Photos courtesy of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans From April 17 to 26, a team of 13 Minnesotans, including several North Shore residents, assisted with the construction of homes for families in Santa Ana, El Salvador as part of the “Thrivent Builds Worldwide” program.
Poverty and inadequate housing have a whole new meaning for 13 North Shore residents after working sideby side with Salvadoran families during a “Thrivent Builds Worldwide” trip. Fred Mismash fully expected to work hard and change the lives of Salvadoran families for the better. While these expectations were met, it came as a surprise that he was also strongly impacted by the experience.
“Volunteering in El Salvador really grabbed my heart,” said Carmen McGregor. “One of every three people in El Salvador lives in substandard housing, partly as a result of a lack of job opportunities in the country, so by our American standards, the Salvadorans have very little. In spite of that, the people we met were generous and hospitable, hard-working and so excited to live in their own home.”
From April 17-26, a team of 13 Minnesotans, including several North Shore residents, assisted with the construction of homes for families in Santa Ana, El Salvador. In 95-degree heat, the volunteers dug trenches, did tile work, painted and enjoyed building with the partner families who will eventually live in this community of Habitat homes. Each home under construction includes a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms.
Upper left: Former Bethlehem Lutheran Pastor Bob Stoskopf painting a home in El Salvador. Pastor Bob and his wife, Dode, traveled to El Salvador with the North Shore Thrivent Financial crew. Above: Oz Twedt of Grand Marais and Dode Stoskopf were touched by the generosity of the El Salvadoran people. Lower left: Wayne Hensche of Hovland enjoyed the trip. He said, “Even though it was a week of hard work, it was exhilarating at the same time, knowing we were doing something to make a difference and to help this community flourish.”
The team’s contributions gave a boost to the communitybuilding efforts of Habitat for Humanity El Salvador. It’s very difficult for landless Salvadoran families to own a home, so Habitat El Salvador has developed a more holistic way to help poor Salvadoran families improve their quality of life. This new community—funded and built mainly by members of U.S.-based Thrivent Financial for Lutherans—will provide each resident family with land, a house, basic services and social infrastructure such as green areas and community buildings.
On behalf of its members, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has committed $1.3 million to Habitat for Humanity El Salvador to build this community of up to 75 homes over 18 months. At least 50 percent of trip participants must be members of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and as a benefit of their membership, each of the Thrivent members receives discounted trip costs.
This team of volunteers also had the opportunity to put down their work gloves and have some free time to attend a Lutheran church service on Sunday, go on a boat ride, learn how to make pupusas (a corn-based tortilla filled with cheese and beans, a national staple in the Salvadoran diet), and spend a day on the Costa del Sol beach, a popular tourist attraction.
“Even though it was a week of hard work, it was exhilarating at the same time, knowing we were doing something to make a difference and to help this community flourish,” said Wayne Hensche of Hovland. “I went into this knowing that the community of homes would better the lives of those we served, but now it has changed my life, too.”
Paulette Sannes, Knife River; Carmen McGregor, Two Harbors; Silver Bay residents Fred Mismash, Lauri Hohman, Gary and Betty Zinter; Grand Marais residents Oz Twedt and former Grand Marais residents Bob and Dode Stoskopf; Wayne Hensche, Hovland and team leader Courtney Zinter along with two college friends Jamie Rosencrans and Shannen Bornsen from the Twin Cities area traveled to El Salvador. Other volunteer teams helped build homes in other parts of Central America, in the United States, eastern Europe, Africa and beyond. All trips bring together Thrivent Financial for Lutherans members with other Lutherans and volunteers to build homes with families in need.
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