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Published: November 17th 2011
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Antigua to El Salvador
Today we travel to El Salvador with the goal of being on the bus at 7:45 so we could leave at 8:00 a.m. We went next door for breakfast and when we got back we learned that there was a huge snafu with the bus. We were supposed to have a big coach bus so all of our luggage could be placed underneath in the bus but the bus that was ready to go was a little charter bus and all the luggage had to be loaded on top. There were a few frantic phone calls were made to see if we could get another bus, but to no avail. The bus would not be able to navigate the narrow streets. So with some help from our tour group we placed a tarp over the top of the luggage and we were off albeit a little late. The tarp wasn’t quite large enough to cover all luggage and while we were on the road it started to rain. Our tour director had been on the phone to the tour company who was responsible for getting us the wrong bus so they sent a van to meet us
with another tarp to make sure our luggage was secure.
Our next little hurdle was the border of El Salvador. We were told that it could be really easy or really hard if they wanted to go through our luggage which was all on top of the bus. We first had to get our passports stamped on the Guatemala side and then cross the bridge to the El Salvador side. Each time everyone had to get off the bus. Breathing a sigh of relief we were on our way to our hotel in Santa Ana.
We checked into our hotel and had only a short time to freshen up before our much anticipated trip to Casa Sagrada Familia (NPH El Salvador). We didn’t know what to expect. We had met our godchild 3 years ago and were looking forward to seeing her. When we drove through the gates, we were amazed at the grounds. They were beautiful and as we drove past the office we noticed a group of students waving at us and smiling. We drove past, made a U-turn and came to a stop in front of the office. As everyone departed, those who had godchildren here were
greeted with warm hugs. We were no exception. Olivia ran to us and threw her arms around us obviously very happy to see us. We then were ushered into a room for a brief orientation before joining our godchildren once again for a short tour around the grounds. We toured the clinic and dentist’s office, a 3rd grade classroom (only about 20 children per class), the computer room and Olivia showed us a project that she had hanging on the wall. Our time here was very short so we said good-bye to Olivia and promised to see her on Friday for the graduation ceremony for the high school students.
Fr. Wasson, the founder of Friends of the Orphans believed that if you taught a child love, they would love, if you taught them responsibility, they would be responsible and if you taught them a skill, they would be successful. Therefore, every child has a schedule of chores that need to be done. They truly are a large family. NPH El Salvador has almost 500 children. Therefore, during the school year they start their day at 5:00 a.m. to do their chores, eat breakfast and get ready for school. They start
school at 7:00 a.m. until about 1:00 when they go for lunch and then the afternoon is spent doing homework, unless a child needs more help, they can get it at this time from the teachers. They must make their beds every morning and are taught at an early age how to wash clothes and they wash them by hand and hang them to dry. NPH El Salvador has had some pretty hefty donations from the community helping them to build the school.
After 9th grade, the children are asked to give 1 year of service back to the school before going on to high school. After high school, they are asked to give 2 years of service back to the school before going on to college, which is when they move into town and stay at a residence for university students. NPH pays for their education.
After we left Casa Sagrada Famlia, we went to the university residence in Santa Ana and met the university students there who were all lined up and gave us a round of applause as we walked into their home. Once there, Fr. Ron said Mass and then the students introduced themselves to us,
some in English, but most in Spanish and we introduced ourselves. We then went on a short tour where they showed us their residence. The rooms were large and surrounded a courtyard where the Mass was with stars overhead. We then had pizza which the students served and visited with them and heard some amazing stories. When we were about to leave, a young man got up and thanked us for coming and told us that we were now a part of the family and we were always welcome there. He also said that they didn’t get pizza too often so he was thankful for that. We will be seeing them again on Friday as they are all coming back for the high school graduation. So with that, we headed back to our hotel after experienced a truly joy-filled day with these remarkable students.
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