Merry Christmas

I have a little surprise for everyone. Ready? OK, so I have been able to come home to North Carolina for Christmas. I arrived this weekend and will be spending time with family and friends here until I leave to return to El Salvador on January 7. A lot of things had to work out to make this Christmas vacation possible: time, resources, etc. So, with all that in mind, its easy to recognize this time as a blessing. Already, I've spent some fun and meaningful time with my extended family in Pigeon Fordge, Tennessee, listened to Christmas carols and read the Christmas cards with my parents, and played Guitar Hero :-) with my brother.

I will post again when I get back to El Salvador in January. In the meantime, if any one of those others of you who are usually away is going to be in Western NC during these 2 weeks, let me know and we can hang out.

Anyways, whereever you are and whatever you are doing on this Christmas Eve-Eve (with the minutes ticking on to Christmas Eve), all the blessings of hope, peace, and love to you. And may we face each day of the Christmas season ever combatting consumerism with compassion (thanks Danny for these words that express this desire so tactfully). My Christmas thougths recently have dwelled on what it means for followers of Christ today that we believe in a God that, a long time ago, decided to come and live with us on earth for a while ("gunky" though the world is sometimes) to do what he did, teach what he did, hang out with who he did, and "end" his life like he did.

And on the note of reflecting on what Christmas means for us today, I want to leave you with the chorus of the Christmas song, "Navidad en Libertad" (Christmas in Liberty" by Carlos Godoy of Nicaragua), that became really meaningful to me as I sang it with others from FUNDAHMER and in the communities last week in El Salvador. Jesus, born to ever give us HOPE to work for dignity and abundant life for everyone.

Feliz Navidad, feliz Navidad,
en justicia y libertad.
Feliz Navidad, un montón mejor
sin miseria ní opresión.

Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
in justice and liberty.
Merry Christmas, a world so much better
without misery or oppression.

Gifts

It was hard to get up this morning. It was Sunday and my alarm went off at 6:30--after a couple snoozes, I rolled over, put my feet in my sandals and got up. As I was slowly getting dressed, my friend Angel asked me why I had put a skirt on. Weird, I thought: "Why not?, its comfortable." "We're playing soccer this afternoon," she informed me. Somehow I had missed the memo about the details of the day's activities. All I knew (and needed to know) last night before I went to bed was that there was a "convivio" of the women's groups from 4 different base communities. And it was to be held in Las Mesas, a community that until today I had not visited. The direct translation of "convivio" is "a live with," but since that doesn't make sense, I say that it is a "get-together," an opportunity to pass time (a.k.a. live) together. So, I was mumbling something about playing soccer (which is not my favorite sport, though I DO NOT pass over an opportunity to play any sport here), asking why we were leaving so early, and saying that I had also wanted to go to the "mass of the people" at the Cathedral today, which would not be possible. And Angel, in her ever so astute manner in the mornings (she is used to getting up at 5:30 to 6:00 because she lives sometimes in one of the rural communities where the daily schedules are quite different) said: "But its important for the women to get out of their houses and have some fun and something special." That made me smile, remember why I'm doing this, and get my act in gear.

It’s important to realize that the women that hung out together today almost exclusively have very limited scopes of the range of their activities. I realized part of this when I was working in Texas this summer at Mission Waco (shout-out to Mission Waco-- thank you for providing many experiences that helped inform my work here in El Salvador!), and as a learning exercise about the conditions of the world, we visited a farm and were required to prepare our own meal from scratch. And when I say "from scratch" (I think of biscuits, which they don't have here, and I miss, but alas, more importantly:) I mean from chasing the chicken around the yard to walking an hour to get water to picking the vegetables from the garden. That's how most of the world lives, and who bears the brunt of these responsibilities (at least in Latin America)? Women. (It took 4 hours to prepare our meal in Waco, by the way, and 4 times 3 (meals a day)….you do the math). Women's activities here are also limited by childcare responsibilities and sadly, in more than a few cases, by the male-chauvinist differences in women’s and men’s roles and expectations (called “machismo”). Also, travel to and from many of these communities takes several hours, including a long way on foot, so the women’s activities are limited by the sheer fact that it takes a long time and a lot of planning to go anywhere outside the community. So, when we got on our way this morning in a bus full of happy women, I did indeed realize that it was a special occasion for us all to be together to spend time together and enjoy the day.

“Equipo Mujeres” (“Team Women,” as I began calling us, you will understand why when I explain more) ran into (literally) our first teamwork activity about 45 minutes along into our bus journey down a long, hilly, rutted dirt road to Las Mesas. This road was inaccessible to vehicles until about 2 weeks ago when it sufficiently dried after the rainy season ended. I understand the problem we had with vehicles because my first car was a Mitsubishi Eclipse that rides close to the ground. Yep, you guessed it, when going down in a steep dip and then trying to come back up the other side in our bus (like a school bus in the US), we got stuck. Stuck enough to require an hour, pushing of all 25 women on the bus’s rear, and a Jeep and a chain pulling in front to dislodge it. Moreover, when we dislodged the bus the first time with all our teamwork, sweat, and pushing, the bus got stuck again in a different direction! There is something about difficulties that catalyzes bonding, because by the time we celebrated the “victory” of the dislodging with shouts of “Vive las Mujeres”, we knew it was bound to be a fun day. While I’m on the topic of our awesome bus, I’m going to skip ahead to our return journey, when, you guessed it, we got stuck again in the same place (there really was no way to get a big long bus through this steep and wide dip), requiring more teamwork in the rear of the bus and another tow vehicle. But the more interesting thing was that when the bus got stuck this time, all of us were outside the bus watching it try to make it through the dip. Why, you ask? Because half-way down the long dirt road, the bus developed a strange smell and a steady oil-drip, requiring the assistance of a mechanic (remember we were 45-minutes down the dirt road away from a main highway) and left at least some of us wondering if we were going to get out of this hole by night-fall (we did!).

