14 Families and 14 homes

Once again our building days are done and, I am up early, with time to reflect on the week.  While many things are familiar, the hotel, the food, the heat, the rocks, the view of the volcano, and the tools,  there is always new on every trip. The families are always new and this year I was able to hear the stories from the seven which our team built for.  I was uplifted that six of the seven had fathers who were present in the lives of there families and participated in our interviews.  Three were older and had been with there wives for many years while the other three were younger.  All the families had young children or grandchildren that would be living in the new houses. 

One of the older men had gone blind 7 years ago so his oldest son (9 at the time) had to take over supporting the family. I cannot imagine the hardships of being blind living on the side of a Rocky Mountain in a house with mud floors and I cannot imagine being nine and having the responsibility of feeding my family, and yet here they were and both had the ability to sit with us and even smile and laugh (especially when talking about their new house).   

Two of the younger fathers (Alberto and Dennis) were the hardest workers on our team and I was able to share many moments on the build sites with them. Dennis touched us all as during the interview he declared his devotion to his family and how he had seen other fathers leave, that the children were always most affected, and that he would not do this to his family.  Both of these young families thanked and gave praise to God for their new homes. 

There were many other differences and difficulties on this trip but none will be remembered outside of these families which have blessed our lives by sharing themselves with us. 

-Pat

Morning Thoughts

My morning “routine” in El Salvador starts with getting up about an hour before my roommates (not hard to rise before your roommate when it’s Quinn), grab a coffee and head to the upper meeting room. 

I look at one of Gods’ wonders that is the San Vincente volcano and the cloud hat it wears in the morning get slowly burned off by the sun and think it’s going to be another beautiful and hot day in the making, just perfect for outside work!

I watch the pupusa stand across the street open for business, I wonder could I ever be able to crank out pupusas as fast as she can (probably not), I wish I could walk across the street and ask her to show me, maybe even try one? (Sure to make me sick) I wonder about the family that runs it, I assume they are just trying to do the best for their family and what are their hopes and dreams?

I love observing the weekday in San Vicente come to life - motorcycles buzzing, trucks & cars honking, city buses sort of like ours only much more decorated & beat up, then there are these pickup trucks with the backs caged in (like we ride out to the builds) that are packed with people, people hanging off the back, people of all stripes. On the way to the builds as we wind our way through town I watch people working roadside stands selling food, opening up stores that often also house their homes in the back, taking their kids to school, taking a pickup truck full of goats somewhere? They are just people trying to make a living, to do the best for their families and future, with hopes and dreams, just like us. 

Sure, there’s a few not so great things to see as well but it’s completely overwhelmed by the beauty that is El Salvador and it’s the many small beauties that I try to take in and appreciate.

After all this pondering and observing it is off to the builds where there will be more opportunities to see God at work .

-Jason