- Papusas are life. And the correct way to eat them is to pull them apart and spread tomato salsa on top. If you eat them with a fork locals will look at you.
- Salvadorans celebrate Christmas all month with fireworks and lots of Christmas light displays. ??
- Illegal fireworks are really just homemade bombs and they can be heard throughout the city the whole month of December.
- Hablo espanol muy pequito, pero yo comprendo mas que antes de esto mes. And for better and worse, google translate is my new best friend.
- That being said I have learned the art of having a full conversation with fewer words.
- Locals love when you try to speak their language no matter how many times you mispronounce anaranjado and naranja. (I will be undignified for the cause of Christ!)
- I experienced God’s love through this church. From the beginning, they made my team and I feel welcomed and at home. They served us, gave to us, stopped for us to see Christmas lights, opened up their homes, laughed with us and so much more.
- One El Salvadorian food is a Mayonnaise, a sweet ketchup and cheese combo that they put on corn on the cob called Eloites Loco and fries. It’s a little too much mayonnaise for me but it looks pretty! ??
- Choosing community brings growth and change. This church we have been living at meets MWF and has 2 services on Sunday. Obviously there are specific times and days that more people attend. But they have a core group that attends each time. As a church, what would happen if we chose the church over our own personal schedules and daily tasks? At first, I thought 5 services a week was excessive…but honestly there’s something about having daily community that causes God to move with power.
- You can never out give God. This church is sold out for Jesus. They are generous in their giving and know how to build relationships. Every gift they give they are confident that God will continue to provide for the next thing. They give their money, their time and their hearts. Life is beautiful.
El Salvador has been so beautiful not because of the land but because of the people. Though, there are lots of beauty here from the mountains and volcanoes to the beach. What I am going to miss most is the laughter with Sonia, the gentleness of Pastor Aldo, the deep conversations with Pastor Mario and so much more. I don’t know if I’ll miss the surprise crack of a firework – but I do know next Christmas the memories will be so fun to remember.
Tomorrow we leave for Vietnam. Vietnam is a closed country so that means this blog will be password protected. So to keep reading for the next month, make sure to remember: Psquad2019
As always love you all! Keep praying for team unity and for me.
