Prepararse

Getting ready...

Hola amigos y familiares! (Gracias Google Translate)

We are in the final stages of our trip preparation. Well, if we don't have our act together at this point, it's too late...we leave in 2 days!

Mel Shuey and I (Diane Lewicki) are very excited to lead the great team of 15 people who will be making this trip to El Salvador. We have a diverse group of people who bring a multitude of talents to the team.

Our team includes:

Kevin Buckley
Paul Erbes
Andrew Jewett
Bruce Kirby
Chris Kirby
Jane Koelzer
Diane Lewicki
Kathy McDonald
Jim Peterson
Ann Rahe
Pastor Breonna Roberts
Fina Santa-Maria
Mel Shuey
Kelly Sunstrom
Rich Walther

We give Honorable Mention to Al Kohlhafer and Laurie Dietrich who intended to be part of the team, but had health issues that prevented them from coming on the trip. We happily report they are both doing well and know they will be following us from home. You will be missed. Who will dig the holes and lead the hand-holding prayers?

For Mel, Kevin and me, this is our third trip to El Salvador. For Jane and Paul, this is their second. We love our adopted country and look forward to going back to see our favorite Salvadorans! There is something contagious about this country.

Many people ask how we got involved in this trip. There was a conversation that happened in early 2009 (perhaps at the Metropolitan with a libation in hand) about a few of us doing some kind of international "work" trip. We're young and able, how could we best spend our time? Lucky for us, Paul works for Thrivent Financial and introduced us to the Thrivent Builds Worldwide trips. Thrivent has partnered with Habitat for Humanity International in providing modest, adequate housing around the world. Prior to our first trip to El Salvador in 2009, TBW/HFHI had helped provide over 7,000 houses in El Salvador. We are happy and proud to be a small part of this mission.

We will all be together for the first time as a team at the San Salvador airport. Our team members are coming from Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland and DC. We look forward to a week of bonding and building. We are hopeful for no natural disasters or massive food poisoning outbreaks. But it makes me wonder what will make this trip memorable? You all will be happy to know that we have 3 nurses, a physician's assistant, and a doctor on the trip. Hopefully we will need nothing more than a supply of bandaids.

Thanks to all of our friends and family at home. Thanks for your interest in our trip, and I hope you enjoy following the week's activities.

Hasta pronto!