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2015
December - Blessings in the Unexpected
September - Abide in Me, as I Abide in You
Summer - Small Steps Offer Hope
March - Conflict and Insecurity
February - Prayers for Soyapango
Older Letters
February 2014
Advent 2013
Fall 2013
July 2013
January 2013
November 2012
March 2012
October 16, 2011
June 2011
December 2010
October 8, 2010
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 69
Kristi Van Nostran
Mission worker in El Salvador
Serving as the Presbyterian Hunger Program's Joining Hands facilitator
Give to Kristi's ministryDownload Kristi's prayer cardVideo: Kristi's work with Joining Hands
Contact: Kristi Van Nostran (kristi.vannostran@pcusa.org)
Kristi is periodically in the U.S. Email her to learn about her schedule and to extend an invitation to visit your congregation or organization.
About Kristi Van Nostran’s ministry
As the Joining Hands Network facilitator in El Salvador, Kristi Van Nostran is helping to build bridges of solidarity between churches in the United States and a network of churches, grassroots groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in El Salvador. Together they work to combat the root causes of poverty and suffering through community education, advocacy, alternative economic activities, lifestyle changes and spiritual grounding. The goal is to restore the wholeness of God‘s creation and the healing of the human family through prayer, mutual visits, humble accompaniment and mutual transformation.
Country context
El Salvador is the most densely populated country on the mainland of the Americas. An independent nation since 1839, El Salvador’s recent history has been plagued by civil war and natural disasters. The civil war, which was rooted in vast inequality between a small elite class and the overwhelming majority of citizens, began in 1980 and ended with a United Nations–brokered peace agreement in 1992. While the peace agreement brought political reforms, El Salvador’s efforts to recover from the civil war have been hampered by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and a series of earthquakes in 2001. Poverty, natural disasters and civil war have contributed to a high rate of crime in El Salvador. While El Salvador is highly industrialized, its economy relies heavily on money sent to the nation by Salvadorans working in the United States.
About Kristi Van Nostran
Kristi’s love for Central America began when she took her first Spanish classes and grew tremendously during two terms as a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission volunteer in Guatemala. With support from her home church, she worked with the denomination’s Reconciliation and Mission program from 2005 to 2006; her duties included women’s health and domestic violence education, advocacy, and empowerment training. She returned to Guatemala in 2008 for seven months to help facilitate mission partnerships between Presbyterians in the United States and Guatemala. In El Salvador Kristi hopes that her faith will continue to grow and that she can encourage others to faithfully pursue God’s mission.
Read: Tree of Life: El Salvadorans, with PC(USA) support, rediscover nutrition benefits of native tree
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Kristi grew up in First Presbyterian Church in Vancouver, Washington. As a young adult she was actively involved in the Presbytery of the Cascades, serving several summers as staff at Camp Magruder on the Oregon Coast. Kristi is a 2003 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, where she studied Spanish and religion. In addition to mission service in other countries, Kristi has directed an adult English-language program in Oregon and a youth outreach program in Texas for Latino middle and high school students.
Birthday: January 19
