Reflections Of El Salvador
Lessons I Am Learning Along The Way
to be ....
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Lessons I am Learning along the Way - the September 1st Upcoming Story
This project did NOT come with a handbook. My partner and I have developed, re-evaluated, and continue to tweak it constantly for effectiveness. I share some of our thinking, choices, mistakes, and ponderings.
Tips for Packing
TIPS FOR PACKING FOR EL SALVADOR (most of these work for other trips also) After all these years of traveling to El Salvador, I am beginning to form a system for packing to come. I even wrote a Word document to list all items I need to bring along so I don’t make the mistake I did one year. I forgot my sunglasses! Lucky for me the guesthouse had.....
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Tips for Packing - the August 1st Upcoming Story
Tips for Packing for El Salvador” having a list to refer to has proved to be helpful to me. Hope it helps anyone else who plans to go there – or any or tropical location!
Connected to Storytellers
Working on a story for our website goes beyond sitting down for an hour or two interview. Much background research goes into the choice of the candidate, into arranging the logistics, and to allowing for some preparation time. During the interview both parties must gain a level of trust; we begin with simple conversation before delving into heavier more sensitive topics. Emotions may pop out, and we need to sense how.....
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Connected to Storytellers - the July 1st Upcoming Story
Connected to Storytellers shares examples of the trust built and unexpected results during interviews between interviewers and storytellers.
Offering Glimmers of a Brighter Future
Providing scholarships to Salvadoran youth is nothing new to us. Hundreds of students have benefited from support we have been blessed to provide. In the past my partner visited the country a minimum of once a year and carefully selected students that seemed to show the most potential for completing their goals to graduate. A promise was offered to support them for as long as they wished to study. The.....
Offering Glimmers of a Brighter Future - the June 1st Upcoming Story
"Offering Glimmers of a Brighter Future" studying and serving are key to a better community. Here are our students at work.
Walking Among the Blessed
Following the ELCA model of mission accompaniment for many years in El Salvador has involved making frequent trips there to check on our various ministries. I often pinch myself, blink a few times in a double take, or stop “dead” in my tracks. Am I dreaming, or did I just experience an example from a Bible story here in El Salvador? It often seems as though I’ve been transported via.....
Walking Among the Blessed - the May 1st upcoming story
Seeing how these small rural communities work together reminds me of so many Biblical stories.
Being Cared For By Our Salvadoran Friends
Being Cared For By Our Salvadoran Friends The kindness of the Salvadoran people goes above and beyond the norm and never fails to amaze. Whether it is special preparations in cooking to avoid our getting sick, caring for us when we do, making sure we recuperate quickly, or simply look out for our physical safety, I always return shaking my head in the many ways they go out of their.....
Being Cared for by Our Salvadoran Friends - the February 1st upcoming story
A day out in nature after being sick is perfect thanks to a friends kindness.
Eyes Open to Disillusionment
EYES OPEN TO DISILLUSIONMENT - YET HOPE Written by Caroline Sheaffer Exploitation of the poor, oppressed, marginalized, and disadvantaged is nothing new in the world. Large companies are offenders, governments are guilty, law officials are wrongdoers, members of military are criminals, even churches are transgressors. Until I began making frequent trips to El Salvador, I lived in a naïve bubble or was an ostrich with my head buried in the.....
Eyes Open to Disillusionment - the November 1st upcoming story
Visiting a developing nation as El Salvador has been a "wake up" call to me in many ways. [caption id="attachment_7509" align="alignleft" width="494"] The marginalized continue to live in hope.[/caption]
Behind the Scenes
BEHIND THE SCENES OF OUR INTERVIEWS written by Caroline Sheaffer Whether we are talking with hushed tones in a cathedral, behind double-locked gates with armed guards of a facility in a gang-infested area, high on a remote volcano at a business meeting of coffee growers, along a working beach, in a priest’s office, at a famous artist’s home, or at an outdoor worship service, our interviews provide us with unequaled.....
