Friday, November 19, 2010
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| Nelson and dad Puente Azul, El Salvador |
Last night was a late night. We stayed longer at Puente Azul because lots of people came. We had to send some back to Sonsonate to meet with the solar engineer and five stayed behind until we saw every person who came. We had our most full day, 106 people. It felt good that we could see everyone.
So we got back later to San Salvador. Since it was late we ordered Pollo Campero fried chicken. While waiting on the food Marco, Kiké, Kathy, Erin, and I went on a mission to find vitamins, aspirin, tums, anti-parasitics, and paper goods for feeding the homeless on Saturday night. Our short trip to Price Smart and a pharmacy led to over 2 hours and 4 pharmacies. No one had much aspirin or tums. We got ice cream bars at one of the pharmacies and Kiké dropped some chocolate on the floor. It melted, was stepped in and smeared. Needless to say it looked like something else and we had a good laugh. A late night…..
And an early morning. We thought we were going to leave at 7:00am so breakfast was at 6:00. We ended up leaving at 8:00 which was a bit frustrating. Upon arriving at Esperanza y Fe (Hope and Faith) we noticed that people were already waiting. We were set up and ready by 9:30 and the crowd was growing. Doña Belina told us the property was a refugee camp during the war. Now it is a place of faith, hope, and healing where farmers are educated and there is an anti-violence program. The people were very hospitable and helpful. They were prepared with sweet cinnamon coffee, juice, and sweet bread. With so many people we sought to see as many as possible and streamlined our process. All were a bit tired and emotions were a little tense. We had to make a hard decision about how many people to see and when to stop the clinic. There was not total agreement but we chose a time and followed through.
In the end we saw 139 people in about 5 hours – a lot for the doctors and a lot for our folks to send through to get meds, etc. It was a blessing to be able to see so many and heartbreaking that we had to turn people away. The most people on the last day was the opposite of what I was expecting – but as the group said “it is what it is” and we played the cards we were dealt. God was among us in the smiles of the children and parents when we tried to make them laugh and be comfortable with strange people (us) who had to ask questions about weight, what hurts, etc…God was among us as we struggled to make a decision and tried to come to a decision as a community. God among us as we talked in the vehicles on the way home about our day and our frustrations, blessings, and joys. And God was among us as we relaxed a bit after a shower and worship and decided we felt called to return and do it all again.
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| Dona Belina and baby |
And an early morning. We thought we were going to leave at 7:00am so breakfast was at 6:00. We ended up leaving at 8:00 which was a bit frustrating. Upon arriving at Esperanza y Fe (Hope and Faith) we noticed that people were already waiting. We were set up and ready by 9:30 and the crowd was growing. Doña Belina told us the property was a refugee camp during the war. Now it is a place of faith, hope, and healing where farmers are educated and there is an anti-violence program. The people were very hospitable and helpful. They were prepared with sweet cinnamon coffee, juice, and sweet bread. With so many people we sought to see as many as possible and streamlined our process. All were a bit tired and emotions were a little tense. We had to make a hard decision about how many people to see and when to stop the clinic. There was not total agreement but we chose a time and followed through. 
In the end we saw 139 people in about 5 hours – a lot for the doctors and a lot for our folks to send through to get meds, etc. It was a blessing to be able to see so many and heartbreaking that we had to turn people away. The most people on the last day was the opposite of what I was expecting – but as the group said “it is what it is” and we played the cards we were dealt. God was among us in the smiles of the children and parents when we tried to make them laugh and be comfortable with strange people (us) who had to ask questions about weight, what hurts, etc…God was among us as we struggled to make a decision and tried to come to a decision as a community. God among us as we talked in the vehicles on the way home about our day and our frustrations, blessings, and joys. And God was among us as we relaxed a bit after a shower and worship and decided we felt called to return and do it all again. We topped off the night with an abundance of pupusas, lots of laughter and a magnificent view of the lights of the city. A fitting ending to a day of challenge, blessing, and the light of God shining in God’s people and through God’s people.
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| Kike, one of God's people |
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