Category: Blog

Melissa was 18 years old when she had the opportunity to live in El Salvador for six months as a short-term missionary. Working with an orphanage called Amilat, she collaborated in the coordination of mission teams and care for children, as well as completing other administrative tasks. This time profoundly changed her heart and impacted her life, revealing the face of poverty in El Salvador that she had not known.

Her experiences brought her back to El Salvador for two other short trips that deepened her passion for the country and its people. After spending much time seeking God’s guidance through prayer, she felt the call to seek opportunities to return and serve.

In April of this year, Willow Creek Community Church hosted a Celebration of Hope event in which members of the congregation, like Melissa, were given the opportunity to better understand how to pray, give, and get involved with the ministries they support around the world. When Melissa heard about the transformation her church was supporting in El Salvador through ENLACE, she felt confirmation to return.

Melissa Mefford, now 24 years old, has a degree in psychology and has lived in Chicago for the past four years. She arrived in El Salvador in late October and will serve as a missionary volunteer with ENLACE for the next year. She firmly believes that Christians are not only called to share the message of salvation but also to care for the oppressed and fight against injustices, serving as a voice for the voiceless in communities and throughout the world.

According to Melissa, “God uses me as a vehicle to bring his kingdom to the earth. I can’t do this on my own. My power is not strong enough. My brain is not intelligent enough. My heart is not big enough. The only way for me to make an impact is to allow God to do the work.”

Welcome to ENLACE, Melissa!

Click here to follow her personal blog.

From October 9 to October 20 El Salvador was hit with steady and torrential rains that totaled more than four feet in many areas. At least 33 people were killed in landslides and more than 35,000 forced to leave their homes.

One of ENLACE’s trucks loaded with supplies on October 20While our primary role as an organization is not in the area of disaster relief, ENLACE is supporting the efforts of our local church partners; many of whom are providing food, water and temporary shelter for displaced and affected families. We will continue to offer supplies as needed throughout the country while also working with local churches and communities as they create plans for rebuilding and protecting communities from future natural disasters.

In a conversation with Pastor Miguel Duran on October 19, he reported that mitigation efforts implemented in recent years (projects like cement drainage culverts and retaining walls made of old tires) effectively saved numerous homes and kept roads open.

Damaged tomato plantHowever, small scale farmers have not fared as well. Some reports state that 40-60% of this season’s harvest has been lost, presenting an incalculable challenge for subsistence farmers who rely on these crops to feed their families. ENLACE will continue to support locally managed home garden initiatives throughout the country to help offset the loss of traditional crops experienced by so many.

Click here to provide immediate support as well as lasting change for families affected by the storms in El Salvador.

Relief materials delivered in La Bendición

Shelter in La Reforma, Ciudad ArceLandslide in Ciudad ArceRelief materials delivered in La Reforma

According to national news organizations, the death toll from rains and mudslides across Central America rose Sunday to at least 80 dead. El Salvador, as one of the top ten most vulnerable countries in the world, has experienced the highest number of fatalities. Thirty-two people have died since the intense rain from a tropical depression began saturating El Salvador’s landscape about seven days ago. The death toll is expected to rise.

Landslide in Ciudad Arce. Photo: El Diario de Hoy

In El Salvador, the protestant church has grown rapidly over the last several years, and with new churches, the number of pastors has also grown. Although the majority of these pastors depend on the offerings of their congregations without being active agents in the country’s labor market, there is a small number of pastors who make the difficult decision to seek additional employment. For these pastors, supplementary income can facilitate their ability to become agents of transformation as they may be better able to provide a home for their family and even help support their own church.
Carlos is a native to Panchimalco, and he is proud to have indigenous roots in the area. His relaxed nature and huge smile are contagious.

Carlos Cruz is both talented and a visionary. A year ago he became the pastor of his local church. Before that he had studied to be a mechanic at the Industrial Technical Institute (ITI) and continues his work with a local co-op of microbuses. Additionally, to supplement his family’s income, he and his wife also raise pigs, chickens, and hens in a small pen behind their house.

A few months ago, Carlos recognized the need to improve his pig pen to create better living conditions for his family and prevent problems with his neighbor, but he did not have the cash. After applying for a small loan from CREDATEC (the organization that handles all of ENLACE’s microfinancing projects), he received invaluable training from Financial Coach Israel Melendez. Through the coaching, Carlos was able make and execute plans for a new and improved pig farm. He used the financing he receive to invest in paving the pen, making a wall of bricks, and building a septic tank in which animal waste would drain.

The farm currently has two adult pigs, two piglets, and a sow that will soon birth seven to eight piglets. Each pig can result in a two-fold profit. Like other CREDATEC entrepreneurs, Carlos looks for ways to maximize his resources. For Carlos, this means collecting leftover market produce and corn from the local tortilla-maker to feed his pigs, reducing his costs. Creativity and hard work can make the difference between failure and success.

