Is there hope?

    Is there hope?  Looking around at the poverty, the garbage strewn compounds, the crumbling infrastructure, I can´t help wonder if there is really any hope.  Corruption is rampant, gangs are powerful, can we really make a difference here?
    But then I see the people, their smiling faces the friendly greetings.  In their humble conditions they have many smiles and laughs to share with us.  They are happy in their situation.  Sure, they want better for themselves and for their families, so do we all.
    And I am reminded that God does not need infrastructure, governments, law and order.  Jesus was a radical and he hung out with the people, not the establishment.  He reached out to those in need, the sick, the destitute, the outcast.  Then he built his church and changed the world using ordinary people, just like those on our team, just like Hector, Noe, Oscar and other believers in El Salvadore that have a heart for the people. 
    Is there hope?  Of course there is.  There is hope in the person of Christ Jesus.  To change a nation?  Perhaps, but it starts with the people.  He has called everyday people to be his hands and feet, to be salt and light, to reach .... people.