Walking With El Salvador

I received a quick email message a few moments ago from a new friend from St. John's Lutheran Church who traveled to El Salvador for the first time earlier this month. She asked, "How did the partnership begin?"  "Can I call you?' I texted. But then I gave it a little thought. Have I actually written down the origin story of our sister church* partnership? I searched my blog, and I did not find a story. It seems perhaps is it one of those twisty-turny tales that lives in the oral tradition of the few of us who are old enough to be originals. It might be easier to call, but I think it is time to write. I messaged my friend to watch for a link. Where to begin... The year was 1995. I had recently joined the church staff at St. John's ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in Brookfield, Wisconsin as the Parish Education Coordinator for babies through adults. One of my responsibilities was to plan the programming and train the staff for Sunday School. I le...

The sun slipped below the San Salvador Volcano, casting bright orange and pink streaks across the purpling sky. Mothers were gathered at the corner, chatting as their little ones zoomed around with red and yellow plastic trucks. Students began arriving home from school, trudging up the hill wearing comfy blue gym pants and white t-shirts and carrying loaded backpacks. Yessenia sat on the curb, minding her pop-up store which she sets up every afternoon in front of the church.  The church doors and windows were wide open. Cristina cut out and decorated the number 27. People sat around inside and out, chatting and sharing stories. Children worked on homework. We watched a video I had posted on YouTube from last year's anniversary celebration and laughed about Marcelino's love of fireworks. The pupusas arrived. We sat in the sanctuary in a big circle of green plastic chairs, licked salsa and curtido from our fingers, and drank hot coffee. More people arrived. Chairs were passed ou...

Sunday was gym day.  We did not go to the gym. The gym came to Los Héroes. And it was beautiful. A Back Story We have a little group at the church called the Comisión de Salud - the Health Commission. We meet on the first Sunday of the month (with the other 3 church ministry commissions).  At our first meeting in January, we decided to sponsor one health education workshop or event each month on a Sunday after worship. We discussed using the Mission of Healing curriculum which was developed last year.  Commission members suggested we meet an extra time each month for internal training with the curriculum, particularly to expand the reproductive education team which will assist with Days for Girls kit distribution events.  We identified potential partnership connections with the Unidad de Salud (local clinic) and organizations which support holistic well-being. A Partnership Connection Just over a year ago, a community gym opened up in a neighborhood not too ...

A long time ago, a Sunday School student gave me a little notebook for Christmas. I brought it to El Salvador in the early years and jotted down some notes and stories. Most of the writings in this notebook have neither dates nor years, which has made organizing my journals and photographs from that era an archeological experience. A few days ago, I came across this little story, which I did not even know I had written down: We visited Pastor Matías' church, Milagro de Dios - Miracle of God. They lost everything in a recent robbery, but greeted us warmly with snacks and singing. Vonda gave away her guitar. I love her. We took up a little collection ($150) which will pay for a new motor for the mill, to replace the stolen one. The Abuela of the Senior Citizen group stuck the money in her bra. She said it is the bank. She is the church treasurer. I read this and my first thought was: I do love Vonda. I can still picture the moment Vonda turned to me and said, ...

Plan. Train. Go! In a nutshell, this describes the Mission of Healing 2022: Plan , Train , Go. If you are coming into this story in the middle, you really should take a moment to click on PLAN and then on TRAIN . This episode celebrates GO.  CELEBRATES!  Yup, that all caps shout-out is so all of you sister church relationship coordinators and international companion synod cheerleaders in the back row can enjoy a celebratory trajectory moment with our Mission of Healing North team. Whether you've been working on a ministry project with your companions for 3 years, 5 years or 25 years, we suspect you know the challenges of visioning mutually, adapting with time and circumstances, and developing local sustainability - sustainability not only (or necessarily) in terms of local economic independence, but in terms of local local leadership, local leadership development, local creativity, and local enthusiasm.  During the Teach the Teachers event, we collected names and WhatsA...

Sometimes, dreams come true.  This is the story of a gym. A gym made of dreams and determination. The gym is getting ready for a party! In a way, the gym story begins in Milwaukee. We have a friend, a professor at Marquette University, who was and is doing investigative work in preparation for authoring an academic paper with a focus on violence. In the course of things, she grew in understanding the impact of violence-based trauma in her own life and in the life of a small Salvadoran community. She began looking at her research topic through a different lens. Seeds were planted. Relationships grew. And so did an idea: to plant a free community gym in the center of Comunidad Romero in Tonacatepeque, El Salvador. Leaders decided to locate the gym right next to the Casa Comunal (community house)  as a sign that this gym is not a gym only for gym bros, not a gym to push diet plans or supplements, not a gym selling sexiness, but a free community gym where all people are ...