Las Delicias Water Project...moving ahead in 2008
50/50...it's a great idea
Last month I spoke at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley. It was a great experience, and I really enjoyed getting to know the church and their vision. In 2007 this church reached their goal of giving 50% of their income out towards missions, church planting, and ministry to the poor. This equated to a rough total of $4 million. This is not only incredible when compared to the national average (2-5% * www.emptytomb.org ), but has done amazing things in their body as they've gained a vision of what it means to live as a disciple of Christ with their resources. You can hear Francis' sermon explaining their vision earlier this year by going to their website www.cornerstonesimi.com and looking for the sermon named "I'm in Love, Part II" under the media and sermon section.
MA Siss Story...A Church in a Chop Shop
One year anniversery...
“Oh yeah, Jorge, he left for the U.S. about a month ago. We heard he made it and has already found a job. He and his family just could not make it and he had the opportunity to leave….We don’t know how long he’ll be gone, but it is really hard on his wife and four little girls. It’s always hard when we loose someone good like him to the States….The whole community feels it, especially when it is getting harder and harder, almost impossible, to make it (economically) here in this country.”
..Words like a dagger in my heart. I have already been dealing with huge discouragement after the shooting incident, and to hear that Jorge left to the States was a reminder of the extreme challenge that El Salvador faces.
I had this conversation with a community leader on Saturday while visiting El Tinteral with a visiting mission team (El Tinteral a community that ENLACE has worked with since the earthquakes of 2001). In a small canton (village) called Cambio (change), ENLACE has supported the efforts of the local church to transform a disaster relief area on the side of a hill into a community with block homes, running water, electricity, and most importantly a solid church. It has been amazing to watch this group of people relentlessly serve each other to build the type of community which demonstrates Jesus’ active love. ENLACE has helped build 200 homes in the area, and during the construction a few of the community members learned the trade. After this project, a number of them, including Jorge (I’ve changed the name), continued working with us (through a local partnering non-profit group) to do construction in three other communities.
Jorge has a smile that radiates, and works harder than I’ve ever seen. The work of mixing cement, laying bricks, and bending metal with old tools is grinding, especially in the intense heat of the day. A normal schedule for a construction worker in El Salvador is 15 days on, 2 or 3 days off, and then 15 days back on. It isn’t uncommon for such a worker to only see his family a few times each month. Work comes in waves, so when projects are available guys like Jorge have to jump at the chance to make $7-$10 a day (a very good rate by local standards). Yet, even Jorge who had decent work found it almost impossible to continue to provide for his family.
I’ve been with his family a number of times, played with his girls. They are precious, reminding me so much of Hannah and Kaya. Their family tries to serve in the community, and Jorge has continued to work to provide. The decision to leave them behind has been agonizing for him. The journey to the States is no safe bet and carries a $6,000 price tag to pay off the coyote. Usually paid with a loan, if Jorge doesn’t make it, or gets deported, he will have to repay this amount for years to come. Also, from what I heard he passed through the Arizona desert to cross the border (through extreme temperatures), and then found his way to Los Angeles.
What continues to haunt me is the fact that I completely understand why Jorge left. It feels like in every community I visit the only examples of economic advancement come from people who have traveled to the U.S. for work. The local economy suffers to such a degree that it almost becomes the only logical choice should someone want to climb out of poverty. At this point, such a decision often seems more like one between life and death. I have heard statistics as high as 500 Salvadorans leaving per day to look for work in the States. Last year over $3 billion was sent back to Salvadorans from relatives working in the U.S. People are not leaving because they hear they can get a “free ride” in the States. Jorge left because he tried every other option he could before taking the biggest chance of his life. I’d like to say that if I were in his shoes I’d stay with my family, but I really think I’d probably do the same thing he did.
The topic of illegal immigration is a hot one, so hot that few politicians, leaders, and even pastors want to really discuss it. Yet, we are all forced to deal with it because it is a glaring reality. The age of globalization has arrived, and nations are more interconnected than ever before. I try to listen to both sides of the debate in the States and understand each argument, but I cringe when I hear people easily dismiss immigrants as parasites and cry out that they “should just go back home.” Yet, I also hate the dynamic created by illegal immigration here in El Salvador as so many great people like Jorge leave. I don’t pretend to have any answers to such a complex issue. I do know that as a few get wealthier in our new economy, millions are being left behind.
My question is to us Christians, specifically us in North America. What does God feel towards the immigrants coming from El Salvador? Notice, my question is not “What does God feel about immigration?” I think that God cares very little about issues abstracted from people. I want to know what He feels for Jorge. Is he mad at Jorge for leaving? Does he think of him as a “wetback” who needs to just go home? Will God stop communing with Jorge now that he wears the new scarlet letter that starts with an “I” for illegal? or… Does God love the living daylights out of Jorge? Does God understand the intense difficulty he is going through? What if Jorge prayed to God for protection as he crossed the U.S. border? Did God turn his ear and say “no” because he broke a law? How many of us have asked God to protect us on our vacation to the lake but have broken speed limits a thousand times along the way?
Here’s my point. Regardless of the politics surrounding immigration, we as Christians need to seek God’s heart for people above all else. If we really feel that God loves all people in their present condition, than we should be instruments of that same love. This does not mean that we should condone illegal immigration any more than we should condone illegal drug use, addiction to caffeine, cheating on taxes, gossip, or the use of pornography. Yet, as this issue of immigration continues to heat up, we as Christians are called to only one position, love. Remember, Jesus came to each of us when we were in the middle of our wretched state. We were not just “illegal,” but destined for hell when God knocked on our door. I hear young Christians often talk romantically about going out to reach the nations for Christ as missionaries. I applaud such enthusiasm. Yet, between12-20 million illegal immigrants live in the U.S. today, representing “the nations.” Imagine the opportunity that exists if North American Christians would love and serve this population? What if we washed their feet rather than just letting them cut our grass, harvest our food, build our homes, and clean our kitchens? The impact would be felt around the world.
Jorge is in Los Angeles right now. I guarantee you that he is scared. I guarantee you that he misses his beautiful little girls. I pray that Christ will visit him in the form of one of us and offer him the same gift we have been given, unconditional love. I pray that a Christian will soon knock on Jorge’s door….
