A few months ago my father had the idea of extending our trip to El Salvador for a few days after the rest of the mission team had returned to Seattle, just to see what we could learn about the importation of donated humanitarian goods to this country.  He was able to work out the details of such an extension without many hurdles, and so I agreed to join him.  To my mind there was only one possible wild card in my father’s plan: his guide, Cebolla.  Most of my misgivings were eased after we sat down with Cebolla over breakfast during our visit to Chico, California.  Cebolla has invested himself in the Chico community for over a decade and I knew he would not jeopardize those relationships in order to take advantage of my trusting, American father.  Over the past few days, Cebolla has proven that he is far more than simply trustworthy, he has been a vital asset to us here on the ground.

My most recent trip to El Salvador marks the fourth time that I have come here to serve.  My church became interested in sending people here because Castillo Del Rey offers a secure entry point for first-time mission teams.  I could not have gotten a concept for all that I have yet to learn about the culture and the people here had I not spent the last three days with Cebolla.  I know now that when it comes to travel, I don’t even know the right questions to ask.

With Cebolla as our guide, my father and I have accomplished more in the past two days than we likely would in a month of trying to figure things out on our own.  Today we visited and toured two homes for orphans which are run by the El Salvadorian government; Hogar de Cintro Infantil de Proteccion Inmediate and Hogar Niño Adalberto Guirola.  We also had a meeting with an El Salvadorian businessman whom I will refer to as Don E.  None of these meetings could have possibly taken place had it not been for Cebolla.

Cebolla is a talented communicator.  Within a minute of us sitting down with people of any level of education or social status, he has made an ally not only for himself, but for my father and I as well.  Comfort around and in conversation with strangers is a craft, an art, and one which is not easily mastered.  Added to his uncanny way with people is Cebolla’s limitless energy and enthusiasm for life.  He loves the project my father is working on because he knows that it will help the people of El Salvador, and in his mind that is the only reason he needs to pour his efforts into something.

At the end of the day, with the moon high and bright, the three of us finally had time to sit and sup together.  Of course we ate at an Argentinian restaurant we would never have known about had it not been for this incredible man.  Community enriches our participation in the building of God’s Kingdom here on Earth.  I am glad He chose for me to walk, at least a few steps, in stride with Cebolla.

Our visit to the orphanage on Tuesday was both heart breaking and inspiring; beautiful children who have created one giant family out of necessity, tradition, love, vigilance, grace… the result of which is a beautiful life-filled dance of joyous laughter.

As our service project to the orphanage we painted some of the classrooms in a school which services the children there.  Roberto, Shannon, April, Misty and I painted in the room nearest the staircase.  Midday we ate our lunch in the cafeteria with the Hogar Infantil Shalom family.    After we had finished eating, the room cleared out almost entirely.  A few of the children stayed behind to handle the post-lunch cleaning duties.  The young boy who was wiping down the row of tables I had been sitting at caught my attention because I noticed that he was not looking at any of the tables as he wiped them.  Each stroke with the washcloth was measured against the next by feel and muscle memory.  This little boy is blind.

I was fascinated by the idea of a child who was so disabled having responsibilities to his community.  I stayed for a bit just to see how he was able to find his way around.  As he worked he would, at times, come upon a dish or cup which had not been cleared from the tables.  Sweeping his hand ahead of his own progress as he cleaned he would find the obstruction, trace its shape with the heal of his hand to identify it, and decide if it should be cleared or left alone.

When he stood up to walk back to the front of the room he walked into me.  I had been keeping out of the way, but his activity pattern was unfamiliar.  Our impact stopped him instantly and he looked up, smiling.  “Hola,” I said.  “Hola.”  “Que passa?”  “Bien.”  Later that day, once the painting had been completed, our team got to put on a performance for the children and also to spend some time playing with them.  I sought the young boy in the red Spider-Man t-shirt and sat next to him.  “Como te llamas?”  I asked.  “Me llamo Vladimir,” he replied.  “Mucho gusto,” I said.  “Mucho gusto.”

I observed Vladimir on the playground with the other boys.  As one of a trio on the tire swing he swung with ounce of energy he could muster.  Part of the game involved the boys all jumping off at the same time while the swing was still pitching wildly.  Vladimir ended up landing on the cement, falling on his side, laughing wildly the entire time.  He got up quickly and ran back to find his friends.  I found myself wondering “does Vladimir mean “beautiful spirit” in Spanish?”  I sat next to Vladimir whenever I could, and before long he knew me.  He would reach out and feel the fabric of my dress shirt on my arm and a smile would brighten his sightless eyes.  I am so very envious of the courage of this dauntless young man.  What miracle created him?  How much must God love me to have crossed my path with his?

Life is a wonderful discovery.  God has blessed me with the finest teachers.

Today we visited Hogar Infantil Shalom, a home for 50 children in San Salvador.  This is Andy Smith’s first year serving in El Salvador.  I was delighted to see him make connection with Ricardo, one of the seven children in the nursery.  I plan to make a post at a later date about our day there, but for now I wanted you to see these two laughing together, bringing joy to their surroundings.  

Today our group was divided in two.  Half of us stayed at the Kings Castle campus to build a perimeter wall near the clinic.  The other half went to Mira Flores to bring laughter and food to some of the people there.  The wall building team consisted of four native El Salvadorian construction workers, a missionary from Boston named Josh, and seven All Saints workers.

