Holidays

Lifeline

Discovery, Holidays, Ministry Center Project, Short-Term Missions -

When we came to El Salvador five years ago, we were sent out from an amazing church family. We grew so much during our time at Discovery Christian Church, and the opportunities that we had there for leadership and service helped to prepare us for full-time ministry. Discovery continues to act as our “lifeline” in many ways. They handle our finances, pray for us, do our mailings, and send teams every year to see firsthand what is happening in El Salvador. They also raised the funds to help us buy our building which currently serves more than 100 people each week, and offers a safe haven for people struggling on the streets. Individual members of Discovery support us with their personal finances, volunteer time to work on our website, and […]

Independence Day Weekend

Crossing Cultures, Family, History of El Salvador, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

I hate when the blog starts to fall behind, but it’s inevitable with crazy weeks like this past week’s party madness. So, I am finally getting around to an update about Independence Day weekend. Independence Day in El Salvador is on September 15th. On that day in 1821 El Salvador declared independence from Spain. Today it is celebrated through special events in schools, towns, and all kinds of public places. This year we had the added bonus of a three day weekend because the holiday fell on a Monday. Some Salvadoran friends invited us to their “rancho” on the beach in the eastern party of the country where we have never been before. El Salvador never falls to surprise and delight me and this weekend was no exception. The beaches are […]

Sunday Is Coming

Holidays, Justice, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

It all began with a triumphal procession, shouts of joy and praise. As the week wore on, expressions would darken and the cries of “Save us!” would turn to rants of “Kill him!” For His closest followers the week would be an emotional roller coaster unlike anything they had, or ever would again, experience. They were part of a chosen group, come to claim power at last for their people. By week’s end they were denying their Christ, and hiding their faces in the shadows. They saw God die. With their own eyes. And then they buried Him, along with all their hopes. Nothing made sense for His closest chosen. Betrayal and fear hung thick in the air. What questions did they whisper to God in the dark? What looks […]

Spring Break

Family, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

We just arrived back in the city after two days at the beach. We are in the middle of Semana Santa, which means “Holy Week” and everyone has off of school and work. My mother-in-law is here so we are doing some fun touristy things and getting a moment to catch our breath. My favorite part of spring break is not the beach, or the special events, or even the change in the routine. My favorite part is that my kids are in the house all week. I love hanging out with them and I know that all too soon spring break will be time that they want to spend with their friends, or it will be a vacation that they get from the far away college where they attend. So […]

Downtime

Advent, Family, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

It feels like we’ve been “up” a lot lately.  I’ve learned in my life that if I stay up for too long, I eventually fall down. That’s why we decided to make an intentional effort to be “down” during the kids’ Christmas break from school. It gave us a chance to catch up on sleep, to take it slow, and to spend some time connecting as a family. A bonus is that we got to do lots of fun stuff that we have to put off doing when we are “up.” This is what “downtime” looks like around our house… spending time with the kiddos celebrating a traditional Latin American Christmas watching Christmas Eve fall over San Salvador lighting fireworks in the streets with our friends like crazy people looking up […]

Christmas Wrap-Up

Advent, Holidays, Kids at Risk, Third Culture Kids -

Ok, I know it’s bad but couldn’t resist the pun…yes we are “wrapping-up” Christmas with this final update on our Christmas events. We have recently become more involved working in a community just outside of Santa Ana. We are working with one of our partners, Latin American Children’s Fund, to support a health clinic and the surrounding communities. For Christmas, we facilitated a “Christmas Fair” in the Canton Ayutuxtepeque community. The local leaders ran the whole thing, and we were just there to offer staff and support. It was the weekend before Christmas and toys and clothes were offered to the community at a discounted rate. This gave local parents the opportunity to shop for their own children (instead of the gringos just handing out stuff!) , and invest back […]

Christmas Shopping and Fireworks

Advent, Family, Free the Girls, Holidays, Human Trafficking, Kids at Risk, Third Culture Kids -

El Salvador is a nation with many fatherless children. Because of crime, violence, immigration, and poverty many kids are growing up without the love and support that a family provides. These children spend much of their childhood being moved from one protection center to another which offers housing, but little else in terms of support and nurturing. There are also other types of centers, shelters, and private homes around the country and some children find themselves here because they were abused, have special needs, or are victims of horrible crimes such as human trafficking. This Christmas we were able to bring some love to some kids in El Salvador who have no family to love them, to nurture them, or to guide them. We realize that our efforts do not […]

Christmas at the Lighthouse

Advent, Holidays, Kids at Risk, The Lighthouse Project, Urban Ministry -

This Christmas we had many opportunities to share the love and hope of the season with those in need in El Salvador. The response and generosity of so many donors was amazing and very much appreciated. I know it’s a little late, but I will be posting some pictures from our various Christmas events this week. We want to start off by thanking all of our donors and volunteers who came together to make Christmas Eve special for our friends on the street. We were able to provide a turkey dinner, and a gift for 40 homeless men, women, and teenagers. We had a special program where we did games, shared a Christmas message, showed a video featuring highlights, and gave prizes to the men and women who have taken […]

Christmas Sponsors Needed!

Advent, Fundraising, Holidays -

Many of the children and adults that we work with each week have nowhere to go for Christmas, and no family to celebrate with. Would you consider helping us to celebrate the season with them in El Salvador by donating or sponsoring some of the items on our list? All donations are tax-deductible. Simply indicate that your gift is for “Christmas 2013.” For info on how to donate, click here. Email us at info@missiontoelsalvador.com  if you have questions or want more information. We need sponsors for the following items: -Christmas dinner for trafficking survivors that we work with (approximately 30 people), and gifts for 20 girls included in that ministry -Christmas dinner for homeless men, women, and teenagers (approximately 40 people) -Christmas dinner and fireworks for CISNA boys’ center -boxers and socks men’s […]

A Walk on Good Friday

Family, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

Yesterday we took a walk on the streets of Santa Tecla, just outside of San Salvador, to view the beautiful alfombras, meaning “carpets” in English. These are beautiful creations of sawdust and sand that are dyed bright colors and crafted into pictures of Christ’s life and death. They form the “carpet” for the Good Friday processions as they pass on their way to evening services. Different groups, churches, and families sponsor the carpets and they get up early in the morning to create these works of art in the streets. It has become a family tradition for us to enjoy the culture of El Salvador each Good Friday. Here are some pictures from our walk down the street yesterday: The kids and I! Ian checking out the alfombras. Street vendors selling […]

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