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Over the last few months, Love & Hope Children’s Home has sold two vehicles in order to be able to purchase a bigger and more fuel-efficient microbus. After selling our small SUV and our bus in preparation for a newer micro, we were left with just two vehicles to transport our 20-plus children. Some days, figuring out a driving schedule to get everyone to and from school, karate class and soccer practice took a significant amount of planning. Add in sporadic doctor’s appointments, birthday parties, meetings or special events, and the fact that we were able to function with just two vehicles was nothing short of amazing.

Back in August, a visitor, Beth Weber from the Church Without Walls in Ohio, asked us what one of our greatest needs was. When we told her that more efficient, yet spacious vehicle was really necessary, Beth agreed, on-the-spot, to talk to her church about it.

The same week that we moved into the new house, we found a microbus! Thanks to the generous donation made by the Church Without Walls and the funds from selling the two other vehicles, we were able to purchase a used Nissan Urvan that fits all of the Love & Hope kids comfortably. The Urvan is longer and boasts an extra row of seats, as compared to our older micro.

The kids are probably the most excited about the sound system; they happily listen to music all the way to and from school, volume on high! Love & Hope is grateful to once again have the benefit of being able to function with three vehicles. Thank you to the Church Without Walls for blessing us with the extra funds we needed to purchase a new microbus!

Our recent move brought many changes to Love & Hope Children’s Home. Most of these changes were welcomed. We have a beautiful new living space. We are within walking distance to a lot of things to do, and a short-bus ride away from the schools that our kids attend. We have a flower garden and thick grass in our yard. A wonderful, spacious park is literally steps away from Love & Hope’s front door. Our new neighborhood is one of the safest in San Salvador. There are so many things to be excited about.

The move also brought one big relational change that was difficult. Because our new house is located inside of a gated street, Love & Hope no longer has to employ guards. The layout and locations of our houses in Nejapa and in Los Planes de Renderos made having 24-hour guards a necessity as they recorded every person and vehicle coming and going from the houses, amongst other responsibilities. More importantly, these three men were “tios” to our children, positive male role models that were there to protect them, play with them and instruct them. To say “goodbye” to and celebrate Love & Hope’s three beloved guards, we had cake and made each of them a scrapbook containing a picture of each child with a personal note.

Anyone who has visited Love & Hope Children’s Home since it was founded (10 years ago this month) will recognize Hermano Gilberto’s (“brother” Gilberto’s) kind face. Gilberto actually became an employee of Love & Hope before Rachel moved to El Salvador permanently! Gilberto was so much more than a guard; during the 10 years that he worked at Love & Hope, he also served as a caregiver and pastor.

Gilberto is gifted with wisdom. It was rare to walk over to the guard’s desk during his shift and not see an open Bible. If anyone in the house had a spiritual question to ask, Gilberto had a sure-fire answer. The children often went to him for help with homework because of his history expertise. “Tio Gil” seemed to know a little about everything and he was always willing to impart his knowledge to a listening ear.

Hermano Paulino worked at Love & Hope Children’s Home for almost four years. We could always count on him for a friendly greeting and smile upon returning home. Paulino is a worker: never idle, always moving, always helping, always fixing, always doing. It wasn’t uncommon to see Paulino helping the kids with their chores, cutting up vegetables for the cook and generally going above and beyond his duties as a guard to bless others.

Paulino clearly enjoyed being with the Love & Hope kids. He constantly played with them, teased them and enjoyed movies in the kitchen with them. Paulino is also a good friend to so many of the caregivers and volunteers at Love & Hope. His rare sense of humor kept everyone laughing.

Hermano Daniel, who worked at Love & Hope Children’s Home for three years, was better known as just “hermanito.” Hermanito is an affectionate way of calling someone “brother” in Spanish. Daniel earned this nickname because it was his greeting for just about every person that lived or worked at the house in Los Planes de Renderos. Daniel is gentle and willing. He was a quiet but consistent, humble and comforting presence in the house, very appreciated and valued by our Love & Hope family.

