Here are some more memorable moments of my Race in El Salvador!
Whenever we needed transportation, about 14-17 Racers would pile in the back of a blue flat-bed construction truck or a 4-door small pick-up truck. Safe? Not at all. Fun? Absolutely. Since we lived on top of a mountain, we rode up and down throughout the week to go to San Vicente, the main city. My favorite memories were of staring up at the moon and stars and feeling the cool night air hitting my face as we drove up the mountain at night. The view of the city below us and the mountains in the distance was gorgeous.
Hugh, one of the team leaders, calls the following propaganda. Randomly, vehicles drive through the neighborhoods and towns blaring verbal messages (e.g., food for sale) via huge speakers set atop the vehicle. None of us have ever seen advertisements done in this manner before; they are very interesting but very annoying.
“Gringos!” This is the term Latin Americans use to refer to Americans. Whenever we are driving through town, doing ministry, or are pretty much anywhere outside of our house, many locals, especially children and men, shout out “gringos!” Or, high school boys or men shout out, “Gringas!” if the group happens to be all-female.
The toilet in our orange house acted up ALL THE TIME and finally quit working the third week of the month. We had to use the abandoned, partly-built house across the street as an alternative toilet (i.e., a squatty potty in the overgrown brush). I have a series of videos about these experiences, but with the internet speeds here, I haven’t been able to upload them successfully yet. I know you will be waiting in anticipation.
The abandoned house in front of our orange house (aka: the alternative toilet)
Even though our orange house was nice, there was absolutely no furniture. Therefore, all meals were eaten on the floor, and if you wanted to do anything that required sitting or a table, you were out of luck, and you had to sprawl out on the floor.
Jill Schulenberg was hanging out in our blue flat-bed trunk last Sunday morning playing worship music on her guitar. I could faintly hear her from inside the house. I miss worship with my team and Mark’s team from last month (Robin Brooks has an awesome voice, Hayden Furlow has an amazing energy when playing her guitar, and Priscilla Gray is a fantastic drummer).
I felt inspired for some worship, so I ran out to the front door and yelled to Jill, “Hey, Jill, how ‘bout some ‘Your Great Name’ (a Natalie Grant song)?” She replied, “Yeah! Let’s do it!” We had an awesome time belting out Grant’s “Your Great Name” and Third Day’s “Lift up Your Face.” So much fun singing at the top of our lungs in the truck!
