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Published: July 18th 2008
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I awoke in a panic this morning, convinced I had overslept. And since I took my watch off last night, I had no idea what time it was!! The only person still in the room was Kathy, and since she was going to the Center for Malnourished Children today, I assumed everyone else had left for the village. And it was fairly quiet in the house, which added to my anxiety. So, I jumped down from the bed (I sleep on top bunk) and grabbed my watch, only to learn that it was 6:30am... I will definitely keep my watch on me tonight!! But it was nice, I had some time to check my email, eat breakfast, and pack lunch for today without having to rush. After our prayer circle, we were off!!
Today was to be a little different for me than yesterday, since I was not planning to work with the children in the church. Instead, I would be spending the day at the work site, where we are buildling a library. The library is next to the clinic, which has now been open for a few months, and was the previous project completed by members of this
volunteer group.
I started off by sanding concrete walls... fun fun!! But luckily Sofia pulled me to help her tear down aluminum siding from the walls of the shed we had to move. So after pulling out nails and ripping down the sides, we moved all of the material to another spot about 100 feet away. We had to rebuild the entire shed in another location. I was planning to do some more manual labor, but I was one of only 2 people on the job site who speaks Spanish and English, so I was the translator for the rest of our work crew. This was fun for me, and I felt like I had finally found my special purpose!! (That was a reference to The Jerk, a Steve Martin movie, for those of you who did not know...)
I did get to saw a small piece of wood off of a 2x4, so that was cool, although my sawing skills are lacking, which explained the nice diagonal slant left on the board. Did I mention how hot it was and how until the new shed was almost finished there was no shade? And dumbass that I am
forgot my hat. Luckily Dave brought a number of extra hats from his company so I was all set. We left the work site around 3, to come back and rest, which of course I did not do since I had to work on the blog!! Damn pictures take FOREVER to upload!!
Dinner was pretty good, mustard chicken, and of course, my favorite, rice and beans. We had a cake for dessert since it was Troys 18th birthday. Had a really nice conversation at dinner with some of my groupmates, on religion and traditions, beliefs, etc. A lot of people really do not have an understanding of the Jewish religion, and since I am the only Jew here, I had a lot to say!!
After dinner we had another Reflection ceremony in the chapel, which I was told I was not required to attend if I did not choose to. I had already decided that I wanted to be a true participant and member of this volunteer group, so there is really nothing I will not partake in. No, I do not cross myself during the prayers. But I do enjoy the reflections, where we have a chance
to share some of our daily experiences, and any other thoughts. A long discussion ensued tonight actually, about the nature of our work here and the service we provide. I posed the question, "how do we respond when people back home ask us why we are doing service in other countries when there is plenty of poverty, homeless and malnourished people in the United States?" Sister Gloria explained that for some people, they are called to be somewhere. But that the main reason is because in the United States, people have options and opportunities to help themselves, such as soup kitches, and food pantries, welfare, food stamps, etc. Here in El Salvador? There is nothing. Only us, and other volunteer organizations that give of themselves.
Another topic we discussed was immigration, and how so many Americans are against immigrants coming into the US for opportunities that they cannot find in their homelands. We talked about how so many people here cannot find work, and so have difficulty providing for their families. Unlike in the US where people are motivated to work harder for more money and advancement, those same opportunities are not available here. People will take whatever jobs
they can find, just so they can have food for their families. So many fathers emigrate to the States where they can find work and make enough money to send home and know their families are taken care of. They do not choose to leave their families behind, miss anniversaries and birthdays, and only see how much their children have grown through pictures. It is something people are forced to do, just so their loved ones can eat.
Okay, enough of my schpiel. After Reflection we had a few meetings to discuss upcoming events. Tomorrow is a Health Fair at the clinic in the village, and volunteers were needed to run activities and put together a small skit. Guess whose hand went up first? I was the leader for the skit, to help teach the kids about health habits, and I also decided I wanted to run a soccer activity. The kids would be rotating from station to station, and I wanted to do a shootout activity with me in goal. Been a few years since I was a goalie, but I love soccer and so do the kids here. One of the most popular sports!
Bedtime really
late tonight, as I was on the computer until 12:30... blogging and IMing with Robert 😊 Hey, it aint easy being this far away!!
More tomorrow!! Back with the kids in the church.. maybe
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Peggy Hughes
non-member comment
thanks for your blog
Alyssa, I stumbled across your blog while googling sites on EL Salvador. My 2 children Chris and Cate are also on the Mission trip with you. It was great to see pictures of them. Tell them "HI" from their Mom. Thanks for a great blog. Peggy Hughes