The Love & Hope kids also said goodbye to a very special volunteer, Sara. Sara had been volunteering with us since January. While she mainly helped with the little boys, Sara also filled in as a caregiver for the little girls. During her nine months here though, Sara was able to form a meaningful relationship with just about every child. The older girls were especially fond of her, seeking her out for late night dance parties, movies and sleepovers on the roof. The older girls even planned, baked for and payed for their own farewell party in Sara’s honor.

On the evening before she left, Sara presented all of the children with character awards. As she read a characteristic for each child, we all had fun trying to guess who she was talking about. By the end of her ceremony, everyone felt special and unique; this is one of Sara’s talents. During her time at Love & Hope she took special care to love everyone, kids and adults alike, exactly the way that would encourage and comfort them most. Sara’s selflessness, friendliness, and uninhibited nature were qualities that we all adored and learned from, and her sense of humor kept us very entertained!

Love & Hope Children’s Home has been so incredibly blessed by Gilberto, Paulino, Daniel and Sara. It would be impossible to fully describe in words how very special you all are to us. Thank you for faithfully answering God’s call to serve “the least of these.” Visit us soon!

After school, on September 18th, we took the kids to visit the new house for the first time. The staff had already posted the children’s names in the various bedrooms, so the kids had fun running around trying to find their new room. After the kids had finished exploring what would soon be their new home, we all went to the park around the corner for a picnic lunch.

After church the next Sunday, several members of our local board met with Love & Hope volunteers and other friends to pray at the new house. After praying together, we split into pairs to pray in each bedroom for the children who would soon live there.

Tuesday, September 24th, turned out to be an extremely important pre-moving day. While the children were at school, the staff took most of the morning to pack, sort and throw away anything we wouldn’t need. Nothing makes you reevaluate your possessions like the thought of having to pack them up and move them! When the kids came home they started to prepare their personal belongings for the move. Meanwhile, in the new house, our part-time driver and handyman, Nelson, was working with a contractor to complete a few small construction projects.

Wednesday morning was when the real work began. A moving truck arrived early at our house in Los Planes and our staff kicked into high gear, trudging up and down the steps with bags, boxes and furniture. Part way through the morning, a big group from the United States Navy arrived to help. It is amazing what a bunch of fit, able, and willing young people can accomplish in a short time! After the truck was packed full, we drove down to the new house to drop off the first big load.

On Thursday, the heavy lifting continued and we were able to move two more big loads to the new house with the help our friends from Focus, a call center in San Salvador. By the time the second load was packed into the truck, mot much was left in the house in Los Planes. We worked into the evening at the new house organizing the kitchen, tutoring room, garage, bodegas, office, and common areas. It was starting to look like home.

Friday morning greeted the staff and volunteers with sore muscles. While the kids were at school, we continued to work in the new house to get everything ready. By the time we left that afternoon, most everything had a place. The caregivers had unpacked a few things in the kids’ rooms, but they wanted to give most of that responsibility to the children and allow them to make their rooms feel like their own. Friday night was the last night we would all spend together in Los Planes de Renderos. We made it special with pizza, soda, popcorn and a sleep-over on the kitchen floor. The Love & Hope kids ate to their hearts’ content and watched movies late into the night.

The next morning, the kids woke up a little later than usual and packed up the remainder of their things. Somehow, everything and everyone fit into our vehicles. Before leaving Los Planes, we prayed and made one last stop at our favorite pupuseria, Lucy’s, for breakfast. 

Then, it was time to make the final trek to the new house. Once we arrived and the kids had a chance to explore a little more, everyone dug into the boxes and bags waiting in their rooms. Veronica, our cook, was happy to utilize her “new” kitchen to make lunch.  

By lunchtime, most of the kids had finished putting their belongings away just in time for a visit from the United States Navy. They spent the better part of Saturday afternoon playing soccer at the park. By dinner time, everyone seemed comfortable, exhausted and relieved to finally be settled in.

The kids are liking their new home. The layout of this new house is very different from our house in Los Planes. It’s helping to create the atmosphere of family and togetherness that we’re striving for at Love & Hope. And even though this new house is smaller, it doesn’t feel crowded. But most importantly, it feels like home.