I share this because its just one of the examples that I have had of how a crazy situation in this country can turn into a highlight of a trip (I’m writing about it on my blog, aren’t I?): an experience of teamwork, a source a lot of laughs and A LOT of time to literally sit beside a road or stand behind a bus making new friends, and even teach me a thing or two about making the best of a situation, not complaining, and looking for little acts of provision. We played A LOT of soccer today in the heat of El Salvadoran summer. For the women, organizing ourselves in teams and playing on the respectable soccer field was empowering. After the games, I was talking to the husband of my team’s goalie and asked if he thought she had a good time playing. He not only said yes, but also said that today was the first time that his wife had played soccer like we did!

Before I get off track with the point of my story about the women, let me reiterate that we played A LOT of soccer today. Also, you might need to know that one of my greatest “fears” is being thirsty. Thus, on one hand, I am not found without my water bottle (especially in a place like Las Mesas where there is no purified drinking water), but on the other, I understand thirst and am not going to say no to sharing my water with someone who is as thirsty as I am but has no water. So, after sharing my water and not having any more accessible to buy, I was really, really thirsty all throughout the soccer game, not to mention hours later when we were sitting beside the bus or pushing it out of its hole. And everyone else was thirsty too, but the crazy thing was that no one complained or even got down about our condition or the bus situation in general. In fact, I felt self-conscious because I was the one trying with complaining-thoughts running through my head (regardless of the fact that I felt socially persuaded by the ánimo [encouragement] of the group not to say anything). After a couple hours sitting beside the bus, we noticed a pick-up selling fruits and vegetables trying to detour its way around the bus through the woods (because the broken-down bus was taking up the road). I saw watermelon in the truck from a distance, but then we determined that there was no way to cut it easily (drop it on the ground and hope it splits?). Nevertheless, when the truck came closer, we realized that a solution to our water-shortage problem had arrived in the form of “10 mandarin oranges for $1.” I initially saw this as just a tide-us-over thing, but the women I was with were genuinely happy and THANKFUL for the arrival of these oranges to re-hydrate us. I wish I could have taken a picture of this orange-eating fest to show you the contentment (“this was just what we needed”) and the thankfulness (“thanks be to God, this was just what we needed”), but like our good ole bus, my camera was out of power by this point the day.

“True liberation is freeing people from the bonds that have prevented them from giving their gifts to others…the best I can do is probably not to give but to receive. By receiving in a true and open way, those who give to me can become aware of their own gifts. After all, we come to recognize our own gifts in the eyes of those who receive them gratefully. Gratitude thus becomes the central virtue of a missionary.” Henri Nouwen wrote the words in his book “Gracias!” (pg 16), in which he shares with readers his experiences and reflections during his time in South America living and working with the people to discern if he was to become a full-time missionary. I saw Nouwen’s words lived out in my experience today with the women. Sure, because of the situations I mentioned earlier in this post, as well as because of poverty, oppression, and other forms of injustice, the El Salvadoran women are deprived of their dignity to life a full and abundant life. But today was not some excursion provided by FUNDAHMER to entertain the women; rather, the journey proved to be just the opposite: with all its ups and downs (no pun intended, oh, you ruts and dips in the road :-) ), I realized some great gifts the women have to give: their ánimo [encouraging spirits], their hard work, their sharing even when they have little [as was true with the water today], their general happiness despite their tough situations, their thankfulness, and their optimism (in other words, HOPE). These gifts were particularly obvious today when the women were outside of their normal spheres and encountered both some difficult and very happy experiences. Although I doubt if the women consciously noticed the gifts they were sharing with each other and with me, but because I was a recipient of their gifts (both a difficult and very happy experiences for me too), their dignity (liberation) was realized a little more.

Community Visits are Making All the Difference

In the past 3 weeks, I have experienced so much in “my communities,” that is, the ecclesial base communities of El Salvador with whom I am working. For the past 3 weeks, my responsibilities have included many visits to these communities. I have attended youth meetings, meetings of the women’s group, meetings of the cooperatives, and reunions of all the base communities in one space. I have spent time with the communities at events such as a vigil remembering Jesuit martyrs and at a march to commemorate the International Day of No Violence Against Women, and in extended visits with other FUNDAHMER workers to the communities. With what purpose?, you ask. My goals during these weeks are to get to know the communities (including both the people and the situations in which they live), with a special emphasis on the youth with whom I will work for the next 2 years. All the time, I am listening to the histories and struggles of the youth and their hopes and ideas for the future, and based on this intake, I try to generate some preliminary ideas for my and FUNDAHMER’s relations with these youth in the future. This sounded pretty abstract as I wrote it out like that, so I will share an example of one of these experiences:

