LETTER OF INTRODUCTION:

May the peace, grace and holiness of our Lord be with each one of you in every moment of your lives and with your families. 

My name is ALEXANDER CASTELLANOS, I am currently serving as the Evangelist of the church in Quezaltepeque. I obeyed the call of the Lord at the age of 18 at the Church in San Salvador city. Later, at the age of 22, I studied Bible at the SUNSET SCHOOL OF PREACHING, in Lubbock, Texas.  I graduated on January 27^th, of 1974, while brother Clime Paden was the Director. Since 1974 I have been a missionary in my own country, El Salvador, to the present time.  I am currently 59 years old, and I am happy to say that I have spent over 30 years serving our Lord in His work here in El Salvador.

I have been blessed by God with a wonderful wife, to whom I have been married for over thirty years.  My wife is SILVIA CASTELLANOS, who 52 years old and has faithfully served the Lord for 35 years. SILVIA believed and obeyed the Gospel of Christ in the city of San Miguel, at the age of sixteen years old. San Miguel is located three hours from San Salvador city. She graduated from the BIBLICAL INSTITUTE OF EL SALVADOR, which is sponsored by the church in San Salvador. Also, she graduated the EXTENSION COURSE FOR LEADERS AND TEACHERS (C.E.L.O.), sponsored by the Baxter Institute, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Our marriage has been further blessed with three daughters, all of which are faithful and active Christians. Their names are: VANESSA and LIGIA, twins at 31 years old.  Our youngest daughter is SARA, who is also faithful and active in her spiritual walk at 27 years old.

Our work in El Salvador has been ongoing since 1974. The first year we were sponsored by the church in Gilmer, Texas.  After thirty years of financial support, we were, unfortunately, informed that the church in Gilmer was going to begin to reduce our support effective as of 2006, in consecutive budget cuts, until effectively eliminating funding altogether after December of 2009.

My brothers and sisters, it is for this reason that I am writing to you.  I want this letter to describe the work we do and the many wondrous developments we experience with the churches in El Salvador.  Our deepest need is to find a church that can help us grow and support Christ’s ministry here in El Salvador both financially and spiritually.  We hereby appeal to you, in the hopes and faith that you will consider our request and that we may receive the patronage and spiritual support Christ’s church needs. In according to the cost of the life at the present time, we need the financial support of $ 1,500.00 U.S. monthly. 

With respect to the financial assistance, in 2005, our financial support was $1,250 (USD) monthly.  Although this sponsorship was much appreciated, the financial difficulties in El Salvador has made our mission and work more difficult. The financial difficulties have been due to a sudden inflation across the country as a result of the dollarization of El Salvador.  This instant inflation has made life much more expensive for all of us in the country, and while we are struggling, we know that the poorest of our country struggle even more.

We are currently autonomously partnered with Mighty 300 Ministries having met and served with Founder/Director Wayne Gaines who came to assist El Salvador in 2001 after the first great earthquake and was in fact here with us when the second earthquake struck. Having personally known Wayne and been a witness to his lifetime of missionary service we have gratefully and humbly accepted God's leading to share our reports and our ministry web page on the Mighty 300 Ministries network. We are now 100% faith based with no funding support as of December 2009. We ask that you commit to pray for our ministry in fasting prayer and that you consider donating to our E-giving account on Mighty 300 Ministries anywhere you find this link on the Mighty 300 Ministries website:

Consider partnering with us as we continue to serve the Lord faithfully in El Salvador:  

BE SURE TO READ OUR MINISTRY REPORTS THAT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON AN ONGOING BASIS UNDER THE REPORTS TAB AT MIGHTY 300 MINISTRIES AT THIS LINK: www.m300ministries.org/reports1

SEE A RECENT MINISTRY REPORT HERE

MISSIONARY RESUME

My evangelical experience has been as follows:

·         I have taught and preached for many Salvadoran congregations across the country. I have been a teacher of preaching schools in San Salvador, and in Chinameca, located within the Department of San Miguel.

·         I have also had the honor and opportunity to preach at many Gospel Meetings all over the nation.

·         I have organized National Seminars, which are similar to the Regional Seminars for Preachers, an activity that I have done for many years up to the present day.

·         I have also participated in leadership training on multiple occasions.

