Deceptively Rich

Ok, first blog. Whew. Pressure is on. Here we go...
El Salvador... wow. Where do I start? I could talk about the almost vertical mountain path to the two houses we built... Or I could mention the animals: The pigs/piglets that wandered the different communities, as if they owned the place. The chickens that proved looks are not everything, every chicken is equally delicious on the inside. (Even though there were some potential "Ugly chicken contest" winners) The Cows who lazily graze and walk about, not caring if a truck carrying two tons of weight is traveling towards it. Finally the dogs, the starving dogs that were abused and hungry, however could walk with an upturned nose away from a fallen tortilla. (Guess they don't like those).  Nonetheless, I'm not going to dwell on the lives of these creatures. It's the people, the locals that show El Salvador's character. The poorest communities are sometimes the richest in their faith. With more hardships than any of us can ever imagine, these people still worship God with their whole being. Today, was the key ceremony. To start the event, the band played some Spanish worship music. The songs were incredible beautifully, especially in Spanish. However, as I looked around me I saw an old man. A man, who in his many years as an El Salvadorian, must have faced many, many hardships. Problems with his home, his family, his neighbors. Problems with farming, transportation, and safety. This man must have spent a good 60 years of his life, slaving over unfavorable farmland, and struggling to provide for his family. Although there was something that stuck out to me. It was the way he worshipped  God. He had his eyes closed. A raised hand in the air. And a raspy voice that spit out the Spanish melody. He worshipped God, to the best of his ability, and that is most important. These people, are fooled into thinking that your financial status is what defines you and I think that the same can be said for a lot of people. Nonetheless, the locals are rich where it counts: In their faith, and its here that we can see how deceptively rich they really are. I belive that there is a lot to learn from them. And the strength of their faith is something to be recognized.
-Josh