Today we start gearing up for the
children's camp. Colin and I walk down to Mister Donut, order
breakfast and use the wifi to upload the blog for yesterday. I feel
so adventurous going out in the city and using my limited Spanish
skills to order breakfast.
We stop at Super Selectos (grocery store)
and grab a few groceries. We get some oranges since they're out of
bananas. We grab some more mint gum while were there. There are a few
team members with queasy stomachs and achy guts. Chewing mint gum
seems to offer some relief and we're going through the packs we
brought pretty quickly. After paying, we grab my backpack left with
the guard at the front of the store (no backpacks are allowed in the
grocery store).
It's an gentle uphill trek back to the apartment. We
pass dog's chilling on the sidewalks or sorting through the trash,
parents walking to the hospital carrying children, and many little
shops and venders selling everything from fresh plantains and mangoes to
souvenirs and toys. Zacamil is
a community on the northeast side of San Salvador. It covers a territory
estimated to be about five square miles and is home to about 70,000
people. The terms hustle and bustle suit the city well.
We get back to the apartment and do
group devotions where we talk about the story of Gideon, particularly
chapter 7 of Judges where God uses him and three hundred men to route
and destroy the Midianite army. It's a time to remember God's
strength and how we are called to live courageously.
Camp Prep - 1
First things first, we head over to
Iglesia Cristiana Comunidad de Fe y Adoracion (The Church of Faith
and Worship) and set up tables. Maria Ester hands out black t-shirts
for each of us, and we set to painting them with symbols from the
Wordless Book. The skill level varies greatly in the group, but the
uniqueness of each shirt speaks to the many facets of the team. I
can't wait to see what the children create later.
The children's camp is called Dios de
la Ciudad (God of the City). We're expecting between twenty-five and
thirty children.
“Pass me the yellow.”
“How does one paint a dove?”
We pass paints back and forth and tell
stories. Brushes dip into blue, red, green, yellow and white paint on
Styrofoam plate palettes. A mix of Spanish and English fills the air.
I learn a few words. La paloma (dove), and la cruz (cross).
Bonita! (Beautiful!)
July
30th
– El Salvador
Mike has planned
for us to go downtown and visit a cathedral and museum today to learn
some of the history of El Salvador. We load up in the truck and set
off, but it is not long before we hit traffic. We make it across one
intersection that is so tangled up with cars going in every
direction, it's a wonder anyone is actually moving. Gabby, Juan's
daughter looks up the reason for the traffic jams on her phone.
It is
July 30th.
Juan tells me the
story. In 1975 college students protested at the University of El
Salvador. According to Juan, the students wanted to vote. The
government came in and killed them, with over 100 dead. Juan says
that he, a teenager at the time, snuck off with some friends to go
downtown and see what had happened. He says it makes him feel sick.
It was terrible and so sad. He also says his parents were furious
when he got home. His mother was so worried.
So now, every year,
the students rally and remember that day in memory of those who died.
Juan turns around. “We will not be able to go downtown today,” he
says.
It's a sobering end to our day, but it
gives us a glimpse into this country and it's people. Everyone seems
in good spirits here. They smile a lot, laugh a lot, go each day, and
they live in the shadow of violence, every day. It's not just
something that happened years ago that Juan remembers.
At the same time, this country is
beautiful. The birds, palm trees and other tropical vegetation, the volcano, and the bright
sky refreshes the
soul. The people seem relaxed and friendly generally. Even the rise of
temperatures during the day and the refreshing cool that falls in the
evening have a romance to them.
Sometimes it can be easy to focus on the negatives, but there is more to El Salvador than violence. God is here too and you can see Him.
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