Fiesta Day by Joan Hastey and Dolores Hett

36 Bibles and keys to present at the Key-giving Ceremony

Our last day with the community; we gather with all the families to celebrate their new homes. It is always an emotional day. I am amazed how well we bond in such a short time. When we meet for the first time on Sunday there are smiles and excitement, but we are all strangers. By Friday when we see each other there are many waves and hugs and long conversations (with the help of our translators). The children are filled with joy as they play with our Canadian team, like we have known each other for years. As the day goes on we worship together, we hear a challenging gospel message about God’s grace and great love. The families are presented with the keys to their new homes, a Spanish bible and a bucket of blessings for their home. Many photos are taken and tears are shed as we say goodbye to our new friends.

  Then we have to say more goodbyes. Later in the evening we meet with the Shelter team and their families at the clocktower in the city centre of San Vincente. What a great group of people who are committed to sharing Gods love with their community, providing shelter and hope. They work all year to prepare the way for us.

 Sometimes in life I think we can feel overwhelmed by the needs people face everywhere. It can be hard to know where to start and sometimes we just don’t. That first step is hard, but Shelter inspires me to just drop those pebbles when I see how God has blessed and multiplied the ministry here in El Salvador. Shelter was one person’s idea 20 odd years ago, and has now built over 3,000 homes, employs over 20 El Salvadorians and just keeps growing. The ripples are spreading far and wide.

Each of us turns a page in the diary of our lives every day. The faces on the pages that I have turned this week will not be forgotten. God’s love and mercy are present everyday. The Salvadorians’ community spirit, contentment and perseverance jump off the page.

I will strive to be more like them until by God’s grace I can come here again.

by Joan Hastey and Dolores Hett

Compassion – God’s Heart on the Move – by Gerry Walker

The international language of soccer

While the three days of building homes are now behind us, God continued to bless us as we developed new relationships and renewed old ones by visiting our sponsored compassion children at one of the compassion centres.  Many acknowledged that “Compassion Day” proved to be more exhausting than our build days….so much emotional connection with our children and their families. We are certainly part of a much bigger thing that God is doing; there are over 60,000 children enrolled in the compassion program in El Salvador.     

Those who have been back several times see and exclaim compassion day is like a big family reunion.  We get updates of not only our children but also parents’ needs. We get the opportunity to pray and speak truth into peoples lives…and we get to see how God is answering pray and impacting our compassion family.

Giving money to compassion is not just helping children and their families materially but we are seeing deep spiritual impact.  The Father’s Heart is using this program to not only reach children but also bring whole families, children, parents and grandparents to Christ.  God is on the move to great changes and transformations in El Salvador in the next generation!   It is remarkable what God is doing by placing burdens on our hearts for these people; the development of new relationships; and prayer!

Despite the heat, there were several soccer games on the premises.  Echoes of laughter spread throughout the building as families visited around tables, shared lunch, played more games, and shared life challenges in the open-air centre.    The language barrier did not stop us from sharing our faith and extending our support.  God’s work was demonstrated by stories of gratitude, blessing, contentment and happiness despite the many challenges of daily life here in El Salvador.

One of the other highlights of the day was God orchestrating the “face time” connection between Betty and Arie in Canada and their son, Brandon and sponsored children here in El Salvador.  God is in control of the technology and the smallest detail!  He really wants to bless us!    

We are being used as God’s vessel pouring out to his people around us.  The boldness that he is giving us here is amazing.  One of the challenges is how can we continue to be a willing impactful vessel when we return to Canada reflecting God’s love and grace!

by Gerry Walker

Day 4 in El Salvador – “Our Last Build Day” by Troy Western

36 homes completed!

The most prolific writers could craft an epic novel describing the beauty of El Salvador, the resilience of its people, and the strength of God’s love within it all and still not capture an accurate depiction of this experience we have shared.

I have witnessed things I never thought I’d see in my lifetime and have checked off things on a bucket list I never knew I had. I have stood on an active volcano next to its hot springs. Then, as if not to be outdone, we shared church on its hillside.

