Crossing Cultures

IN THE CITY

Crossing Cultures, Urban Ministry -

There is a movement that is happening, and has been happening, all across the globe. It’s a movement into the city. People move in for jobs, for a fresh start, to connect with family, or to step out on their own. Urban environments are strategic environments for God…and for his followers.  The heartbeat of our ministry is in the city of San Salvador, and that’s because it is the heartbeat of the whole country. There is need and opportunity and culture and growth and beauty and heartache all crowded together. The city is a living, breathing movement that we can be a part of.  That’s not unique to San Salvador, but it does feel unique to cities.  I love visiting cities because they are such wonderful pictures of culture and […]

ONE YEAR IN

A New Dawn, Crossing Cultures, Free the Girls, Human Trafficking, Kids at Risk, Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters -

Who else is stepping into March wearily? It is one year into the pandemic and we are all tired.   In El Salvador, children can be seen everywhere all the time because schools have yet to open for in-person classes. There are still people on the side of the highway waving white flags, but thankfully far less than there used to be. Lots of people are looking for work, or for extra work to make up for income lost over the strictest phase of the lockdown. Others are still searching for ways to pay for damages to their homes and property suffered from the tropical storms that slammed El Salvador last year.   Our clients are facing some new challenges too, and many people have joined our daily lunch line […]

Waving the White Flag

Crossing Cultures, Free the Girls, History of El Salvador, Life in El Salvador, Lighthouse Resource Center, Missions, Natural Disasters, Prayer, Urban Ministry -

We may all be weathering the same storm, but we are certainly not all in the same boat. I’m not sure where I first heard this sentiment over the past few months but it surely rings true in El Salvador. The unique challenge of this COVID-19 crisis is that it is a crisis unlike anything that we ever expected to face in El Salvador. I suspect that many working cross-culturally might find themselves thinking the same thing. We were tentatively prepared for an intense tropical storm, an earthquake, civil unrest, an uptick in violence, and other possible scenarios. But to experience something so devastating while the rest of the world also was thrown into chaos seemed unfathomable. Yet, here we are living through these extraordinary days. The COVID-19 pandemic has […]

Ten Years On…

Crossing Cultures, Life in El Salvador, Missions, Transitions -

This past November marked ten years since we, the Snyder family, stepped off a plane and into our new lives in El Salvador. See that picture? It was taken of our family shortly after we arrived in El Salvador. A decade on and here we are. Life doesn’t look like we thought it would…but it rarely does anywhere, does it? I think everyone who chooses to live their life on a mission does so with the grand idea that they will change the world somehow, or have some impact that echoes in a profound way. The truth is that it really doesn’t work like that at all. Instead, if we choose to live our lives on mission then the world we step out into is the very thing that changes […]

Celebrating – Celebrando

Advent, Crossing Cultures, Holidays, Justice -

  It feels like we are already knee deep in the new year and things have definitely ramped up around our office as we get ready to launch a new initiative in just a few weeks! We just wanted to take a moment to share how we wrapped up 2018. We ended the last year with lots of celebrations. Celebrations of goals reached, of expectations met, but also of surviving some hard things with our clients this year. There was much to celebrate, but one thing really stands out. Perhaps our biggest milestone reached this Christmas was that all of our parties were provided by our local donors and volunteers! It was wonderful to have to do zero fundraising on the outside, because our own community came together to provide […]

To the Volunteer Coming from Outside – A Los Voluntarios que Vienen de Afuera

Crossing Cultures, Interns, Missions, Short-Term Missions, Thinking About God -

Today one of our summer interns, Savanna Groft, is sharing some of her thoughts about her volunteer experience, as well as some words of wisdom for anyone thinking of volunteering with a non-profit organization.  Most credible texts, whether the Bible, a journal article, or some other scholarly work, emphasize that real change happens from the inside out. Jesus made it very clear that what makes us clean or unclean is what comes from within our hearts, not external things, like food, that we put into our bodies (Matthew 15:11, 17-20). Scientists, even those who think nurture plays a big role in our lives, will tell you that nature, or what exists within us, is integral to our development. The same concept applies to cultures and social systems. I came to El […]

World Cup Fever – Fiebre Mundial

Crossing Cultures, Life in El Salvador, The Lighthouse Project -

All month long, soccer has dominated every conversation and public space. It doesn’t matter that El Salvador’s national team didn’t even qualify (neither did Team USA by the way). Favorite teams, players, and predictions about the final are on the TV, the radio, and everyone’s minds. One of the beautiful things about the World Cup is the community that surrounds it. Our staff have had a contest going to see whose team would last the longest. It has been a great opportunity to forget about the stress of work, and just have some fun together. It’s very much needed when so much of what we do revolves around addressing heavy things like addiction and abuse. The World Cup has helped us to open our doors to our wider community as […]

Expectation vs. Reality – Expectativas vs. Realidad

A New Dawn, Crossing Cultures, Kids at Risk, Life in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, The Lighthouse Project -

Laura Bubar, an art teacher from Maine,U.S.A worked as a volunteer for five weeks with us, here are some of her thoughts on the experience… Any time we begin a journey or step out and take a risk, we have expectations. We make assumptions about what that journey will look like or what the consequences of that risk will be. I entered a journey here in El Salvador five weeks ago and despite my best efforts to make no assumptions, I had formed expectations for my journey. Two years ago, while researching ministries in El Salvador, I came across the website for Mission To El Salvador. My cautious heart then followed their work (from a safe distance) for the next two years, reading this very blog, and watching to see the work […]

Bandera

Crossing Cultures, History of El Salvador, Justice, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Thinking About God -

This past January 16th, El Salvador celebrated 25 years since Peace Accords were signed to end a brutal civil war. That same week a piece of art went on display in MARTE, El Salvador’s art museum, to celebrate the anniversary. The piece of art quite literally laid out the still fought for peace that so many long for. That artist’s name is Carmen Elena Trigueros and her piece is called simply Bandera, meaning “flag.” I recently chaperoned a field trip with my daughter’s class and Bandera was one of the pieces featured by the guide. When I saw Bandera I stood there small, struck by the beauty of the piece and the enormity of the task spilling out across the floor. The flag was white and long and stretched up […]

Sharing the Love

Crossing Cultures, Holidays -

One of the things that I love about El Salvador is the way that Valentine’s Day is celebrated. It is more about love and friendship, than simply a romantic holiday. One of our staff members, Oscar Garcia, wrote this post to share a few words to reflect on this month. Check it out… We are in the month of February…a special month where love and friendship are heard and seen on every corner. Individuals make an effort to show love for their spouses, their families, and their friends through flowers, cards, jewelry, chocolate and anything that they can come up with to surprise their loved ones and show their appreciation. Throughout the month, we see worldwide expressions of love and friendship. Different cultures, countries, communities, and individuals find different ways […]

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