Lutheran Bishop Visits Communities in the East

Originally Posted: Sunday, October 23, 2011

The communities of Puerto Parada in the department of Usulután in the eastern part of the country and those of Cara Sucia in Ahuachapán, in the west, are the most damaged by the tropical depression this month, October, 2011. Bishop Gómez travelled to the community of La Cañada in Puerto Parada with a delegation of pastors and lay persons that went to visit their brothers in the emergency situation.

In Usulután Pastor Ana Rosa Maravilla and Pastor Julio Chávez were included along with the other brothers. There, some food stuffs were purchased to be taken to the communities, prepared in individual sacks for delivery to families.

Rev. Julio Chávez reported to the bishop that the needs were great, surpassing the local capacity both as a church and as a community. In spite of this, the caravan arrived at the community of La Cañada, where several families were found in the street, in need of help and expressing that until that date no food had been brought to them, "we only see the trucks pass carrying it to other parts," they said.

At that moment, they took advantage of the presence of a member of Civil Security, who delivered a donation so that it could be delivered equally to the victimized families. The bishop took the opportunity to say a prayer to the Lord on behalf of the people gathered in the location, and for all the affected families. He offered with love the small donation, explaining to them that the church doesn't have resources to help when the needs are that great, but that yes, it is working to accomplish unified assistance, not just for the emergency, but also for reconstruction.

The distribution of sacks of food stuffs then proceeded, via a human chain. The discontent of some families who couldn't be reached with the supplies was apparent. The need was seen to organize the population by sector, in order to do a better job of distributing food in a way that would rach the largest number of families.

This delegation was composed of Bishop Medardo Gómez, Abelina de Gómez, Santiago Rodríguez, Efraín Ramos, Flurian, Jorge Castro, Bryn Rude, Laura Herrera and Blanca Irma Rodríguez.