Working at ENLACE we have opportunities to enter homes and lives in Christ’s name in El Salvador. This is an honor that we try to not take for granted and we often share stories of the people we meet with one another. New volunteer, Ashley Rutledge has been with ENLACE just over a month and yet she is a natural missionary with a joy and spirit that quickly has been blessing both our staff, as well as the community members that she has been getting to know. Following are some excerpts from a particularly powerful portrait she shared on her personal blog about a mother named Reina and a little girl named Heidi.
This is Reina. She lives in Pajigua with her 9 children. She is the mother of 16 children, two of whom have died and 5 of whom are older and no longer live with her. She is married, but she told me that her husband comes through as he pleases and she can go a whole year without seeing him and has never been able to depend on him. Reina is living in one of the most extreme cases of poverty in her community. She struggles to provide for her children at all.
When Reina and I began to talk I noticed a little girl lying in the hammock of the main room. Her name was Heidi…
…I then realized she had a very high fever. I asked Reina if I could help in any way and maybe give Heidi a bath. There was a water spigot outside that had clean, cold water. I had to hold Heidi in my arms while I bathed her in cold water and a half a bar of soap I had in my bag. I got drenched and it wasn’t an easy job but I just kept thinking, “Ashley, do what you know to do. That is all you can be responsible for.” After cooling her down and getting her clean I wrapped Heidi in a clean towel and held her in my arms in the sunlight and she looked up at me with those huge brown eyes and smiled. Then she breathed heavily and fell fast asleep. She slept for a good 45 minutes and when she woke up I combed her ratted hair, put it in pigtails and put her in some clean clothes. She sat in my lap all day long.
… I don’t have all the answers and I can’t save the whole world, but I can be Jesus to the people that I come into contact with and that is all He is asking of me anyway. That way I can be used and not get caught up in myself or my own abilities. I can pray with and provide comfort to those that need it the most
To see more photos and read the full blog entry visit Ashley’s blog.
