We are in San Salvador partnering with Mission to El Salvador. It has been such an awesome ministry to serve with! There are a few different things that we will play apart of during our month here, such as the Lighthouse Project and Hope for Victims of Exploitation.
Lighthouse Project
“The Lighthouse Project is an initiative to impact the streets of San Salvador, and building relationships are at the heart of it. The cornerstone of our work is The Lighthouse Center located in the Tutunichapa community of San Salvador. We meet weekly with our friends on the streets to help them set goals, and to share with them the truth from God’s Word. Our goal is to be a light in the darkness and confusion of the streets, and we do this by offering the following community ministries and services:
- Shower and bathroom facilities
- Weekly meetings
- Literacy classes for teens and adults
- Weekly feeding program and food distribution
- Rehab center connections for those struggling with addictions
- Help for families in crisis situations
- Job preparation
- Micro-enterprise opportunities through a bakery start-up that will offer job-training and profit sharing opportunities for individuals on the street who are turned away from other jobs
- Outreaches to addicts, deportees, street kids, and those working in prostitution
- Work in communities and protection centers with children at a high risk of ending up living or working on the streets
- Partnering with city churches who want to engage the streets“
Hope for Victims of Exploitation
“Human trafficking is one of the great evils of our time, and we are committed to doing what we can to combat this problem in El Salvador. We work to build relationships and bring hope to women and girls who have been victims of sexual exploitation by:
- Teaching English
- Small group Bible study to speak God’s truth into the lies
- Finding sponsors and donations for girls in need
- Educating churches and missionaries on the issue of human trafficking
- Labor re-integration through our partnership with Free the Girls, an organization that helps girls and women who have been victims of sex-trafficking to start their own business selling bras. For more information on how the program works contact Danielle or visit the Free the Girls website.”
Let’s get to bakin’!
We have also had the opportunity to be apart of a new project. The day after arriving here was the grand opening of their bakery! After several months of preparation, they were able to start a small bakery in the Lighthouse Center! The bakery is a micro-enterprise that will employ three Salvadorans as the bakers and trainers, and it will employ six clients from the Lighthouse Project as sellers.
What I love most about this ministry is the fact that they don’t just say a prayer for someone and leave them on the street, they pour into there lives, invite them in, and show them what Jesus looks like through holistic, Gospel-based efforts to alleviate spiritual and physical poverty in a way that both benefits them and respects them as individuals. They’re more than just a prayer; they’re taking action.