Please pray for Love & Hope Children’s Home as the children and staff continue to adjust to life in our new house. Thank you to our staff who worked tirelessly to make this move happen; it only confirmed how blessed Love & Hope is to have you all. Thank you to the members of the United States Navy and Focus Services, as well as those who supported us financially, for helping us make this move a reality! We can’t wait for you to come visit and see it for yourself.

In our previous post, we shared the first half of a reflection about our new friend Molly’s time at Love & Hope Children’s Home. During her stay, Molly shared a good deal about the importance of our pasts, our stories, and our voices being heard. She personally made a point of talking to many of the children, staff and volunteers to learn about what helped shaped them into the people they are today. Molly also collaborated with our friend, psychiatrist Alex Harrison, to teach our staff how to tell their personal stories and encourage stories from our children:

In my final week at Love and Hope, I co-taught a workshop with Harvard psychiatrist Alex Harrison, who consults frequently at the home.  Through this experience, I connected to the community and myself in a new way.  Alex and I had worked for a few weeks to develop a workshop that we hoped would strengthen the vibrant relationship networks central to healthy communities.  We focused on storytelling, which has powerful relationship-building and healing capacities.  When people tell stories, they connect with others, express their feelings, and, in fact, reinforce the networks in the brain that organize reality into coherent narratives.  Traumatized children like those at Love and Hope often struggle with those very things, for they have learned from inconsistent families that it’s dangerous to rely on others; they hold tremendous pain within them; and, finally, their hardships have affected their brains’ narrative-making pathways.  Trauma often affects the neurobiological processes that create memories and construct accounts consistent with reality.  The children in the home, therefore, often have trouble remembering and telling stories, but it’s very important that they do so. Even sharing made-up tales links them to caregivers and peers and helps reorganize their brains in healthy ways.

After explaining all this, we practiced storytelling by sharing anecdotes from our childhoods in small groups and talking in a large circle about our own primary caregivers growing up.  The neurobiological benefits of story-sharing take place over time with repeated behavior, but we saw the activity’s connective forces take effect immediately.  During the workshop, staff members laughed and cried as they recognized common experiences.  Recalling what they were like as young kids, many said they finally understood why it seemed so hard for some of the home’s children to do their schoolwork or go to bed on time.

As I heard the stories of those with whom I’d been working for nearly a month, I felt close to them in a new way.  We had touched on the living heart of the community: the varied, human identities that form it.  I realized how much I love interacting in this way; and furthermore, I saw that positive change could come from this simple practice.  After the workshop, we saw kids and caregivers sitting in circles, sharing memories and laughing, asking questions and gesturing animatedly.  I think there was a renewed sense of mutual investment and care.

I am thankful for the welcome I received from Love and Hope and its greater community, and I feel blessed to have had the special experience that I did.

Love & Hope feels blessed to have met you, Molly. Thank you for all of your help and insight! We can’t wait to have you visit us again.

In August, Love & Hope Children’s Home welcomed Molly. Molly is from California and was connected to Love & Hope through a friend. During her stay, Molly helped with homework and filled in as a caregiver when necessary. Her free spirit and energy was mesmerizing for the kids; they constantly sought her out to read a story, dance, play a game or just talk. Below she shares some of her personal experience at Love & Hope:

My month-long stay at Love & Hope challenged some of my beliefs and helped me find ways to draw on strong currents within myself as it brought me close to a special community.

Before I came to the home, I had negative feelings towards two of the essential identities of Love & Hope: children’s homes and Christian missions.  I had heard only criticisms of children’s homes, either because they fail to address root causes of unhealthy family environments or because they themselves, in famous cases like the Romanian orphanages, are often damaging.  The community I live in—one that is quite academic and Leftist—is cautious of faith, and several people had told me before leaving “not to get converted.”  I was raised Jewish but am currently examining my spirituality.

