Walking With El Salvador

"She's a lways got her camera out the window taking photos." It's true. In between the singing, the story-telling, the joking around, and the occasional tour-guiding, I spent a fair amount of time looking out the bus window and snapping photos. This was a source of great interest to our Salvadoran friends. At one point one of the grandmas told her little guy to "sit up and enjoy the scenery - this is a chance to see things you don't usually get to see." So, for everyone on the bus who didn't have a camera to stick out the window and click away, here are the sights along the road during our recent Tourist Day of Fun...

He is a teenager. He is looking forward to going to high school. He is intelligent and kind. He lives with a serious medical condition. He is a devoted son and big brother. He sent us a message: I hope you are well, surrounded by your loved ones. I hope when you read this you are in good health. I think you remember that I told you that I had been threatened. Later, after some time, in other words today, I received a telephone call from someone who said they had not met me but had heard that some people who I don't know are going to kill me. Not me alone but also my whole family. They are going to cut up our bodies into pieces: the hands, or the arms, or the head or whatever parts they want. We want to leave our community. Help us... At first he thought his family could go far away to be more safe. Later he said it wouldn't matter. Maybe these are idle threats meant to scare, to intimidate, to exact a payment for some perceived level of security. Maybe...

Entrance to Santa Lucia Church, located in the center of Juayua After lunch in Santa Ana, our little group of sister church friends headed out on a beautiful mountain highway to the small town of Juayua, a place about which I wrote briefly in a Just Click story once before. Juayua seems like such a little town, sort of off of the beaten path, but it's a place that has a reputation as a tourist destination for Salvadorans and foreigners alike. I have been there a number of times.   Juayua is a destination point on the Ruta de las Flores (the Route of the Flowers). When we planned this joint "tourist experience" for our US delegation and Salvadoran church friends, the a lovely scenic drive was something everyone wanted to experience.  Pausing in Juayua seemed like a perfect opportunity to rest, grab a snack, and spend a little time soaking in the local culture.  Just one example of the colorful flowers in the central square We parked the bus along the town square, and...

The "Tourist Day of Fun" bus journey with our sister church community friends continues... We took a short drive from Tazumal to the city of Santa Ana. Neither we nor our driver had ever entered the city from that side, so we had to stop and ask for directions. Soon we were on a street which showed up on our city map. It was fun to see the modern outskirts as we navigated our way into the colonial and early 20th century architecture and narrow streets of the old city center. We emerged from the bus across from the cathedral, counted heads, and like a row of ducks walked across the square to enter the cathedral. Ines was the only one from our sister community who had been to the city of Santa Ana. She had come to visit the cathedral twice, quite some time ago. Ines told us that when her twins were born, they had health problems. She came to the cathedral for some purpose at that time, either for a blessing or to pray or to request a mass -- her serious face and lo...

The bus rolled down the highway, filled with the voices of people chatting, singing and laughing. We were on our way to Tazuma l, site of some pretty famous Mayan ruins, and the first stop on our road trip. To best understand the atmosphere on the bus and the stories and photos from Tazumal and our other field trip destinations, it might be helpful to have a little background information. Five of us had traveled from our homes in the US to visit with our sister church community in El Salvador. As part of our partnership together, we have a scholarship program which enables kids, who may not otherwise be able to go to school, to study. There are 84 kids in the program, including 16 who are studying at the university level. The five travelers are sponsors for one or more students, and the plan for the visit included spending time with scholarship families in their homes, touring the different schools with the students as the guides, and going on field trips with students or parents...

One by one, the moms, young adults and a couple of little ones climbed into the bus. It was 7:30 am and we were heading out from our sister church community to tour Tazumal and Santa Ana. Delegations often do a day or two of "tourist" activities during a sister church visit, but this delegation was different - it was all about doing things together. So, on this day, the "tourists" were mostly Salvadoran. Out of the 24 people from our sister church community on that bus, only 2 of the young people had been to Tazumal on school field trips, and only one had seen the cathedral in Santa Ana. We headed for the highway, and not too far down the road one of the young ladies popped up front to chat with the driver. (First of all, it was extremely funny that she knew the driver - in El Salvador I think there are only 2 degrees of separation between people.) She flipped down the DVD player and put in a music DVD. (It was also funny that we have ridden in this coaster ...

We were getting ready to leave the community after a long and fun day. "Miss Linda, you have to come over to my house!" Frankie was insistent, "You really have to come over to my house," he said again, grabbing my hand. "Hey you guys!" I called out to my group, "I'll be right back. Apparently I have to go to Frankie's house." I asked Frankie if it was OK with his mom. He assured me that his mom really wanted me to come. I gingerly climbed down the steep path, grabbing onto the barbed wire for balance. Frankie ran ahead into the house, and then emerged again extending his hand. He led me into the front room of the two room house. Frankie's mom greeted me just inside the door with a big warm hug. She turned toward the big double bed behind her, and with a little gesture presented her new baby daughter, Melissa. Melissa was sleeping peacefully on a sturdy little waterproof pad, which her mother scooped up and placed into my arms. ...