Sweet Home Alabama

I can't believe I have been here in El Salvador for 2 1/2 months already. It has gone by so fast but at the same time, it feels like I have been here forever. When I think back at all we have done, all the memories and friendships that were made, it is hard to believe its only been 10 weeks. This last week we got to watch different events for El Salvador's Independence Day at the centers. The Independence Day is September 15th but they celebrate it all month. Each day this week they celebrated a different country in Central America. Today was El Salvador. It was awesome to get to watch. Most of the kids got to participate. They had many parades, bands, different dances that the kids performed, and different information on each country. I always have a hard time when saying goodbye especially when there have been so many relationships formed. There are always ups and downs but God always continues to see us through. I am so blessed and grateful that God sent me on this journey. I am sad to see it end but excited to see what is in store. I am definitely going to miss all the kids that I have made a connection with. When your here for this long it can be really hard because at some point, you may connect with a child and every week you go and see them but then, one week you go and they are not there anymore. It could be because they ran away or maybe they went back with there family. You never know when the last time you will see someone will be. But it is also good being here for a long time because you get to see good things happen. Like maybe you go to a center and see the same kid each week and then one week they get to come out and get to transfer to one of the transition homes. I already miss the kids but hopefully I will be able to see them again.

                                                     poor buddy had the chicken pox and had
                                                     to stay in a room by himself for 15 days!

The Ups and Downs of Ministry

This week was a very much needed week for me. We had a team of 4 people come down from California to work with the Sus Hijos ministry. They came to give us a spiritual retreat and help renew our spiritual health. This week was about bonding and learning to work together as a team. We were all able to go to an island for 3 days to just get away and learn how to minister better. Sometimes when working with a ministry, it is very easy to get discouraged and feel alone. But this week, I learned a lot of different things about ministry and how to work together as a team to help minister better to those we come in contact with. One thing we need to be able to do is trust one another and get to know our team mates. I mean really know them, know what there strengths and weaknesses are. Sometimes its easy for someone to just throw you out there and tell you to do something when you may not be comfortable doing that specific thing. But if we know our team, then we are able to place someone that is better fit for that specific task. We also need to be able to encourage, teach, love and forgive one another and not just assume that they just don't want to do something. Because God placed each of us here for a reason and He knows everything about us, what we can offer or what we lack. He placed us just how we are. Another thing that I learned this week was we should want to always learn. So if we don't know how to do something or don't know something, just be willing to learn. Something that someone told me this week was, always remember in the dark what God told you in the light. So when everything seems dark and Satan tries to discourage you, because he definitely will try, then remember that God brought you where you are. I am so glad that we were able to have this week to learn how to work as a team because ministry can be very crazy at times and we need to know how to work together when the enemy tries to attack.

Lizards, mosquitoes, roaches, and rats

         This week was another quiet yet crazy week. Although we did have some visitors in the mission house this week. They were very unwelcome but they came anyways.We have had, some lizards, roaches, a gazillion mosquitoes and 4 dead rats. I knew there were lots of lizards and mosquitoes here but this past week has felt like more than normal. Maybe it's because the lizards eat the Mosquitos. This past weekend I found the first lizard in my room on the wall. Supposedly these lizards won't hurt you or bother you but I didn't want to take a chance of it climbing in my bed and cuddling up next to me while I was sleeping. So I decided to get the broom and try to shoo it out of my room. Of coarse it didn't go out but it just hid behind something where I couldn't get to it. So after about an hour of trying, I gave up and hoped it wouldn't come out of it's hiding spot. Thankfully I never saw it again. And as for the mosquitoes, these are not just any mosquitoes. These are very fierce and fast little boogers that will give you chikungunya. Something that I do not ever want in my lifetime. The roaches have been everywhere. But thanks to our wonderful housekeeper the cleanliness helps keep them away. Last but not least, the rats. We had smelt the most awful stench coming from the kitchen area. We had no idea what it was or where it was coming from, and then I saw it, a live rat! Then I knew what the awful smell was, it was a dead one. Finally after the help of a friend we found the dead one. After getting about 7 traps and some poison, we are up to 4 dead rats, thanks to the traps. Hopefully that is the last of them.
         On a different note, we were able to spend more time at the orphanages this week. We also got to help with a big event in one of the communities around here. We had a blast making popcorn, snow cones, painting faces, listening to a bible study, and watching an awesome drama. We also had the privilege of helping with another medical campaign this week. There were so many people getting different medicines and seeing different doctors. Of course we had our popcorn and snow cone machines for this event as well. The people here love popcorn and snow cones and will stand in line for an hour to get some if they have too. There was one little boy at the end of the day that didn't get any popcorn because we were out and it was time for us to go. He was so upset that he was crying and his mom kept telling him, "there is no more, they are all out" but the little boy wouldn't stop crying. So the mom came back to us and said, "is there any way you could just give him all the little pieces that you are going to throw away and all the half popped ones." So we decided to give him all the left overs, He was still upset that he didn't get a whole bag but was a little better knowing that he could have a little taste of it. Oh how I feel like I take so much for granted, even a small bag of popcorn.