Love and Hope made me feel differently.  The institution and the people in it are loving and thoughtful; the warnings I had received about organizations that provide kids with shelter but overlook their broad life context did not ring true.  Instead, the staff strives to understand and work with the cultural and personal currents that contribute to the life of each family associated with the home. Furthermore, the home’s employees are conscious of the dual cultural influence (American and Salvadoran) with which it is raising the children and tries to make the best of this potentially confusing circumstance. Workers share a deep desire to create a personalized, full, and nurturing life for each child, and they form a strong, caring foundation at Love & Hope as a result.

The way that the home’s employees and volunteers regard their Christianity is similarly personal and formidable.  I am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak extensively with many Salvadoran and American individuals about their faith and I consistently received thoughtful, unique answers to my trying questions instead of the dogmatism I had been prepped to encounter.  I was inspired by the commitment to service, compassion, and exploration of self and God that those with whom I spoke felt called to embody through Christ.  In the end, the services we attended weekly at the Union Church as well as the Love & Hope Youth Ministry were one of my favorite parts of my Salvadoran excursion.  The grateful, celebratory, and musical atmospheres made me feel joyful and thankful, and coming together with the same welcoming communities each week was a memorable ritual.  I don’t feel comfortable declaring myself a follower of Christ, but I have a newfound respect for those who do.

My other substantial encounter with something new was that which I had with Salvadoran culture.  I felt warmth and generosity there, evidenced by, for example, an invitation to a birthday party for a neighbor whom I had never met.  I also noticed a sense of interpersonal relaxation, which I came to see as an absence of a salient part of U.S. culture: the cult of personality.  In the States—especially in San Francisco, where I’m from—there is a popular belief that within every person rests a colorful and interesting identity waiting to be expressed.  This sentiment allows for great diversity and creativity of self but also causes pressure to be unique, always fascinated and fascinating.  In El Salvador, there is instead a satisfaction with the current moment and with it the current self.  People are accepting of difference, but do not demand it.

For our part, we also learned a lot from Molly! Her inquisitive nature and beliefs about childcare and psychology made us think and consider our reasons for doing things. Molly’s originality and confidence also demonstrated to our children (and adults!) the importance of being yourself.

In our next posting we will share the second half of Molly’s reflection.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve enjoyed visits from members of two different departments of the United States Navy stationed here in El Salvador. The Love & Hope kids were pretty excited at the prospect of a visit from la Fuerza Naval  (the Navy). One of the groups brought a personalized gift for each of our children, book bags, and cake to celebrate a few birthdays.

Best of all though, we’ve had fun getting to know them. Those that have visited have played soccer with the kids, toured the house, learned about our ministry, and sat down and talked to the teenagers. We knew that they were great as soon as they had the older girls engaged and laughing!

After learning about our ministry here at Love & Hope Children’s Home, the members of Navy have brought us groceries and cleaning supplies on several occasions and will be helping us prepare and move into the new house. What a blessing! We are so excited to have made this connection and look forward to working with members of la Fuerza Naval de los Estados Unidos.

Over the last few weeks, several of our children have had “Sports Day” at school. In the United States, this would be the equivalent of a field day at school.

Leading up to sports day, the kids usually come home requesting two things: first, money to buy a t-shirt. The classes or grade levels form teams and they get very creative and a little silly with their names and mascots. The mascot for Eliseo’s class was Mike Wazowski from Monster’s Inc. Jeremiah donned a blue shirt and hat with Blue from Blue’s Clues on it. Brenda’s shirt resembled the logo from Dollar City, and such was their team name.

Second, the Love & Hope kids come asking for spectators, wanting to make sure that someone will be there to watch. Of course, we are happy to oblige (and take a lot of photos).

The schools do a great job of keeping everyone, students and parents, involved and excited. The kids compete against other classes and grade levels in events like relay and sack races, soccer games and long jump. Microphones, announcers and costumes keep everything loud and colorful. There are plenty of food concessions to buy too.

Antonio and Chamba had a fun time at their sports day too, both coming home with gold chocolate medals around their necks.

The last few Saturday mornings have been a blast for the Love & Hope kids, as well as for the adults who got to be spectators! We are grateful to our supporters and sponsors who provide the funds necessary to send our children to schools that host great events like sports day.

