Kristi Van Nostran
San Salvador, El Salvador
Email: Kristi Van Nostran
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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 orgqnizations (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.
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, where 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.
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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.