I’ve heard tons of stats on third world countries. I’ve seen a bunch of videos exposing the poverty that people are living in, listened to stories about the varying living conditions around the world, and heard about people living on less than $1 a day.
But I had never experienced it until last week.
I just got back from a trip to El Salvador, and I cannot even begin to fully explain the experience to you. Hearing about poverty is one thing, but witnessing it is another. We were so blessed to be able to serve for a week in El Salvador; during that time, we built a house for a family, fed the homeless, and helped out at orphanages. The needs there are so much greater than the needs in the United States.
The first full day we were there (Tuesday), we served at an orphanage for children, young girls, and teen moms. After we finished our tour, we were able to play soccer and do crafts with the kids. We noticed that they all seemed quite young, so we asked our translator Jenny if there were a lot of teen moms at the center. She told us there were quite a few. Many had been victims of rape or sexual abuse. Some of them were as young as ten years old. It was very sobering to witness the needs of the children there. Yet they were so joyful! They were so satisfied with what they had, and so thankful for everything they received.
Tuesday night and Sunday night we were able to feed the homeless. Kurt would drive around downtown El Salvador, and we would distribute food from the back of his pick up truck. The homeless know the sound of Kurt’s truck and will typically wake up and come running. In case they don’t hear the truck, we would shout “Comida!” (Food!) from the back so that they could come get a sandwich. If we saw someone sleeping, we would also go leave a sandwich for them. We were privileged to be able to feed the homeless twice while we were there. It was so heartbreaking to see how many people needed food! We would stop, and people would just start running for the truck. People were lining the streets, sleeping in front of buildings. We had close to 200 meals each night, yet it wasn’t enough to feed everyone. We would have to limit them to one sandwich per person, yet that was likely the only thing they would eat that day. The first night, one man was pulling on my arm, begging me for a second sandwich. I think he was saying it was for his wife, but we didn’t have any more for him. That was SO hard. There was nothing I could do to help him, and it just tore me apart. I was so glad we were able to meet some needs, but it was so hard to not be able to meet everyone’s needs.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were able to build a new house for the Quintanilla-Martinez family. First, we tore down their old house, being sure to save all the materials because they were going to reuse them. As we were tearing down their house, we were really confronted with the true poverty that this family was living in. Their house consisted of sheets of metal and tree branches held together by scraps of wire they were able to find in the community. They slept on the dirt floor, and every time it rained (which is quite frequently in El Salvador), their home would flood and they would wake up covered in mud. As we removed the walls, we found all kinds of new critters- spiders, roaches, mice, and scorpions were some of the most memorable. I already don’t like bugs, so I was NOT happy to see these new friends. However, this family had been sleeping with these bugs and rodents for years! These children had been sleeping mere feet from scorpions and poisonous spiders! It was so convicting.
We were able to build a house for the family in two days. It was hard work, but it was so humbling. The house we build was smaller than the apartment I live in; yet a family of five was living there, and they were SO grateful for it! This house was like a palace for them. A neighbor that was helping had even had a dream about us coming a few days earlier! He said he had dreamt that a group of “gringos” (white people) had come to help distribute a blessing from God. They said we were like their angels. Wow. It was so humbling to think that God was in fact using us as His hands and feet. I mean, I had realized it, but I fail to really think about it on a daily basis, and live in light of that.
We were also able to help serve the community that the family lived in as well. We did crafts and sports with the children at the school and also distributed food to the families in the area.
On Sunday we were able to go to a church in El Salvador. It was so cool to participate in international worship. We sang one song that I had never heard before, two songs that I knew in English, and another song in Spanish that I had heard before. It was such an awesome taste of what heaven will be like, with people from every nation and tongue singing praises to the One True God. We were able to sing for the congregation, and then do some crafts with the kids and teenagers in Sunday school.
After church, some boys from Cisna came to play soccer with us. Their orphanage had been flooded when the sewage system backed up, so they had been relocated to different orphanages in the area. However, they were confined to their rooms most of the day due to the limited space, so it was great for them to be able to run around outside for a few hours. We made ice cream sundaes with them after they finished playing capture the flag and soccer. After that, we were able to go out and feed the homeless again.
Monday we visited a special needs orphanage and a center for children who were infected with HIV/AIDS. The special needs orphanage housed people who had mental retardation and other handicaps that made it difficult for them to take care of themselves. Some were only there until they were 18 and then they would be kicked out of the center and left to fend for themselves. However, they didn’t really have school or occupational training, so they were forced on to the streets with minimal training, not really equipped to provide a living for themselves. A good portion of the residents at the center were severely handicapped and would remain in the center for life. They needed someone to take care of them all the time. A nurse was at the center from 9-5, and a doctor would be there for 3 days a week. There was also a psychiatric center. It was so great to be able to do crafts and play games with the kids there and at the AIDS center. They were so joyful and happy!
One child in particular stood out. Kique, a young boy about 15 years old lived at the special needs center. One of our translators, Chris, had told us Kique’s story the night before. When Kique was a child, drug traffickers had cut him open and stuffed him full of drugs in an attempt to smuggle them over the border. When he tried to cross the border, the police found out, and they beat him. He now lives in the center. He is so tiny and frail! It was heart wrenching to be confronted with the reality of such corruption and sin. Our world is so broken. We so desperately need the Gospel.
It was great to be able to serve in El Salvador. It really opened up my eyes to humanity’s need for the Gospel. God is so much more gracious than we deserve. He lets us be a part of taking this Great News to the ends of the earth! I am SO thankful that He would allow me to serve and glorify His Name. I wish we could have done more to help the people of El Salvador, but it was a privilege to be able to help in whatever way we could.
