuming process but is the heart and soul of ENLACE. True and lasting change only comes as people listen to God and become connected to their neighbors. It is a great honor to see the impact that such a vision can have locally as well as internationally. As Ted noted in an interview after the event, “ENLACE…provides so many opportunities for people to connect with those in need. You’re not just writing a check for some obscure project in another country, you’re helping friends.”

The communities of San Martin that will be impacted by this donation express their gratitude to Ted and those at UW. They are also incredibly encouraged by the support of so many friends a world away. That is a gift that will multiply well beyond this year’s run.

To read more about the race, visit the UW website:

See more about Las Delicias and the water project.

 Support the water project.

And it was a very good hole, over 10 feet deep!

When the First Assembly Fort Wayne team of young adults were planning their trip to San Jose El Naranjo, a small hamlet north of San Salvador , the ir goals were simple. Team leader Laurie Atz shared, “We wanted to be open to whatever God wanted to do ; t o build relationships with people and show God ’ s love.” And indeed the team showed up in El Salvador ready to help however they could. They were even able to keep smiles on their faces when the ENLACE staff announced that they would be helping dig the hole for a pit latrine. (We know it doesn’t sound great, but pit latrines do a lot to increase overall sanitation and health in a community. Statistically, along with clean water and preventive education, pit latrines can help reduce the infant mortality rate by 50%.)

The Fort Wayne team accepted the project and attacked the hard, sunburnt earth with spirit, energy and even joy. Throughout the week the team was able to maintain an amazing attitude . T hey even had energy afterward to play with local kids and ended the week with a special presentation for the kids about God’s love. Their presentation included a hip hop dance routine, about a zillion balloon animals and two piñatas. Team member, Bethany Till, shared where her joy came from, “God is so big and awesome and everything He leads us to do He walks with us and gives us strength and courage to do—whether it ‘ s digging a hole, sharing a word or singing a song. He is right beside us, encouraging us and stretching us and teaching us to use the gifts He has given us!”

At ENLACE, we are always touched by how much God can do when people show up with truly humble hearts fil l ed with God’s love. In everything this team did they glowed with the joy of Christ. We know their time blessed and encouraged the people of San Jose El Naranjo—and that hole will be a daily reminder of a group of happy gringos that came and dug in Jesus’ name.

To view a video about other ongoing projects in the same community, see this video on a vocational training workshop in San Jose El Naranjo.

To learn more about how your church can get involved in community transformation in El Salvador, click on missions or contact Peter DeSoto at pdesoto@enlaceonline.org or 1 (888) 675-2314.

In the February heat, over 100 men and women gathered under a large tree in what shade they could find, fanning their faces as they listened to words from local Pastor, Geovanni Rivas. This was the first church and community meeting in San Antonio, a hamlet located in the municipality of San Jose El Naranjo (SJEN). ENLACE has been working in this area for over 10 years. The hamlet is made up of hard-working families that live on less than $1500 per year, face water contamination issues and have limited access to good housing, food and basic healthcare. The leaders at San Antonio Church asked the community to help brainstorm and identify opportunities that most needed attention. The community really responded to the invitation! As is often the case, access to water and “revamping the current water system” was the primary concern but latrine construction, housing and medical clinic visits were all also present on the wish list as together the church and community dreamed of possibilities.

This first terrific response to a church-called community meeting—in which over half of the families in the community were represented—encourages us to anticipate great things to come. Although San Antonio is a new partner, this meeting came as a fruit of a relationship between Pastor Marcos Melara of the Jersalem church located in SJEN proper and San Antonio ‘s pastor, Geovanni Rivas. After Pastor Geovanni’s church saw what was happening through Marcos’ church—health improvements, housing iniatives, increased community unity, etc.—he and his leadership desired that same work of the Spirit in their community. When the opportunity came, Pastor Geovanni and his church leaders jumped at the chance to begin working with ENLACE within their own hamlet.

ENLACE believes that the excellent turn-out of this first church and community meeting marks an exciting moment for the community of San Antonio and indicates that the local church has already done a lot of groundwork. Please join us in praying for the communities in San Jose El Naranjo, the San Antonio Church, Pastor Rivas and the ENLACE staff working in the community. We are excited to see what God will do in and through them in the years to come.

This year will bring a steady flow of teams made up of wonderful Christians intent on sharing God’s love with the poorest in El Salvador. One such team member who has traveled far and wide and partnered with ENLACE over the past five years is Rhonda Grigg. Recently, she wrote a note about her experience. Her words were so powerful that we wanted to share them with you. We’ve posted the letter here and pray that it will be as inspiring for you as they were for us.  

Click here to read the note from Rhonda Grigg

A very dear friend of ENLACE, Ben Louis, passed away on Tuesday, February 5th. Ben was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer last week and underwent an unsuccessful surgery on Monday to try and remove the tumor. Ben was a dear friend of ENLACE U.S. president Larry Kasper and made multiple trips to El Salvador and was a wonderful friend of ENLACE for many years. Join Ben’s faith community, the ENLACE team and Salvadoran churches in prayer for Ben’s wife, Judy, for Larry Kasper, as he officiates the funeral this week and for all of Ben’s family and friends.