The Bridge Transition Home

We told you about our new gals, Silvia and Estrella, who moved into the Bridge in May. There have been a few bumps in the road, but, overall, they are adjusting well, and growing. Both of them are on target to graduate from high school in November, and hope to go on to study at local universities. Silvia, 19, wants to be a pre-school teacher. She is a lovely young woman that loves to read and is a hopeless romantic. If I mention that David and I are going on a date, she throws her hands to her face and lets out a little scream of joy…then, sighs with dreamy eyes. She is so funny! In the photo, she is second from the right, flanked by her brother, Francisco, and her sister, Karla, who also live at the Bridge. Estrella, 20, wants to be an interior designer. She has an electric personality, and she loves to laugh. School is very difficult for her, and she needs lots of prayer to be able to graduate in November. Estrella’s mother is in prison, and her brother is a gangster. She longs to go to University and be able to have a good job so that when her mother gets out of prison, she can help her make a new life. I would ask you to pray for Estrella as she really struggles with victory over her past. We have had to have some serious talks with her, and she has to decide if she really wants to be at the Bridge. I’m praying for a break-through for her. Pray that she would put her trust in her Heavenly Father, and let Him heal her. Then, pray for wisdom for me as I lead these precious young people in the jump from dependent childhood to independent adult life. It is a BIG jump when you leave a children’s home, with no family to fall back on and a big, scary world to face. I need ALL the wisdom, creativity and resources that I can get to do this job well. Side note: Our next big project at the ranch, Lord willing, will be to build a young men’s transition home. As of now, both sexes live in the Bridge Transition Home…but, it's not ideal, as you can imagine. So, pray that God opens the doors for funding and permits to begin work on this home early 2014. We have a slough of young men getting ready to leave La Casa and transition, so this men’s home is very important!

Silvia

Kathy with Estrella

Camping 24/365

When you say the word ‘camping’ we all have a different reaction and way we define that word.  For many, camping brings to our mind fond memories of doing something outdoors together as a family or with friends.  It’s a break from the normal routine and often adventuresome.  For some, camping means taking a tent to a remote place and really roughing it.  For others, it means taking your home with you in the form of an R.V. and staying at a well maintained campground.  And yet, for others, it means staying at Holiday Inn.  But, for almost all of us, it is a temporary situation.  A weekend, a week, or maybe two.  After that, we are ready to get back to our comfortable homes with clean floors that you can actually sweep, running water to wash things, a bathroom just down the hall or even in our bedroom, electricity to power all of our appliances to help make us comfortable.

None of us would want to live on a dirt floor with no electricity and no running water for very long.  That’s why we only camp for a short amount of time, even those of us who truly enjoy camping.

But, for some, including the family I had an opportunity to minister to this month, this is not just a weekend, a week or two, but, it’s life.  It’s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for life.  No electricity, no appliances, and water from an outside faucet for only two hours a day.  They cook over an open fire, wash clothes, dishes, and their bodies in a concrete sink outside.  They have a pit-toilet instead of a bathroom.  The floors in the adobe house are just dirt and uneven and become muddy during the rainy season because of leaks and water leaching through the walls. The children are ALWAYS filthy.  (You know when you are camping, it’s next to impossible to keep the kids clean.) This is LIFE.  Families like this one live like they are camping 24/365.  Can you imagine?

When we see this, it makes us appreciate more the things that God has blessed us with.  We enter this world by the hand of God.  We are born to parents in an affluent country by God’s design.  As I watched a young teenage girl rolling out tortillas on a stone slab with a stone rolling pin and placing them on a steel plate over an open fire I realized that even though this life she has seems crazy to me, it is perfectly normal to her.  She seems to accept it.  And yet how often we complain about our life and wanting more stuff when we already have far more than this girl could ever imagine.
 

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."  1 Timothy 6:6-11

I have to ask myself..Could I be content to live like this family?  Is the pursuit of stuff more important to me than the pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness?  Where my treasure is, there my heart will be. (Matthew 6:19-21).