Last Sunday, members of 9 different communities met together in one community for a meeting which they call “Escuela de Debate” that occurs once every 1 or 2 months. With my interest in Latin American liberation theology, I was highly interested in seeing this meeting because the purpose is to acknowledge and evaluate the realities of the communities’ situations and to reflect on how Christianity might have something to do with their responses to their realities. ***Here, a couple phrases need some fleshing out; for example, the “communities’ situations” often involve poverty, lack of opportunities, malnutrition, and lack of education. These are only some of the negative parts of the communities’ situations, but their situations also often include good organization (a characteristic of many of the Christian base communities that FUNDAHMER works with), cooperation within the community and with outside entities, willingness to acknowledge reality, and hard work. “Christianity” in the context of Christian base communities involves faith, action, and hope in light of Biblical scriptures, the life and teachings of Jesus, the lives of other important men and women in the history of Christianity who have devoted their lives to seeing more love, justice, and peace realized in the world [the most profound here is Monsignor Oscar Romero, but there are so many more], and other documents and people that have been relevant to the church of the poor in Latin America [Vatican II, Medellín Conference, etc].

In the meeting on Sunday, I was pleased to watch and even participate as a special and interesting process occurred. The community discussed both their current situations and how they should respond to their situations given their self-identification as followers of Christ and as successors in a long history of people who worked in their communities, in this country, and in the world for dignity, equality, justice, peace, and an end to oppressive conditions. The topics were vivid and relevant, including immigration, violence to women, socialism, water shortage and contamination, the upcoming elections, and the rising costs of basic needs like rice, beans, medical care, and transportation. This experience of theology (“faith seeking understanding”) occurring at the grassroots was profound in itself, especially for me, as I am motivated by the search to know more about “What is God?” in light of the past and all it brought with it (which includes everything from the life of Jesus to the personal histories of communities, families, and individuals) and the current situations in which we find ourselves.

Moreover, as I visit the communities, I intentionally observe with great detail the situations of the youth. In this meeting on Sunday, out of the 35 or so people there, 6 or 7 were youth ages 13 to 18. I had met many of the youth previously (in different contexts such as at youth or cooperative meetings in their own communities), and thus I knew that these youth have the capacity and desire to contribute a lot. They actively think and respond to their realities, and I have been blown away many times by the depth of their thoughts and ideas. I expected to hear a lot of input from these youth, but I observed little; instead, they were quiet in the presence of the adults. This was thought-provoking for me because, like I said, these youth have so much to say and discuss that I could practically see it burning in their minds. Thus, perhaps an idea to consider as the youth organization begins in 2009 is a space, like the “Escuela de Debate” is for adults, for youth to feel comfortable and want to discuss their situations and how their Christian faith and hope are relevant to the decisions they make to affect their realities.

To Perquin and Beyond....

I had a free weekend between my “graduation” from language school and beginning at FUNDAHMER on Tuesday and needed a break from the city. Also, I am particularly interested in learning about the history and reality of El Salvador (and Central America and the world), especially as it relates to the youth with whom I will be working. Thus, a friend and I traveled to the community of Perquin (“Per” as in “1 time per week” and “-quin” is pronounced like “keen” like “sharp”) in the department of Morazon (“Mora-” rhymes with “Dora” like “Dora the Explorer” and “-zon” rhymes with “con” as in con-artist) in El Salvador. “Departments” here in El Salvador are much like states are in relation to the whole United States or like counties are in relation to entire states in the US. There are 14 departments in El Salvador, and Morazon is the department farthest to the northeast. It borders Honduras, and in fact, the land along the border of Morazon and Honduras is often disputed between the 2 countries (currently, the land is officially part of Honduras, but someone told me that the people there vote in the Salvadoran elections—weird!). Perquin (6ish hours in buses from San Salvador) is historically famous because during the war (1980-1992), it was a base and stronghold of the guerrilla forces. The guerrillas organized to oppose the government and military of El Salvador because of conditions of poverty, injustice, and oppression that were reality for the majority of citizens of El Salvador. Perquin, located in the mountains of eastern El Salvador, was a strategic location for the guerrillas because they used their knowledge of the mountains to oppose the military forces trained and equipped by the likes of the United States. The best museum of the revolution is located in Perquin, where we learned about the causes and details of the war, life as a guerrilla, weapons used by both sides (it was sad to see how many were manufactured and provided by our very own USA), and effects of the war. Our guide through the museum was an ex-guerrilla and thus had his own personal anecdotes to share. At the museum are located the remains of Radio Venceremos (“Radio ‘We Shall Overcome’”), the radio station of the guerrillas and their supporters that literally broadcast from under ground (in hiding because of their fear of being found out by the military).

On opposite sides of the small community of Perquin are 2 mountains that were the strongholds of the different sides of the war. The mountain aptly named Perquin was controlled by, and a base for, the guerrillas and the mountain named Giant was a center for the military. Our hikes in these mountains were led by a young man who had spent the early years of his life in a war refugee camp right across the border in Honduras. On the mountains, we saw trenches and holes that the 2 sides used strategically, and bomb craters. Nothing could have better brought the reality of 12 years of civil warfare to life. On Friday night in Perquin, a brigade of ex-guerrillas held a “reunion” in the town center, and in El Salvador, any reunion or any similar occasion is cause for a fiesta (party). Ex-guerrillas spoke to the people, and I was most fascinated by the words of a woman ex-commander who spoke about the long-term effects of women’s participation as guerrillas in the war. The “official” musicians of the guerrillas, who played often on Radio Venceremos, were the entertainment for the night. A lot of happiness and dancing…its great to see the celebration of a community who has suffered so much.

