The Ref Didn’t See It:

Back in El Salvador once again; the blazing sun, the crazy drivers, the beautiful landscape— I love it. Having been on this trip a couple times before I knew what to expect coming here, but as my mom has said multiple times this trip, “once again I was wrong” (that’s why I’m writing it down— doesn’t happen very often😁). I too was wrong with my expectations and it has left me a little bit uncomfortable with how comfortable we are. 

First off, we aren’t staying at the usual hotel we set up camp at and the rooms are fairly nice with A/C and nice looking bathrooms. Another thing that’s different this year is the food— almost completely different than in the past. Before coming here I went out for dinner with my parents and while we were ordering we all decided we were going to have a salad because we don’t eat many green leaves while we’re here. Well, I think every day we’ve seen lettuce whether it be on the chicken sandwiches, the garden salads, or on the double decker breakfast sandwiches which was very entertaining watching Ashlynn attempt to get her mouth around. Lastly, the biggest thing for me has been not standing in the back of the pickups when travelling around this year, something I had grown to love on my trips here. Instead we adventure around in an air conditioned van. That being said, I don’t think it’s a bad thing we’re more comfortable while we’re here, it’s just not as I had expected. 

Building houses is always my favourite part of this trip. Dripping sweat, hard work, and a lot of chugging water— what’s not to love? Yea, I understand some people think I’m a little bit weird for it, but I just love how the houses fit together like a puzzle. I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment seeing the house come together and my soul dances in joy every time I see the shelter sticker put on the house at completion. This year, however, it was different (another unexpected surprise). My favourite part of this trip so far has been this afternoon when we played soccer and hung out with the community. I’m not one for running so when it comes to soccer the sport has never appealed to me. Playing today was completely different than any soccer I had ever played before and I was grinning the whole time. I wasn’t very good, I think I can say this with certainty, the El Salvadorians were significantly better than the Canadians, but I did score a goal in the game. It may or may have not been when my dad tackled the goalie and left a net wide open for me, but the ref didn’t see it so it counted 😁. 

After the game we had some fun doing pull ups on the soccer nets and I was able to show off some of my calisthenics moves which then led to one of the locals about my age challenging me to a push up competition. Ashlynn decided she’d join in on it. With everyone crowded around while we laid on our stomaches in the middle of the soccer field they started counting as we pushed ourselves up off the ground signalling the start of our competition. Now Ashlynn claims she got more, but in my version of this story, after about 2 reps she dropped out of the running. My challenger put up a valiant effort, but eventually he ran out of steam and I became victorious. Wooooohooooo!! (We won’t talk about how many times he outplayed me in the soccer game moments before though) After we finished we stood up, shook hands, and hugged. 

We’re here to build houses, 

we’re here to build hope, 

we’re here to make a difference, 

but what many don’t realize is the difference that going on a trip like this will make in your own life. 

Silas

Build Day #3

 Last night at dinner, Scott said his favourite meal was lasagna. And then the door opened and we were served lasagna!!  During that same conversation, Abby said she really like breakfast sandwiches. When we arrived at Hamo Cafe this morning we were welcomed by double decker breakfast sandwiches!  Now Karen says she likes steak…stay tuned…because no one said that pupusas were their favourite meal but that’s what we had for dinner. They are the most famous dish in El Salvador. And…they were really good. We learned how to make them and then we were treated to a fun dinner with some of the Shelter staff. 

We had a big appetite because we played a football (soccer for you people reading in Canada) match with some of the staff, some of the community families and some of the children. Under the hot hot sun, we ran, we we walked, we stumbled and we had a great time. While some frolicked on the field, others played with children: doing their hair, colouring, or getting artistic drawings of their names. One of the Shelter staff commented about how great an experience that it was for them to have a playful time with everyone involved, young and old, Salvadoran and Canadian!

We started the day with two more houses being built. This time the homeowners were single women. Both possessed a strong determination to make the best of the difficult circumstances of their lives.  Our teams lean in to listen and learn, and we come away humbled and sharing in gratitude to God for His faithful provision that seems so timely for these families. 

Tomorrow, two more families will receive homes because of the prayer and generosity of many, including some of you reading this. Would you ask Jesus to help us to finish well, to be an encouragement to those we’ve been working with and to be open to see what He would have us learn?

Thanks for sharing the journey with us. 

2 For 1

 One of the questions we ask the new home owners is: “How will this change your life?”

In one case this week, the new house was built just in front of another house, which belonged to his sister. She is a single mom and she didn’t feel safe living there. Now that her brother is going to be living in front of her, on the same property, she is going to start living in her home too. 

It always amazes me what a big change one small house has to the people here. In this case, one house has changed two family’s lives. 

Julia

Build Day #2

 On Monday, 4 families received new homes. Tuesday, was our second build day, and another four families saw their new homes get built!! Every family and every build day has it's own characteristics and this was no different. We are thankful for the smooth efficiency of the day, which allows us more time to connect with the people in the community and with each other. If laughter is a reliable metric then today was a success. 

It is rare, in our experiences, to find very many husband-wife families. Too often we hear the sad stories of moms being left behind with their children.  However in all 8 families so far, we have encountered a husband and wife together in each home. Some have been together for a short number of years, others have been together for decades. 

More than this, one of the common threads of the four families today, was the intergenerational connections at each home. Three of the four homes were younger couples with small children.  However, they all had a close relationship with their parents.  There was respect, there was mutual care and there was the evidence of honour for the older generation.  The fourth couple were older, having been together over 40 years.  The wife's health is failing (she likely has some form of degenerative muscular disease). Her husband cares for her, and has for many years. He has been unable to find consistent employment because he chooses to be available to care for his wife.  Though they don't appear to have relationship or connection with their children. Sadly, they don't know where they are, which also means their children have neglected to connect and care for them. However, in this absence, and with their need, they speak highly of how their community shares in checking in on them, and taking care of them!

There are always reminders of hard things that exist in this or any community: like the constant threat of women (particularly women who live alone) being victimized, or the reality of having your stuff taken. In fact many of our families sleep outside to protect their building materials until their house is built. 

Oh, we also had a visit from the three police men and an armed military officer.  No, we didn't do anything wrong, nor was there anything unsafe happening around us.  In our conversation they shared, how they heard that we were working in the area and wanted to come by as a means of community service.  They asked how we felt when they showed up, and we replied, that we always feel safe in our communities, in part because of the good work that they do, so when they show up and present themselves like this it further reinforces that sense of safety. They were delighted to hear more of our work, and the change that we see as a result, in the lives of people and in whole communities.   

All in all, it was another well spent day. Despite the heat of the hot sun in a cloudless sky, these families gave us a beautiful picture, a picture that reflects the heart of God, a tangible demonstration of a love for God that is revealed in a love for our neighbour.