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.
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.
Miriam Paz is a young widow with three small children. When a church member visited to help fix the roof of her old home, he saw that her house, on the verge of collapsing, was a danger to her and her children. She could hardly believe it when he returned with others to tell her she was going to receive a new home. She is thankful that the Church and community helped her in her time of need and that her children now have a secure roof over their heads.
“When I accepted Jesus Christ, my life was filled with God and with a desire to serve. To this day, I still have that desire. Through my studies I can help others, working not for men but for God because God satisfies my inner being.”
David's postive attitude and enthusiasm to serve has helped him to become a valuable new member of the ENLACE staff.David Gonzalez is currently studying agronomy engineering at the Roberto Quiñonez National School of Agriculture. Soon after starting there, his life changed completely when some of his classmates invited him to a Bible study on campus. After the study, the gratitude he felt toward God gave him a strong desire to help others in need through his life and his profession. He desired to live out the words of Mother Teresa which had always inspired him, “I am a pencil in the hands of God and he writes with me whatever he wants.”
David submitted 21 resumes to various businesses before being accepted for a job, but there was never a moment in which he lost faith in finding a place where his talents and abilities could be used by God. During his search, David discovered ENLACE and was impressed to see the positive impact that the local churches were having in their communities. It was with ENLACE that David finally found work as a technical expert in agronomy. David agrees with ENLACE’s method of working through the local church, saying, “I think the principal help has to come from the church, following the example of Jesus Christ.”
David is currently one of the three ENLACE agronomists who provide technical advice to local farmers in the communities we serve.Since October of last year, David has been in charge of providing technical assistance to the participants of the Home Garden Projects being implemented in the region of Abelines. He organizes, supervises, and trains farmers to better prepare the soil, plant seeds, care for their crops, and harvest the resulting produce in a way that optimizes the efforts of each participant. His work is part of a larger effort to promote home gardens as a source of nutrition and daily sustenance in one of the poorest and most remote regions of the country where the rate of malnutrition and infant mortality has been very high due to low food quality.
David enjoys teaching others how to take care of their plants in order to multiply the fruits and vegetables they bear. Just as the seed that fell into good soil in the Bible grew a hundredfold, David is using his abilities to help those with little resources plant their seeds in a way that their blessings may be multiplied. David, 24 years old, will soon finish his degree in agronomy engineering, and his story--one of a young man willing to be a pencil in the hands of God--is just beginning.
We encourage U.S. churches who share our mission of alleviating spiritual and physical poverty through the work of local churches to explore, invest, experience, and engage in what God is doing in El Salvador. Since 1993 ENLACE has been equipping church and community leaders to identify, design, and manage sustainable poverty-alleviating projects throughout the country. Over the years many foreign and local churches and institutions that have identified with ENLACE’s vision have worked alongside rural communities in El Salvador to bring hope and transformation.
Olga Melani Medrano has lived in conditions of extreme poverty for years while raising her seven children, and the rainy season always came with much stress because their home was leaking and the walls falling apart. However, her conditions are improving now that she and her children have a secure roof over their heads. Olga is very grateful; she knows that her resources would never have been enough to build a new home on her own. The collaboration between friends in the community and the local church has greatly impacted her life.
On April 27 we received the sad news that Pastor David Wilkerson, prophet, evangelist and above all servant of God, was killed in a car accident and his wife, Gwen, left in a coma. All of us at ENLACE were profoundly moved as we reflected on the earthly departure of a Godly man and began praying in earnest for his wife. In the week that followed, Gwen began to recover quickly and preparations were made for Rev. Wilkerson’s funeral and memorial services.
Mercedes Portillo is a leader in his community who has been cultivating vegetables for years. When the Home Gardens Project began in Abelines, he learned techniques to yield better and healthier produce. The improvements to his garden have helped his large family to have a more nutritious diet, and have eased their financial burden with extra income from the sale of surplus vegetables.
The entire week before much of the world celebrates Easter, the people of El Salvador are celebrating the Semana Santa, or Holy Week, to remember Jesus’s suffering, death, and victorious resurrection. For Latin Americans, this vacation week encompasses some of our deepest and most extensive traditions, while providing us with a break from the normal rush of daily life and giving us time for ourselves and our families.
When the Home Gardens Project first began in El Espino, Dina Velasquez had no desire to cultivate her own garden. She was going through an emotional crisis and believed that any attempt to garden would be unsuccessful, but she reluctantly agreed to participate after much encouragement from her friends. Now, Dina has a flourishing garden which has helped to ease her stress, and she enjoys serving as one of the project’s biggest advocates.
Azucena and her family are new to the area of La Loma, and she is excited to have the opportunity to grow tomatoes at her home. She and her two children are now able to eat the vegetables, as well as sell the surplus to help with home expenses. Next harvest, Azucena looks forward to expanding her garden by cultivating even more plants.
This year, ENLACE finds itself in an exciting period of growth. We are now ready to begin the journey toward our 2020 vision, starting with our transformational vision for 2015. Check out our Spring Newsletter to find out more about our recent celebrations and our plans for the future!