Early one morning, my friend, a guide, and I stuck off across the mountains on a hike to the site of the most famous massacre during the war years—El Mozote. Sixteen kilometers and 4 hours later, we drug ourselves up one last mountain to El Mozote, a small (much smaller than even Perquin) community nestled in the mountains. El Mozote is used to receiving visitors, so after we re-hydrated, we met with a guide who showed us the famous memorial that honors the 1,000 or so people who were murdered by the Atlacatl Battalion of the military in 3 days in 1981. One night in December 1981, the military drug all the citizens of El Mozote to the town center, and then sent the children inside the church and the men and women to separate buildings. Over 3 days, every single member of the community was massacred except for a lone woman—I will spare you the gory details. The lone survivor, Rufina Amaya, heard her children calling to her from within the church as they were being killed. People really are not sure why El Mozote was targeted for this horrendous massacre. Someone explained to me that the military must have wanted to “drain a lake to catch a few fish.” One of the most upsetting parts of this disaster was that the Atlacatl Battalion was trained and equipped by our very own US. In the “links” section to the right, you can find the article “The Truth of El Mozote” by Mark Danner published in The New Yorker in 1993 about the discovery of the remains of the community, the history, and the controversy.

During our visit to Perquin and El Mozote, not an hour passed without something interesting happening. Some highlights of some of the eclectic and interesting things that happened: Whether it be waiting for my bus on Monday morning as a man carrying an opossum (dead) by its tail walked by in the street, or the visit to Perquin by one of the candidates for the 2009 Salvadoran elections, or a surprise visit with a corn farmer who also had tilapia tanks, there was always something new to see, do, or learn. In the church in Perquin, I saw a banner designed by children that associated God’s promise to Abraham of descendents and a great nation to immigration in modern times, and had the opportunity to talk about this with the security guard at our hostel, who also happened to be an ex-guerrilla and a pastor and has the desire to move to the United States. En route to Perquin, our bus stopped functioning in the middle of nowhere, and my friend and I experienced the generosity of the others on the bus being willing to help us out, not to mention, we learned a lot about the middle of nowhere in the department of Morazon. Our guide on one of the days there was a 19-year-old with an interest in botany and organic agriculture (on top of being inspired by his ideas, work, and studies, this expanded my Spanish vocabulary to words such as compost, manure, and the name of the country’s official flower). 8 of the 17 communities where I will be working with FUNDAHMER in the upcoming 2 years are located in the department of Morazon, and thus I know that our trip this past weekend, although enjoyable nonetheless, helped me understand just a little more of the history and reality of the young people who live in this department to the far northeast.

Where I've Been and Where I Am

I have posted a slide show of new pictures. As promised, I posted pictures from the Shicali Ceramic Workshop. I re-visited the place to see the ceramic-making process in progress and to order customized coffee “tazas” (mugs) for the two ladies I have lived with while in Language School. Also, in the “links” section to the right, I have posted a link to an article about rights for people with disabilities in El Salvador because many of you expressed interest in my last post about people with disabilities. Thanks for your interest, and thanks Stephanie Nodine, for sending me this link!

OK, now for an update: I finished language school on Friday, and many here and from home have asked me how it feels to be finished with language school. I feel a lot of things. First, I know that at CIS, I learned an excellent foundation for the Spanish language. I learned grammar, sentence structures, new vocabulary, etc. With this foundation, I will continue to practice, practice, practice. I also know that at times, I get pretty frustrated with not knowing, for example, last Friday when friends were talking really fast about the president and I really wanted to contribute but didn’t have the confidence to interject with my slow and thought-intensive Spanish. On the other hand, I love the feeling when I express myself (even complicated things) really well; for example, on Saturday night when I talked to a guy for about 2 and a half hours about intricacies of his experiences as a 12-year-old guerrilla during the war, about his role as a pastor, and about his desire to move to the US. I also know that I learned a lot about the history, politics, economy, human rights abuses, and other current situations of El Salvador while at CIS. This was not only good for me personally because I love history and current events, but also it informs the work that I am beginning to do now. Another aspect of my time at language school that was important was that I got to know people and the city of San Salvador at least reasonably well. I made friends (both Salvadorans, foreigners who like me are here for a long while, and foreigners who are only traveling through) and others have commented that for only having been in the city for a while, I know it pretty well. This comes in handy, for example, when I want to go to take a group to a concert in such-and-such park, or as is the case now, I need to buy a bed, desk, closet, mattress, etc for my room in the house where I will be moving.

Right now, I am having the opportunity (because I am presently and temporarily living in a bedroom in the back of the FUNDAHMER office) to really appreciate the experience I had living with the family of Elba and Nena during language school. Although I moved to this different location on Monday, yesterday (Tuesday), my host family gave me a despidido (good-bye party) at Little Ceasars. Pizza at Little Ceasars and then ice cream at Burger King. The most important point is that my time in their home was a really warm and welcoming opportunity to “find my feet” in this new place, and for that I was blessed.