Every year, our children grow and Love & Hope continues to grow with them. Our home has been filling up with more teenagers these past few years, and life just keeps getting busier and more exciting! In addition to all the usual school related activities, we now have several children participating in extra-curricular activities such as soccer, Tae Kwon Doe, art classes, and youth group. And of course there are all the usual errands as well – grocery shopping, doctor appointments, and dropping a child off at a friend’s house for the afternoon.

With all this activity, we find ourselves driving to and from our home in Los Planes down to San Salvador several times each day. Those of you who have visited us in the past few years know the journey up and down the hill very well. I’m sure many parents can relate to feeling like you’re in the car more than anywhere else! Even with all the driving, we’re excited to see our kids develop their own interests and become involved in so many activities.

Three years ago, we moved from Nejapa to Los Planes. Living here in Los Planes has been such a blessing. The weather is cool, there is a park close by, and some of the kids have been able to join a local soccer team and make friends in the community. It has been a beautiful chapter in the lives of our children. We definitely feel like we’ve spent the last three years exactly where we were supposed to be. And now we’re seeing more and more that the time has come to move closer to the city. It will help us serve the kids better, allow them to explore and engage in their own lives, and it will also help lower our expenses in a few areas by cutting down on driving and bringing us within range of city water.

Moving is never easy, but it can be exciting! When we first decided to look for a new house, we began by creating a list of communities that fit our requirements. We wanted something close to the schools and all the other activities the kids are involved with. We wanted something safe and secure. We wanted something that would serve us now, and in the future. And we wanted to find some of the same great amenities we had in Los Planes, like a nearby park. Basically, we wanted it all.

Well, after a bit of looking, we found a great house! And we got everything we asked for.  The neighborhood is safe, secure, and populated by some of our friends from church. The schools are only 15 minutes away (the kids are excited about how much later they’ll get to sleep in!), and believe it or not, there is a big, beautiful park just around the corner!

The house itself is bright and filled with natural light. It’s surrounded by a small yard, and has a courtyard as well. It’s a bit smaller than our home in Los Planes, but that’s a fine compromise to make for being closer to the city. We think the new home is warm, inviting, and a great place for our kids to call home!

There will be a few other small changes with the move. One, is that we will no longer be hosting our teams and visitors onsite. There is a cute little hostel down the road, and several hotels nearby. We’re excited about teams and visitors getting to explore the area and experiencing a little bit more of Salvadoran culture.

Even though teams and volunteers will not be able to stay at Love & Hope, there will still be lots of opportunities for them to interact with the kids and have the experience that so many people have enjoyed over the years. Volunteers will be spending many hours at the home assisting with homework and projects, and teams will have time built into their schedule for getting to know the kids and creating a connection with Love & Hope. One thing we don’t plan on changing is Love & Hope’s personality.

We plan to move into our new home on September 28th. Leaving Los Planes will be hard. We’ve built so many great memories these past three years – a lot of them with teams, visitors, and friends! This house on top of the mountain will always have a special place in our hearts, and we know we will be back in Los Planes from time to time to enjoy the delicious pupusas and the amazing views. That said, we can’t wait for this next chapter of our lives to begin.

See you in the city!

There will be a few costs associated with moving. If you’d like to help out, you can always make a donation!

Today’s post introduces two more members of the great staff we employ here at Love & Hope Children’s Home (you can read the previous blogs about our staff by clicking here, here and here). “Staff” might not be an appropriate word to describe the following two people, Rachel and Gloria. They are so much more. This is a long blog, but stick with us. Rachel and Gloria have some great things to share about childcare and faith.

For most people who are familiar with Love & Hope Children’s Home, Rachel’s name is synonymous with our ministry. Her vision guides our decision making and childcare practices. Rachel founded Love & Hope almost 10 years ago (our 10 year anniversary is this October). Her official title here is “Director,” but Rachel is so much more; the kids refer to her as “Mami” something that she says is an “honor.” When you get right down to it, Rachel has been the only consistent presence at Love & Hope since the beginning. Rachel remembers the day that children became a part of our ministry:

I remember the day I went to pick up Angel, Alcy and Rene at their grandma’s house. It was one of the best days of my life. I had known them for about 3 years. I first met them at the garbage dump and then when that closed they moved to a tin shack on the side of a busy road in the city. When they left the garbage dump they just kept getting thinner and thinner. Angel was three years old when they came to Love & Hope and weighed 15 lbs.

