Day 8 - El Salvador to Iowa

We actually made it out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and we were ready to go when Alfredo came to pick us up one last time in the dark blue microbus with Becky's Tours on the side. Alfredo is a small handsome man of small stature (pictured here with Kathy Mahler). If he was lucky, he came up to Larry's armpit... (and Larry Lepper is 6'5") But sweet? Oh my, what a nice man. He takes good care of all of Kathy Mahler's delegations and also of Kathy. And that's good to know.

The day was not too eventful... other than traveling back home to Iowa – only (lots of) miles. We went through every checkpoint – I couldn't seem to get my act together at the first security stop and had to be reminded to take my shoes off and then set off the alarm when I forgot my phone was in my pocket. The next time I did a better job. Mary (MacKenzie) got stopped at Customs to check her bag. That was after they confiscated her hot sauce that she was taking home. I guess she might have gotten it through in her checked bag, but after Blair's (Lawson) experience with the flavoring on the way down, could you imagine all of Mary's clothes smelling like hot sauce when one of those bottles broke?

Larry (Lepper) and Blair also got pulled aside to have their shoes checked after they declared that they'd been on a farm, or spending time with cattle. Larry actually got his shoes washed, but Blair didn't. I guess they didn't figure Blair had been doing as much serious cattle rustling as Larry, since Larry had on his cowboy hat and Blair didn't (don't think he has one).

It was a rude awaking to come home to 30 mph NW winds after the warm temps we'd experienced. I guess it's back to reality... huh?

But, before I close, I just want to say a few thank yous. Thanks to my Trinity United Presbyterian Church friends for planning a trip of which I could be a part. I was the last to join and they very bravely took me under their wings and showed me all I needed to know to not look too unintelligent this past week. Being the only rookie didn't prove to be too challenging with all of their help.
There was Larry Lepper, our financial guru who kept close track of all our money. He spoke much Spanish and was not afraid to jump right in and try to speak to anyone. He wanted very badly to just blend in with the natives, but at 6'5' which white hair, he wasn't too successful. He was a huge asset to the trip and this was his second. Thanks, Larry.

There was Dave Endriss, our fearless pastor. He kept a quiet profile all week and only stepped into his pastoral role when asked. Otherwise, he made us all feel his equal – just 6 Trinity folks wanting to learn all we could. Thanks for your quiet leadership and friendship to all and lots of balloon fun! Thanks, Dave.
There was Blair Lawson, long time friend and our quiet, insightful one. He always had the interesting questions. I've lost track of the number of times he's been to El Salvador. He knows much about what goes on there. He will soon be president of the Indianola Rotary Club, so was taking lots of notes for them regarding the water filter project. Thanks, Blair.

There was Denise Core, a long time friend... the organized one. This was her third trip(?), so she knew a bit about what to expect and kept me informed when need be so that I'd look halfway intelligent. Always had anything we'd forgotten to pack. Thanks, Denise.

And then there was Mary MacKenzie, also a long time friend... her second trip. She's the strong and steady one – never afraid to try anything new. She was right there every time we went anywhere in the back of the truck with the guys hanging on for dear life. But, she was there. Thanks, Mary.

And Kathy Mahler... what can you say about Kathy? What a rock of a mission co-worker! She's there. She's wherever she needs to be. She does whatever she needs to do. And she's doing it well. And I enjoyed so much being able to see her there in her own world. I'd heard all about it, but now, I've been able to experience it. Thanks, Kathy.

And to Compañeros... my deepest thanks for making this trip happen for me. I come home with new insight into the El Salvador mission. I've been there and I've seen it. Not only have I seen my Casa de Zinc brothers and sisters with my own Trinity brothers and sisters, but I've seen El Tablon and El Recreo. I was close to Virginia, San Francisco, Las Delicias, Corazol, Munosis, San Felipe (I either saw the names on signs or Kathy would say, we're now in.) I couldn't make it to all of them, but I've seen what you're doing there. I've been there. I thank you with all of my heart for allowing me this experience.

And thanks to Nancy Lister-Settle and Kim Coulter for planting the seed... two months' ago, this trip wasn't even on my radar screen.

