I was sitting at a small church with open walls, eating my third orange for the day, listening to conversations that I can’t understand, watching chickens running around, thinking “THIS is the World Race.” As I sat there, the thought crossed my mind…”I’m so blessed to have been born in America…” But I caught myself…am I really that blessed? What really makes living in America more of a blessing than living and growing up in El Salvador. It’s my first month on the race, and I’m already struck by the fact that America is indeed special. Rich. We go to community after community of tin board houses, clothes hanging on the line, kids throwing sticks at dead dogs for fun, or playing with dirty toys, and they live. They live day in and day out in the circumstances they have been born into, and I find myself looking at them and thinking that their lives must be miserable because they don’t have all the modern conveniences that we’ve been spoiled with in America. But I see the kids…I see kids from gang families, abusive families, kids that have been given to orphanages because the parents can’t take care of them. I see the kids that have nothing, absolutely NOTHING in comparison to the US…and they’re HAPPY! Their smiles can light up the entire room. And that’s when I begin to wonder…are we blessed? Or are we spoiled rotten?
Highlights:
Got to be on a radio station, which got us another opportunity at a different church that we would never have gotten without being on the radio.
We are also getting good at not having internet…as our only internet source disappeared. Apparently they caught on to us. That’s been hard, but probably a good thing…
There’s still bugs..everywhere…but I’m getting better at killing them.
Lowlights:
Beans. Beans beans beans beans beans. I had them at all three meals one day. Dinner is also later. One night it was 11pm when we sat down to eat.
Sunburns. Not fun.
Riding in the back of the truck has lost it’s novelty…the next ten months should be great. J
