Little Fingerprints

The other day, someone asked me what I love about El Salvador. I thought for a moment, then answered with a story...

At the end of January, my father-in-law and two of my brothers-in-law came to visit. For 25 years they have heard stories about El Salvador, and they were curious to see things for themselves and understand why we spend so much time here. 

We planned a short trip, complete with a history day, a volcano day, a coast day and a day with our church community. My father-in-law, Papá Roberto (as we call him here), is an elder. He'll be 90 this year. For us, this produced a little bit of stress because El Salvador isn't exactly known for it's smooth sidewalks and accessible locations. And, there is always the chance of tummy trouble. We chose our destinations carefully and hired a trusted driver so my husband and I could more fully enjoy the longer excursions. 

Sunday was our church community day. The Los Héroes hills are a little steep for doing a walking-tour, so the church leaders asked if we would like to share a pupusa breakfast with them before worship. It was lovely, complete with hot chocolate. Papá Roberto and my husband's brothers don't speak Spanish, but they did a great job asking questions and conversing with us as interpreters. 


After breakfast, it was time for worship. Lutheran worship in El Salvador flows very much like Catholic mass which Papá faithfully attends, and with interpretation, the guys could follow along just fine. After worship, the Sunday School children sang a couple of songs and presented the guys with a banner. The teachers explained that the tree in the center is a beautiful fruit tree, and the fruits are little because the children made them with their little fingerprints. All of the children's names are on the banner. Then the church committee gave each brother and Papá a cross. There was a feeling of great respect for Papá Roberto, who came such a long way, with great effort. The outpouring of love and welcome was just beautiful.

Before leaving the community, we spent a little time in the home of the family which hosted me on my first visit in Los Héroes 23 years ago.  I sat with Julia, who wasn't feeling too well. Julia's husband, son and grandson had a good conversation with the men. I'm not sure what they talked about, but there were plenty of smiles.

Papá Roberto and the brothers safely returned home to the US. A few days later, we gathered online for our weekly family zoom call. Dad and the brothers were all on the call, along with a niece. When we asked what stood out about the visit in El Salvador, all 3 guys talked about the time in Los Héroes. The pupusas, the conversations, the banner, the crosses, the visit with Julia and Marcelino. They were touched. My brother-in-law even mentioned the little fingerprints. 

That's what I love about El Salvador. The warmth, the welcome, the love that touches our hearts with little fingerprints.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Plant that Came from Nowhere and Grows Everywhere

Image
I am a plant person - a plant person without a garden or a yard or a farm. We have porches.  Porch Pot (©Linda Muth, 2023) It's pretty amazing to see what will grow on a porch.  I like to experiment with what might be considered garbage from things I get at the grocery store. Most Salvadoran produce is not hybrid, so saved seeds will germinate. Herbs are sold with the roots, so it sometimes works to cut off most of the herbs and stick the roots into a pot. I am currently experimenting with some little chunks of ginger that were no longer edible.  After a couple of weeks in the soil, the roots are sprouting nice little stalks and leaves. Ginger sprouting (©Linda Muth, 2023) Frequent travel makes porch gardening extra challenging. One option is to grow for a while and then give plants away.  One time, I left a bucket of basil, rosemary and other herbs with Pastor Santiago's mom, and it produced abundantly until Santiago cut off too much. (He told me he was grateful for...
Read more

The Morro Tree

Image
Cihuatán is an archeological site which lies just north of Aguilares. Amidst the Mayan ruins, which are definitely worth seeing, you will also find some of the local flora and fauna of the area. This area north of Guazapa has become cattle country, and, according to the locals, some of the wealthy cattle producers have their eye on this property. The security guards and barbed wire fences do a pretty good job of keeping cows off of the site, but nothing can keep the goats from enjoying a good run in the field. The wide variety of bird calls, the tinkling of the goat bells, and the low moos in the distance create a peaceful atmosphere in which to enjoy the ruins and have a relaxing, yet very hot, walk with friends. Surrounding the large hill which was constructed to support the main temple, there is a broad, grassy field, dotted with trees. Pablo, our driver and friend, said that during the war, there was a lot of looting of this site. People drove big trucks in to take the rocks ...
Read more

The Legend of the Priest with no Head

Image
Tales of mysterious encounters with a headless priest in the dark of night are not uncommonly told among the Salvadoran people.  After the time of the Spanish invasion, when conquerors wielding swords or carrying Bibles established their power, there emerged a legend of an imaginary priest who wanders in the streets and pathways as a lost soul. He appears to those who are out walking in the evening. He is searching for his head.  He, or perhaps his head, lets out screams into the night. Those who see him feel cold and are sometimes paralyzed with fear and cannot speak for days. The story of the Priest with no Head is well-known and frequently told in Tonacatepeque.  Some say the ghost of El Padre sin Cabeza (the headless priest) is real. Some say the story was invented by the church in order to scare indigenous people into becoming Christians. Some who study traditional, Salvadoran tales say this legend was created by enemies of the church.   A painting of ...
Read more