El Salvador Recap Part 1

With as crazy as life can get, I do not think I will have time to give a day-by-day entry of my trip, so I figured I will at least give an overall summary in a two-part post for those of you who wanted it!

We were told to be at the student center at 3 a.m. to begin our adventure! So, instead of sleeping the night before, two of our teammates cooked authentic enchiladas in Chelsea's apartment (we got smoked out : )) and talked about what was to come. Chelsea's apartment is only about a half a mile from the student center so we had the great idea of walking there... until 3 a.m. comes and Raleigh was experiencing the worst thunderstorm I have seen here yet haha. Needless to say, we woke up Chelsea's roommate who thankfully agreed to take us all. We piled everything four of us would need for a week into her tiny car, stacked on top of each other, and met the other 15 members of our team.

The bus picked us up and off to RDU we go! We flew to Miami and then after an hour of catching our breath and eating, we were off to El Salvador! When we got there, we waited for about an hour in customs and then walked outside to meet our translator for the week and load vans to get some lunch. I have never been more excitedly terrified as I was when I got out of the airport. Because our group was so large, we went through customs individually and walked through the airport exit doors alone. Hundreds of Salvadorians were surrounding the gate, and I'll admit I thought right then and there I was going to have a panic attack or something :  ) Right before I turned around to head back into the airport to find a team member, I see our group leader, Adam's, hand sticking out above the crowd. I have never been so excited to see someone's hand in my life!! Orsy, our translator, began picking on us from the beginning (and trust me, it did not stop throughout the week!).

We drove into the city, had lunch at a street restaurant and then headed to the place we would call home for the next eight days!! A beautiful, ocean-front, bright orange house!! We honestly were not expecting accommodations like this so when we got here we were in awe. We put our bags down quickly, changed into bathing suits, and into the ocean we ran.

Home Sweet Home!!

We were given the weekend off to adjust to the intense heat and to do a little sight seeing! Our Sunday consisted of going to an English church service. The church seemed to be a hub for missionaries and because I did not expect to even go to church on Sunday, it was even more refreshing! The church was BEAUTIFUL. It was held in a triangular building with an all-glass front that perfectly framed El Salvador's volcano. After church and lunch at another street restaurant (where we tried the Salvadorian staple food, pupusas, for the first time!), we headed to hike the volcano. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and now I can officially say I have seen a volcano first hand : ) Even more confirmation for me that God is so incredible and powerful and the best Creator to ever be!

Group at the volcano park :) 

Volcano crater

We ended our wonderful afternoon by zip-lining a Salvadorian forest. The tallest course was over 30 stories high and although I am TERRIFIED of heights, I did it anyways (maybe a little bit to prove to Miles that I could do it!) 

Zip lining!!

I promise did more than sight see : ) Monday began our work week so I will post about our work site and project soon in a Part 2!

Slowly but Surely...

To everyone anticipating my El Salvador posts, I promise I will get them up eventually (slowly but surely : ) )

Here's the post from the way down there:

"In times of chaos and confusion, we know Your sovereign still."


 Having no Internet access, I figured I'll type on my phone and post them later. We are up in the air somewhere between Raleigh and Miami. The excitement is building as I am starting to realize more and more that I am actually going to El Salvador!! Ahh. I can't even believe it right now. 

I pray that God teaches me more this trip than I ever could have imagined and that my eyes are opened to things I never thought possible. 

Work doesn't begin until Monday so we have until then to chill and do a little exploring. Today will most likely be a beach day and tomorrow will be zip lining. Miles would probably say right about now that there is no way in heck I'll get on the zip line but I'm hoping that I'll have enough courage to do it! (P.S. I DID IT!!!) I was told that it's the longest zip line in Central America, and it took a helicopter to complete its course. 

I'm hoping and praying everyone is doing well back home. With the temporary new addition to our family of little Landyn, I'm positive everyone is staying super busy back home; maybe even more than they want to be ; )

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. You are in control of this great experience and for that I am forever grateful!! 

Thanks to all of my friends and family who are praying my way through this whole process. I can't wait to share my experience when I get back!! Love you all :) 

Home

I am back from the trip of a lifetime, trying to adjust to the time zone change and lovely school that likes to slap us on the face every once in a while.

I have many posts to come. God's hand was so present the whole time, and I am so thankful for my new memories.

I think my team mate, Liliana, has perfectly captured my emotions for tonight...

"Now that I came back to the routine, I miss El Salvador so much. I miss the people, the food, the culture, the work, our teamo supremo, the beach being our backyard, late night talks/reflections, laughter, bonding time, the weather, watching the sun set, jamming in the vans coming and going to work, not being aware of the time, no worries, no stress. I miss absolutely everything. I love and miss El Salvador♥"

El Salvador

In less than 24 hours, I will be on my way to El Salvador with a group from my college!

To say that I am excited would be an understatement. Thanks to a huge collection of tests and paper, I have hardly had time to pack this week, and I am thankfully just finishing. Only thing left is to clean up the after math... my dorm room : )

The process for this trip has been such a blessing to me in and of itself. Within a month of going to college, I submitted the application to go on an Alternative Service Break trip and was selected. I was then placed onto a team going to El Salvador and partnering with ( GET THIS) the only Christian organization my college was working with for spring break.

I accepted the invitation to travel knowing I had no money to pay for it. Once again, God provided like He always has and always will. Through two big donations coupled with some other donation from friends and family, I almost had all the money to go!! Then... right before the last team meeting, I'm checking my email in English class and read "Our scholarship donor has selected you! The rest of your trip is paid for."

WHAT?! I almost broke down right then and there in English class. God is incredible!! He blows my mind away on a daily basis. Just more confirmation that when you follow Him and go where He wants you to go, great and mighty things happen!!

I am so ready to experience a new culture, new people... and from what I hear, INCREDIBLE food.

I pray that God will break my heart for the things that break His and open up my heart to be attentive to not only the large things He will show me, but the small things that would probably go unnoticed if my heart is not tuned into what He has for me there.

In the chaos and confusion of life the past few weeks, I started to doubt this trip because my body and mind were tired and all of my friends were gearing up for a week of doing nothing. I know now, after all of the confusion has been cleared up, that there is nowhere else I would rather be this week then in El Salvador learning more about a different group of people that God loves. All power and glory be to you God.

Use me to serve Yours!