This was my first time abroad, and I truly didn’t know what to expect. I prayed that the Lord to break my heart for what broke His, so that I can really take in all of the wonderful things El Salvador had to offer – the pretty and the ugly. Everywhere we went, we saw the poor and marginalized. We saw the dramatic changes at every turn. On our trips to places, our leaders encouraged us to make observations, to be intentional about our car rides from place to place. From a modern McDonald’s to the slums just a couple feet away, this country has had a lot to recover from. With listening to the stories of these people, you gain a new perspective of the country itself.
When we went to Milagro, which is a slum in El Salvador, the people that live here shouldn’t be living here due to the uninhabitable conditions. These people have lived in these places for years. We headed over to these slums for SLAM (Students Living A Mission), which helps kids implement the Word that they are learning through service projects. I was helping lead with Gabby, our El Salvadorian intern. We started cleaning trash on a little road off the main road to the slum, and while doing so, a wonderful lady named Margarita came out. I introduced myself and explained to her the work we were doing.
She started sharing with me the story of the slum and how much it has changed, along with her personal life. She had been living there for about 20 years. She has seen the ways the water that comes from all over the city floods the neighborhood and affects all their homes. She then shared that she had three sons. One lived close by and has not visited her in years she knows nothing about him. The other lives in the USA, and she has had no contact with him for seven years and has no clue where he is. The last one was the closest one and spent a lot of time with her, but sadly, he had passed two years ago. She had no husband, no sons she was alone.
She was actually one of the many women that helped fund and place tires for the community kids so that they would be able to walk up the steep hills of the slum that were created because of the water pushing the dirt down. She was strong, and faith is what she spoke with. It was a resilient but sad and heavy story. She was crying while telling me and Gabby as we had walked up the story. Gabby and I got to pray for her, held her, and spoke words of life to her. She was impacted and was very happy that we took time to talk and listen to her story. I told her I would never forget her, and I know it has not been very long since that day, but I stand by what I said. I will always remember her and her story. She is the Kingdom on earth, and people need more faith like Margarita!