Lighthouse Resource Center

Survival Kits for the Holidays

Holidays, Lighthouse Resource Center -

Perhaps the most amazing miracle we have seen in 2020 is unexpected sobriety for our clients. It began in the quarantine shelter that we opened during the strictest phase of El Salvador’s lockdown, and since that time 9 of our clients have had tremendous success in their recovery. Many of them are now facing their biggest challenge yet…the Christmas break. Our regular programs are on hold for the holidays, so our team has worked hard to develop a strategy to provide the best possible plan of success for our clients. Through a series of therapy sessions, we have rolled out “kits” for vacation providing all kinds of tools to help our clients manage the free time, triggers, and other stress that the holidays bring. The kits include an exercise guide, […]

Keep Dreaming!

A New Dawn, Free the Girls, Fundraising, Lighthouse Resource Center, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

This year has brought hardship, but it hasn’t kept our clients from dreaming. There are still goals, and aspirations…there is still hope! It truly is the Salvadoran way, and we are privileged to be “dream facilitators” here at Mission To El Salvador! As we begin this process of reopening, we are working to help our clients reflect on what was lost, and take a moment to regroup and begin to dream and plan for the future once again. We invite you to join us in “listening in” on some of our clients’ own stories of surviving so far this year with dreams intact. When COVID struck, New Dawn had to close down and shift to a virtual model. The boys didn’t want to leave and their families weren’t quite prepared […]

Sacred Celebrations

A New Dawn, Lighthouse Resource Center, Thinking About God -

There are frivolous celebrations, and there are traditional ones. Other celebrations are because of routine, or obligation. Some are cultural or mandated by our families. And then there are celebrations that can’t be described as anything other than sacred. Sacred celebrations are the ones that hold an air of the miraculous, that send a shiver down the spine, and pushes tears to our eyes. These are the celebrations we thought we might never see, the ones that defy fear, and chaos, and the brokenness that’s unfolding in the backdrop. In our small corner of the world, we have had the true joy of experiencing two such sacred celebrations in recent days. Moments of healing and discovery…the honoring of new things, new beginnings, and new lives. The first was two weeks […]

Human Touch

Life in El Salvador, Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters -

Thank you to Alexia, one of our coordinators at the Lighthouse Resource Center, for blogging today about her own thoughts and struggles working with our clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. She provides great insight into unique challenges faced by Salvadorans during this time.  COVID-19 has been devastating to the world on so many levels that it’s impossible to focus on just one, but clearly one of the main ones is the way in which we relate to people. The famous “social distancing” has minimized physical contact. The use of masks, face shields, disposable gowns, and gloves have clearly marked how much people prefer (or should) distance themselves from others. The World Health Organization has created a campaign with short, but very significant phrases in order to make the world of […]

When It Rains, It Pours

Life in El Salvador, Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters, Prayer -

El Salvador is still reeling from a tragedy on top of a tragedy. Last week in the middle of the ongoing health, economic, and democratic crisis brought on by COVID-19, Tropical Storm Amanda slammed into El Salvador’s coast and then leveled a direct hit on San Salvador causing major destruction. The storm arrived on Sunday night, and by the end of the week rain from another storm, Tropical Storm Cristobal, was also lashing the country. The rising waters left 27 dead from floods and landslides and thousands more homeless. Large chunks of highways collapsed, major roads were underwater, and just mud remains where houses once stood. The destruction was swift and complete in many communities. Many who didn’t lose everything still suffered damage from the winds and heavy rains. The […]

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 […]

Transitioning into the Next Phase…

Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters -

We are so very grateful for all of you who have partnered with us over the last two months as we have ministered to our community by offering space for them to “shelter in place.” In El Salvador things continue to change each week. We are doing our best to adapt and change to provide the best care we can while seeking to navigate circumstances beyond our control. Right now that means transitioning into the next phase of our emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis in El Salvador. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, and other government agencies have worked closely with us in the management of the shelter. Over the last few weeks, the coronavirus has begun to spread extensively throughout El Salvador. It […]

Stay at Home

Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters, Thinking About God -

More words from Alexia, a case manager at the Lighthouse Resource Center… A few days ago, I was talking to someone about the current COVID-19 crisis and all of its implications. He mentioned his bosses were concerned because “if their clients lose their clients, than the business would lose theirs too” since they would no longer have a need for the company’s services. The economy is being hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, the quarantines, and other necessary, but extreme, security measures that have been taken everywhere. The questions of “how?”, “why?”, and “when?” exacerbate the uncertainty that we are all feeling. Many times in these days, the lack of answers to these questions have left us feeling overwhelmed, tired, and even hopeless. That phrase, “if their clients lose their […]

Fragile, Handle with Care

Justice, Lighthouse Resource Center, Natural Disasters -

A few words from Alexia Rodriguez, Case Manager at the Lighthouse Resource Center as she reflects on the COVID-19 crisis facing El Salvador… When my son was around 4 or 5 years old, he loved to dress up. I put in his room a rack to hang the suits that I was buying him…Darth Vader, Spider Man, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee. But for the longest time his favorite was Captain America. I would be in my room or in the kitchen, and he would suddenly come looking for me saying, “Mom, close your eyes…Taa-daaa!” I would open my eyes, and be “surprised” as he stood proudly in his suit, mask, and shield striking his favorite superhero poses. Since we were playing together, I also had my favorite superhero…Wonder Woman of course! When […]

Faithful

A New Dawn, Justice, Life in El Salvador, Lighthouse Resource Center, Missions, Thinking About God -

Faithful. I can’t really think of another word to describe how I felt after reviewing and evaluating how things went around here in 2019. We just published our 2019 Annual Report so feel free to take a look. In the meantime, here are a few highlights: Last year we inaugurated the Lighthouse Resource Center. Since opening our doors, 350 clients have walked through those open doors, and 11.14% of them have entered into our “level system” where they have the opportunity to invest more of themselves and receive more of an investment from us. We’ve learned the issues facing these clients are complex, but we are reaching them. For our first year, we are pretty excited to see that members of our community are making decisions for change, finding healing, […]

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