Becuase I said I am not at language school anymore, you must be wondering what and where and how I am doing. I traveled outside the city a little this past weekend, (more about that in a later post—and see the photos from “Visit to Perquin and El Mazote”), moved to the office of FUNDAHMER on Monday, and yesterday (Tuesday) was my first day working with the organization. Much like learning Spanish is an exercise of my patience with myself when its not possible to learn it all in a matter of weeks, so has my experience here at the office been an exercise of patience. Patience with the people I work with to have time to meet with me in their very busy schedules as the calendar year wraps up. Patience with myself to not expect to do too much right away. So far, I have met a lot of the people I will be working with, have read about the history, mission, and current work of FUNDAHMER, and had some “free time” to answer emails, work on this blog, and study Spanish. I’m always challenged and inspired when I read or hear about people who against difficult odds (like a civil war, oppressive government, poverty, opposition, etc) have nevertheless retained hope that a better world, a better El Salvador, and a better life is possible and spent their energy working towards that end. FUNDAHMER was formed to, and currently works to, support Christian base communities that recognize social, economic, political, and eclesial realities, and are working to better function as communities (the most basic meaning of church) to respond with transformative hope to their realities.

Musings About People With Disabilities, El Salvador, and Ceramics

Some of you know that I have a desire, interest, and a calling to work with people with “disabilities”, or more generally, people who might be known as “the least of these” for any reason: disabilities, poverty, minorities, hurting, left out, and generally anybody else that is looked down on in popular society. Before I left home back in September, I knew that something I would love to learn more about is the condition, care, and situations of people in El Salvador with mental and physical disabilities. If there ever was an “at-risk” population, it is people in an impoverished nation that often do not have the capabilities to make contributions that are deemed worthwhile by society and are thus deemed inferior. With minimal pre- and post-natal care often being the norm in El Salvador, I know that many people have moderate to severe disabilities in El Salvador. Where, what, and how are these people in El Salvador? While visiting in San Ramón, I had a brief encounter with a young woman with Downs Syndrome, and daily I talk with a man with disabilities who walks around in the neighborhood of my house and school.


I was pleased, then, to find out that in my afternoon “political and cultural program”, we were to visit a location where people with physical and mental disabilities worked. Many people in El Salvador make and try to sell crafts, and the previous day, I had been thinking about how great it would be if a community or cooperative in El Salvador could produce high quality “artsy-looking” dinnerware that they could export to middle- and upper-classes in other countries. Well, to my surprise, when I walked in this place for people with disabilities not knowing what to expect, I found just what I had thought about the previous day—gorgeous, unique, festive, and “artsy” dinnerware like plates, cups, bowls, and vases. We chatted with the woman who ran the store and who was constrained to a wheelchair because of her physical disabilities. She told us that some of the greatest problems for people with disabilities are transportation (neither the sidewalks nor the buses here are user-friendly, much less accommodating to disabilities), work, and thus a livable income. The ceramics-making shop and store, which is called Shicali Ceramics, was begun in 1982 by people desiring professional and inclusion for people with disabilities. Currently, there are 6 full-time employees with disabilities and 40+ part-time employees with disabilities. Shicali sells to 10,000 Villages in the United States and to other stores, restaurants, and hotels in the US, Canada, and Europe. In a behind-the-scenes tour of the ceramics production process, we saw the firing of the ceramics and the detailing and painting of the ceramics. I want to return at a time when the “dirt” is being made into clay and the ceramics being shaped on a potter’s wheel, and I promise to take pictures.

In addition to my ongoing interest in people with disabilities, in the past few weeks, I have had an additional connection with people with disabilities. For the past few weeks, I have had the “disability” of not being able to communicate with others. (In drawing this comparison, I don’t want to undermine the difficulties incurred by people with real disabilities, but I have learned through this experience.) If you think about it, one of the key problems for people with disabilities is their lack of ability to communicate as the rest of us do. People with autism, Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other mental and developmental disorders have such a hard time communicating effectively with others. Even people with physical disabilities have difficulty communicating if you consider the great importance of first visual impressions in our perceptions of others. I’ve experienced how demeaning it is to be ignored in a conversation with people who can communicate better than I can. For people not even to make eye contact with me in a group conversation because they think (often rightly, especially the first few weeks :-) ) that I don’t understand. A group leader forgot my name even after being around me for 2 weeks, apparently because I couldn’t generate enough input to make myself memorable. There’s been so many times when I wanted to contribute to a conversation but didn’t know the words to do so and ended up standing around awkwardly, with my confidence all the time decreasing.

The Shicali ceramics shop creates dignity who face these difficulties and MANY MANY MORE SERIOUS ONES every day (not just for a couple weeks while I learn the appropriate language :-)). Employees receive training in the ceramics trade and have diversity in the types of tasks that they can do (so it is not unbearably monotonous), and Shicali has generated enough demand for their products that employees receive a dependable and livable wage. Moreover, Shicali has work that is interesting and dignifying for men with disabilities—and if you are asking why that is important, consider that much of the work offered in many other industries for people with disabilities caters toward the interests and abilities of women. Moreover, the ratio of men to women who are diagnosed with autism is 3:1.