On our first build day, there was a perfect trifecta that left me awestruck. In a single moment, I looked up from my work to see how my beautiful wife, Shari, was doing with hers and was immediately hit with three things coming together that I never thought I’d see: Shari was (a) on a construction site (b) in a foreign country, and (c) not only holding a power tool, but was actually using it! And I couldn’t have been more proud or more in love with her.

We finished building our 36^th home today. It was a mix of emotions as we continued to build friendships as we built houses, knowing we were approaching our goodbyes. I also had the privilege of meeting the families we were building for and, in most cases, working alongside them during many of the builds.

With our first house today, I met Maria. In a slightly unusual turn of events, we finished building before meeting with her, so we spoke with her (with help of our amazing interpreter, Miguel) in her new home instead of off somewhere nearby. There was a brief moment where everyone else left to find chairs and the two of us were left alone in her house. I turned to her with great excitement wished her “Felicidades!” Although we were in the shade of the indoors, her face lit up the room like nothing I’d seen on this trip. Her smile beamed more radiantly than the sun itself and then she wept with sheer joy. That moment will surely live with me for the rest of my days.

We have made many amazing friendships, which for me includes Marie, a beautiful little girl in an equally beautiful white dress who, during one of our Kids Ministry afternoons, kept asking me to blow up balloons for her. Each time I did, she would disappear with it, only to reappear moments later asking for another. I quickly realized she was stashing them somewhere in her house, so I like to imagine she had a fantastic fiesta last night with them! Next, we played for a long time with a beach ball, just bouncing and passing it back and forth. Her laughter and smile stole my heart. Then I invited her to come with us to see the spectacular view from up the hill. Another bucket list item checked off I never knew I had. Marie sat serenely on a rock while the rest of us were speechless with the magnificence of the El Salvadorian landscape spread out before us.

Then there’s Franklin, Oscar, Jose, Roberto, Maria, Karla, Miguel, Levi, Walter, Mauricio… the list goes on and on. Each one of them, whether they realize it or not, have impacted me in ways that this blog will never, ever be able to convey. And my heart will never be the same.

By Troy Western

Day 2 of building – by Julie Engel

My morning started off with an amazing first build. My team and I arrived at the build site around 9am; we saw the locals and the shelter construction workers were almost finished the house so we quickly joined in and did as much as we could to help. My mom; Shannon, Julia, and I interviewed the homeowners and quickly connected with the wife, her husband, as well as their four-year-old son. We were able to share our stories as well as listen to theirs. The husband has family that lives only minutes away from their home and shared with us that he has 6 brothers that he is very close with. The family asked us to come and visit their new home next time we are in El Salvador because they were so excited they could share a piece their life with us.

We finished the first house and got to see the amazing smiles of the families as they put up their house number and saw the new home God blessed them with. After, we finished the second house around 2pm. During that build I found myself very connected with the family and very excited to learn about their lives and what this home means to them.

When we got to the build site, I noticed a little 4-year-old boy named Antonio. He was hiding behind his mother, Dema, and was very shy. I picked up his toy truck and ran it down his back while saying, “Vroom”, he laughed and quickly opened up to me. He brought me all of his toys one at a time to play with him, and every time I would walk away to see what needed to be done to help build, he would act all sad and ask me to stay with him.

Dema invited us into her home to make tortillas with her mother. It was a very cool experience to be able to make and eat our own tortillas, no matter how awful and square they looked. I felt so connected to their family and was very happy to find out they are believers of God and see that he is the reason they can get their new home. I got to pray over their family which was the perfect way to end the afternoon with them. At the end of the building some of the locals showed us a spot where we could see an amazing view of El Salvador and got some cool team pictures. It was overwhelming to see how beautiful this country is and how blessed we are to be able to experience Gods creation.

by Julie Engel

DAY 2 – FIRST BUILD DAY by Shari Western

Working together!