As director of Love & Hope, Rachel’s daily activities include meeting with the leadership staff to approve decisions, share ideas, solve problems and brainstorm. She is the main point of contact for our state-side and Salvadoran boards. As “Mami,” to the kids, Rachel drives to appointments, attends soccer games, helps with homework, listens to stories and gives advice. The children often come looking to her for a little extra love or attention.

Rachel’s favorite part of being “Mami” is spending one-on-one time with the kids. She says that she loves to tell stories with them. Their favorite stories are about the day they came to Love & Hope. Rachel tells them about their clothing on that first day, the way their hair was styled, her first impressions and “what made them each instantly special.”

When asked what she has learned about God in her years here working with the kids, Rachel says:

He loves the kids more than I do. I remember my mom telling me when I was little that she could barely believe it, but knew it was true, that God loved me more than she did. Now I understand why that was so important to her. Every time a child’s hearing doesn’t have the results I hoped for, or I see kids making decisions that I don’t agree with, or I see them hurting and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, I have to take hope in the fact that they have a heavenly Father that cares for them even more than I do and He is in control.

Rachel’s presence at Love & Hope Children’s Home is indispensable and her dedication and vision to care for “the least of these” will have a lasting impact on these beautiful children. It is clear that she considers them her own. Her favorite Bible verse is John 16:33. Here’s her explanation:

In serving in El Salvador we see a lot of pain and suffering. Whether it’s a heart wrenching outcome at a child’s court hearing, seeing the sick or disabled being neglected, or the elderly begging on the street corners, we’re constantly surrounded by trouble. John 16:33 has an amazing promise that almost gives me the chills when I read it: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To read more about Rachel’s story, visit our website.

Gloria has worked at Love & Hope for about two years. She is our Director of Childcare and a licensed social worker. At the home, she works together with Rachel to make sure our children are receiving the best care possible. As the Director of Childcare, Gloria enjoys her job of leading our childcare staff. This involves training our childcare givers every Thursday, scheduling and organizing health care appointments and managing behavior. Gloria works with and directs our psychologist and educator to be sure that our children are receiving the psychological and educational support they need.

As a social worker, Gloria also advocates for our children on a governmental level, always looking out for their best interests and keeping a close eye on every case. She organizes family visiting days and visits home for our children. Gloria says that one of the best parts of her job is knowing both our children and their families, aiding in the process of restoration between the two parties. She does this by maintaining constant contact with the biological family members of our children, organizing counseling sessions and “Parents’ School.”

Gloria is always sure to make time to spend time with the children by doing homework, helping them with chores, teaching them life skills, accompanying them to doctor’s appointments, and organizing fun events in the house (she loves having costume contests). Gloria even shared her wedding with the Love & Hope kids, inviting every single member of our household and including some of the youngest children in the wedding. She has been able to connect with some of our most challenging children and consistently seeks them out, offering them love, patience and support. Gloria says the greatest blessing she has received at Love & Hope is having so many “nieces and nephews” to love with the love God pours through her. In the two years she has worked her, Gloria says she has learned many things about caring for children:

What I have learned about children in all of this time is that as you give them love, you should correct them so that they become successful people in the future. There are moments when they get mad at me because I call attention to them but with time they realize they have done something wrong and return to spend time with me as if nothing happened. Another thing I have learned is to always give love without expecting anything in return. In the end, they will realize the the lessons and memories I left with them, and above all, to love and respect God.

Rachel and Gloria are a great guiding team for Love & Hope Children’s Home. They are both truly and completely dedicated to providing our children with the best care possible. We see it in them everyday as they advocate on behalf of our children and deal with the politics of Salvadoran institutions, then sit down and spend the afternoon helping with homework and playing. Gloria says  the verse that inspires her work here is Proverbs 22:6, “Start children off in the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Rachel and Gloria are a huge part of making this a reality!