Over half way through project

In this past week, we weren't on campus at all because all students in El Salvador get that week off for some sort of holiday celebration, but we still were kept pretty busy.

On Monday, we got to travel in a bus with about 20 of the VE students to do a service project in which we painted 2 different elementary schools. These schools were in a rural community without much resources, so each school was basically 2 rooms, and each designated for 2 or 3 grades. A really fun part about that trip was piling all 48 people into a cattle truck to travel down a road unfit for a bus. It was a good experience to give to that community, but it was also a really great bonding time with our Salvadorian friends. That Wednesday we also got to further spend quality time with the VE students at a really beautiful beach.

Tuesday and Thursday of that last week we had the opportunity to go to a government-run orphanage for girls and for boys 12 and under. Because it was not a privately run orphanage, the funding was very marginal and many kids lacked items for even basic hygiene. While we were there, we brought lunches we made for all the children and basic needs of underwear, socks, and toiletries, cleaned and painted, and mostly just spent time playing with and loving on these children. Many of them we learned actually had locatable parents, but were placed in the orphanage because it was so bad at home. What was quite heartbreaking was encountering several girls as young as 13 who were pregnant or had newborns, many as a result of rape, even some because of incest. One of the volunteers there was a 23 year old guy named Chris who used to be in an orphanage himself. He has had the opportunity to swim for a prestigious swim club in the U.S., but was compelled to stay in San Salvador and work in this orphanage because of the stories of some children and the great need they have for love and attention. Afterwards, a lot of us felt a little sense of hopelessness about these kids and the limited impact we can have in their lives in such a short time. We received a lot of encouragement in what we were doing from Layo (pronounced "Lie-o"), the regional Campus Crusade director for all of Central America. After having dinner at his house the Monday before going to the orphanage, he encouraged us for helping the VE movement on the Matias Campus and expressed how meaningful it is to him that we're here. He knew what we were going to witness at the orphanage and told us that it wouldn't feel like much impact just going there 2 different times. Layo told us that out of all the Salvadorian government's income, 95% of it goes towards the salaries of the politicians and officials, which leaves 5% for the rest of the country's needs, including places like this orphanage. He really put things into perspective for us by really casting a clear vision that by ministering to students on one of the best universities in the country, we are hoping to bring up future leaders in the nation's government to be following Christ with their lives and have transformed hearts that make decisions that really benefit the people of El Salvador more instead of filling their pockets with mass amounts of wealth. This perspective impacted me incredibly, and made me feel both very appreciated for being here, and gave me so much hope that our influence in these student's lives would not only affect the individuals and the campus, but also overflow into a transformation of the country's economy and policies. The gap between lower and upper class wealth in El Salvador is currently vast, but there is room for change.

Well I know that might have been both dense and heavy, but I'll let you chew on that until the end of this week. It felt good to be back on campus today, and I anticipate great things to tell you about at the end of this week.