Archive for September 15, 2009
Maria sells newspapers in El Salvador
What kind of job would you do if your life depended on it? Would you dive to the bottom of a river to collect sand? Pound rocks into gravel? Chop sugar cane in the hot sun?
Maria, the mother of two sponsored children, sells newspapers on a busy street corner in Santa Ana, El Salvador, to support her family. She earns $4.50 a day, not enough to cover expenses.
CFCA sponsorship helps fill the gap between what she earns and what she needs not just to survive, but to get ahead. She receives health care and food provisions for her family. Sponsorship support also enables Maria to provide an education for her children in the hope that they can break the cycle of poverty.
That’s why Maria continues to brave rush-hour traffic, blazing heat and pounding rain to sell newspapers.
Related links
Breaking rocks for a living
September 15, 2009 at 1:05 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 1 comment
Growing in our understanding
In this blog entry, Father George Knab, a CFCA preacher, reflects on last Sunday’s Gospel in memory of Jim Hentzen, CFCA co-founder. Monday, Sept. 14 marked the 16th anniversary of Jim Hentzen’s death.
By Father George Knab, OMI
Peter grew in his understanding of Jesus. According to Mark’s Gospel he knew ABOUT Jesus, “You are the Christ,” he declared. But to really KNOW Jesus, he had to get up close and personal and learn of the great love that led the Master to suffer greatly, be rejected and killed for the forgiveness of sin.
After he rose on the third day, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit who gave Peter such understanding that he was ready to deny himself, take up the cross and follow Jesus into the kingdom. As Americans, we know ABOUT the poor; we get it on the news. But to really KNOW the poor, up close and personal, we need the sponsorship program offered by CFCA. Blessed with a one-on-one relationship with people living in poverty, we are moved by compassion to deny ourselves and make the sacrifice necessary to share God’s work of providing for what they need.
Thank you, Jim Hentzen and CFCA, for helping me grow in understanding. Now I KNOW the poor; her name is Rael, a 15-year-old girl in Kenya, who is eager to make something of herself with a little help from a friend who is just as eager to make a little sacrifice.
September 15, 2009 at 10:22 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 1 comment
