FMSC in El Salvador

In November 2008 the St. Matthew’s family came together with friends from the area to pack over 100,000 meals for starving children throughout the world. It was a great weekend meeting a great need. Below is a photo gallery of the FMSC distribution in El Salvador in April.

Photos of the FMSC food distribution in El Salvador [here]

FMSC in El Salvador - a report

Feed My Starving Children offers nutrition to impoverished children of El Salvador
In January 2009, 18 of us from St. Matthew’s traveled to El Salvador to visit, learn and serve there.

We experienced the depth of need our brothers and sisters have as they struggle to make ends meet and scratch out an existence from the volcanic rock and dirt they live on. On top of the difficult climate and soil, the country is plagued with every natural disaster known to our world - regular earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and hurricanes pound down on a people who have so little.

One of our experiences during this past trip was to drive out to the Guatemalan border of the country close to the ocean to visit a community called Cara Sucia. Cara Sucia is a community that seems to be hit more frequently with natural disasters than any other area of El Salvador. Because of this, the surrounding communities actually asked the church there to construct and maintain a radio station to broadcast news of impending danger.

The church community was very proud to show us this accomplishment and asked us to speak on their radio broadcast. Because of the intense need in this area and also their resilience in the face of hardship, Cara Sucia was chosen as the first location to begin receiving FMSC food and become a food distribution site. Before we arrived they received several cases of food to sample to help them envision helping their area to have a daily meal.

It was a very moving experience to have people one by one thank us for giving them the food they received and for working toward more distributions in the near future.

Through a generous donations to our FMSC program we have funds now to pay for a full ontainer of food to be sent to El Salvador to be distributed for the children in the Cara Sucia region and other regions where there is great need. Another event I would love to witness!

When I spoke to the people of Cara Sucia about the food, I reminded them that the food wasn’t from us, but rather that we were just the vehicle God was using to bring it to them and that the food really came from God. What a joy to be able to be God’s serving hands in helping his people have such a basic necessity of life.

Thanks St. Matthew’s for your generous donations of time and finances to support those who have almost nothing. Thanks for your donations to St. Matthew’s in general, because together all of our gifts come together to be a blessing to those who hurt and who need - starting in MIlwaukee, and then flowing to our nation, and eventually making a difference throughout our world.

May God bless you in all of your endeavors to serve and glorify Him!
-- Pastor Chris Manke
[From the February 8, 2009, issue of the VOICE Newsletter.]