·         I have helped organize and have participated in special activities for the Christian youth in our area.

·         I have celebrated in and performed marriage ceremonies to many Christian couples.

·         I have taught seminars and Gospel Meetings in all of Central America, Mexico and in several states of the United States.

·         There have been several national catastrophes in my nation, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.  I have served as a preferred local contact for Christian and non-Christian relief and assistance organizations.

·         I have assisted the churches and the community in humanitarian efforts, such as in the reconstruction of houses.

·         During a long period of twenty five years I was the Director of The Biblical Correspondence Courses. Thousands of people studied the Bible all over the nation. Hundreds of these students obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Who writes, it is fruit of this means of diffusion.

·         I wrote a Commentary of the Epistle of James that has 138 pages.

 My wife, SILVIA has also taught at many Gospel Reunions for Christian women all over the nation, as well as for those in Central America and many cities in the United States. She is equally dedicated, as is evident by her work in teaching the children and youth of our country for many years.  She has also been a great help in coordinating and assisting many of the activities and events I have described above.  In addition to her assistance, she serves as a wonderful mother and role model for our daughters, as she also helps by visiting our brothers and sisters in times of need or after a calamity.

At the present, we dedicate a large portion of our time and efforts to the church in Quezaltepeque, in the Department of La Libertad.  This church congregates on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.  During these church services, I teach the Biblical lessons and sermon every Sunday.  My wife teaches classes to the children of this congregation, as well as to the ladies and young misses’ class.  The church in Quezaltepeque is, like most churches of El Salvador, very poor economically, but very rich in spirit and in love for one another and for the Lord.

Some Sundays, we are also invited to preach the gospel to other churches in the nation.  During the course of an average year, I am asked to preach in several gospel meetings, and seminars throughout the nation, and several outside of the borders of our country.  My wife also assists by teaching during many of the women’s fellowship gospel seminars within and outside of El Salvador as well. Twelve years ago, my wife taught in a Confraternity for Christian Women in the city of Jinotepe, Nicararagua, Central America. There was a wonderful attendance, 1200 faithful women of Nicaragua were in that marvelous meeting. All these fellow sisters were encourages with the three excellent messages of God.  ¡The glory be for Him!

Our Quezaltepeque, our city.

The Quezaltepeque name comes from Nahuatl and means mountain of quetzals, originates of the voices "Quezali" , name of a bird of gorgeous green plumage shining litmus and “tepi” that  means, hill, mountain, locality.

POPULATION

In according to the last census made year 2007 the population is:

52,643 inhabitants.

DIMENSION

Total area 125,68 Kms2

Rural area 124,56 Kms2, urban area 1,12 Kms2

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

The department of La Libertad is divided in three districts: The New San Salvador, Quezaltepeque and San Juan Opico, each of them with their respective municipalities. The district of Quezaltepeque, is located in the the northwest part of the department of La Libertad, which includes the municipalities of Quezaltepeque and San Pablo Tacachico. Quezaltepeque is located to 26 kilometers of San Salvador (via Mariona) and the limits of the municipality are:

To the north with the municipality of San Matías.

To the east with the municipality of Aguilares and Nejapa.

To the south with the volcano of San Salvador and the municipality of Santa Tecla.

To the west with the municipality of San Juan Opico.

All this land is irrigate for the rivers: Sucio, El Barillo, Santa Lucia and Claro. The more important terrestrial reliefs are: the volcano of San Salvador or Quezaltepec that is a great forest reserve constructed by natural and coffee forests, enjoys temperate climate and at the moment it is to overrun by a panoramic highway that unites Quezaltepeque with San Salvador. The Hill El Playón, located to the north of the volcano of San Salvador, is in the same base only separated by a small plain where it passes the highway and the railroad. The Cerrito is a located geographic feature to 2 Kilometers to the south of the city, of this hill is extracted material used to have highways and like raw material in the industry of blocks for the construction. The Hills of El Espìno to 5 km to the northwest of the city serve as limit between Quezaltepeque and the municipality of Nejapa and the Hill the Trinidad located to the north of Cantón Las Mercedes.

RELIGION

 The community of the municipality of Quezaltepeque has characterized by beliefs and religious fervor, the great majority of the population meets in the different temples and houses of worship, scattered in all the city, colonies and small villages of this municipality.

