I can't begin to tell you all about our mission trip to El Salvador...to express all the things we felt, experienced, and saw...but with the help of some pictures, I will try my best, dear friend!
First of all, everyone we met...from strangers in the airport, to the national Agua Viva team, to the community folks we served...everyone was so very gracious, warm, and loving. It took some getting used to, being a more reserved, introverted type, but by the end of the week, I was hugging everyone, crying, and just relishing the loving community spirit.
The actual work of drilling the well was a VERY dirty job! The guys were drilling through multiple layers of limestone bedrock and volcanic rock and the bore hole would frequently collapse, necessitating lots and lots of hours of hard work to be able to tap into a clean water source by week's end.
While the drilling was going on, I worked with the hygiene team to teach Bible and hygiene lessons to the children, mothers, and grandmothers. We often incorporated skits, games, puppets, and always a craft or two, followed by painting fingernails and kicking around a soccer ball. I discovered that the mothers and grandmothers enjoyed cutting-and-pasting, gluing, and other "kiddie" crafts just as much as the children!
My high school Spanish skills came into better and better use throughout our trip. I learned that if you just know several key phrases like "very beautiful!," "handsome boy," and "God bless you," you could win over any boy, girl, or grandmother and communicate fairly well with them with broken "Spanglish." With the help of our fearless hygiene team leader, I learned words for phrases like "wash your hands" and "germs" and some other useful hygiene terms such that I was able to teach and review our hygiene lessons independently with the members of the community towards the end of the week.
I very much enjoyed all the food the community served us everyday. I even got to learn to make tortillas with the ladies! Memorable meals included horse soup and bean-pork-and-cheese pupusas (the national dish of El Salvador). We frequently ate fruit like papaya, pineapple, and mango, and rice and tortillas were a staple at every meal.
I cannot say enough good things about the national team we worked with in El Salvador. It was amazing to hear their testimonies about how they came to know the Lord and how they got involved with Living Water International (Agua Viva, locally) to drill fresh-water wells for communities all over their home country. One of the men we worked with used to be an attorney, but traded his clean and cushy office life (defending gang members) for the hot and sweaty work of drilling wells in Jesus' name. Another person we worked with came from a very difficult home (they were abandoned by their mother, who was a prostitute) who came to know about heaven and hell through a nightmare. This dream led them to seek out the local church and become a Christian. This same individual now has a beautiful family and just finished up their master's degree! Amazing!! Another team member was working construction in the U.S. when he heard the gospel message. He returned to his family in El Salvador and prayed that his wife and daughter would also know Jesus. Now his family, including his parents, know the Lord and they can see countless blessings in their lives, all thanks to Jesus.
Suffice it to say that a piece of my heart will be in El Salvador FOREVER!
My husband and I were so blessed to be a part of this drilling project. We are thankful that we were able to see it successfully completed, but we are even more grateful for the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with these beautiful people and give each family a Spanish New Testament Bible. My prayer is that everyone in the community will ultimately know the only hope we all have--the Living Water, Jesus Christ.
To Him Be the Glory!
(If you want to learn more about Living Water International and the work they do around the world, check out this post and their website HERE)
No comments