“[Pig farming] is a difficult job that many people don’t want to do because it requires a lot of effort. So…here there is high demand for pork, but no competition for breeding pigs.”

Carlos and his wife began rasing pigs when their son was born. They are successfully raising and selling pigs.

Although Carlos lives a simple life with his mother, wife, and three children, his hard work and access to microloans and business support ensures that his family has everything they need. And while it is rather common for adults to seek more than two jobs to make a living in El Salvador, Carlos is unique in the way he combines working for himself and his family with caring for his community.



Your donation of $100 will be leant nearly 30 times in the next 15 years totaling more than $1500 of credit for ambitious entrepreneurs like Carlos!

Douglas Carrillo is a resident of El Ranchador. He and his family always held onto the hope of building an adobe or metal house in the land they have been paying off for the last five years. Despite working in a brick factory, he never imagined the possibility of having a home made of cement block. However, the members of Arca de Dios Church in El Ranchador and Willow Creek Crystal Lake united to help Douglas believe in a dream that, until a few days ago, was impossible.

 When Noé Canales was just a teenager he already had a strong passion to serve Christ. He devoted much of his time as a volunteer with the Royal Rangers, a Christian wilderness program for boys. After High School he took on many odd jobs while he began to study theology. Three years into his studies, Noé was hired by World Vision as a Christian Commitment Coordinator, and began a career in Christian community development. Through this experience, Noé saw a glimpse of what rural churches can accomplish when they work with their communities. When the World Vision program concluded, Noé encountered ENLACE and joined its staff in June 2011.  

Being involved with ENLACE has provided Noé a way to continue his passion to serve Christ. He says, “I’m excited to be part of this process…[I love] walking with the pastors…walking down the streets of their communities, meeting with them, talking about the challenges in their communities and coming up with solutions…[I love] discussing how God helps [to] bring development and change.”

Over the last three years, Noé helped to foment an amazing growth in the number of churches in the region of San Jose El Naranjo, going from two to nine! These churches now form a regional network that meets on an ongoing basis to share experiences and coordinate efforts. This region’s cohesiveness was displayed in an amazing way during a thanksgiving service late in 2013. More than 500 community members from all over the region and the mayor celebrated the year’s successes with representatives of all nine churches and ENLACE. Noé’s hard work and vision has made these successes possible.

Noé and his wife, Mirna Quiñonez, have one five-year-old son, Ricardo Ernesto.

Construction work in Santa María has been a growth opportunity for the Church, for ENLACE, and for the community leaders, reflecting a dynamic, unifying process. Gerson Ramirez, Church Coach

For years, the Santa María neighborhood located in the region of San Martin lamented the terrible condition of its main street. During the rainy season, torrents of water endangered their lives of both young children and older residents. Addtionally, the lack of proper drainage created standing water that resulted in mosquito infestation and putrid odors. Even so, years passed and the road continued to deteroriate. Solving the problem seemd too expensive and difficult for a poor community like Santa María.

In 2010, however, Principe de Paz members decided to take a leap of faith and change their community. After receiving training and coaching from ENLACE, the church led an effort that leveraged the participation of community residents, the support of the mayor’s office and two international mission teams.

In the second stage the road was completed with gravel and paving. The church hosted students from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and members of New Life Church in Exeter (both in California). These missions teams gave Pastor Santiago and his leaders more than just greatly needed materials and labor; it empowered them and gave them more confidence that led to closer relationships with their neighbors.

“Our work is more than building a road; It is really building a community. For us that means having a long-term relationship with ENLACE in El Salvador, where we can work as a family and even as a church to make the biggest impact possible for a single community or a single region”. Cristina Robeck, Advisory board ENLACE USA, Vanguard University Team leader.

By the end of the first stage, the church had overseen the construction of 500 meters of storm gutters. The process, however, according to Pastor Santiago, wasn’t alwasys easy. “I remeber the day that we had our first meeting with community representatives, and I told them that it was necessary to work together…to construct the road…We had problems [and] got discouraged. Some wanted to quit during the first stage. I told them , ‘I won’t quit the project… (but) I can’t do this alone. If you work along with me we can do great things.”  

In the second stage, the road was completed with gravel and paving. The church hosted students from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and members of New Life Church in Exeter (both in California). These mission teams gave Pastor Santiago and his leaders more than just greatly needed materials and labor; it empowered them and gave them more confidence that led to closer relationships with their neighbors.
According to Pastor Santiago, “…this project represents a great triumph…[the church] now [has] become closer to the people in the community. And people are not shy anymore to come to church…I like how they now see us.”

Click here to see the Picture Gallery

This summer we were visited by 10 work and 4 vision teams totalling more than 160 people who served their global neighbors in the churches and communities of San Jacinto, El Progreso, El Ranchador, San José El Naranjo, San Antonio En Medio, El Espino, Santa María and San Martín! Thank you all for your sacraficial service to El Salvador!

Old Friends!

