(Side note: El Salvador blog titles have been named after famous Juan Carlos sayings)
I can't believe it but we are leaving El Salvador this Saturday, Feb. 11th. Did the time really go by that quickly? Thinking about that makes my brain literally freeze. How could I possibly be finished with my time here? There is still so much to do.
Since my last post, we have seen the church we helped build in San Diego, Rendecion, open! Two Sundays ago the team and I attended the inauguration and celebrated the new chapter of the community in San Diego. It was amazing to see the huge attendance and the excitement of all the people there. It was also amazing to look over at the completey flat, clear field with children playing and think, "Wow. I spent many hours in the scorching heat clearing that and spreading dirt all over it. Looks pretty good." The team and I performed a drama, sang a song, and gave a testimony for the congregation as our participation in the service. The love they showed us for our brief time there was incredible. When we said goodbye to that place and those people for the last time, I know I will never forget how it blessed me. I left a piece of my heart in San Diego (not to be confused with the popular Tony Bennett hit "I Left my Heart in San Fransico"..see that's funny because it's about another town in California but the San Diego I'm talking about isn't….).
I fell in love with El Salvador. I didn't expect it to happen. Honestly, I thought I would fall in love with at least my 4th or 5th country. The people we were blessed with go beyond anything I could have imagined. Pastor Noah, his wife, and the entire church of Rendecion, Jenny, Susie, Cindy, every child and family we met, and especially Juan Carlos. I couldn't have asked for a better first month on the race. The relationships I made, the affect these people had on my heart, and the amount of Jesus I saw every day was an answer to every prayer I had for my first step of the race. If I could give El Salvador a hug, I would. Don't worry El Salvador, I'll be back.