I worked with a team that chose to give of their time and money to add a concrete porch and replace the black plastic that was covering their cooking area with a metal roof.

But, what if.......

The fourth of July just whizzed past us, and here we are, in the middle of a busy summer in El Salvador.  Of course, the Independence Day of the United States doesn’t get much notice here in ES.  But, it means a lot to us.  Lately, though, I have been thinking much more about spiritual freedom, than national freedom.  What devastating effects occur when a someone is bound in sins and destructive patterns, listening to the lies of Satan, following the marching orders of this world.  Why have I been thinking so much about this?  Because everyday, I see it all around me in the lives of young girls, young women… made to believe, by their families, by their society, by their culture, by their tormentors, that they are nothing more than their bodies.  As if this is all they have to offer.  All anyone wants from them.  As if their bodies are their only ticket to any possible chance at happiness or hope.  It sickens me.  I am tired of watching it.  Tired of watching my dear friends compromise their faith, because they decide to take a chance on another man that MIGHT stick around to father their child. A man that MIGHT really love them, and want them for who they are.  They are lonely, afraid of the future, poor, unable to provide adequately for their families.  So, they give in to their fears, compromise their faith, and begin an intimate relationship with “Mr. Knight-on-a-white-horse.”  Which, never works out for them.   Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?  Yes, it’s crude, but it’s painfully true. Women don’t expect anything from men.  Whatever they get, whether it is money, children, time…they have been taught to be content with that.  Marriage? Well, by all means, DON’T bring THAT up.  If he wants to marry you, HE will let you know!   I am speaking from experience with friends here in El Salvador.  I see this especially in the poorer areas of El Salvador.  But, I see it in the big city, too.  A pervasive over-sexualization of young girls.  Little kindergartners are taught to dance seductively in parades.  Nine and ten year old girls are encouraged to get a boyfriend, to dress sexy, high heels and all.  Having a mistress is completely acceptable, and common. I have even heard that it is common in churches. But, as women, you don’t complain; at least you have food and a house…you are taken care of, so you should be content with that.  Bound in destructive patterns.

El Salvador is a country that is still reeling from the destructive, soul-killing civil war that ended some twenty years ago.  Neither you nor I can imagine what this war has done to the heart and soul of these people.  I meet people all the time with stories to tell about the war.  You can see the pain in their eyes.  Here it in their voices.  It is haunting.  I just prayed with a friend this week because she had been a child and grown up in the war. She struggles with fear.  She has physical problems because of the fear.   When I look around me and see all of the things that just make me crazy, I have to remember what has made these people who they are. What has formed and forged them.  What forces still drive them today?  Desperate fear.  Fear of the future, fear of the past, fear of loneliness, fear that no one will love them, fear of gangs and violence, fear of abuse, fear that they won’t eat the next day.  With so much fear, it is no wonder young girls seek solace in a knight in shining armor.  An escape that usually ends with pregnancy, abandonment, and poverty. A vicious cycle we see repeated over and over in families.  There are whole communities of homes that are full of women and children.  Where are the men?  They, too, have bought a pack of lies, and are searching for fulfillment in the next pretty young woman. 

  But, what if?  What if someone could help them to see a better way?  What if we could get a hold of these precious little girls before they so firmly believe the lies that have been handed them by Satan?  That is the question that David and I keep asking ourselves.  That is the question that keeps me awake at night.  I can hear you thinking, “What about the boys?  There are two sexes here.  What about teaching the boys NOT to prey on women, NOT to have an incorrect view of women, and their relationship to them? “ I agree with you.  The boys/men need as much attention.  And I believe that God is moving on hearts to reach the boys as well.  But, for now, our hearts are drawn to the girls.  In reality, we don’t know what that looks like.  We have been praying and seeking God fervently for direction.  We know God is calling us and our hearts are aligned and united in this.   God is beginning to show us little by little how to proceed. Before we moved to El Salvador, God spoke to our hearts through Jeremiah 33:3, and this verse became our promise and our hope.  "Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know."  We have had days of discouragement.  Days when we have struggled to see what God is doing, and things didn't make sense.  But, as we have pressed on in faith, God has been faithful to His Word, and He is showing us great and mighty things.  We know He will continue to open the way before us in our desire to minister to the beautiful people of El Salvador. 

