MVP Gala Dinner 2017 – celebrating our 2nd year of MVP in El Salvador!

5 years ago, in a hot and humid classroom in El Salvador, MVP “was born.” When we consider all that has happened – the lives we’ve touched, the community we’ve built, the hope we’ve witnessed – it’s hard to believe it all began only 5 years ago! What an honor to be part of such a life-giving movement. We have learned so much from the students and our co-laborers for peace, and we feel so blessed to have such an amazing MVP Family – both in El Salvador and in the US!

In honor of these 5 years that have passed, and with hope for all that will happen in the next 5 to come, we wanted to share an MVP version of the 12 Days of Christmas. 12 quotes and pictures from our volunteers about how they’ve seen God’s hope through their work with MVP. If you follow us on Facebook, we hope you’ve been seeing these daily posts.

Let’s celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, through the coming of a baby and through all the ways that Good News has and will continue to transform our lives and our world. We hope that you enjoy part 1 (Days 1-6); may it “offer strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” as we are reminded that God is still Emmanuel – God with us – bringing peace to our hearts, our lives, and our world.

Day 1: “We know MVP is impacting lives because the students show such excitement every week when we arrive to teach our lessons. The teachers and school administration have also expressed their gratitude again and again for the work of MVP in their students and school.”

Day 2: “By the end of the year, we witnessed youth who wanted to make change happen not just in their school, but throughout their community. They were inspired to work for changes and to care for those around them.”

Day 3: “Youth are grateful for the chance to be truly heard.”

Day 4: “I hope that through MVP my students can see in me the confidence that each of them needs to find solutions to their problems and to become leaders in their communities.”

Day 5: “Our students always seemed to like their MVP time. One student really took to heart the lesson on environmental care. The next week, she brought in a craft she made at home with recycled bottle caps!”

Day 6: “Through MVP, I have learned that children need more of God’s love. In one of my classes, we had several students who usually refused to participate in group activities. By the end of the year, we had successfully gotten these students involved in our lessons and activities, to feel accepted by their classmates and part of the group.”

Check back in on Christmas Eve for part 2 of these 12 Days of Christmas Hope from MVP, or follow us on Facebook to see our daily posts!

For those of you who have already decided to join us on this mission for peace with your financial gifts, thank you! We truly cannot do this work without you!!! If you are not yet part of the MVP family of support, would you consider joining our monthly donor team or making an end of the year gift? Every dollar helps make a difference in the lives of young people in El Salvador. Together, we are spreading peace and hope as we prepare a new generation for a brighter future. Thank you!

Merry Christmas, and God’s peace to you!