Abundance

How would I describe the past two days? Abundance. 

This may sound like an odd word, as a Canadian who is in El Salvador with a purpose to build homes alongside families who do not have a dry, safe place to lay their heads. 

One mother shared with me her concern for her mentally disabled daughter, who is the same age as me. Her concern as a mother is that if she were to die, her daughter would not be able to take care of herself, particularly in regards to the threat of rape. In their current living conditions, their structure that does not have a lock, which would enable someone to take advantage of her daughter without someone there to protect her. But this personal story doesn’t lend one to think of “abundance”, but if you look past the materialistic emphasis when thinking of this word, you’ll see it. This mother has an abundance of care for her daughter, in how she makes sure her daughter is included. While the young kids were all playing with a piñata at our meet-the-family event, she made sure her daughter was also a part of it. This adult daughter, is a kid at heart. I witnessed her abundant joy in the simplest things. Yesterday, I was colouring with her nieces, and when she joined, holding a green crayon, she made the smallest scribble on the page. Her face lit up and she had an abundant outburst of joy. You could see joy in her toothless smile, and hear it in her gleeful laugh.

 The first day when we gathered to meet the families, the food was served in abundance. It made me emotional to see these families who have so very little, to offer so much to us, out of gratitude, love, and celebration. Yesterday, at our first build site, the children flocked around a few of the ladies from our team. Kids ranging from 3 months to 12 years. They coloured, made name bracelets, and paper airplanes. As I was walking around taking photos, I joined in with the boys who were flying the planes and despite our language barrier, we ended up evolving our interaction into a game of keep away. There was abundant joy and laughter. 

At lunch time, as all three build teams assembled for lunch together, a neighbouring house brought out wooden furniture for us to rest on. He first brought out a couch, which was such a lovely gesture. And then a chair…and another chair…and another chair. He brought out his best, for a bunch of strangers he had never met. A team member shared that she received an apple from a child who played with the girls on one of our build teams. After asking her grandmother if the gift was okay, she washed two apples in water from the well and blessed the girls with them. “That was the best apple I ever had. I ate it all but the stem!” Another example of an abundance of giving, and sacrifice. 

There is also an abundance of community. At our group talk last night, we heard of one house recipient who was going along with a member of our team to screw two sheets of metal together around the perimeter of the house. At each corner of the house stood another lady. Friends, who were encouraging the soon-to-be new homeowner, as she progressed through this task. And in our interviews with the families after the houses are built, we hear their hearts and their stories. They all have an abundance of gratitude as they share how a house will greatly impact their lives…to help them be able to raise a family in a house without having to move locations, to have a cement floor, to have a lock on a door, to have a window that opens and closes. 

When we consider purchasing a new house back home in Canada, how often do we evaluate how many bathrooms and bedrooms there are in relation to people living there, to optimize the space each individual can live in? These houses we are building are not large. One house that is being built this week will house 9 family members. The toilet we had access to for two of the morning build sites was not at the house we were building. It was around back, down into a valley and up the other side to a neighbouring house. A cement toilet in a three walled structure with a piece of fabric for a door. A community outhouse. There is abundance in simplicity. 

As I introduce myself to the family members during our interviews, I am sharing about how despite the difference in countries, we serve the same God. The God of abundant love, and abundant grace. Praise be to Him, our Provider!

Nicole  

Six New Homes for Families

 When we first started coming to El Salvador to build homes for families in need, it took us all week to build four houses...barely. 

That first year, 2009, we couldn't even build those four houses right. On the last day, just before the key giving ceremony we realized that the panels were wrong on the last house. In order to fix it, we had to go back to the first house and exchange panels on that house.

Fifteen years later there is so much to be thankful for, as we continue to grow and change with what is now Shelter!

Our day started with listening to God's Word: 

Romans 6:2-4

We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 12:9-13

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Shaped and inspired by these Truths, we headed off for our first build day with 16 people who have never experienced this before. Split into 3 teams, we each built a home in the morning and a home in the afternoon. 

But it's not the raising of the structures that are significant, it's the impressions they leave on the families, and then on us, that make the most profound difference. And it's the opportunity to build with, play with, laugh with and cry with these families, that leave the deepest impressions of all. 

It's late in the night, and we've just finished debriefing the day, after a cultural visit to Super Selectos (grocery store).

So much to say, not enough to say it.  

So let's just say thank you for your interest, support and prayer. 

Tomorrow we meet 6 more families. 

Bienvenidos

 Welcome!

And what a welcome it was. 

Our day started with a 7am breakfast, of egg sandwiches, potatoes and banana. 

Then we headed out on about a one hour drive into the community where we would meet our families. 

After driving "in" our vehicles for most of the trip, the last portion of our journey required us to get out of the trucks and van, and climb into the back, in order to cross a small river.  On the other side of the river were our families: they were all dressed up, the hair of the little girls were all done nice. Balloons, so many of them, were tied together lining the entry way. And the families?  Well they were there, cheering and waving as we crossed the river. Fireworks were going off. 

It was an incredibly generous and hospitable welcome!!

Together, we played silly games which mostly proved to show that all of us (or most of us) feel inhibited when we meet other people - but we all love to have fun and laugh. 

And then we ate some food which was prepared in abundance for us to enjoy.  It's an act of gratitude and reciprocity, for what they feel we are giving to them. 

Before leaving them for the day, we split up into our three build teams to meet the 6 or 7 families that we'll be building with this week. Simple introductions are made with big smiles, and even bigger sense of anticipation of what we all sense God will do with all of us, this week, and for time to come. 

In the afternoon, we took a short hike into an area with sulphur hot springs. Besides being mesmerized by the billowing clouds of steam, and bubbling sulphur streams, many of us also took the opportunity to get a little sulphuric mud treatment on our faces...I know...it sounds weird...it probably was...but it was also a lot of fun. 

Before leaving, with the backdrop of steam clouds rising into the shadow of the volcano, our translator Brandon, shared with us the importance of putting into practice the words of Jesus in John 13:34-35 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

He reminded us that we weren't here in El Salvador by accident or coincidence. God has chosen us to be here, to be with this team, to be with the Shelter Staff and with the families. Therefore, just as God has loved us so much to bring us here, then we ought to love one another - all others, knowing that as we do we grow stronger as disciples of Jesus. 

Monday, we begin building. 6 families will receive new homes. 

Thanks for journeying with us. 

Deve