Happy 3rd Anniversary to Pastor Bre and Pastor Ryan!!!!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Día de descanso
Day of Rest
We had a great second day in El Salvador!
Because we were still on EST, we woke up at sunrise in San Salvador. There were a few of us interested in some Group Exercise, so six of us took a morning walk in the neighborhood. We started walking downhill, which only meant a nice, breathy uphill climb on the way back. The morning was cool, but humid, and the sun was shining.
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to a local Lutheran church, Iglesia Luterana La Resurreccion. This is one of the larger Lutheran churches in San Salvador. Our greeting was warm and welcoming. Because we had Pastor Bre and Paul, a retired pastor, with us, they were able to participate in the service. Though the building itself is basic, the service was modern with a praise band and a projector screen for the hymns and readings. The service was mostly in Spanish, though we had Luis Fernando to translate for us. The service was wonderful, but what happened after the service has impacted us the most.
At the end of the service, there was an announcement that we would be presented with crosses. The crosses were wooden, made by a man who was in the congregation. Pastor Gomez spoke of how we came to El Salvador to help build homes, but more that than, we are helping to build peace. He said that people come to the cross when they are in pain, but the cross can turn pain into hope. Then he had each of us come up, and a child in the congregation presented each of us with a cross. We were all moved with this act of generosity.
Manana, the story of The Subversive Cross…
We had a great second day in El Salvador!
Because we were still on EST, we woke up at sunrise in San Salvador. There were a few of us interested in some Group Exercise, so six of us took a morning walk in the neighborhood. We started walking downhill, which only meant a nice, breathy uphill climb on the way back. The morning was cool, but humid, and the sun was shining.
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to a local Lutheran church, Iglesia Luterana La Resurreccion. This is one of the larger Lutheran churches in San Salvador. Our greeting was warm and welcoming. Because we had Pastor Bre and Paul, a retired pastor, with us, they were able to participate in the service. Though the building itself is basic, the service was modern with a praise band and a projector screen for the hymns and readings. The service was mostly in Spanish, though we had Luis Fernando to translate for us. The service was wonderful, but what happened after the service has impacted us the most.
At the end of the service, there was an announcement that we would be presented with crosses. The crosses were wooden, made by a man who was in the congregation. Pastor Gomez spoke of how we came to El Salvador to help build homes, but more that than, we are helping to build peace. He said that people come to the cross when they are in pain, but the cross can turn pain into hope. Then he had each of us come up, and a child in the congregation presented each of us with a cross. We were all moved with this act of generosity.
Manana, the story of The Subversive Cross…
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Hemos llegado!
We have arrived!
After getting up before sunrise, we all safely arrived in El Salvador this afternoon. It has been a long day, but well worth it. At long last, we are all together.
The views from the plane were spectacular. The picture below is from one of the volcano crater lakes. The water is so clear and still you can see the reflection of the clouds.
We were greeted at the airport by our dear friend, Luis Fernando. He has worked with us on our previous two trips. He is so warm and friendly, and it's like seeing your favorite cousin again. We had a delicious lunch of Pizza Hut while we were waiting for all of our team members to arrive. Once we were all accounted for, the pizza was gone, and a few of us had an ice cream cone, we boarded the bus to head into San Salvador, approximately a 45 minute drive.
We checked in at Hotel Villa Terra, which is in a more upscale side of San Salvador. It is gated and guarded, like most of the hotels here. The hotel is beautiful, in a quiet part of town. Despite that, most of the houses have wound barbed wire around the walls of their homes. Luis Fernando said this is leftover from the Civil War (1980-1992). We will stay here for just tonight, before heading out to Ahuachupan tomorrow.
We had an orientation by Luis Fernando, on both El Salvador and Habitat for Humanity. It was amazing to hear that since Habitat was started in El Salvador in 1992, they will have built 10,000 houses by this year's end. That is more than 50,000 people directly affected by this cause!
We had dinner at a local restaurant, Magoth's, which was delicious. We had pupusas (a cornmeal pocket of goodness, usually beans and cheese), tamales, plantains, black beans, and these two delicious drinks. The thing that is easy to forget about masa harina cornmeal is that it has a delayed expansion in the stomach. You eat and eat, and about 20 minutes later you need to be rolled out of the restaurant. It was a great meal to start off the week.
We came back to the hotel for our evening team meeting. It was nice to regroup and talk about our hopes for the trip. Our team has a great balance, and I look forward to seeing all we will accomplish as individuals and as a team. We are all very motivated and inspired to be here. This is going to be a fantastic week!
Buenas noches...
"What does the Lord require of you? Do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8
After getting up before sunrise, we all safely arrived in El Salvador this afternoon. It has been a long day, but well worth it. At long last, we are all together.
The views from the plane were spectacular. The picture below is from one of the volcano crater lakes. The water is so clear and still you can see the reflection of the clouds.
We were greeted at the airport by our dear friend, Luis Fernando. He has worked with us on our previous two trips. He is so warm and friendly, and it's like seeing your favorite cousin again. We had a delicious lunch of Pizza Hut while we were waiting for all of our team members to arrive. Once we were all accounted for, the pizza was gone, and a few of us had an ice cream cone, we boarded the bus to head into San Salvador, approximately a 45 minute drive.
We checked in at Hotel Villa Terra, which is in a more upscale side of San Salvador. It is gated and guarded, like most of the hotels here. The hotel is beautiful, in a quiet part of town. Despite that, most of the houses have wound barbed wire around the walls of their homes. Luis Fernando said this is leftover from the Civil War (1980-1992). We will stay here for just tonight, before heading out to Ahuachupan tomorrow.
We had an orientation by Luis Fernando, on both El Salvador and Habitat for Humanity. It was amazing to hear that since Habitat was started in El Salvador in 1992, they will have built 10,000 houses by this year's end. That is more than 50,000 people directly affected by this cause!
We had dinner at a local restaurant, Magoth's, which was delicious. We had pupusas (a cornmeal pocket of goodness, usually beans and cheese), tamales, plantains, black beans, and these two delicious drinks. The thing that is easy to forget about masa harina cornmeal is that it has a delayed expansion in the stomach. You eat and eat, and about 20 minutes later you need to be rolled out of the restaurant. It was a great meal to start off the week.
We came back to the hotel for our evening team meeting. It was nice to regroup and talk about our hopes for the trip. Our team has a great balance, and I look forward to seeing all we will accomplish as individuals and as a team. We are all very motivated and inspired to be here. This is going to be a fantastic week!
Buenas noches...
"What does the Lord require of you? Do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8
Thursday, August 11, 2011
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!
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!
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