Shicali is a great example of something that El Salvador (and the world in general) needs more of: opportunities for people with disabilities to have dignity. The situation is especially desperate for people born into poverty with disabilities. Families cannot provide sufficient resources to their children who are strong and healthy, so we can only imagine the strain children with disabilities put on these families. Currently there is another disabled population in El Salvador that needs attention: the tens of thousands of people injured during the war. The governments of countries like El Salvador do not provide special re sources for people with disabilities such as education and medical care (at least in the US, they usually get some form of education). There is only one other place that offers opportunities like Shicali in San Salvador, and there are none that we know of in the campo and communities of the country. I will be keeping my eyes and ears open as I work and live in the communities for the existing needs and ideas for increasing the dignity of people with disabilities in El Salvador.

My First Christian Base Community

On Wednesday, I visited my first ecclesial base community. When I begin full-time work, I will be working in ecclesial base communities in several regions of El Salvador, so this visit was an important first of many to come. The community’s name is San Ramón. It was deserted and destroyed during the war, but 36 families repopulated it after the war. During the 1990’s, religious life in San Ramón was led by a series of priests, but after a series of scandals and indications that a priest-led church was not best for the community, the community elected in 2000 to become an ecclesial base community. As told to me by a woman in the community, for San Ramón to be a Christian base community means this: San Ramón does not have a priest or other clergyperson as its religious leader. Instead, everyone who wants to has full leadership and participation in the community and church. The community has a service on Sunday, a “Celebration of the Word”, and 6 groups of community members take turns leading songs, liturgy, reflections on passages from the Bible, and communion. The community believes that emphases on inclusion and shared leadership are important because Jesus emphasized these methods in his ministry and in his teachings to the first leaders of The Church. The faith of Christian base communities rest in a God and Jesus who care especially for people like them (poor, left out, sick, etc) and who desire abundant life for everyone on earth (not just a privileged few). The people in the communities desire a close relationship between this faith and reality, in the sense that they place special effort on discerning how God’s Word relates to and directs us in today’s world. There is a closer relationship between the church and the community, and between faith and decision-making, because of this connection between faith and reality. Monthly, the community meets to hear from all about the concerns and needs in the community and to discern the appropriate and timely actions to take as a community. For example, 2 high-priority needs in the community at this time are a radio network to relay news and community information out to all, even to those who cannot make it to the community center for meetings and Celebrations of the Word and assistance to young people who are in transitions of immigration: leaving to go to another country or returning to the community. I could talk for a while about San Ramón or other Christian base communities, but I will leave you with this, the name or title that San Ramón has given itself: “Pueblo de Dios en camino”. A translation is “community of people of God on the way”. On the way to discovering and becoming more of how Christ meant for us to be the body of Christ and the people of God. On the way to achieving more hope, freedom, justice, and love for all people.

Church, Romero, and Hospital: all in a Saturday morning

I just had a meaningful experience that I want to tell you about. It’s Saturday, and I spent the morning in a hospital—but wait a minute, before you get worried, let me first let me clarify that I wasn’t sick or hurt!!! (I am SO thankful that I have not been sick yet at all!) This morning I went (actually the pastor picked me up) with a group from the church where I have been going to spend some hours in the hospital where Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot in 1980 (Romero was shot in the chapel of this hospital). First about the church, and then about the hospital. Last week, when I asked for a recommendation for a church that is active in working with the poor and marginalized and for abundant life and peace, a reliable source recommended this particular one. Fortunately, Cristy, one of the full-time workers at CIS goes to this church, so it was easy enough to find the time and place. I arrived on Sunday and was immediately welcomed and I sat during the service with Cristy’s mother, Cristina. Although the details of the message were difficult for me to understand in Spanish, the pastor talked about the verses in Matthew that talks about our good works being our fruits and used the illustration of the milpas (fields) that are so prevalent here in El Salvador. After church, Cristina invited me to her home for lunch, and I had a great time there with her daughters and their families. I felt really welcome, and even helped her granddaughters with a school project. On Wednesday evening, I went with Cristy to a small group that is kind of like what I call a discipleship group. We read a Scripture and discussed its relevance to the situation today in our own lives, in El Salvador, and in the world. We sang, shared the blessings of the last week, and shared prayers.

Today was both a blessing and a challenge. The hospital specializes in care for cancer patients and our group worked in the 2 areas with the most ill patients. The patients ranged from a thirteen year old to a woman who celebrated her 86th birthday on Thursday. During our time this morning, we spent time listening to and accompanying the dying patients. Part of that involved bathing the men and women, changing their bed linens, and involving them and their families in fun little activities. More important and also more difficult, however, was our presence to listen and talk. I’ve done this type of thing before, and today was especially profound for several reasons: First, I was taken aback by the sheer severity of the conditions of the patients and their loved one’s attention to them. One elderly grandmother had wasted away to practically nothing, but her daughter spent at least an hour and a half trying to spoon a couple spoonfuls of soup into her mouth. Secondly, today I leaned over the same beds that Romero did 30 years ago. For someone who aspires to do justice, love, and walk humbly with God and God’s people, Romero and his work are inspirational. Another important part of my experience today was the youth I was with. Our group consisted of nine youth and some other adult leaders. High schoolers spending their Saturday mornings cleaning the waste of sick people and sitting and talking with them—how often does that happen? Finally, I was once again affected by the language barrier. It’s somewhat uncomfortable to do the important work of listening to people who are dying and to their relatives, but its made even more uncomfortable when you have to try to do it in a language you are only just learning. I came home today having experienced an institution doing a great work, some young people doing great service, and some of the most profound family commitment that exists. I was reminded to think about and do what is most important and meaningful.

