My team and I spent the past month in El Tunco, El Salvador. El Tunco was an absolute dream. The town, the community, and the people made this place feel like home away from home. I would be lying, though, if I said the language barrier was not a challenge, but the people were all so welcoming and friendly. It was not something a little laughter and hand motions couldn’t fix. The town carried an extremely laid-back vibe. Yup, Kenny was referring to El Tunco when he wrote “no shoes, no shirt, no problem”.
El Tunco is a small town on the Pacific coast of El Salvador. The community is strictly known and shaped by the waves the ocean brings. People here are born on a surfboard. No joke, I don’t think I have met someone who has not surfed before. Those big waves in North Carolina are small waves compared to here, which is nice because you can actually get some speed on a surfboard and make a dramatic face dive into ankle deep water. Yes, it happened…more than once.
Our host family, the Castellanos, is one of the most beautiful, humble and servant-minded families I have ever met. They are all so involved in the community, and everything they do, they do for His glory. The family is originally from San Salvador; however, after growing up traveling to El Tunco to surf, Mr. Castellanos decided to transplant the family.
With that being said, my team and I worked with a church called La Red. The ministry of La Red began when one of the Castellanos brothers started using surfing as a ministry platform to share the love of Jesus. They started La Red to reach the women and children of the surf community. On Saturdays there is a very casual service that occurs in an open-air pavilion and two children’s classes. One class is for the kids up to nine and the other is for the teenage kids, ten and older. Later Saturday afternoon, we helped with an English class that was being taught by a local teacher. We simply played games with the kids and held conversation, asking simple questions and short phrases.
On Tuesdays we would help with the women’s ministry group that would take place at La Red. Mrs. Castellanos led this group and it was so exciting to see all the women who would travel from near and far communities all around El Tunco. While the group would meet, we would help love on and entertain the kids.
One of my most favorite things that we did last month was going to the orphanage. Every Wednesday we would walk down to the local orphanage called Remar. Here we would play games with all the kids and then present a short message to the girls. It was so refreshing to be able to visit the orphanage. They would simply fill you up with their immense energy and joy.
Lastly, our main ministry, in between all the planned events, were different projects split up among the six of us. Courtney helped put together an English language-teaching lesson plans; Caleb and Sara were helping to update the ministry’s operation manual; Rachael, Will and I were working with the ministries social media, that included posting on Facebook and Instagram to promote their ministry.
We stayed at the church, which has all the amenities one needs: showers, toilets and a basic kitchen. Oh, and fans…y’all fans are an example of God’s grace to us. If you were not in front of a fan or sitting on the beach, you were sweating profusely. For the first week we slept in one of the classrooms due to construction going on at the church. However once the construction was finished, we set up on tents and hammocks in the lofted area above where church was held. It was a dream!
For more photos please check out my teammate’s blog here.
Thank you for reading!
Kelley xx