A Late Christmas Party

 Since the flooding back in October we have been doing what we can to help families that were affected in the colonia of Agua Shuka. This February we had the opportunity to give them a late Christmas Party. Eduardo is the pastor of a church in that community and we asked him to invite sixty kids along with their parents that were most affected by the flooding. We invited our friend Jorge Campos to MC the party with a group as well as the Global Year group to come and help us put on a party. We had gifts and piñatas donated to us by La Casa de Mi Padre. Jorge spent some of the time singing action songs with the children. Then we played some group games and relays with the kids. The kids all enjoyed the games and had fun participating with our kids and the Global year team. After they got all hot and sweaty we provided them with some sweetbread and a cold drink. As they ate a couple of the global year team members shared a drama and their testimonies with the families. And then it was the big event that is always at every Salvadoran party. That’s right – the piñata. You have to realize that these kids as well as their moms treat piñatas with reckless abandon. So the goal for us is to try keep anyone from getting hurt. Unfortunately much of the hurting happens when the moms are climbing over the kids to get candy or when the child with the stick keeps swinging while other kids are diving for falling candy. Who thought that something fun could be so dangerous? We managed to finish the two piñatas without any serious injury and then it was on to giving the gifts to the kids and giving a package of food to their moms. The gifts were nothing special for most, but for these it was all the Christmas gift they got and they appreciated them. We were glad that we got the chance to have this party for them and hope that we can continue to minister to some of these families in the future.

Families participating singing



Playing games together

Jorge Campos helping with the Pinata



Giving gifts to the children

Maddie doing face-painting with the children

Caring for Burdens (Pictures at the end)

When you take a burden off of someone, you free them up to take burdens off others.  Let me tell you a little story that occurred during the recent rains/flooding in October here in San Julian. But first, I must rewind a little. In August, our church in Vancouver sent down a great group of young people and adults for a week of outreach here in El Salvador.  If you have ever questioned the effectiveness of short-term mission teams, keep reading. 

This team, led by Cam and Hannah Silsbee, had a full week with different types of projects keeping them very busy and working hard.  One of the main projects this team had during that week, was to work on the house of our friend, Nelsi.  She and her 3 daughters and one grand-daughter, live out in the canton of Milagro.  Nelsi is a single mom. She works very hard to care for her family.   She has been through a tremendous amount of difficulty in her life.  Nelsi’s house is a metal shack with a dirt floor.  One room, made with tree branches, corrugated metal, and whatever else she can find to keep it together. Before the team came…whenever it rained, (every day for 6 months during the rainy season), water would come pouring in through the multiple holes in her roof.  I mean pouring.  Everything in her little house had to be strategically placed around the holes.  When it began to rain, they would all go running to move things that were getting wet, i.e.: their beds, clothes…and grab whatever they could find to catch water before it hit the dirt floor…which of course, once wet, turns into…yep, mud.  Can you imagine?  Four little girls, mud everywhere…rain pouring in. Try to close your eyes and imagine living like this.  It is constant, exhausting, dirty work. Imagine the worst camping trip you have ever been on.  Remember the one when the kids were little, and it rained cats and dogs the entire week you were there?  Everything in your tent was wet and muddy. The kids included.  Now imagine living like that, all the time.  