To School Once Again

I'm in my second week here at the CIS (Center for InterExchange and Solidarity) language school to learn and practice Spanish in a context that will teach me about the history, culture, and current events of El Salvador. I've had 2 big break-throughs in communication this week. I have a cell phone and just a few minutes ago I connected to the wireless internet at my school so I can communicate with you guys.

And that's only the start of the story of my communication this week. This week, I have been in a Spanish class with one other student and a teacher—yep, that’s right, a class with only 2 students. As you can imagine, the small class size is really great because I have lots of time to speak in class and time to ask questions—I can’t zone in or out, though, because there is a one out of 2 chance that I will be called on to speak. The classes at CIS are taught according to Freirian techniques of popular education. I’m not very well read-up on Freire or popular education, but I will tell you what I have learned about it through experience: instead of having a teacher that lectures throughout the class, the teacher prompts discussions about an interesting subject matter in which we have to use the skill (like a grammer tense or certain vocabulary words) that we are learning. Also, a large emphasis is placed on contextual learning—in this case, the context is Salvadoran history, culture, politics, and economics and worldwide issues such as globalization and the current economic crisis. A typical 4-hour class period goes something like this: discuss the events of yesterday and today (both personal and stuff that has happened in the news), review homework (which might be a discussion about a video we watched yesterday), and read an article or narrative about a Salvadoran or global issue and discuss it. Then my teacher might introduce a grammar topic or new vocabulary and then we would discuss a subject so that we can use what we learned (for example, on the day that we reviewed past tense verb usage, we discussed the previous night’s presidential debates). Afterwards, we sometimes sing a song in Spanish or watch a video in Spanish that helps us review what we are learning, but again, involves some important issue (you might have chuckled when I said we sing songs, but next time you turn on the radio, listen to how fast some singers sing and think about how good it would be to practice understanding their words if you spoke a different language).

You might be asking “Who are the other people at CIS?” There are 6 other students of Spanish, many of whom are also teachers of English in the evening program. Spanish school is from 8 to 12 in the morning and English school is from 5 to 7:30 in the evening. Many of the other Spanish students are also from the U.S., but there are also students from Canada and Germany. There are many English students in the evening classes, many (but not all) of whom are 20-something and attend one of the universities in San Salvador. If you were to be around the CIS building during the days, you might also run into some other non-Salvadorans who recently arrived to begin preparing for “observing” the Salvadoran elections in January and March. Past elections in El Salvador have involved a lot of fraud, so non-governmental organizations like CIS have recruited international volunteers to observe the elections to increase their fairness. Learning about elections and transfers of power in this country make me grateful for the ease with which elected officials take and leave office in the the U.S. The elections in January and March are equally as important in El Salvador as the elections next month in the U.S.

Chicken Rides and Christian Reflection

I’ve never had 9 hours of bus-riding before. Especially not on what Salvadorans call “Chicken Buses”. Let me explain: In our travels from San Salvador to the highlands of Guatamala, four friends and I traveled on buses that resemble public school activity buses in the US except that they are bright and gaudy colors like red and green and they have racks on top where luggage, agricultural products (yes, you guessed it—chickens), and apparently (though infrequently) people ride. The buses have names like Maria, Josephina, and even Jennifer. Inside, seven or eight people ride in each row (yes, these are like activity bus seats) and near the end of the ride when the bus is overly full, many stand (it was quite a ride standing on the whole entire 3 hour return trip from the Guatemalan mountains to Guatemala City). The drivers are apparently paid by the distance they cover in a given time because we passed so many small cars coming down the mountain that I can’t count them and there were many exciting moments that the bus leaned very, very, very far over onto one side, I thought flipping was possible. So, actually there is not much real semblance to activity buses after all, but I will never look at an activity bus the same again. However, my chicken rides were part of my Salvadoran initiation.

The location of this weekend’s retreat was beautiful. It was in the high mountains overlooking Lake Atitlan in Guatemala at a retreat center called “Mount Carmel” run by a Guatemalan parish. My photos are of our views of lake Atitlan and the retreat center. Beautiful. I have also posted a picture of the group that gathered at the retreat center—we were all the VMM missioners that serve in the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. There were the Morrans, a couple with two girls ages 11 and 8, who are in their last month of a 2-year long water and sanitation project. Both are engineers, and though they have encountered many difficulties, they have realized that relationships and meaningful moments have been more important in the end anyways. Then there are Betsy and Steven. Betsy and Steven are in their latter-70s, and Steven is deaf in one ear and half-deaf in the other, but it was such a blessing to sit beside Steven on his better-ear side to hear his story of living in Central America since the 80’s in many different capacities—as a parish minister, a VMM, a teacher, etc. Wisdom that will help me down the road I am sure.

