Day 6

This morning we had a bit of a sleep in and then met the missionary couple for them to take us to Isabelle and Lizettes home. What a sad experience. We pulled up into a very nice area outside of San Salvador and then pulled off on a dirt path and parked. We got out and walked a bit to an area of  'squatter homes.' Wow... It was a street lined on both sides with Shacks made out of Tin and garbage, right next to beautiful homes- the contrast is so drastic. Ron and Sherry led us up to the girls home and you had to squeeze sideways to get in. You entered into the backyard and there was garbage everywhere- and the 2 beautiful girls sitting on chairs with the most beautiful smiles and they showed us around their home with so much pride, as you could tell they had taken the time to tidy it all up. Like all the homes we've seen there are dirt floors, an outdoor fire area and three beds in one room. They told us the story of the torrential downpour last year, 5 feet in a day, and how it came pouring down the hill behind their house and started flooding the house. The girls had to get evacuated and they lost most of their possessions. Since there mom left they are raising themselves as there dad is a security guard and is gone for 48 hours and then home for 8 hours, time enough just to sleep. The girls go to school at different times so that one is always home with there stuff so it doesn't get stolen as there are no windows or locks on their doors. It broke my heart.. It broke everyone's heart. The fact that these 2 little girls had so much on their shoulders, had to cook all there own meals, had to find food, sleep by themselves and get to school by walking, it just doesn't seem fair. We had asked what we could bring them and we got a list of some practical things such as bags of beans, rice, containers to store them so the rats didn't get the food, towels- and a few other bags of stuff. The girls just started to cry and said there was no way they could repay us. Which made us all cry, we wished we could have given them so much more!!! We asked the missionary family about giving them money and she really recommended once again that we read "When Helping Hurts" a christian book that Rosemary recommended we read before going on the trip. Basically  saying that we don't want to take away any of their Dads dignity and that he still needs to work hard to provide for them, it sounds harsh but there are just so many crazy stories and how hand-outs don't help, but can often make situations worse. I just wished I could have taken these two beautiful little girls home with me. I just felt so helpless, I wish we could have done more. These 2 little girls were so sweet and so loving and invited us into there home with so much love even when they had nothing. We got to pray with the girls and hug and kiss them and then had to leave.

We went back to the Corinto church for their CPS program put on by Compassion for mothers and their babies. It was mothers day here in El Salvador which is a national holiday  and they don't even have fathers day! We were able to go up and share in this program and celebration of mothers day. We had been up a few times to this church, so felt very at home in this church with these ladies. There was a little program for the kids, and while that happened I went out and saw the corn being milled at one house, which is where the whole community gets their corn milled for a quarter each time. I had a really good talk with the missionary family about the church, it's struggles and the compassion program. At the CPS program we were able to hand out all the blankets and stuffed animals my sister had had donated from her Calgary friends. And we had bought roses for all the mothers of the church for mothers day. Oh and this morning when Jhonny and Nancy picked us up they both had roses and balloons for us mothers! It was such a nice treat, these 2 have been such a blessing on this trip. After the CPS program we walked down the hill aways to a families home who both have home based businesses. The wife makes jewelry and we were able to go buy some. It was all so beautiful and such good prices so we all bought a lot to support her. Then they showed us her husbands carpentry shop, it was unlike any shop you have ever seen, but he made the most gorgeous furniture. I wished I could take it home! The most beautiful stools made out of teak wood for 35$. It was pretty unreal. The area their home backed onto was a little valley filled with so many other homes, absolutely no privacy for anyone, I can't imagine. But this family is making it work, and they do such wonderful things. 

On our way back to the hotel we were taken out for puposas...finally! I had been hearing about these things since Canada so we had to go for them since they are a salvadorian thing. It was quite the experience! There was a live band that night and they were playing all English songs and were quite good. And the Puposas were quite tasty, a corn tortilla thing, made kind of like a pancake filled with cheese and beans and then fried. Apparently everyone eats them. We we supposed to be doing our debriefing with the group, but it was way to loud, so we just had fun. Then they took us down the road to the observatory area where you can look all over San Salvador, it was amazing at night, something you just couldn't capture on film. What a beautiful area, very dirty and extremely poverty stricken but beautiful all the same.

 Day 7
This morning we had breakfast with Ron and Sherry to debrief our trip. They are such an amazing couple with such a passion for the ministry here in El Salvador. Ron is a pilot and Sherry is an RN nurse, both well educated people but both felt called into ministry and spend there days serving others in some of the worst conditions. They have been down there for 5 years now and plan to stay. They said we were unlike any group they had ever had, us being a group of 11 ladies aged from 14 to 83. We then talked about our favorite things, what we would change, what we would not. We all agreed the people interaction was the most important to us and that even though we all enjoyed painting that that could have been done by anyone and we would have loved to have more days doing carnivals with the kids. There was one thing that we feel we missed out on.. Being billeted out to a family in their community. Ron said it is unlike anything you could ever imagine. So next time we will have to billet out for a few nights!!! But for this trip and with this group of ladies I think what we have done has been perfect. As for some this is there first mission trip and health issues and such. But there is always next time....
 We have all been so blessed and look forward to see how God uses this trip to change, shape and mold us to be a bit more like Him. I know for in my own life I am looking forward to seeing how God is going to use this in my own life. I have heard so many stories of prayer and of hope, even amongst all the suffering and hopelessness. God is so good, even in the darkest, dirtiest places. We then had to pack up even though we feel like we could have done more mission work. As we headed out to spend the last couple of days at the beach, just to talk as a group and 'regroup' before we left in our separate directions. We all felt guilty about heading out to the beach, as we have seen so much and then just to leave it all, without being able to do more than we did. But God blessed us once again by Jhonny our driver, who shared his story and testimony with us. Such an amazing powerful story filled with the power of prayer.