When we knew that Calvary Chapel Vancouver would be sending a team down, we decided that Nelsi’s house was the obvious choice for a hands-on outreach project.  Before the team came, David went in to her house, and leveled the dirt floor.  Before this, when you walked into her house, you had to walk down-hill…literally…it was VERY bumpy!  So, here comes the team!  Our hard-working team mixed concrete by hand on the ground and they created a beautiful, level concrete floor in her house. They replaced her metal roof and put on a new, perfect, leak-less roof.  No, they didn’t totally replace her house, but you wouldn’t believe how these things have changed the quality of life for Nelsi and her children.   Let me give you a few comments that Nelsi’s girls made afterwards:

·         Nelsi’s daughter, Rebecca (10) told me, “I GET to mop the floor now!” As she flashed me a huge, excited smile! 

·         Daniela, Nelsi’s oldest (14) told me, “When it rains, my mom starts to jump up and run to move everything and get the buckets, and I have to say, ‘Mom, remember, we are okay, we have a new roof, don’t worry!”  And they laugh together. 

And here is the greatest thing; the thing I alluded to in my opening sentence…”when you take a burden off of someone, you free them up to take burden’s off of others.”

During the rains/flooding in October, Nelsi was visiting with me.  Since her house is now secure during the rains, she doesn’t have to worry about being there all the time to ‘save’ it.  As we were chatting, she mentioned the people in her canton (village) that were suffering so greatly from the flooding.  She was so worried about her neighbors, and she said that she really wanted to do something to minister to them.  I asked her what she would like to do.  She told me that what she really wanted to do, was to make ‘shuko’, a warm, nourishing drink.  But, she said that she didn’t have the money it would take to buy the ingredients to make it…I asked her what the ingredients were.  Black corn, frijoles, ground pumpkin seeds, salt…I asked her how much it would cost to make a large quantity of it.  She said, about 15 dollars.  I told her, “I want to pay for it!  And you and I can make it together and take it out to your village to give out to your neighbors!”  Nelsi’s faced beamed with excitement!  She ran out to the market and bought all the ingredients we would need, brought it back to my house, and she and I prepared the shuko together…well, mostly her, but I watched and learned!  It was quite a process of soaking, rinsing, sorting, grinding…the cooking would come later at Nelsi’s house.  

David was in San Salvador this day, and so I didn’t have a vehicle.  Milagro is about a 20 minute walk outside of San Julian.  Since we were loaded down with our pots of shuko ingredients, and (I forgot to mention) bags of clothes that we decided to take out to distribute to her neighbors, we called a taxi.  Well, here they call them taxis, in the U.S. you would probably be closer to the right description if you called it a partially enclosed golf cart.  We crammed Nelsi, Jonah, Maddie, Ana (Nelsi’s mom) and I, into the ‘taxi’, with multiple bags of clothes and pots and pans. It was pretty funny.  I kept telling Jonah to hold on, and if we started to tip over, to keep his hands, feet and head inside so he wouldn’t get crushed…we were going over roads with giant holes with a little 3-wheeled golf cart!! It was scary, man! But, we made it in one piece! 

We began to cook the shuko in the little covered area that she has by her house where she makes and sells food to earn money.  They started a fire, and put a huge pot over it full of shuko…after cooking until it became thick, we began to call out to passer-byers to come and get some shuko!  Word spread fast, and her neighbors came running to receive a cup of hot, delicious, sustenance.  Many were wet, and covered in mud…they looked so tired.  This cup of shuko could have been the only food they had had that day, as they were spending most of their time trying to save what little possessions that they had.  People actually came running.  I am not exaggerating.  Every single person was full of gratitude and warm thank-yous.  We handed out about 100 cups of shuko, and used every last drop!

Now, remember what I said about short-term missions trips?  Are they worth it?  Do they have lasting impact?  Well, if it wasn’t for the hard working team giving Nelsi a real floor, and a new roof, Nelsi would have been one of those people working hard to save her own house.  As it was, her house was secure and dry, her children safe and clean.  Nelsi was freed up to minister to others.  And THAT is a beautiful thing.  I watched Nelsi serving up the hot, nourishing drink to her neighbors…she was a woman on a mission.  A mission to give back, to pay it forward.  And she is doing just that. 

 

Soaking the black corn, as Daisy keeps watch.

