Bendicion de Dios (God's Blessing)

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

We knew that we could not put into words how much we were effected by the community at Bendicion de Dios... or how incredibly special the people were... so have a look for yourselves!


THEY PRAY JUST LIKE US... THEY HURT JUST LIKE US... THEY LOVE JUST LIKE US...

GOD BLESS SAMUEL

This is Samuel... He was the sweetest little guy you will ever meet. We wanted to take him home, but he has parents. So, we will just have to settle for being in his life. Our plan is to sponsor him so his family can have food, he can go to school, have medical care and be able to learn about Jesus.

We love you, Samuel... and we pray for you every day.

DAY 2 - 6/21/10

(The view from the garden)

We awoke early to the sounds of roosters, dogs barking and people - before the sun even came up. Our housemates are Annie from Seattle, Savanah from UNC and Jake (Jacobo) from Colorado Springs, CO. Jake is "the baby" of the group and we feel a need to watch over him. Maria Louisa's house is so cool and she has a HUGE garden with a hammock.



We brush our teeth at an outside sink.

Our leaders picked us up for our first mission at 7:15am. After stopping to pray and gather supplies, we went to the place that will forever be burned in our hearts and minds... The houses are one-room homes made of sheet metal with no running water. The people here have limited resources and education. Many of them only own 1 or 2 pairs of clothes. A lot of the kids run around without shoes. When we pulled up in the van, the kids ran up and surrounded us like we were celebrities. They were extremely complimentary, "Senora, me gusta ____" You name it! The kids would tell you they like your shirt, or your hair, or your necklace... one day they liked Jackie's teeth!

We conducted VBS in a tent made out of tarps that was about 110 degrees. This was the "community center." We taught the kids an arts & crafts lesson about "planting the seed" just like Jesus does in our hearts and lives. We used seed packets left over from our friends' wedding: David & Meghan Killingsworth.

Within an hour, we had fallen completely in love with the kids in this community. Bendicion de Dios, also known as "La Communidad", a poor community sponsored by Christ for the City International.

Sunday, June 20th - OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

We made our flights on time and were able to get a good look at the landscape as we flew into San Salvador (the capital... the city where Ryan was born). There were mountains and LOTS of green and hillside homes, shacks made of sheet metal. TeamTacy made it through customs with little trouble due to the language barrier and walked out to where we (were supposed to) meet our team. An hour and a million offers for "taxi" en espanol later, Ryan spotted a guy (one of our leaders, Alexis) with a sign which read "CPCI, Ryam." Hahah, we're all learning, I guess :)



We drove for about 40 minutes to Siloe (Sil-o-eh), the church where our home base was to be. Through the windey streets with garbage everywhere, being feasted on by stray dogs. I asked Alexis about the dogs and he said "No hay control" (there's no control). They don't spay or neuter their animals and they were roaming everywhere... which was very sad to me considering my puppy lives like royalty. There are no lanes on the road and cars fly by eachother dangerously close and dangerously fast!

When we arrived at Siloe and have to be let through a large security gate. (Ilopango, the town, has a lot of gang activity) We met Pastor Javier, some of our team members and our fearless leaders, Elsa and Josue. As soon as we arrived, we noted their hospitality... Ryan and I walked around campus and played with Salvadorean babies. We attended church service and ate dinner as a team.

After an evening team meeting, we were brought by van to our host mother's house in Soyapango - 20 mins outside of our home base, yet much safer to live. Next, we met MARIA LOUISA!!! She is an adorable little woman - probably about 5'1. She has chubby cheeks which makes her eyes squint when she smiles. It had been a long day, so we were shown our rooms, unpacked and settled in for the night. Maria Louisa assured us that "angels are watching over the house."