              I am in awe, yet completely overwhelmed by the events that have so far transpired. This is my first time coming to El Salvador or even being on a mission trip, so I am busy trying to take everything in.

              Yesterday we met the families that we will be building houses for. Today we built 12 of those houses in the village of Apastepeque. I had the privilege of doing both kid’s ministry in the morning as well as helping to build a house in the afternoon.  Also, during house building we get to do interviews with the specific families that our team is building for.

              The kids were a bundle of energy!! We had approximately 15-20 kids come out. Lots of games and activities were played. A “crowd favourite” was face painting - especially when another team member and I became the canvas!! 😊            

In the afternoon, along with working some power tools (another first for me!) my husband and I interviewed a mother who, along with her husband and 2-year-old daughter are receiving a house. She met her husband in 2008 when both he and she had to move to this community because their previous houses were destroyed. They had a huge storm with a tonne of rain which created a mud slide down the side of a volcano. Much devastation occurred with many lives lost. Those whose houses were destroyed were given temporary housing in a nearby village but are no longer allowed to live there. This house means the world to Carla and her family. She said it will be nice to not have random animals wandering in and out and that it will be a safe place for their daughter to grow up.

All in all, it has been a tiring but equally rewarding day. Looking forward to what God has in store for tomorrow!!

By Shari Western

Day 1 - by Cynthia Richards & Caleb Loewen

Church at the Volcano - our view

Today was our first full day in El Salvador, and our first experience functioning as a team. We went to the village of Apastapeque, and met the 36 families that are receiving homes. This week we will split into six sub teams to complete the homes, so we split into these teams with the locals and played games to get to know them and bond as a group. It was a great experience as people from El Salvador and Canada are willing to open up with one another and share a bit about themselves. It was good to see who we are building for and with, and we look forward to completing the task set before us.

After meeting the families we went to Bacillo’s house for lunch. Bacillo is the man who manufactures the house kits. He employees a crew of local men to weld and fabricate the kits that we put together on the job site. Bacillo is always open to meeting with us and spending time together.

In the evening we had church with the local shelter team at the volcano, that is near San Vicente. We worshipped together and heard the testimony of one of our teammates, which was a good way to end the day.

New Year, New Hope

Bethany El Salvador Team -  January 2020

Did you know that 60 percent of people make New Years resolutions?  And likely many more have thoughts of it, but won’t admit it.  (Okay, that’s me!)  It’s a great time of year to think ahead to goals for the coming year – personal growth, health and exercise, getting finances under control.  These are all great things, especially after probably eating too much and spending too much over the holidays .

But this is the first year that we are bringing a team to El Salvador in January, and so my thoughts have been about planning for this trip and getting everything ready to go.  We just received pictures and some brief information about the 36 families that we will be building homes for (which always brings me to tears and reminds me of why we do this)   And suddenly it struck me how New Years resolutions are a thing of privilege.  It is only people who have opportunities and resources to make change, that can actually set goals for change.  The people we are going to build homes for in El Salvador are the ones that most need change, most need opportunity for growth, most need better health; and yet are the least able to do anything about it.  They lack the power and the opportunity to change anything about their circumstances.

And so as we go to build homes I am impacted by the thought that we get to be part of something that will change their year ahead entirely.  We get to bring the hope and opportunity that these families so desperately need and so entirely lack.  What an incredible privilege to bring that to someone else. (pun intended 😊)

We are so thankful for the many people who are a part of this adventure – a team of 30 people going to El Salvador, many donors who have contributed to make this possible, and many who are praying for these families and for our team.  We so appreciate that many are a part of this greater team!

As you look ahead to the New year, I would encourage you to make part of your plan helping others who are in need of hope.  I would encourage you to use your privilege to further someone else’s opportunities who don’t have the capability to do that for themselves.  And that is truly a privilege!

Check out www.sheltercanada.ca for more information on how to get involved or contact Eldon & Rose Loewen by email at loeweneldon@gmail.com to join a team from Bethany Community Church in St. Catharines, ON.

36 Families will receive this home! ❤