Vacinos

But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” –Luke 10:29

After all the rain yesterday, it was a bright, sunny day here in El Salvador, and some of us have  rosy skin to prove it. We had a productive, eventful day, lending our hands at both worksites. 

After lunch, we went to Pedro’s house. We met Pedro last year, when we worked with him in building his home, also in Getsemani community. He was at work today, but we met his wife and son, who so graciously opened their home for us. We had been there last September, and the family was able to be in their home by December. The yard was so green, lush and full of blossoms. They have a covered breezeway of sorts that connects their newly constructed house with their old house, so their living space is quite large. They use their old house for the kitchen and their new house is used for the bedrooms and living space. It was great to hear how happy they are in their new home.

On the way back from Pedro’s house, we stopped at the cornmill. This is owned by an older gentleman who uses his home as a shop. He closes his cornmill at noon, but was kind enough to open his door and show us how his business works. He talked us through the process of how the neighbors bring corn and it’s mashed for cornmeal to make tortillas, tamales, pupusas, etc. He also has a little store window in the front, where he sells potatoes, onions and eggs… a great example of business in the community which allows them to be self-sufficient. This is especially important, as the community sits far back off the main road, and access to a cornmill otherwise could be quite a feat.

Our final destination of the day was the family home of Francis. Francis is our Habitat liaison this year. She wears many hats, but is often most helpful with translating for us. We had never met her before this trip, but she fits right in with our team. She lives in San Salvador with her older brother and sister, but grew up in Ahuachupan, which is near where we’re staying. Her mother still lives there, and she offered us a side trip on the way home to see her mother’s home. She promised us (in her very humble Francis way) that it was very beautiful, and she wasn’t kidding. We stopped in front of a small bakery and discovered this was her mother’s shop. Her mother waved us behind the counter, greeted us all with a hug and a kiss and told us to come in. (I asked Francis if she was calling to let her mother know that we were coming and she said, “No, I like to surprise her.” I said, “With 13 dirty adults?” What a kind, generous gift to give us.) Her mother has this beautiful home with a two-story open courtyard, plants and flowers everywhere, and a beautiful roof-top deck. Similar to Baltimore city rooftop decks, but here we get to see the Santa Ana volcano to the left, and the beautiful mountainside to the right. After our tour, we were treated with fresh cookies from the bakery. The generosity and kindness is so pure that one can’t help but be smiling. 

We ended our evening tonight with the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37. We reflected on the day, and Kevin challenged us to think about who has been our neighbor since we’ve been here in El Salvador. We each have had wonderful experiences with different neighbors and really could see the work of Jesus as we recognize the importance of taking care of each other.