exhaustion overload

After being here for 7 weeks going almost nonstop can make you very exhausted, mentally and physically. I think the exhaustion has all hit me at once. Luckily, I was able to rest some this week. Although rest may be needed, kids still need to be loved on and tasks still need to get done. This past Saturday, we got to go to a medical campaign. Our job was to have fun with the kids while they waited to see the doctors, dentist, and other medical needs. We made popcorn and snow cones for the kids, painted their faces and gave them tattoos. Don't worry, they were temporary tattoos. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed watching the doctors, from a distance, take care of all the people that came.
       On Monday, we went to Cipi (one of the orphanages) again and did Bible and English. When you go to a center with the same kids more than once, the kids there start to get attached to you and remember you. This past Monday, there was a sweet little boy, who we see every week, that came up to me and another girl I have been working with, and told us how much he loved us. He kept saying to us, "you are like my moms." So all day he would come up and say "mama" to whichever one of us he was hugging at the time. I couldn't help but think that all these kids at these orphanages long to have a mother, someone who they can just call "mom", and that we may be the closest thing that they get to a mom or dad. Another girl came up to us after class was over and when it was time to go home and wanted to show us her book that she had made. It was a notebook but inside where pictures from what look to be like different people that she had met. She had kept everything that people had given her. There were pictures, notes that people had written to her, pictures that she had drawn or crafts that she had made, she had also written poems in the notebook. That was her memory book. Something that she could keep forever and remember all the good times she had. She started talking to us and boy did she have a lot to say. We talked for probably 30 or 40 min. She started talking to us about some of the poems she had written, one of her poems was about a man who was in prison because he had done a lot of bad things. The man was thinking of all the things he had done and what he was going to do when he got out. She told us she had written that because that is how she felt, like she was trapped in a prison and couldn't get out. Another poem was written about her 15th birthday. She wrote about how alone she felt and how none of her family had come to visit her on her birthday. It made me think of how all these kids must feel, like they have no one and that they are trapped inside somewhere and can never get out. Or that maybe they feel like they will never have anyone to love them. I think of all the things we take for granted every day, all the little things like family, friends, church, or maybe even the fact that someone just calls to wish us a happy birthday. I wish I could understand everything the kids say, but when you cant speak their language, it makes it hard to understand. Please continue to pray for these kids, that they will be able to feel the love of God through us or whoever they come in contact with, and that they will not feel so alone.

                                                                      waiting for the doctors

                                                                   I had fun with the popcorn

                                                                           the line for the popcorn

the calm after the storm

It has been 6 weeks in now but this week was very different. This was the first week that there wasn't a group here. Getting used to having 20-30 people around for 5 weeks makes it very different to go to only a few people in the house that I am staying. It makes for a very quiet time. Although there are no groups here to go to each orphanage, Sus Hijos (His Children), which is the organization I am here working with, still goes and does their regular schedule every week. So this week, On Saturday when the last group left, a lot of us were able to go to one of the translators parents house and visit for her nephews 1st birthday. We had a lot of fun and was able to relax a little. I got to do something special while we were there. We all went down to the creek to swim but I decided to sit on a rock and watch. While I was sitting there, this lady came up to the creek with all of her laundry and started washing it in the creek. I got very interested in what she was doing and asked her if I could help and she told me I could help her! So I was able to help this lady wash her clothes in the creek. It  was definitely different and I actually enjoyed it but I think I will keep my washer and dryer when I get home. On Monday we went to Cipi and did Bible and English class with the kids that came to class. Unlike in the states, the kids are not required to attend school. So basically if they don't want to come that day, then they don't have too. On Tuesday, we went to visit the babies all day. These are some of the cutest babies but even though I might think it can be easy to feed or play with babies all day, it definitely can be very difficult. Trying to feed a 7 or 8 month old baby who is not in a high chair, doesn't want to eat, and tries to slap the bowl out of your hand makes for a very hard time. But all the Tias (aunts), which are the caregivers of all the children, know exactly how to feed, change, and take care of each child or baby to where it is not as difficult for them. But it is very hard for us Gringos who don't know what in the world we are doing. On Wednesday, we went to a different orphanage and did Bible class for a group of kids in a program called Cambia tu vida (change your life). Cambia tu vida is a program that is geared toward kids who were sexually abused in some way. The is a school for them but they encourage a lot of healing and building relationships. On Thursday, we went to the juvenile girls prison and did the bible study with those girls. All of the girls in this prison are under 18 or if they are over 18, they were sent their before 18 and are now just finishing out their sentence. Most or all of these girls are associated with gang members in some way. Most or all of them are there for something that they did that was associated with a gang. In El Salvador, there are many gangs but there are two main ones and the girls in the prison are all associated with one of the two main gangs. But in the prison, they have to keep the girls associated with one gang separated from the girls associated with the other gang. Friday was some what a free day. Although I didn't go to any orphanage, I stayed at the mission house and organized some of the garage. So it still made for a very productive day.

