Across the globe, people are celebrating the Christmas season. Together we eagerly await commemorating the birth of Jesus, born in a manger, the Savior, the hope of the world.
There are many ways we knit or weave ourselves together with others. As followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to do so based on a common hope: God’s unrelenting love for all people. From this basis, we build communities that are truly safe havens, places of generosity and fellowship.
Monarch butterflies fly over 3,000 miles every year from North America to the south of Mexico. They migrate across borders, using air currents and environmental cues, to find the best places to live.
Hope is the promise that God is and always will be with us. Because of that promise, we can rest in the knowledge that we are of great value to God.
El Peregrinaje / The Pilgrimage: A Series of Reflections in Spanish & English Dedicated to Experiencing God’s Presence Through the Beauty of Daily Life
From the soothing sound of pattering rain to the knitting together of communities woven together in peace and God’s love, we hope you can join us in considering everyday things with a mind of worship. They hope that their words would allow you to marvel at the beauty of life while also reflecting on your own journey.
You know those moments when you look through the branches of a leaf-heavy tree and see the sunlight peeking through? Where every leaf appears to be a different shade of green and the light seems to dance and sparkle? That is "el resol." It is what happens when light transforms what we see and experience.
For centuries, people have set out on journeys with the intention to arrive at a sacred place. A pilgrimage is often undertaken on foot but can also be a metaphor for an inward journey of mind and heart.
In either case, pilgrims expect to encounter something miraculous when they reach their destinations.
“As church leaders, this is our opportunity to cast a renewed vision;
to invite our people to take risks, to serve, and to give in new and uncomfortable ways.”
-Mark Haugen
Burger King and beans. That these bookended the life that my family and I shared with others while living in El Salvador may prompt you to think that this post is about the gastronomical changes we experienced while living abroad. To be sure, our eating habits were altered a bit. But this is not a culinary tale. Rather, it is a story about the transformative and lasting impacts of hospitality.
If you were to travel to the southwest region in El Salvador, you would find a small fishing village called Metalio. This beautiful fishing village gets hit with an immense amount of rain each year that causes long-term problems for its residents. In a community where 40 percent of its population lives in extreme poverty (making less than $2 per capita per day), these severe weather patterns impact the daily lives of people.
As many of you know, a core aspect of how ENLACE operates is by building local and international partnerships in order to transform communities. From the beginning, we have seen that community transformation can only happen when people collaborate together to identify the physical and spiritual needs of a community.
With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, ENLACE began a major pivot in our year’s community development plan and began to provide relief as early as April in Central America. It’s been an incredible effort by hundreds of devoted people. One of our superheroes during this transition has been Dr. Eva Berdugo. Dr. Eva is coordinating all relief and efforts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nepal. Not only has she been instrumental in designing and managing day-to-day operations and communications, but she has also helped to provide solid and capable leadership as ENLACE turns now toward recovery.