 In Quezaltepeque the evangelical Christianity is professed and the population congregates in several religious groups, that they have like objective that all the citizens accept to Christ like their Personal Savior, know the Bible and take a ordinate life.

 Between the existing churches we mentioned the following:

 • Catholic church

• Church of the Assemblies of God

• God church of the prophecy of Holy Sion.

• Adventist church of 7º day

• Christian mission Elim

• Christian church Rehoboth

• Church of God of the Universal Prophecy

• Evangelical church Good News

• Church of the Holy Spirit.

• Church source of Light and Life Central American Mission

• Hall of Kingdom of Jehovah Witnesses

• Biblical tabernacle Baptist.

• Church of God in El Salvador

• Ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Church of the Saints of the last days.

·         Church of Christ

 WHICH ARE OUR FUTURE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS?

The Church in Quezaltepeque was established in the year of 1973, was born like fruit from the students of the Correspondence Biblical Courses and the Listeners from our radial program “Bulwark of Truth”. Originally it was born in Cantón Macance, this is a farmer village located in the Volcano of San Salvador. In view of the civil war that began in 1980 and which it finalized twelve years later, (January 16^th, 1992 was signed the peace between government and the guerrillas), the inhabitants of the volcano of San Salvador, emigrated for the city of Quezaltepeque, thus is as the church in this city settles down. By several decades, the church rented different houses for the regular meetings.

At the moment the church counts a faithful membership of 75 Christians, besides 20 brothers and sisters that are congregated irregularly once or twice per month. The classes of children are integrated in two groups, one of 4 - 8 years of age, and the other group  9 - 13 years of age. Both groups are 30 children.

 The economic standard of life of the members of the church is low; the majority of them are workers of the agriculture. Several sisters work in clothes factories, which are exported to countries in America and Europe. Both groups of workers gain very low wages, this causes that the economic reach of the church, is very limited to develop our programs of work.

 In spite of these economic limitations, in the month of November/2006, the church initiated the construction of the building of meetings. During ten years, monthly, was paying a piece of land of 400 meters square. The construction began with own efforts of saved offering, as well as by donations of churches in foreign countries. At the moment the main auditorium with capacity for one hundred fifty people has been constructed, and two classrooms for classes of children. Both constructions are not finalized, but are apt to use them, require much to construct in them.

Our expectations for the futures five years are the following:

 • To teach to the church subjects of much spiritually edifying, work that we have realized arduously by many years.

• To develop two annual Gospel Meetings, one in the summer and another one in the winter. The intention is that the people look for Christ and they become into Christ with the pure gospel.

• To develop special activities for Christian women in communion with the Christian women.

• To develop activities for the children between 4 - 13 years of age, forming  them their mind and heart for the service to Christ.

• To develop medical activities for the members of the church, as well as for the inhabitants of the neighboring communities where  the building is located.

• To continue with the program “Manna For Eldership”, which consists of looking for a godfather for a couple of old brothers. These old brothers are limited in their economic resources. The program consists of which the godfather donates twenty-five dollars monthly, consequently, a basic food give to the couple for a nutritional diet. We initiated this program five years ago.

• To continue with the construction of the building where the church congregated regularly, as long as we have the economic resources. The Church need to do much in the matter of construction.

• To continue preaching Gospel Meetings  and seminaries for preachers, at the wide and long of the nation, as like as out of our borders.

 • To maintain our disposition to serve to the churches, like the Salvadorian inhabitants, in times of catastrophes or calamities.

With respect to the spiritual assistance we need, the Churches here need spiritual support from our brethren in America.  We would like to continue growing, and with your continued prayers and spiritual assistance, we can continue to help the churches here grow in both size and spiritual strength.  Our church members have many dreams, as do my wife and I, and we hope to make these dreams a reality with your help.

Please know that my wife and I are willing to send you any information you need about ourselves, the work Christ has enabled us to do, and the Churches in El Salvador.  If you need additional information besides that which I am sending you, feel free to ask.  Please be aware that my wife and I have multiple visas to travel to the United States, so that should your leadership or congregation wish to meet and speak to us personally, we may be able to go to you directly.

We pray that our Heavenly Father, The Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, guide your consideration and discussions regarding our petition.

In the Love and Work of Jesus Christ Our Savior,

Alexander & Silvia Castellanos