First, you roast the 'pumpkin' seeds (Not really pumpkin, but something similar to it)

Nelsi grinding the corn into a paste. It turns purple, pretty!

This is where the mommas bring their corn every day to be ground to a paste for their tortillas and pupusas.

And, we grind the seeds as well....

At Nelsi's house getting ready to give out the clothes. That is her daughter Daniela to her left, and our little friend, Diego, to her right.

Maddie snuggling with Nelsi's daughter, Lupita (left), and grand-daughter, Fernanda.

The kids chillin' out on the hammock at Nelsi's.  The hammock is her 'couch'.

Two sweet ladies whose houses flooded...we gave them blankets that we had saved from when our team from Vancouver brought them down...Thank you church!

We took a walk down the street to visit a little girl that has a brain condition which causes her head to swell, and has caused some mental retardation...her house had flooded, and Maddie wanted to give her one of her dolls to cheer her. We also gave her mom a warm blanket. 

Ingrid LOVED her doll!!  That's Nelsi's daughter, Rebeka, on the right

After grinding the corn, you have to strain it, and you just use the liquid for the drink.

Nelsi, and her daugher, Danila and her mom being silly!  Poor Diego, he just doesn't get it!

Nelsi cooking the shuko, and using a Salvadorian flashlight to check it...that is, a piece of corn husk that she caught on fire!

Cruz enjoying his shuko!

Come and get it!

Rebeka and I ~ the shuko was yummy!!

Happy, sweet boys!

A very grateful family!

Maddie and Fer, enjoying their shuko

And the Rains came pouring down….

What happens when you get 60 inches of rain in 9 days? You get earth that doesn’t want to hold any more water. You get rivers that become raging torrents of destruction. You get ruined crops, flooded homes, villages whose roads are cut off, peoples homes completely destroyed, mudslides, death. This was the scene in October. The area around San Julian was one of the areas hit hardest because it sits low, surrounded by mountains, and has rivers that run through it. The city itself had some damage…due to leaking homes, and water seeping up through floors. But, just at the edge of town, the damage became much greater. With whole homes being swept away, and occupants barely escaping with their lives. Some villages were cut off from transportation. In one of those villages, Agua Shuka, lives Pastor Eduardo, a dear friend of ours. He lives and works on the premises of his church. We wanted to find out how they were doing, so we and the Pursleys decided to trek out there. We got across the river, partly on the footbridge, and partly on tree branches…slogged through deep mud, waded the entire way in a river that once was the road. It took us about an hour. Once there, we found that Pastor Eduardo was housing over 150 people in his church, day and night. These were people whose houses had been flooded, or completely wiped out. They were cooking for them in open fires, trying to cloth them, the people were sleeping on the floor, without mattresses. Many were suffering with fungus on their feet from the nasty mud and water they were living in. We asked how we could most help them. He told us: food, clothes and medicene for their fungus. We and the Pursley’s pooled our money and purchased what food that we could in San Salvador, and then went back in, on foot, carrying the food. During this time, we were tremendously blessed by our church in San Salvador. The Union Church put out a request for food, clothes and blankets to be donated in order for us to distribute them here in San Julian. We were truly blown away by the kindness and generosity of the church. We filled and re-filled our van with the food and clothing. And then, one of the gentlemen in the church who has a factory that produces clothing, decided to produce 500 blankets to be donated. WOW!! We took about 250 of those blankets and gave them out to the neediest families we could find. Those people were so excited to receive those great blankets to keep them warm at night. We were blessed to be able to be a blessing. We also had a bridge en route to San Salvador wiped out…so traffic can be very slow going that direction, as they have diverted traffic to the other side of the highway where the bridge is still in tact. Another bridge was compromised, and unusable just down the road from that one. Although there were no deaths in San Julian, there were many deaths from mudslides and flooding rivers around the country. Here, and around the country, many are still trying to put their lives back together. Our church in Vancouver Washington raised over $2,000 so we can help some of these families rebuild their homes and lives. We are so thankful for these gifts to aid us in ministering to the needy here. We have also seen many people here in El Salvador come to the aid of their fellow countrymen. We see people that have lost so much, just facing each day with determination and strength.   

