Can I be honest? This is the second draft of this newsletter. I just spent two hours writing the first draft and decided to erase it. Ever happen to you?
Why? You might ask. What’s the challenge? Here goes…
As most of you know, years ago God laid a big dream on our hearts. A big bold dream. For years we have dreamed of purchasing a piece of land and building a ministry complex – one that is complete with sports fields and lots of classrooms and workshops where we can offer countless opportunities to youth. But, most of all, we dream of it being their safe place. A refuge. Salvadoran streets are dangerous and for some of our youth, home isn’t a safe place either. We want to give them that place. A place where they can come, be encouraged, discover a new skill and learn that they have a Father who loves them deeply. A place where hope can be restored.
But, honestly, for years we have sat on that dream. It seemed too big. Too far off. And although God confirmed His vision time and again, we were great at coming up with excuses; a skill one can perfect after years of working with youth.
Finally, at the beginning of this year we submitted. We felt God say, “This is the year.” And, no, it wasn’t just the year to begin fundraising, but that this is the year to buy the land. But then inflation rose at an unprecedented rate, Russia invaded Ukraine, the price of gas shot through the roof, and a 5th wave of Covid began lurking. It seemed that this would be the worst possible time to begin a fundraising trip. On top of that, all the land we were looking at was significantly more costly than what we had previously anticipated. And, there we went again with the excuses…
“You have to persevere. You can reach the dreams God has put in your heart.”
Recently, one of our scholarship students wanted to give up. Life was overwhelming. Tough. And her excuses were valid and innumerable. We have watched this young lady grow from an insecure single mother with barely an 8th grade education to a now confident young woman who is in her 3rd year at the university. She actively serves in the ministry, faithfully attends one-on-one discipleship, and almost always shows up to church with a friend or family member in tow. Her transformed life and joyous spirit is contagious and others yearn for what she has discovered.
Yet, one day she wanted to give up.
As we encouraged her to persevere and continue pursuing the dreams God placed in her heart, we reminded her of how far she had come. The dreams she has achieved now once seemed impossible for her and yet, by God’s grace, here she was victorious.
If we challenge our youth to pursue impossible dreams, shouldn’t we do the same?
So here we are, with our own impossible dream. The one we disobediently put off for years. We have looked at several pieces of property here in Nejapa and, honestly, trying to find land in the center of an overcrowded town is challenging. Add to it that we need land that doesn’t extend into gang territory and that is also close to our current location makes our dream nearly unthinkable. Fortunately, though, we serve a miracle working God and we have identified a couple pieces of property that fit our exact need. The price? $250,000. Gulp. Yes, you read that right.
We struggled with how to approach this amount. What special fundraising campaign or events do we come up with? Do we hold a large dinner? Perhaps a race or hike-a-thon? We worried about the amount. How do we raise that amount? How do we raise that amount and still bring in enough regular donations to keep the ministry going? What about our other special needs? Joselin needs $2,000 a year for college this fall and we are in desperate need of a new truck. How do we make this work? The answer? We don’t. It’s not up to us. It never has been. So, there will be no special events or hike-a-thons (although if you want to go hiking with us then let us know!). Our plan? Travel to the States this summer and tell people about all that God is doing and let Him do the fundraising. That’s it.
Below is our travel itinerary for the next 3 months. If we will be near you and you would like to get together then send us an email as we would love to connect. Due to Covid we haven’t been able to see many of you for a long time and our hearts yearn to see our friends again. If you would like us to share with your church or just a small group of friends then let us know and we will be happy to set something up.
Southern Ohio – May 16th -30th
Northern Ohio – May 31st – June 5th
Pennsylvania – June 10th – 12th
Upstate NY – June 12th – 15th
New Jersey – June 15th – 20th
Maryland – June 23rd – 27th
Virginia – June 27th – July 2nd
South Carolina – July 2nd – 9th
Atlanta, GA – July 9th – 11th
Southern Ohio – July 12th – 30th
If you would like to be part of this big, crazy, bold impossible dream then you can do so by clicking on the link below. We are excited to see what God does over the next few months, years, and into eternity. There’s a famous quote that always stirs our souls. “Somebody’s waiting on the other side of your obedience.” It’s time to be obedient to God’s calling and vision. There are youth waiting. Thank you for joining us on this adventure.