by Frederick McGough
Transformation
As a member of ADSA’s Advisory Committee, I have been able to see firsthand how effective rural churches in El Salvador can be when they reach out to their communities and initiate programs and projects that benefit of the whole community. They understand their biblical calling which is to engage their community and be instigators of action. In the process, relationships are restored between community members and with God. I have witness this transformation, and in that process I am being transformed and my heart is being renovated.
Project Milagro
Project Milagro is an amazing example of this. To think that the rural church of 60 members, whose pastor has a 2nd grade formal education, has been able to effectively mobilized three communities, their community leaders, local government officials, federal congressional diplomats, and the national water organization ANDA, to focus on the common goal of providing inexpensive and clean water to 1,300 households. It is truly remarkable to watch as this church facilitate a multi-million dollar water project. Furthermore, since the project was birthed in the community itself, is being managed by community leaders, and requires community participation, the ownership and sustainability of the project will remain in the community’s hands.
Frederick with Salvador Romero, Vice President of ADSAMy “gringo mentality” still occasionally limits my comprehension of the sheer significance of the above. I fall back to my “first world” perspective and wonder why the project is taking forever and a day to complete. I frequently second guess the seemingly endless inefficient construction logistics, and even at times have questioned the overall feasibility of the project.
Yet over time working with the community, I have come to understand the communal importance of the community members digging the trenches by hand vs. using a machine. I also see the affirmative impact of all community leaders having a say in the process even if it takes weeks to make simple decisions versus “outside experts” telling them what to do. And the magnitude of ownership gained by ADSA in their countless meetings with governmental officials to become a legal water board versus paying “big city attorneys” to accomplish this task cannot be overstated.
Only in retrospect, do I fully appreciate that the “means” is as important as the “ends”. Sure, “the outside world” could construct a water system for the community in a fraction of the time and maybe for less money. By participating in this community transformation, I’ve learned that since the community is the long term “stakeholder” it’s only through the many trials and tribulations that come from the process that the proper sense of responsibility and ownership is birthed.
God’s Work
Last, but far from least, through this project, I have seen what it means to have real faith; faith in ourselves, faith in our neighbors, and most importantly, faith in God. Project Milagro is God’s work, and it will be completed in His time. We all must continue to have faith that God will continue to provide the resources. We all must continue put that faith into action and make the most of the resources that He provides. And when the project is completed, our faith will lead us to praise the Lord for what He has provided and our hearts will have true joy from the restored relationships among each other and with God.
For those of you who have known me for more than five years, this blog might be hard to believe. All I can say is that God is slowly transforming me. He has shown me what it means to be truly poor and destitute, beginning with the man I see in the mirror every morning.
May peace be with you all.
Click here to read Part 1 of Frederick’s “Journey of Transformation”…
Click here to see more about Project Milagro…