Behind the Scenes - the July 1st upcoming story
Sharing some unanticipated scenes behind our interviews with you, our readers, like running across a group of women doing laundry while walking on a trail.
Adapting a Mission to Local Needs
The oft-quoted adage “We plan; God laughs” comes to mind when contemplating mission. What once were effective techniques for ministries—building relationships, planning mission goals, and conducting mission—will not continue forever without tweaking them. Over the years we have needed to constantly re-evaluate our direction in Salvadoran ministries. This is becoming particularly true as my partner and I age and develop physical limitations. (Notice I did NOT say “age out.”) Days.....
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Adapting a Mission to Local Needs - the March 1st upcoming story
We discovered a newly-opened church down the road serving Hispanics and decided to find out how to interface with them.
$50 FlipFlops
A word of warning -- If you have not yet taken the plunge but are contemplating the role of serving in accompaniment (i.e., being in long-term relationships) to folks within underserved communities across the globe, be sure you are feeling the call to do it. Yes, you will certainly experience life-changing moments. However, if you simply want personal gratification, this is not a role for you. You must have both.....
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$50 FlipFlops - the December 1st upcoming story
Sometimes we gringos are far too trustworthy and allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.
Gracious Hospitality
As consumers of national and international news, we seem drawn to sensational horror stories of mass murder, suicide bombers, and security breeches. The rare bits of news we Americans receive regarding El Salvador generally relate to either a natural catastrophe or crime blamed on the gangs even though statistics prove this to be untrue. Each night at 6:55 P.M., Lester Holt of NBC News closes his show by highlighting a.....
Solidarity with Global Friends during COVID - 19
“We are united in prayer; take care; be brave; God bless you; we are praying for you.” These have been common greetings and closings to recent notes from our global friends. Every time my partner and I present an update on our Salvadoran ministries to our church community, we try to stress two concepts: walking in solidarity, and the privilege of serving. During the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic these.....
Observing the Interview
Storytellers do not always come alone to our interviews. Often friends or family members accompany them for support. Besides my asking questions and taking notes, I find myself gleaning helpful information from those “sidekicks.” It may be the revealing body language of the companion. It may be expressive eyes. It may be a comforting touch or gesture that is telling. I notice from time to time that these people are.....
Conversations with our Friends
In past years we spent up to several weeks in El Salvador monitoring many projects and interviewing people but also to be in solidarity with our friends there. They lead difficult and challenging lives; it is important to support and validate their lives, their work, their dreams. It is hard to explain to North Americans that when we sit down with a Salvadoran friend to catch up, we.....
Same Trip - Two Journeys
Several people can travel on the same trip and be on separate journeys. Today’s full day ride from San Salvador to northern Chalatenango department is a good example. Knowing ahead of time this will be an all-day adventure I have my pillow laid out to take along. I’m only just recovering from an illness that has had me laid up in bed for close to a week and I want.....
Serendipity
SERENDIPITY Tear up that color-coded itinerary! Put away your electronic devices! It’s time to engage in your surroundings and go with the moment! Trip planning is necessary to a certain extent. We need to maximize our time at our destination. It’s pretty important to make advance reservations for lodging. It’s nice to have a general idea of routes and attractions. However, some people plan trips so tightly that they know.....
Spontaneous Generousity
SPONTANEOUS GENEROSITY My comment to our hostess was meant as a simple, innocent compliment. “I like your earrings; they match your blue shirt perfectly.” The next thing I knew she pulled the fused glass blue and gold earrings out of her ear lobes and tucked them in my hands, closing my fingers around them into a fist. “A gift,” she said, “they match your shirt, too.” To.....
Hope Springs
HOPE SPRINGS Hurricane Mitch, a Category 5 hurricane, whose origin is believed to be traced to a tropical wave off the coast of Africa, stalled over El Salvador from October 29 – November 3, 1998. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the Western Hemisphere in more than 200 years since the Great Hurricane of 1780 in the eastern Caribbean, in which more than 20,000 people perished. .....