some of the hard times

I cant believe it has already been 5 weeks since I have been here. It hasn't felt like I have been here that long but at the same time it has. Its been a crazy 5 weeks. There have been happy times, sad times, frustrating times and just about every emotion you can feel. I have talked about so many different things and told many different stories, but I haven't talked about some of the struggles of how you can feel when your here. So many people come from all over and I am sure that everyone has different struggles or emotions that they may feel, but here are some different ways that are definitely different for me, maybe not so much a struggle but just things that are different and hard. One thing that it so hard for me to get use to is not being able to be independent, like at home. For example, at home if there is somewhere I need to go, I just get in my car and go. But here, you have to rely on someone else. If you need to go somewhere, its either find a ride or take the bus. And yes, the bus is not always the safest option. If you want to talk to someone, you also have to rely on someone else, whether its ordering food from a restaurant or just talking to someone. But the hardest part for me is not being able to talk directly with the kids. I wish so bad I could speak their language and just talk to them about whatever it is they want to talk about. But instead we have to go through someone else. Not knowing someone else's language can be very frustrating at times, because you may be thinking, "how do I know they said exactly what and how I wanted to say that" but its times like these that we must learn to work together, to trust one another, and work through all problems. My goal is to learn Spanish eventually. I am working on it but I still have a long way to go and hopefully I will get there someday. But even though I have to rely on other people to speak for me most of the time or drive me wherever I need to go, I would not want anyone else other than the ones here, by my side helping me. These are definitely some of the best people to know. Here are some of the greatest translators that I get to have help me along the way. These are definitely not all of them but just a few to show you how great these guys are.

blessed

I can't believe I have been here for 4 weeks now. This week was so awesome. We fed the homeless 3 more times, played with lots of kids, did another quinceanera for special needs kids and adults, was able to finish a concrete house and provide a community with basic food needs like rice, beans, flour and sugar. The day we were able to go around the community and give families food, we split up into small groups. The group I was in came up to a house that a mom lived in. I'm not sure if the father was there but her elderly mother lived with her. As we came in their house, we provided them with the food and a bible. We asked if there was anything we could pray for them about. She told us how her mom was sick and had arthritis and how she couldn't walk because of it. We went in and gathered around her mom and started to pray for her, after we finished, she started to cry and tell us that no one has ever came to visit her mother, much less pray for her. It reminded me of the verse Matt. 25:35-36 when its says, "........I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me." She was so grateful that someone would come into their house and pray for her mom. I feel like that family blessed me more than we blessed them.
          On Monday, I was able to go to one of the orphanages and finish up the story about the 10 plagues for bible class. After we were finished, I had the privilege of talking with a girl along with 2 other people in our group. She began talking with us and telling us that she would be 17 that coming Wednesday. As she continued to talk, she said how no one in her family had wanted her since she was 2 years old. She said how one of her cousins had stabbed her in numerous places and then showed us the scars on her arms and legs. After continuing to talk, she began to cry and told us that all she has ever wanted was a family, someone to love and care for her. It made me think of all the things we take for granted every day. We are blessed to have so much that we don't even need and yet the family we prayed with was just so thankful someone came to visit her mom and pray with them and the girl, all she wanted was a family, something we take for granted every day. Please remember to pray for these to people this week, and lets remember how blessed we really are.