Two groups from Seacoast Grace Church in California came to the region of Ahuachapan to work hard and create friendships with the Nueva Jerusalen Church in San José El Naranjo and Voz Que Clama en el Desierto Church in San Antonio En Medio. The first team repaired more than 300 feet of a steep road that had been prone to mudslides and endangered the lives of pedestrians and motorists. The second team completed digging almost 300 feet along the community’s main road. When finished, the water channels will prevent road erosion, keeping the road safe and clear. Not only do these projects generate safety and more opportunities for agriculture and other economic activities, but they also help the local church reach out to their neighbors in ways that create profound connections and long-term transformation.

 A Church is more than a Building!

The Miraflores Public School is one of the only public institutions that exists in the area of El Espino. For years, the school’s only security was a wire mesh fence tethered by concrete posts. This substandard security left students, teachers, and the infrastructure itself exposed to outside disruptions such as animals, passersby, and gang members. Since 2008, the need for a perimeter wall has been a priority to the administration, parents, and community members. Stregthened by their work with ENLACE and the newfound confidence in their ability to transform their community through cooperation, Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church partnered with the local community association and the councillor of San Pedro Perulapán to work on this project. Timberline Community Church from Fort Collins, Colorado came twice this year and was an integral part of the first stage of this project. They helped build the wall and supported local health initiatives by bringing a short-term medical team.

 Witnesses to God’s Mercy!

Vineyard Church from Pataskala, Ohio returned to support Zurisadai Church in San Jacinto this year. In 2010, during their first visit to the region, they joined the work of the church to help construct a retaining wall which prevents landslides along one of the area’s main roads. This year, they supported the local church in its effort to give shelter to one of the 25 families that the church and community identified as being the most vulnerable. Through this housing project, the church has further strengthened relationships with the community and also ties of friendship with the Vineyard Church who collaborated in the building of a home for Jose Marroquin and his family. While in San Jacinto, Vineyard Church members also helped move materials for another housing recipient, directed activities for the community’s women and children, hosted a marriage seminar, and visited homes to those in need of food and prayer. 

Click here to go to see more about the summer

The school’s wall is a great achievement because it has an important meaning for students and parents. There are gangs all around the school and this wall means security for the children and teens. This is not just important for the school, but it is also important for the church. As the pastor, I feel we are achieving the goals we have set. Pastor Santos Carpio.

Miraflores Public School has classes from kindergarden to ninth grade and is the only option for formal education in the community. The school has a staff of six teachers and currently serves 353 students between the ages of five and 17. Until recently, the school’s only security was a chain-link fence around its campus, which was insufficient to protect students, teachers, school, equipment and the school building itself.

The need to build a cement block wall around the perimeter of the school was identified nine years ago. Although the school sought help several times, they could not move the project forward. A few years ago, however, the urgency for security in the area increased due local gang activity and violence. Alarmingly, throughout the country, attacks on students have been rapidly increasing, with 52 students reportedly killed in 2010 and already 108 in 2011.

Rosa Lilian Martinez and Children of the Public SchoolWith these high numbers in mind, Rosa Alicia Martínez, the principal of the school in Miraflores, admitted, “One of the greatest needs for the school has been a perimeter wall” because “there are people who don’t belong in the school who come in at any time. That affects the normal process of the classes and the students’ comfort.” The principal is thrilled that Pastor Santos’ church has helped to pave the way to create a safer environment for students and teachers in Miraflores.

Thank God the Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church came to us! This is a dream for me. We have seen the results of their work, and people from the community are responding. It wasn’t until the church joined us that the mayor’s office helped us a little. Church members come and work, and parents also play a role in the work. Older students are volunteers on the project too, and now, even Americans have joined us to help build the wall!. Rosa Alicia Martinez, School Principal in Miraflores.

The construction of the wall has been divided into four stages, corresponding to the back, front, and two sides of the school’s campus. Timberline Church from Fort Collins, Colorado was the talk of the town as they picked up shovels and joined the local church from two weeks to work on the wall from the very beginning of the project’s first stage. Community members told us they were impressed to see 15 teenagers and their youth pastors working passionately on the wall. When the second Timberline group came, there were 17 more adults and five teenagers who worked on the wall, brought a medical team, and visited homes in the community.

“The impact was enormous, and everyone was motivated by the visit from the Americans. Their service has made the community feel like they can do great things, and the church has confirmed that what they are doing is for the Lord. Now, they feel strengthened and more committed.” Nuria Reyes, Church Coach in El Espino.

After years of wishing and waiting for a school wall, the community has finally achieved their dream through the leadership of the local church and the collaboration of the school, parent’s association, and mayor’s  office. The work would not have been possible without the area’s partnership with Timberline Church which has helped to provide ENLACE coaching and technical support, as well as filling in gaps of funding for the much-needed wall. We would like to thank Timberline Church for its generous support and congratulate the Tabernáculo Biblico Salem Church for all their hard work in Miraflores!

Click here to see the Picture Gallery from Timberline Church’s works