Blogs from Santa Ana, Western, El Salvador, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Our next destination was Santa Ana. In Ataco we jumped on a public bus with Lolita’s daughter (Lolita had looked after our bags in her restaurant while we ventured out in the rain to find accommodation). Lucky she was with us, because the next bus we needed was sitting across the square as ours stopped and she rushed us over to that one just before it pulled away. That bus took us to Santa Ana, the second largest city in El Salvador. When we arrived in Santa Ana we got off the bus in the centre of all the action - street markets with all their colour and smells and cars, buses and people. Towns in El Salvador are generally laid out in a logical street pattern with the central park (parque central) in the centre ... read more

Monday, Liz provided Jason and me with a tour of the U.S. embassy in San Salvador. After our go round, we quickly came back to pack up necessities (summer reads, Ipod, and sunscreen) for the beach. I was extremely eager to spend the day relaxing. I swear I could hear a hammock on the beach calling my name. Our days here in El Salvador have been so jammed with activities, that a tranquil afternoon by the ocean was much needed by our trio. Luckily, for us Liz’s mother volunteered her friend to drive us. (If it weren’t for her kindness (and the rest of Liz’s family) we would definitely have some steep cab fares this trip. Our vision of spending the day on the beach did not go according to plan. (Apparently, plan changing is typical ... read more

Dear all, Buenos dias de El Salvador! I apologise that it has been so long since my last entry, my days have been so full and they seem to go by far too quickly! So the Week of the Child ended with a huge celebration in Terminal, it was so much fun! Since then my recorder groups have gotten well under way and many are picking it up much quicker than I anticipated which is wonderful! They really seem to enjoy the classes and many are extremely enthusiastic about practicing outside of the class hours. The plan is to do a small performance at the end of year party next month and then organise a bigger Christmas performance for December. It's going to take a lot of practice but I think they can do it! I ... read more

Guest blogger - Tim Lehman In preparation for our trip to El Salvador, each team member established a head (rational behavior/expectation) and heart (emotional behavior/expectation) goal. The reasons for coming on the trip varied widely, but some common themes bound the team together. Head goals: 1. Safely complete our work. 2. Opportunity for a team build with other Thrivent employees. 3. Represent Thrivent’s values of faith, family, stewardship and service. 4. Provide needy El Salvadorian families with a home. Heart goals: 1. Let Christ’s love and light shine. 2. Realize a deeper compassion for those in need - and talk action on it. 3. Fulfill a mission of my own or of someone who has passed on before me. 4. Reaffirm that we are part of a great organization. 5. Create lasting friendships with fellow Thrivent ... read more

“This is a lot harder than I expected.” We finally began work at the two build sites today, 20 minutes outside of Santa Ana. These are new sites, so we started at the beginning by digging trenches through the heavy clay soil for the foundation and tying rebar. After digging in the intense sun, rebar was a welcome break. The local children helped us get through the day - playing king of the hill in our dirt piles, sharing their treasures (Princess the rabbit and a toy guitar) and teaching us how to play marbles. Unfortunately, we are really bad at marbles. At lunch at we had a special treat. One of the children from our houses, Carlitos, wanted us to walk to school with him. In his village children can either go to school in ... read more