Life without Social Security
“LIFE WITHOUT SOCIAL SECURITY” One of the many questions we often ask Salvadorans we engage in conversation is the question, “Will you receive Social Security?” More often than not the answer is an unconcerned “no” with the emphasis on unconcerned. I haven’t reconciled in my own mind if the people we typically meet simply are not employed in a stable work environment that pays into the system to receive.....
We’re here for the people
“We're here for the people” Be sure to click on the powerful video at the end Periodically when I get weary, my partner reminds me of our purpose in visiting El Salvador. Yes, I admit I do need the occasional reminder. The first time I hear his words is several weeks into a visit. We have already visited our sister community, already seen our scholarship girls. We.....
Eyeball to Eyeball
I am often asked by those who do not understand the concept of accompaniment, “Why do you go to El Salvador every year? Wouldn’t it be easier to just send a check? It is hard to answer that question in 10 words or less. The minute we arrived one of our scholarship girls asked, “When will you be back?” She was already eager for our next visit. She had been.....
Sharing the Process
SHARING THE NITTY GRITTY PROCESS WITH YOU, OUR READERS “What is involved in the steps of your story project before it gets to the website?” “How do you select whom you interview?” “How do you find these people?” “How does the translation take place?” These are a few of the sincere questions a friend of mine recently asked me about our story project that led to a thirty minute.....
Treasure Chest of People
[caption id="attachment_2834" align="alignnone" width="945"] A Peace Corps worker interacts with a Salvadoran gentleman[/caption] Oh, the people you meet! And they all are willing to talk about why they are in El Salvador. T-shirt logos can reveal much about the wearers. One caught my attention recently in El Salvador and provided an opener. NOT PERFECT FORGIVEN “Are you SURE about that?” began the long conversation with the young.....
Beauty Queens and Jesus Christ
El Salvador is a place where flamboyantly dressed beauty queens and Jesus Christ ride together in the same flotilla on the parade routes. Salvadorans of all walks of life love to celebrate. Most towns having a patron saint who is honored on a specific day of the year, provides a natural reason to fiesta. Quite by accident we stumbled upon one such celebration on St. Louis Day in.....
On the way to court in El Salvador
Note: I said court; not jail. Now you can relax and enjoy this true account of the day. “It’s a marvelous thing to be on a journey, not knowing where you are going, especially if you trust the cabbie!” according to Sister Carla in Vessel of Clay. In El Salvador we mostly use trusted and known private drivers who also interpreted our interviews for us. But, these people.....
What are the Chances?
The tedious arrangements of our scheduled interviews for this trip to El Salvador had been painstakingly made months in advance as well as securing plane tickets using frequent flyer points. What are the chances of a major storm hitting our area on the day of departure? As it turned out, pretty darned good. Hyped as “the storm of the century” -- Super storm Sandy was tracking its way up the.....
The Voting Process
When we first inquired about serving as election observers, we were unsure whether we would be accepted because we do not speak Spanish. We were told this would not be a problem. Certainly being a native speaker might have enhanced the experience; however, the way we non-Spanish speakers were paired with Spanish speakers for the day was very effective. Besides, much of the observation process itself is a visual experience.....
Election Exuberance
“ELECTION EXUBERANCE” An American stumbling upon the scene unaware of the significance of the day may mistake this enthusiastic crowd’s appearance as college or professional football fans. They come wearing their party’s colors: red/white/blue for the ARENA party; red for the FMLN; white and blue for the Unidad/Gana party. A more eccentric young couple even wear bright face paint and capes or carry party flags to show.....
Meltdown of 3's
MELTDOWN OF 3’S – AT 3 AM, AFTER 3 WEEKS, POST 3RD TRIP MELTDOWN! Fatigue may have played a part in it because it was 3 AM when I walked in the door from the airport. After spending three weeks in El Salvador, something overcame me as I collapsed onto the living room couch, looking around at all my STUFF, and cried and cried, and cried uncontrollably for the next.....