Milagro (Miracle)

 It’s been a jam-packed week here so far in El Salvador! Today after the second build day, we had a little bit of time to decompress before supper and gather some thoughts.

I always enjoy when we have to hop on the back of the truck or walk a little further into the build sites. A few of the houses have been a little bit into the back country, which I enjoy.

The most impactful story for me so far (hard to choose), would have to be Jimmy and Deisy and family, who both got very emotional during our family connection time. Hearing the struggle to keep a safe roof over their heads (and their large family) and the relief of what this new house brings to their lives, really puts everything into perspective. It brings much more meaning to “trusting God to provide”. The pure joy and emotion of receiving the blessing of a house was palpable.

Thanks to everyone back home, for praying and supporting!

Albert

Reconnecting

On Sunday we met the new families we are going to build for.  It was a very special time of getting comfortable and removing our “shy-ness” from both the ElSalvadorians and the Canadians.

Meeting new people takes time, but by the end of the week we leave as if we are family.

After meeting the new families we drove to go reconnect with two families from past builds.  

This was really special for our team.  

We got in the vehicle and went to the community leaders house first, the community leaders are the ones who help support the community and organize the families for the builds.   When we arrived at the community leaders house we learned that a week prior her husband passed away.  She was very grateful for the visit which offered a happy distraction.

The community leaders wife came in our vehicle and brought us to Rosa’s house.

In November Garrett and I had the privilege of getting to know Rosa and her family, hear her stories and help build her house.

As soon as we arrived at Rosa’s she lit up and immediately recognized me gave me a big hug.  It really is amazing how one small week of meeting someone can create a connection that lasts a lifetime, even into eternity!

This experience was particularly special for me as I had the privilege of introducing her to our three children.  Jacob, Naomi and Samuel.  

When we arrived Rosa welcomed the team and brought out many chairs and we all sat and heard her story of how God has worked through her life and continues to work in her life.  

She mentioned that she had no idea that the people from Canada worshipped the same God she did.  And after finding this out she began praying for many countries, realizing we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

She prayed over us at the end of our gathering and she prayed so passionately that the interpreter waited ill the end of her prayer to tell us a summary of what she was praying.  She prayed a double blessing over the entire team.  We said our goodbyes and we hugged each other once again, saying we will see each other in heaven!

Next we drove to reconnect with Francisco.   

Deve, Tim, Paul, Peter and Julia all built for this family in April 2024.  When we arrived at the community leader house, he was so excited to greet us, and with excitement brought us through his house before bringing us to Francisco’s.

The community leader had his key ceremony Bible there on a table and had every name of the building team written in the Bible. He said that he prays for each name often.

After we walked over to Francisco’s where Deve, Tim, Paul, Peter and Julia got to reconnect and reminisce.  We heard Francisco’s story and we got to hear and see how God has blessed them and is continuing to bless them.   After Francisco prayed for us, and prayed a double blessing over our build team.  

The night the team gathered and had a recap of our day meeting.  We talked about how each home prayed a double blessing over us.  And how special and meaningful and impactful that was to hear.   God spoke through two families from two different communities, which are an hour apart.  God spoke through their prayers the same double blessing over us twice.  

This day has meant a lot to me personally, and I look forward to see what God has in store for us next!!

Blessings to you as you read this

Lots of love

Angela Prins

2 More Homes

 What does a day look like on a Shelter team?

It looks like getting ready to leave for breakfast at 7am. 

It looks like sharing a meal and devotion with our team (a good reminder that we “get to do this”) and then getting ready to travel to the community by 8am. 

At 9am we arrived after travelling down the highway, driving through the traffic of a small city, Santiago Nonualco and transferring everyone to the back of the cattle truck to drive the rest of the way, up and down the steep hills and valleys into the community where our first family was located. 

It looks like digging holes and drilling walls together under the heat and humidity of  a 40  degree Celsius blue sky day. 

It looks like playing with kids, colouring with kids, painting nails, laughing as we build and celebrating the finishing touches. 

It looks like sitting with a family and being moved by the palpable relief and release of emotion, knowing that they finally have a safe and dry home. 

It looks like the reminder that God is merciful and is an abundant provider. 

It looks like dirty, smelly, tired people making their way back to the hotel. 

It looks like dinner together. 

It looks like memories shared. 

It looks like games played. 

And it looks like we’ll be thankful that we get to do it all again tomorrow. 

Spa Day

Yes, we build houses but we also build relationships. Today we were able to treat some of the women to a mini spa. What a great way to build relationships. The joy on their faces when it was done was beyond description.








One of the ladies is a seamstress. She sews school uniforms. She has been at this job for 7 years. She works alongside her husband sewing the school uniforms. Today she took the day off to be there when her house was being built. They had waited over a year to get the house.


They were so thankful for everyone who helped make their house a reality. So thank you everyone at home for your part that you played in making this dream come true.

Julia