Updates on Life and Ministry in El Salvador

Our dear MVP family, peace to you.

Over the past month we’ve visited a number of schools in our neighboring departments of La Libertad and San Salvador. It has been motivating and energizing to get back into the schools, to meet new students and teachers, to find principals and staff who are invested in the lives of their students. We’ve also been encouraged by the many volunteers who continue to come alongside us in this work, and to the pastors who support MVP and encourage their members to serve in this ministry. As we extend our reach to new schools, we’ve also met new pastors and community leaders who have shown interest in working with us in this mission. This month, we are hosting trainings with our veteran group of volunteers who will hopefully be in classrooms next month. We are revisiting updated laws and priorities related to children and education, the biblical vision that drives our mission, and good teaching practices for all ages.

During our school visits, we’ve seen a wide range of challenges that school staff are facing this year, especially the lack of resources from the Department of Education. In one of our visits, a principal shared that two of her teachers were fighting over a whiteboard after waiting weeks for the departments of education to provide them for their classrooms. We have also witnessed the scarcity of the current school food program (a program that was extremely successful up until the pandemic), and the struggle of school staff to supplement the most basic ingredients to make sure students get something to eat each day. Teachers have shared how many students haven’t returned to school, because they do not have shoes and/or notebooks — basic supplies that the government previously provided but not this year. The school dropout rate post-pandemic is higher than ever, reaching 40% in some schools. As the principal of a school in Tacachico put it, “they [the government] in prison now for 5 months after he was falsely accused of belonging to a gang. Kevin was arrested in his home while caring for his newborn twins. These babies are now growing without knowing their dad, and the entire family is desperate. They have hired multiple lawyers and presented pages of documentation showing Kevin’s innocence, but the judges refuse to release him. (Read his story in Spanish have abandoned education.” Now schools are trying to survive with reduced resources and added stress.

One of our recent struggles has been obtaining permission from the Department of Education for MVP to work in any school around the country. To date, we’ve only been able to secure permission to work in schools within the department of San Salvador, which is thankfully where Nejapa is located. Five years ago, this process was a simple formality. Today, government staff is inaccessible and principals are more adamant about organizations having permission, in their general distrust of government and fear of being fired or accused of “supporting gangs” or working “against the government.”

The state of emergency (that has now been in effect for 13 months) continues to cause fear across the country, in particular for young people. Students are regularly intimidated and threatened by the police and military; they are afraid of being arrested and accused of being part of a gang, even those who have no gang connections. One of our MVP volunteers, Kevin Hernandez, has been https://elibertomollyjurez.cmail20.com/t/d-lzuytja-jtktfhdhu-y/) — stay tuned for an English version.) We pray for Kevin — and for the thousands of innocent people in the prisons of El Salvador - for his health, and for justice to grant him freedom.

We appreciate your continued support and prayers for our family and ministry. Please join us in prayer for:

• Kevin, his wife and twins, and extended family who have received threats from the military since his arrest.

• Noe (pronounced “Noh-eh”), Flor, and their daughters, as Noe begins chemotherapy this Friday for the advanced stomach cancer doctors found earlier this month.

• Our volunteers in Nejapa, as we prepare to return to the classrooms.

• New partnerships, with schools and churches, as we expand our reach and bring new people into the ministry.

• Teachers and administrators as they navigate the challenges of their schools and students.

• Open doors and hearts as we build new relationships with students.

• Wisdom and perseverance as we continue to work for permission from the Department of Education at a national level and for renewal of our non-profit status.

Thank you for being part of our MVP family and for journeying with us in this mission. We couldn’t do it without you! With much gratitude.

Eliberto, Molly & Elliot, International Ministry missionaries in El Salvador

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to July 8 12:00noon