El Salvador. You are tough. Your history has been through a lot; civil wars, gang violence, child soldiers, lack of education, poverty and so much more pain. I’ve witnessed your children who are orphans sit in silence with expressionless faces because they are sad their families did not come to see them during visiting hours and whose families cannot keep them because their home is not safe for them. I’ve seen your people who are homeless on the street and even though we got to provide one meal for them at night – one meal doesn’t compare to; the shoeless child, the man eating out of the dumpster, and the many people lying on just a thin blanket to sleep at night. I’ve also witnessed the women who sold their bodies on different corners after 10pm at night. I’ve seen young women who are in prison because they dated the wrong guy who was in a gang or who had no choice to be in a gang. I’ve seen how lack of education and simple life skills can hinder a child’s future from receiving a job, and the reasons why they chose the gang life because they see it as their only form of survival. Life is hard. It’s easy to look at all the brokenness in this country, in this world, and question: Where is this Good God? But honestly, seeing the brokenness in the world gives me more of an understanding of why God exists and why we need Him even more. El Salvador, you have been through a lot, but oh, you are strong. You are still hurting, still fighting, but still in the process of healing. It’s so easy to focus on all of the brokenness in the world and focus on all the pain, but when we only focus on that, we miss out on the good, the beauty, the potential, and the hope that does exist. We, then, miss out on seeing God’s love moving. I saw the brokenness, but wow, I saw God’s love here. I saw the hope. I saw Him move in people and through the ministry we were serving with all throughout this month. It was beautiful.
We helped prepare and host about 6 Christmas parties for 6-8 different orphanages. Some of those kids never experienced a Christmas celebration, while some have, but only through the organization we partnered with Sus Hijos. The staff in the orphanages had said: the parties hosted by Sus Hijos are the only parties the kids get to experience. We led several different life skilled activities throughout the month: we shared our testimonies, stories, we shared how worthy and loved they are by God, we helped empower teen moms to paint toy blocks for their children, we taught children the beauty of their differences through snowflakes and how God designed them differently on purpose, played so much soccer, spent time with the kids, and did many other activities. We assisted the many other short term missionary groups that came to Sus Hijos and fed the homeless, assisted with building the foundations for family houses, we spent time with the young women of the transitional houses, we did Bible studies for the kids at the local church, and helped with opening and preparing for the congregation of the church to come in…I can sit here and name all the ways we helped Sus Hijos and their amazing foundation, but I don’t want to do that. Because I don’t want to mistakenly give off that I am here saving the world – No, I am not. Sus Hijos doesn’t need us. I know they appreciate the help, because they need a time off, and a break. But God doesn’t need us to make a difference. God is already working in the lives of the people of El Salvador. God did invite us to be here, to listen to him, to use us the way he wants to use us. If we can do this for one month, imagine what the entire staff and volunteers of Sus Hijos can do the rest of the year?
I am amazed by this organization. I am amazed by all of the hard work and dedication they pour into the children of El Salvador. They serve ALL of the orphanages in El Salvador. They sit in traffic and reach out to the children to keep giving them the option, and to be the example, of hope, love and purpose – they may not get anywhere else otherwise. They provide parties, gifts, field trips and fun to kids who don’t get that experience from anywhere else. They give food to the homeless even if we don’t know their story or if they don’t want to get help. The organization, Sus Hijos, are legit the example of Christ. They don’t just go to church, they ARE the church. That’s Sus Hijos. Kurt Ackerman started this foundation, and hired some amazing staff and volunteers who collectively work together to see the good in the world, to be the good in the world, to follow the example of Christ and give grace, to be the beauty in the broken, to show the hope in the hurt, and teach them that there is a God who loves them so much and their current pain doesn’t define who they are or what they will become. There is so much more to them and to their story. Sus Hijos also provides tools, education, resources, skills, and empowerment to the communities, and we got to partner alongside them and support the staff of Sus Hijos.
It was an amazing experience and we built so many relationships with the staff and volunteers from Sus Hijos. They legit treat each other as family and us as family. They legit walk the talk of being the church and emulating the example of Christ. They possess the fruits of the spirit: patience, self-control, gentleness, goodness, kindness, joy, and love. Each individual from the organization own these traits and collectively work together as a strong team to be the church and be the change they want to see in their own lives and in the lives of their country and the world. They give me so much hope, that if they can do this, so can anyone else.
There is brokenness in the world, but with God, anything is possible – creating heaven on Earth is possible. That’s what I’m taking away with me from El Salvador to the rest of the continents of this world.
We are on our way to Vietnam. BUT Vietnam is a closed country, meaning it is illegal to be a Christian missionary in country. For this reason, during our time in Asia, my blog will be password-protected for my safety, the safety of my squad, as well as the safety of our ministry hosts. I will be blogging, and sharing stories and pictures as much as I will be able, but from now on you will be prompted to enter a password to be able to read my blog posts. The password will be: Psquad2019 (I’d recommend screen shooting or writing that down if you’d like to continue following my journey!)
Thank you so much for supporting me in 2018, and for following along through my first leg of the Race in Central America! Please let me know what ways I can be praying for you. I will appreciate some prayers for safety, good health, impactful ways to make a difference in Asia, and to be fully funded by the end of our fundraising deadline, the end of January 2019. I still need to raise $5,000, but I strongly have faith that in some way, somehow, God will provide the funds. 🙂 Happy New Year!
