David and Nancy Slinde Speaking at their "Sending Service"

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Our El Salvador Journey

Before leaving in January 2009, Nancy received $2,000 from the Sunrise Rotary for a support of a roofing project in El Salvador. The $2,000 was combined with other Fundahmer grant money and has provided for 16 new roofs for the homes of the most disadvantaged in a community of Morazán. What is remarkable is the neighbors are supplying wood and other materials to help their neighbors have new roofs. People who have little are sharing with others who also have little. Pictures attched.

More good news is the completion of the West Bend Noon Rotary and Engineers without Borders (EWB) sanitation project in La Granja. The student engineers mentored the residents of the community to carry on with this work after the students returned to school. Hundreds of volunteers completed the laying of pipe in March and have connected the facilities of the former Refugee Camp (Fe y Esperanza) to the system.

We leave for a brief visit in El Salvador at the end of April to work on several important concerns:

We now need to complete the documentation required by Rotary International for submitting a final report. This process requires details on the project outcomes and also an accounting of how the money was spent.

We will meet with the leaders of Los Jardines de Colon to learn more about the community and to begin building relationships before we move.

Because of the political party change in the January election, we need to meet with the new mayor of Nejapa to ensure the ongoing success of next phase of the sanitation project to be financed by West Bend Sunrise, District, and International Rotary.

We will take time to be with our brothers and sisters of the Lutheran community to deepen our friendships and our shared love of Christ, and to say goodbye to Tobias and Dan. Tobias and Dan leave in May after serving out their assignments. They will be missed by many.

We will also reconnect with fellow missioners of VMM - Danielle, Danny, Laura, Jennifer, and Angel and hopefully revisit some of their communities.

It will be a very meaningful trip. Please keep us in your prayers.
David y Nancy

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