Reflections on the "Chinos" Team
Blog post written by Jenni Ramsey, Director, His Hands His Feet
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” - Isaiah 52:7
His Hands His Feet was overjoyed to lead our first holiday team to El Salvador this week. Celebrating New Year’s Eve with our ministry partners, Sus Hijos, far exceeded our expectations. We were thrilled to bring Christmas gifts to orphanages and community centers, our team members loved dressing up as Santa and Rudolf and it was an unforgettable experience to celebrate New Year’s eve with the ear-shattering fireworks that permeated the city. This was our first time partnering with Crossroads Community Church from Mission Viejo, CA. Both the His Hands His Feet and Sus Hijos staff were beyond impressed with the students and leaders from Crossroads, who served passionately despite minimal sleep, long bus rides and unusually long days.
There are very few Asians living in El Salvador so this team drew more attention than any of our other teams. Most Salvadorians call Asians “Chinos” (Chinese). While our Asian team members have family heritages from South Korea, Japan and China, they enjoyed the “Chino” label and used the extra attention in every way possible to share the hope of the Gospel. There were many situations, whether in orphanages, the community where the house was built or even in restaurants where the stares and comments were undeniable. The team handled this with so much grace and understanding and loved being called “Chinitos” (an endearing term for an Asian person).
In his book, “Radical,” David Platt says “Today more than a billion people in the world live and die in desperate poverty. They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day. That’s nearly half of the world struggling today to find food, water, and shelter with the same amount of money I spend on french fries for lunch.” This week our team encountered beautiful Salvadorians who live in abject poverty. While distributing food, clothing and stuffed animals in the community where construction took place, our hearts were broken to hear that these families literally had no food on their shelves. Our team members have been greatly impacted as they have learned how poverty has had such a tremendous effect on so many of the people that we served this week. As North Americans, we live in excess and take so much for granted. Our “Chinos” have been challenged to consider how they spend their time, money and resources in light of how Jesus calls us to respond to a hurting world.
As our team prepares to return home tomorrow, we are flooded with many emotions. We have seen God move in unbelievable ways as we’ve delivered meals on the streets of San Salvador, danced with orphans, dedicated a “forever home,” shared powerful testimonies and distributed hundreds of gifts in the name of Jesus. His Hands His Feet is incredibly grateful for the indescribable ways which this Crossroads team of “Chinos” has touched lives for eternity. As I reflect on this week, I am in awe of the fact that God used a teenage boy to bring this team together. Please pray for our team members as they experience re-entry this weekend and process all that they have experienced this week. Re-entry can often be emotional, confusing and difficult for many.
“I don’t want to leave Christ behind. I don’t want to pursue stuff - even stuff in the name of Christianity or stuff in the name of the church - and in the process miss Christ and the pleasures he alone gives in a life free from bondage to the possessions of this world. Ultimately, I don’t want to miss eternal treasures because I settle for earthly trinkets.” - David Platt
We are so thankful to every person who gave of their time, finances and prayer to support our team. There are so many inspiring stories of generous givers, who invested in eternal treasures. One donor gave $600, which allowed our team to enjoy our most extravagant Walmart shopping spree ever for the family that we built for. This gift allowed us to spend almost $1,000 for food, clothing and household items! The team enjoyed every minute of shopping for our sweet family. It is definitely better to give than to receive! On behalf of His Hands His Feet, “muchas gracias” (many thanks) for partnering with our team and for storing up treasures in Heaven!
“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in our arms. But once you do, everything changes” - David Platt