Walking With El Salvador

There is a song in the Salvadoran hymnal entitled "En la Viña del Señor" (In the Vineyard of the Lord).  I am sure I have talked about this song in previous stories, and now I have probably created an ear worm for many of you who have worshiped in El Salvador.  It is one of our Salvadoran church pastor's favorite songs and the first one he taught his sister churches in the US. Yo quiero trabajar por el Señor, (I want to work for the Lord) Confiando en su palabra y en su amor, (Trusting in His Word and His love) Quiero yo cantar y orar, (I want to sing and pray) Y ocupado siempre estar (And always be busy) En la viña del Señor. (In the vineyard of the Lord) Coro: Trabajar y orar,  (Work and pray) En la viña, en la viña del Señor; (In the vineyard, in the vineyard of the Lord) Sí, mi anhelo es orar, (Yes, my longing is to pray) Y ocupado siempre estar, (And always be busy) En la viña del Señor. (In the vineyard of the Lord) El Salvador was under very strict quarantine for 8...

The little group of women who sew Days for Girls washable menstruation kits in our Salvadoran community started the year strong.  They relocated from a women's center outside of the community to the community's Lutheran Church.  This was possible because they had compiled sufficient resources, through their own sales efforts and donations, to purchase a proper table for cutting fabric.  They set up a hygienic storage room in which they can safely keep their completed kits, supplies and equipment.  The new location makes it easier for several of the women to work while their little ones are in the church's preschool.  They can also more easily work from home part of the time.  The women diversified their product line to include baby shower kits with nursing pads made from scraps left over after cutting out the Days for Girls kit pieces. Newborn Baby Kits Prior to the enforcement of strict quarantine rules across El Salvador due to the corona virus pandemic, ...

Before Tropical Storm Amanda hit, I was preparing a story about children and families coping with almost 3 months of doing doing school in their homes due to the Corona Virus pandemic.  I gathered photos and little stories from friends via WhatsApp and Messenger.  The preschool teacher in our sister community set up her "desk" in the street.  Children do their work on little tables outside of their homes.  She helps them along by teaching to the street.  Moms drop student work off on the teacher's desk so she can check it.  I imagine that creative and cooperative families have set up mini schools like this all over El Salvador. I also received a few photos of a family field trip, because, field trips are part of school too!  They walked to a river about 2 miles from their home.  I wondered about that being OK, given the very strict lock-down rules across the country.  The matriarch of the family told me it was fine because they ...