The Salvadoran Lutheran Church has made the Mission of Healing a year-round ministry. The annual big event for delegations has a new name: Feria de Bienestar Familiar Family Wellness Fair Feria de Bienestar Familiar - Northern Micro-Region February 4 - February 12, 2017 Trip Application Feria de Bienestar Familiar - Central/South Micro-Region February 11 - February 18, 2017 Feria de Bienestar Familar - Eastern Micro-Region (in development)

Who can participate in a wellness fair?

Anyone with the heart to serve, the openness to learn and the spirit to work hard. Application approval is required.

2017 Trip Application - Northern Micro-Region Group

2017 Tentative Trip Agenda - Mission of Healing Family Wellness Fair, North Micro-Region

Our goal is education. We use a small group discussion model ("charla" in Spanish), with approximately 20 teaching booths set up like a fair. Participants receive a passport which is stamped at each site. Check out our Charla List below.

2017 List of Charlas - What we will include at the Wellness Fair
(may change depending on gifts and talents of US and Salvadoran volunteers)

How to Help

Collect items from the Wish List and deliver them to the Greater Milwaukee Synod office (or your designated local site)by January 4, 2017

2017 Wish List - items you can collect and donate

Make a money donation to help with the purchase of prenatal vitamins, acetaminophen and parasite medication in El Salvador. Checks may be written to "Greater Milwaukee Synod" with "El Salvador Wellness" on the memo line or donate online.

Check out our Feria de Bienestar Familiar Resource Page - featuring coloring pages, health information pages and more, some in Spanish and some bilingual

Images from Over the Years...

• Mission of Healing North 2015 - power point presentation with photos and descriptions from the Mission of Healing held at Fe y Esperanza in the Northern Micro-Region
• Mission of Healing Northern Region 2014 - held at Fe y Esperanza in the Northern Micro-Region and an emergency mission to the site of an active volcano in the east
• Missions of Healing 2013 - power point presentation with photos and descriptions from the North and Central South Missions of Healing
• Mission of Healing 2012 - link to a Facebook Photo Album
• Mission of Healing 2011 - link to a Facebook Photo Album
• Mission of Healing 2010 - link to a video presentation with music
• Mission of Healing 2009 - power point presentation with photos and descriptions

A Little History

The first healing mission took place when Deb Adams from St. John's ELCA (Brookfield, WI) received a call from God to provide healing in El Salvador. She had never been to El Salvador, but God had a plan. The mission was jointly-planned between St. John's, All Peoples ELCA (Milwaukee, WI) and their sister church and included doctor and nurses from the Salvadoran Health Department. The medical team did well-checks in the little church in the community of Los Héroes while a teaching team did a 3-day Vacation Bible School experience in the community school. That was in 2000.

Over the next 15 years, the mission grew. Los Héroes had always invited neighboring communities to participate, and eventually worked in concert with the national church to move the mission to the Salvadoran Lutheran Church Clinic in San Salvador so that more people could participate. The mission has traditionally included worship, baptism, education and medical checks, and over the years other elements have been added according to the gifts which healers brought to the table. In 2007, Cross of Life ELCA (Brookfield, WI) combined its 2 years of experience doing dental missions with their sister church in Soyapango with the mission of healing in San Salvador. In 2013, the Mission of Healing teams divided according to micro-region, to better coordinate with the Salvadoran Lutheran Churches within each region. The Greater Milwaukee Synod primarily works with the Salvadoran teams in the North and Central-South. An Eastern program is in the works.

A Leadership Roundtable has been established to help with coordination of resources and personnel among the different events and to help facilitate communication with the Salvadoran team leaders.