Joni & Friends

The first week of November, Jonah, Maddie and I (Kathy) volunteered to work at the Joni and Friends Family Camp for disabled children and their families here in El Salvador. Founded by Joni Erickson Tada, this ministry is an opportunity for families of disabled children to come to a safe place to be loved on, ministered to, and to just plain have fun! This year, 25 families were invited to attend. Each family can bring a total of four family members for a completely free retreat for 4 days at a lovely hotel at the beach. These families are usually from the poorest in El Salvador. Here in El Salvador, disability is treated like it was many years ago in the U.S. Hiding disabled people away, neglecting them. Acting like they have a disease and being repelled by them. I could tell you so many stories of these families. It would melt your heart. I was so thrilled that both Maddie and Jonah wanted to volunteer to be a buddy to a disabled child, or to a sibling for the retreat. That meant that they were with that child almost 24/7. After long days of go, go, go, Jonah and Maddie would just drop into bed each night exhausted. I was sooooo blessed as I watched my kids extend themselves and sweetly serve these beautiful children. Maddie was assigned little Jennifer. She is severly handicapped and non-verbal. She is nine years old, yet, so tiny she wore diapers the size of an average one year old. Jennifer always had a smile on her face. She grabbed everything she could get her hands on…faces, hair, jewelry, clothes…so Maddie really had to watch her flying hands! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Maddie so content as when she was with Jennifer. Maddie loved on her, carried her, played with her, spoke to her, swam with her, and by the end of the retreat, Maddie shed tears as she had to say good-bye to this sweet little one. Jonah was assigned Kevin, the 12 year old sibling of one of the disabled children. The siblings of the children who are handicapped can have a very difficult life with many challenges. Usually, they take a back-seat to their sibling. The disabled child takes so much time, energy, and focus, that the sibling gets lost in the shuffle. This can cause resentment, confusion…these kids need to be loved on and told how important and special they are. At the retreat, they have ministry sessions just for siblings. They are loved on, and taught how to process what they are experiencing in their lives in a healthy way. Watching Jonah hang out with Kevin was a joy. Kevin had a constant smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye. He was just so happy to be there he couldn’t stop smiling. All day, Kevin and Jonah would run around to all the events: games, singing, crafts, bible stories, swimming, flying kites, worship services, meals,…they were buddies. I loved watching these families as they were presented with three beautiful meals each day. The families that came were just so overwhelmed and blessed by the abundant, delicious food! One family rarely has enough food for everyone. If there is only a bit of money for food, they buy milk for their disabled child, but everyone else goes hungry, including the 5 year old little brother. One family just could not understand that they would be given food at the retreat. Three meals a day, for free. (How could that be, that would be like heaven?) They were concerned that if they came to the retreat...if they took those days of work to come, how could they supply food for their family for those days? But, they desired so greatly to come that they saved up enough bread and Coke for 4 days, and brought it with them so they would have food to eat at the retreat! Can you imagine their reaction when they understood that, truly, three times a day, a delicious, bountiful meal would be put before them!? Another family, desiring greatly to attend the retreat, could not afford the pampers for their disabled child to wear on the bus ride to the retreat. (This could be 2-4 hours) At home, they would use cloth diapers, (without plastic pants, which aren’t available here) but on the bus, they would have to have something to prevent ‘spills’. Joni and Friends provides pampers for the disabled children during the duration of the retreat, but this family had to GET THERE first! The only way they could pay for those pampers? They took all their dishes, and went into the street and sold them. Then, took that money, and bought pampers for the bus ride. Well, needless to say, the retreat was an amazing, special four days for all the families, and for those of us there serving. What a priviledge. Also, seven family members accepted Christ during that retreat, which is open to Christian and non-Christian alike.