Waking up to hear the flight attendant say that we are landing soon and looking out of the plane window to see landscape that I have never seen before was an incredible experience. I saw the lush green of El Salvador’s rural areas, the beach on the descent to the air strip, mountains scattered around, and roads to and from villages I was so excited to see. My first time ever going through customs really made the reality set in. I’m here. This is it!
When my team was picked up by our drivers I went immediately to observation mode. I noted the billboards and advertisements showing new cars and vacation spots… very interesting considering it is a third-world country. The brand new BMW sign was quickly deemed insignificant as I looked around just 5 minutes outside of the airport and starting seeing the reality of the condition of the country. I saw vendors with stands on the sides of the road made out of tin sheets and wood all trying to sell goods. Most of them that I saw were exactly the same, and most likely selling them for the same price. How can someone make any advance in business if the competition that is around is all selling the same thing?
We made our way through a small town before stopping for lunch. By just looking at the condition of some of the buildings, you could easily realize that the living conditions were not ideal. It was difficult to see the holes in walls and houses made out of what could seemingly be blown over in a bad windstorm. As much as I wanted to be discouraged by what I was seeing I couldn’t ignore the hope that was on my heart. A hope to bring the light to people living in chaos and darkness.
As we sat down for lunch, we expressed our gratitude to each other and marveled at the beauty of El Salvador. We had an amazing meal which was some of the best food I have ever had. Maybe that’s because of the 3am wake up call to leave for the airport, or maybe it was the delayed flight out of Miami that made my tummy just that much more hungry. Either way, it was incredible. We made it in to the city of Suchitoto where we stayed at a small rural hotel. We had dinner with our cooperatives and began to converse with our new translators. I was so thankful to have such amazing people to talk with after a long day of moving all around. Being in a new environment had its initial challenges, but I found that even though my location was different, the people I met share my same faith, and I felt a beautiful unity even somewhere I wasn’t used to. We ended the night with worship and it was a perfect way to end the day.
The next morning we woke up and saw one of the most incredible views I have ever seen in my entire life. The mountains of El Salvador were incredible and the view of Suchitoto’s lake was breathtaking. Our morning began with a great breakfast and after that we went into worship. I really felt the nearness of the Lord as we praised. We paused worship for a few minutes to do introductions of Summer Interns and our cooperatives in El Salvador. At this moment, I felt the joy of the Lord as I had a confidence that these were my brothers and sisters and we were about to begin an incredible week of fellowship.