–Betty

(Pictured left to right) Milagro, Mary MacKenzie, Betty Dyer, Denise Core, Blanca, Kathy Mahler, Idalia, Larry Lepper, Otilia, Dave Endriss, Cecelia, Blair Lawson.

Day 4 - Casa de Zinc

It's Saturday... but it really just feels like the past 3 days and none of us have a clue what day it is! We took off before 8:30 a.m. with a truckload of food, tools, other things and various people and headed to our sister canton (community) of Casa de Zinc. They knew we were coming and we were bringing along a goodly part of the lunch that we would have there. We had Mily, our interpreter with us today. Mily is 20-ish (pictured here) and a native of El Salvador. She's a junior in college and has lived in the U.S. for a couple years of her life. She is a real gem. We all fell in love with her immediately and we could not have had a more dear person to join us today!

We had found out that there were 17 families spread out over the countryside that are considered to be part of this community, so we brought along shovels, crayons, writing tablets fruit roll-ups (one of which I'm eating at the moment), cucumber seeds and children's books in Spanish. We also had pictures printed of our group to give to each family. There were also aprons that we gave to all the women older than 12 years old. They had been made by the women of Trinity Church. More of the garden tools that we will be giving these families will be arriving as soon as possible and will get to these families when they do.

We met with the Directiva, which are the leaders of the community. They are all men and we all talked while most of the women worked on lunch, along with some of the pastoral team ladies that went with us. We sat under a plastic canopy that had been put up just for us and we sat in the molded plastic lawn chairs that our funds had purchased for them in 2008. We talked about various things – questions that we had for them and questions they had for us. We learned a lot about their community and told them some things about what goes on in Iowa. We also talked about some possible future projects of which we may be able to be of help to them.

But, one of the biggest things that we learned is how warm and welcoming these people were to us. They welcomed us with open arms. Pastor Dave Endriss made balloon animals for the kids and huge smiles would appear when they received them. They were all dressed in their best clothes and they may have been their only clothes. Before and after lunch we drove to each of the homes in the community and took pictures of each of the families after we presented our gifts to them.

They were so excited to have us visit their homes - homes which are on the dustiest of dusty roads, with dirt floors and concrete or tin walls. There's an occasional chair here or there with chickens and dogs walking in and out of the house. There's usually a hammock, too. There might be a door and there might not be. But I tell you this not to point out the extreme poverty. I tell you this to let you know that none of this phases them. They are such proud and humble people. The rare person has a pickup, but none of the ones we saw today had one. They walk everywhere they go. It's 6-7 or more miles to get to town when they do go. And those with jobs have to go there during the weekdays. Any water they have, has to be hauled to the house. Most of the houses have the water filters that we saw yesterday.

And the roads to actually get to these homes? Well... they're barely wider than the truck (remember it's a small Toyota). Part of them are dirt and part are made of the volcanic rock that is everywhere down here. There are huge ruts, holes, dips and huge everything when you're riding standing up in the back of the truck (not me, again today). The fastest that Kathy (Mahler) drove on any road was 15 mph. But, that seemed fast when we actually got that high! She did a great job - and you must remember that we're in the mountains of El Salvador... the roads were going almost straight up, almost straight down, or winding around to get to the top of the mountain, where we were more than once... and the view was spectacular! What an amazing sight that was! We were on top of the world... during the dry season of the year here... on a dirt road... visiting some of the sweetest people in the world. Kathy's knuckles were white and we were all saying our prayers every time she's ask us to! (as if we weren't already doing that!)

As we reflected tonight... what we all had seen today was a bunch of strong, kind, loving, warm, welcoming people who want us to know their story. They want us to continue this relationship, as they are so very appreciative of all that we can do for them. The handshakes, the hugs, even the kisses from the smallest of the small ones all made it worthwhile. The "thank-you" that came from a 9- or 10-year-old boy when we were ready to leave was as precious as it could be. He could not have been more proud of the fact that he knew how to say it in our language!

And the pastoral team plays a big part in all of this. They are the ones who work with these community leaders to urge them to be organized and be focused on what it is that we can do to help them. They encourage them to work together so that we will be able to work with them.

Even though we spoke through Mily, it didn't matter. We all could feel what it was that we had to say to each other. They applauded us before we left. They thanked us over and over and over again. They asked us to come back. And we promised that we would.

–Betty