There were more individuals (including other 20-somethings who will prove to be an excellent “peer” community), but perhaps more important was the sense of community at large. The pastor that led organized the retreat around 3 of the five of Jesus’ “discourses”, a.k.a long teachings, in Matthew: Missions (Mttw 10), Parables about the Kingdom of God (Mttw 13), and Community (Mttw 18). Jesus lived and taught to demonstrate that God’s kingdom is both here and not yet (a mystery in Mttw 13) and that God’s desire is for all of us to realize that kingdom, which must be great as it is compared to a mustard seed, leaven, treasure, pearl, and net, both here and in the future.

I´m Here!

Safely in San Salvador, El Salvador and already found internet access-what about that? I arrived with my suitcases weighing 49.5 lbs and 49 lbs (the limit was 50 :-) ), and as soon as I walked around in the San Salvador airport, I had that de ja vu feeling of having been there before. I realized that while on study abroad in Latin America in spring 2006, my group and I flew from San Salvador (the airport I arrived in yesterday) to Nicaragua, so I had indeed been in the airport before. I waited outside the airport for a few minutes until I heard someone call "Jennifer"--that someone was a welcome face: my friend from Furman, Angel, who has been working with FUNDAHMER (the organization I will begin working for officially in November after language school) since early August. She and Armando, the director of FUNDAHMER, picked me and my many pounds of luggage up and we drove to the FUNDAHMER office, where I have been since then--including sleeping last night.

In addition to Angel, Betsy and Julia from VMM (who I met during my VMM training in May in Wisconsin) were welcome faces as were other American volunteers and missioners (who will become great friends, but for the time being I am just happy that they speak English or at least speak slower Spanish). Although I don't officially start language training (at a school) until Tuesday of next week, as early as my time sitting waiting to board the plane to El Salvador, I have been learning (and relearning) Spanish. I am fortunate because I have known and used a lot of the language in the past (in high school and college classes and in Latin America), so it will come back to me with practice. I can hold my own in some conversations, but there have been some funny moments like when I asked a 45-year-old whether she has a novia (which means girlfriend) when I actually meant to ask about her husband (I got both the gender and the spouse vs. dating idea wrong).

The FUNDAHMER office is in a good location in that it is in a safe community on the edge of San Salvador and that it is located next to the UCA (Central American University) and so far I have found that it has good restaurants nearby. My first meal was pupusas (which is THE authentic food of El Salvador), which are thick tortillas filled with whatever goodness you request (cheese, beans, chicken, sausage, etc). Late last evening, Armando, Betsy, Julia, and I discussed my work, where I will live, a reasonable budget, the living stipend I will receive, and any other questions I had. I get the general feeling that people are really caring about my well-being (everything from my safety to my having an enjoyable time). Several of the other volunteers have commented that Armando is a caring-Grandfather-like person.

Right now, I am sitting using my laptop in the FUNDAHMER office because they have wireless internet and a "conference room" with tables. In the morning, I will travel with several others to the location of out weekend retreat (a 12 hour trip, 5:30am to 5:30pm). Thanks to everyone who remembered me as I traveled yesterday--all is safe and good.

The Details

You notice I have named my blog “…To Live…To Work…To Learn…” Since you will be along with me on this journey, in these first 2 posts, I aim to introduce my next two years and explain my blog’s title. First, the details: I leave on September the 24th to begin 2 years as VMM (Volunteer Missionary Movement) missioner in El Salvador. I will fly into San Salvador (the capital of El Salvador) and for two days, I will travel and orient with representatives from VMM and FUNDAHMER (the organization I will be working with—more about that in a second). Then, I will join the 12 other VMM missioners that serve in Central America at a retreat in Guatemala. Here I will meet the other missioners and have a little spiritual “nourishment” to get my two years off on the right foot.

After the weekend retreat, I will travel back to San Salvador to begin 6 weeks of Spanish language school at CIS (Center for Exchange and Solidarity) in San Salvador. The opportunity for language school is a blessing not only because I will learn the language to help facilitate my life and work for the next 2 years, but also because I will learn about Salvadoran history, culture, and current events in afternoon sessions. Moreover, because my language school is located in San Salvador, I will have an adjustment period to begin becoming acclimated to life in El Salvador and for getting to know people from FUNDAHMER and other missioners and volunteers in El Salvador.

My six weeks in language school will end in November. At that time, I will begin working with FUNDAHMER, which is an organization that supports and serves impoverished Christian base communities in El Salvador. FUNDAHMER has projects involving a lot of different types of work in the base communities. (For example, a friend who also graduated from Furman in the spring is presently working with FUNDAHMER in work involving sustainable agriculture). Despite the variety of FUNDAHMER’s projects, all of their work and identity revolves around key principles of their mission: Biblical formation, theology, values-formation, human rights, empowerment, community development, accompaniment, gender equity, alternatives to poverty, and preservation of the environment. What a list! It will be interesting to see how these values play out as themes of my journey of living, working, and learning over the next 2 years.

I will be specifically involved in FUNDAHMER’s Youth to Youth Leadership Project, which will provide faith formation and leadership training to youth in El Salvador. A brutal civil war in the 1980s and the economic, political, and cultural struggles during the war’s aftermath have created pivotal and often dire situations for the young people of El Salvador. Through the Youth to Youth Leadership Project, young Salvadorans will be empowered to actively participate in their communities, the Church, and the world in spite of their social and economic limitations and will be empowered to develop and preserve their dignity and hope.