Lighthouse Resource Center

LEVEL UP

You may already know that we have a place for our community to gather, connect, and to grow if they are ready. That place is called the Lighthouse Resource Center. What you may not know is that we have a program within the Lighthouse dedicated specifically for our clients who want to start a committed process of change. This program is called the “level system” and is a series of levels requiring increasing commitment on the part of both our clients and our staff. In the level system, it’s time for everyone to level up! The first level is represented by a match, the second by a candle, the third by a lantern, and the final level is represented by a lighthouse. All along the way, our clients are encouraged […]

INVITATION

They came in slowly at first, the ones we’ve been connecting with all year. Our friends facing addictions and trauma. The dear ones who are scrambling up the slope of healing from exploitation and years of abandonment, when hope slides away like rocks under their feet. The climb is steep and lonely and we’ve been in it together passing the ropes and sharing the load, hoping that we can do something. They came and took a seat at the table and smiled as we played the Christmas music and pulled out the games. Our clients at the Lighthouse Resource Center are also our friends and they come from all backgrounds…young to old; from years on the street to newly jobless or newly hopeless. We invited them in, and there was […]

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

The close of the year brings natural moments for reflection. We think about where we’ve come this year, and about where we are going. The photo above was taken on Thanksgiving Day when we gathered together in the Lighthouse Resource Center to share a meal and reflect on all of the things we are thankful for. Our clients at the dinner, and our residents in New Dawn, had so many things to share. They expressed gratitude for life, and opportunities, and the love and friendship they have received. They are thankful for hot meals and fresh starts and for Jesus. He is after all the one that makes it possible and our hearts center on him in this season as we reflect on Christmas and the light that he brings […]

WE ARE THE WORK OF THE MISSION

We just had a “first” in the Lighthouse Resource Center! We had our first ever graduation, and celebrated with 6 “lighthouses” that are now ready to shine! The process has had ups and down but our clients and our staff have persevered and it’s safe to say there weren’t many dry eyes at the graduation ceremony! Rosa, one of the graduates, shared her own story with everyone in attendance. She shared about her own struggle with addictions and poverty and the great hurdles she faced as a single mom fighting against years of chains in her life. But she also shared the great freedom that she found when she was seen as a person, when she was seen as someone with value. The way our staff delivered food to her […]

THOSE WHO SOW IN LOVE WILL HARVEST LOVE

  Today’s blog was written by Katia Peña, one of our case coordinators in the Lighthouse Resource Center.  Recently, I have seen how bountiful a harvest can be if we sow with love, and the blessings we can reap have been surprising. Sowing with love means keeping our commitment to God to share his love with others. I remember first finding a couple sleeping on the street a few years ago. They were without hope, lost in drugs and alcohol and without any reason to share love with anyone at all. But I also know our group of people surrounded them, offered them food, and invited them to the Lighthouse Resource Center to share a plate of food and a special time of connection. This couple expressed distrust, but then […]

REBORN

Today’s guest blogger is MTES staff member, Cecilia Leiva de Benavides. Thank you Cecy for sharing! When we were little and talked to our siblings about what “super power” we wanted to have, there was one power that was the most desired, and that was to go back and travel through time. I think that more than once, even as adults, we have had the desire to go back in time and think of all that we could do if that was possible. That way we could correct actions that brought us unpleasant consequences, actions that have destroyed moments that could have been lovely memories, or actions that have wounded people that we really love. That was the wish of one of our clients whose son is still a baby, […]

REBUILDING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Today’s guest blogger is MTES staff member David Aguiluz, and he shares a unique perspective as both a recovering addict and an addiction therapist.  Speaking about addictions is a complex topic. It’s not a topic that focuses solely on drug use. Instead, it focuses on “the compulsive use, abuse, or obsession with an activity, relationship, or substance in which biological, genetic, psychological, and social factors converge.” This is the way the World Health Organization (WHO) defines addiction.  I want to take a moment to focus on two of these factors…not because they are the most important but because they are the ones on which I focus my professional work everyday: the psychological and social factors of addictions.  These are where we focus our interventions in order to provide rehabilitation from […]

BBQ WITH A CAUSE

There are many things that we hope for our clients, but I think one of our biggest hopes is that they will dream big dreams. Maybe they will dream for the first time, or maybe they will start dreaming once again. About 6 months ago, I sat down to eat lunch with Oscar. He has been in and out of our programs for a few years. During COVID, he came to our shelter where he was able to jump start his sobriety. Now he is one of our “clients in transition” meaning that he is taking great steps forward in recovery, and working on transitioning back into full reintegration into society. He is committed to spiritual growth through our Bible studies, he is being coached and mentored by our case […]

WHEN DEATH WORKS BACKWARDS

“When a willing victim who has committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”        -C.S Lewis in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe We are about to begin Holy Week in El Salvador. The week is observed around the country in various ways, but this year I hope to have some quiet moments to reflect on what it means to go from death to life, and to see death itself overcome. The quote is from a children’s book beloved by many. The hero of the story is Aslan and he is ultimately resurrected. The words above come from his mouth as he shares the greatest secret of all…when a perfect sacrifice dies for a […]

ONE YEAR IN

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 […]

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