Once the work commenced in earnest our team was divided again, this time according to gender.  Mary, Shannon, and Chelsea were given a bevy of tasks throughout the day.  They sifted the stones out of the sand we will use for mortar, cut rebar, bent rebar, cut tie wire, and lastly began assembling the rebar into columns.  I have been in construction for all of my adult life.  I have never before seen any female perform any of those tasks, and they rocked it.

The men were tasked with building the security wall itself.  We worked as a team to string, site, mortar and set c.m.u. blocks which were then reinforced with rebar.  The work was exhausting, yet satisfying.  Our entire team was covered in sweat, dirt, concrete, and other stains by days end.  And then it was time to dive off of the trapeze into Lake Coatepeque.

You would love serving here.

Day one of a mission of this kind to El Salvador is a day to get acclimated to Central America and also to familiarize ones’ self with the Castillo Del Rey campus.  Sunday is the day we get to attend church out in the country.  Andy Smith told me that the tent under which service is held reminds him of the tents used back in his youth when he would attend revivals.  There were three giant tents on site in all.  One is for worship, another is for the youth, and the third one is for infants and toddlers.

Banana, mango and almond trees grow to within a few yards of the church entrances.  Due to a death in the congregation earlier this week, the service was subdued this morning.  However, the band leading the worship service today was among the most talented church-groups I have seen or heard; the lead singer’s voice was incredible.   The speaker was Don Triplett, and he urged the audience to make salvation a priority.  None of us has as many days as we might imagine.

After service we boarded the bus and came back to campus.  At the end of the day we gathered for a devotional time.  Mark Giles led the discussion.  We need these times to process our day’s experience.  For many people this is there first time either out of the country or travelling as a servant, and it can be overwhelming.  We then went to a warehouse to prepare the parcels of food we will be distributing throughout the week.  By the end of the bagging process we had a highly efficient system, driven by some very high-energy people.  Caitlyn Houvener is a first timer to El Salvador and she can do the work of about three men.

I am surrounded by tireless and beautiful, dedicated, driven people.  I am blessed.

This morning the All Saints mission team to El Salvador was on a flight from Seattle to Houston.  After spending the bulk of our morning in the George Bush International Airport, we boarded our final leg to Central America.  Soon we were high above, the land ornamented with volcanoes sleeping under rain-forest blankets coasted far beneath us; it was a beautiful site.  Before long we were looking for familiar faces in the crowded San Salvador Airport.  Dr. Boris was there to spearhead our reception.  Boris is a good man and it is an honor to work with him.

The bus ride to Castillo Del Rey, the Kings Castle campamento, takes two hours.  From the vantage of the highway it is possible to learn a few things about El Salvador.  It is the prerogative of the police to create roadblocks in order to pull vehicles over at random for questioning and searches.  Fields recently burned tell of either drought or expeditious farming techniques.  Volcanoes offer a deep green back-drop to the slums and markets.  Everywhere is the richness of God’s world seen through the struggling human lens.  And now beauty is everywhere.

As I found in Tucson, my vision has changed.  I see the beauty of God in places I hadn’t recognized before.  I believe that I was not looking for that beauty before, that I had not asked God to reveal it to me.  Is there ever a more beautiful place than the one you are in?  Would God have us thinking that there were, or would He have us appreciate the beauty we find before us?

At days end, our team of 15 was eating a special meal of pupusas, rice and beans in the Castillo Del Rey cafeteria.  The blessings to a missionary seem endless at times.  

My family has been blessed to live in a little the little known neighborhood of Sumner Heights since 1981.  My parents still live in the home they built a few years before I began attending kindergarten.  This home is the only place that my siblings and I can really define as “home” for us.  One of the most enjoyable aspects of our home are the wonderful neighbors we have so close at hand.  Andy and Marsha Burns have been a part of our lives since they moved in across the street over 20 years ago.

Last night, at the Trackside Pizzeria in Puyallup, Washington, my parents and I met Marsha and Andy for dinner.  Over the course of the conversation, we came to agree that it was, in fact, the first time that we had ever had a meal together which was not hosted by one family or the other in their homes.  The Burns family can be counted on to attend important dinners and holidays, graduations and other significant events.  It was at the Burns’ house that I had some of my earliest work experiences.  I used to get paid ten dollars every week for mowing their lawn; which would have been the only money I had at my disposal during the spring, summer and fall.  The Burns family has a special place in my heart.

Earlier in the day I had a chance to do something I’ve been looking forward to ever since I left for Albania in April; work in the woods.  My parents live on just over an acre of land, and most of it is wooded.  Few things are as satisfying as turning a fallen tree into fire wood.  My Stihl turned right over for me, like I had never left her alone in the garage for the better part of a year.  Rarely can a tool be counted on with as much confidence as I count on that machine.  After cutting an old maple into rounds, I walked the rounds up a small hill to my parents’ driveway.  I’ll probably split them after I get back from El Salvador.

We are leaving for El Salvador tonight for All Saints’ fourth mission to that country.  I am looking forward to seeing some of my friends there, to giving Dr. Boris a hug, and to seeing how Aaron and Emily are doing.  I will explain more about that in subsequent posts.  Pray for us, and pray for El Salvador, thank you.