our next step

On Tuesday night, for those who weren’t able to come, the latest El Salvador team gave a report of our trip.  It was a really great time together.  The highlights were:

• The church in El Salvador is doing really well.  They are growing and changing, becoming more warm and giving.  They are reaching out to lots of people and have a lot of people studying the Bible right now. 
• The church, in part because of the generosity of the Turning Point, has moved into a new building in a nice part of town.  It is a great place and they are so happy about it.  They are so excited about inviting people to their new building. 
• The community near Suchitoto was so proud to show us the new bathrooms and playground equipment.  They are so happy, and very, very grateful for the church in El Salvador and the Turning Point. 

We visited several very needy families in the church.  One of those families was Angel and Inez.  You may remember that Inez has cancer, and was in the hospital during the month of December.  Your donations made it possible for the church there to purchase her a refrigerator and provide her with the medicine that she needs to help her through her chemotherapy. 

So, what now?

We are working on three new programs that will enable you to directly help people in need in El Salvador. 

Adopt-A-Family

There are five families that Josue has suggested that need consistent help to make a difference in their daily life.  For $80 a month, your family or your small group could be a huge help to them.  One of the families, Oscar and Adalinda, are great people who help run the Kids Kingdom program, lead a Bible Talk, and oversee two other Bible Talks.  Oscar works making shoes, and makes about $6 a day.  They tithe consistenly every week, but when he tithes, he goes without food for one day because they don’t have enough money to make it all work.  Talk about convicting! 

Student Scholarship Program

The problem with many people in El Salvador (as with other third world countries) is that people are “stuck” in the poverty cycle.  The children in a family are unable to continue in high school or go on to college because they have to work to help support the family.  This prevents them from getting the education they need to get a better job.  There are five students in the church who are currently unable to go to college or are in need of help to keep them in high school.  For $120 a month (that’s $4 a day!) you can help to sponsor a student who will be able to attend school and you will be able to cover their living and transportation expenses.

The Padrinos Project

You may remember Liz Gitto’s connection with a boy in the school in Suchitoto named Julio.  He asked her to be his madrena, or godmother.  It practically translates to “sponsor.”  The church in El Salvador has been trying to get sponsors for each child in the school, help them buy their school uniforms, school supplies, and other small tokens to let them know they are loved.  However, the church is only able to sponsor about 15 kids out of the 80 students in the school.  Joe and Liz are working with the HOPE coordinators in El Salvador to develop this program.  We don’t know the exact details yet, but they are coming soon. 

The details:  We don’t know all the details yet. J  We are working on how each program will be administered and how the money will be donated.  We are hoping to start the programs in July, and we are asking for a one year commitment which would run through June of 2011.  Right now, I am trying to figure out who is interested in participating, and I will put you on an email list so I can send you more details.  So, if you want to be involved, please do this:

• Email me at jayminor@turningpointla.com
• Let me know which program you would like to participate in (if you have a preference)
• Let me know how much you would like to commit per month for the next year.  Remember that you can work with your small group to donate to one family, or you can dontate whatever amount you are comfortable with, and we will pool all the donations together.  ($20 from one family or individual, $40 from another, etc…)
• Stay tuned for us to work out all the legalities.  

In the meantime, please be praying and saving so that you can give sacrifically to our annual Missions Offering which will be on July 25^th.   This offering helps to support Josue & Veronica’s salary, as well as many other missionaries in Mexico and Central America, so it is really important for us to do our best. 

I look forward to hearing from you, and I thank you in advance for your generosity and your willingness to help your brothers and sisters in El Salvador and other parts of the world. 

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (NIV)