I have now been in El Salvador for over a week. I am not
quite sure where to begin. Overall things have been pretty good but definitely
challenging. I am still working on how best Cristina and I can live together.
We have had some fun times together but there have been many challenges as
well. Poco a poco (little by little) we will figure it out. It is a good
challenge that I am sure I will learn a lot from.
I have been going to Las Delicias for the past few days.
Someone asked me where my favorite place in El Salvador was. As I thought about
it, I realized that it is Las Delicias. It’s not for the dust or the heat, but
for the friendships that I have made there. Today I saw a woman named Ana
Gloria for the first time since being back. She came to the window of the
library, looked in and simply said my name. I was so excited to see her as I
have been waiting since day one to see her again. Our relationship is very
special to me. For a while after meeting her, I wasn’t sure that she enjoyed my
company. She is a woman of few words and it took a while to build confianza
(trust) with her. But by the end of my time, we had become close and she told
me how much joy I had brought their family. She brought her son, Marcos, to the
library today and after a few minutes we began playing like we always do,
laughing and enjoying those precious moments together. They live a hard life
that can be filled with stress and uncertainty. But once I saw her today, I saw
her face light up and maybe just for those moments that Marcos and I laughed
together, was her stress alleviated.
It has been such a privilege to be back and to reunite with
so many wonderful people. It has been humbling to see who remembers me and how
they react to seeing me for the first time in so long. Whenever I leave
somewhere, I always wonder…will they remember me? Did I in any way impact their
lives? This is the biggest confirmation a person could get. It has been one of
the most beautiful experiences of my life. To see people caught off guard by
seeing me again, or from the genuine looks of joy and love that naturally
spread across someone’s face upon seeing me.
Jake comes tomorrow!! I am very excited for him to be here
and meet my friends and get to know the country a bit. We are going to begin
planning how we spend our afternoons and getting our classes in order. The
donations have flowed in and we are so grateful to have such wonderful people
in our lives. We thank you dearly and will keep you updated as the project
begins this week. Keep Jake in your thoughts as he begins this big adventure
tomorrow morning!
Also my family has been telling people that I have bed bugs and just to clear the air I found out its only hives!! Thank goodness because at least there is a chance they will disappear on their own.
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