This past month has been quite the month!
It was unexpected from the get go. For one, our route was supposed to take us to Honduras this month, but one team on our squad was chosen to go to El Salvador. Completely unexpected!
Since it was so surprising, I wasn’t able to really have many expectations for the country or how the month would go. I think that it’s because of this that it has been one of my favorite months on the Race so far!
We were welcomed into the family at Mi Casa Kids, an orphanage, in Santa Tecla. Since it was December the kids were out of school, which meant that we got to spend the full day with them and really develop relationships with the kids and staff.
We stayed at the homes of family of our host, Bob. We were picked up every day at 6:30 am and brought back sometime after 7pm, so that we would be able to spend more time with them during the day.
We spent the mornings at the boys’ home so that the girls were able to do their chores without having us distract them. Although there were 5 boys, we spent the majority of our time with 3 of the boys. Two of the boys were older and had other commitments that kept them busy. Our afternoons were spent with the 9 girls at their home across the street.
While we were there we said goodbye to the eldest gal, Gaby, who was moving to Florida to study English and then go university. It reminded me so much of leaving for the Race, and the bittersweet heartache of it all. The excitement of dreams being realized mixed with the pain of leaving home with all that you know, and the ones you love so dearly. In the weeks following Gaby’s departure, whenever an airplane would fly overhead, the two youngest of the family would look up and say “there goes Gaby!”
Each day looked a little different. Sometimes we had activities planned for the kids like decorating Christmas stockings or an English learning activity. Sometimes it was more laid back, and we would hang out with the kids and engage them in English conversation. In El Salvador, a person can make exponentially more in a job by just being able to speak English. This makes it vital for the kids at Mi Casa to learn English.
We came to Mi Casa in the midst of a battle. In January, Mi Casa brought in 6 girls from a Catholic orphanage that was not treating them well, but unfortunately the nuns at that orphanage did not appreciate this. In April, they retaliated and falsely accused our host of taking advantage of the kids. There is this cultural perception in El Salvador that if you are helping someone you must be benefitting from in some way –either sexually or financially. They don’t understand people who “do good” and don’t have these benefits.
The authorities came and took all 25 of the kids to another orphanage while they investigated our host. Of course they found nothing. After 5 weeks, 14 of the kids were allowed to come back home. Currently, 9 months later, there are still 10 kids at the orphanage waiting to come home. There are hopes that it might happen in January.
We were able to visit the kids at the other orphanage. It has been the most heartbreaking day on the Race yet. Seeing the kids run up to their family in tears, and not being able to go home with them.
Please pray that the kids will return home soon!
In El Salvador, each orphan has a judge in charge of them. The kids who were allowed to come back to Mi Casa had judges who knew Bob and trusted him, and the others had judges who were uneasy with Americans raising Salvadorian children.
We had many ideas for things to do with the kids, but when they went to go be approved by the judge, it was an interim judge that made the choice. He wouldn’t approve a beach retreat we had planned, not going to the movies, or a park, but he did approve climbing Santa Ana (a volcano that’s the highest peak in the country).
Since we spent all day with the same kids, we were able to really build relationships with them. We really became a part of the family. With it being the holiday season, it was really such a godsend. In three of the gospels, Jesus tells us that when we leave houses, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, or fields for the sake of the Lord will receive a hundred times as much in return. I left my family back at home, but I keep on being invited into families, in I squad and in each country I go to. This past month has been the strongest example of it yet.
We had another project that we started this month. Having to deal with these accusations has been costly to Mi Casa. They’ve had to pay a lot in legal fees even though they are innocent, and many funders have backed out because they don’t want to be associated with Mi Casa.
We started a fundraising campaign for the kids at Mi Casa. Seven of the kids don’t have funding for their school starting in mid-January. Without getting a good education their dreams are even harder to achieve. We named our campaign Fund Their Dreams because this is really what education does.
Check out our Go Fund Me to watch a video about the dreams of some of the kids at Mi Casa and learn about them. Please prayerfully consider donating to support them as well!
http://www.gofundme.com/fundtheirdreams
It’s been a month of joy, laughter, tight hugs, tears, and family. A country and family forevermore in my heart.
Here’s an amazing video from my teammate Andrea that shows a bit of what our month looked like.
