The day started off with an amazing sense of newness. A recent rain made everything seem refreshed and ready for us to explore. We packed up the van and headed from San Salvador to Santa Anna noticing cattle, corn, and dogs grazing or growing right alongside the road. Many of the houses we saw would be considered terrible to even be used for tool sheds back home. Walls made of either cinder block or sticks with roofs of either aluminum or plastic. At one point in our journey a car cut in front of our van to make a left hand turn while a bus in the right lane also came to a stop. Our van driver Armando did an amazing job of veering out of the way and avoiding both possible collisions. After pulling over and giving thanks to God for our safety, and Armando for his quick reaction, we were on our way.
Before we got to the work site we picked up Dennis who is from the U.S. and gave us his job as he says, "making rich people richer," and moved to El Salvador to work for Habitat for Humanity full time. His skills as an engineer will be used not only by us this week, but by 20 other work sites going on at the same time all around the area. As we climbed out of the van we saw the work site with the foundation laid and corners in place. The remains of the old church after the earthquake were now being repurposed as a security gate around the entire compound. Worship began with us singing many songs in Spanish. The lectionary readings for today were read in both Spanish and English so it felt good to know we were hearing the same readings as our church family back home! Then during communion the wafers were dipped in the wine and then placed on our tongues, which was a new experience for most of our group. The pastor thanked us with many kind words before, during, and after worship for our willingness to love God by loving our neighbor. He ended the worship with these words:
"The service may be over, but our service to our neighbors is not."
Lunch was served to us outside between the fellowship hall, which is being used as the sanctuary, and the foundation of the new sanctuary that is to be built. We sang happy birthday to Pastor Carlos who turned 65 today and who has also been serving the Cristo Rei church for over 30 years as an ordained Lutheran pastor without pay. After a pep talk from our Habitat Coordinator we left for our new hotel called the Sahara. Once at the hotel we had our official orientation with our Habitat leaders and the other work crews who will be serving alongside us. Then we hit the streets to visit markets, parks, vendors, theaters, and an amazing Cathedral. At the grocery store many of us saw something new: ketchup, mustard, and dressing sold in plastic bags. The evening concluded with an amazing dinner together at the hotel, lots of card games, and a devotion that got us sharing about what God is up to in our lives and the lives of those around us. Love God, Love Neighbor. Seems so simple and yet tomorrow we ask God to help us do it all again.
No comments:
Post a Comment