Places to Visit in El Salvador

A Dream Come True (or Adventures in Deep Seas Fishing???)

Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Thinking About God -

Sometimes I bump into God in the most unexpected places. You’d think that being a missionary would mean that I have some kind of special connection with God, or some “inside track.” A lot of times it’s quite the opposite. I feel lost in the daily things…the little negativities that crawl inside my mind and make their home there. I lose perspective, and I forget that in the middle of it all God deeply cares for us. Then He makes a dream come true. Ever since I was a child if you asked me my dream place to live I would have answered that my dream is to be near the ocean and the mountains. I said this as a kid, but I never really dwelled on it. The other night […]

One Million Lights

Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

Tonight I stood up above the city of the San Salvador, high above one million lights. I was at Los Planes de Renderos and from the lookout I could see San Salvador wrapped around hills and pushed up against the San Salvador volcano. We made a quick stop at the lookout with a group that is volunteering this week from a church in North Carolina. Their oohs and aahs at the beautiful city lights reminded me of my first time standing above the city nearly 3 1/2 years ago. I saw those million lights the very first time I came to El Salvador. Tonight a small voice inside reminded me of what I thought of all those lights the first time I saw them. I remember thinking of the more […]

Intern Orientation Week

Crossing Cultures, Interns, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Training -

I can already tell that this summer is going to fly by! Last week was a great start with our Intern Orientation.  LeAnna and Heather will be working with us to do all of our ministries, get stuff done around the base, and host the teams that will be passing through El Salvador this summer. They are seriously awesome and we feel like we hit the jackpot getting to work with them all summer! Last week they had a full week with orientation to all of our ministries, training that focused on cross-cultural issues, and a brief overview of El Salvador’s culture and history including a visit to a local museum run by an ex-guerilla from El Salvador’s civil war. We ended the week with a trip to go hiking at La […]

Easter in Color

Holidays, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

Yesterday was Good Friday and many streets in El Salvador were alive with color.  Starting at dusk on Thursday evening, and working all through the day on Friday,  people used dyed sand, sawdust, and salt to create works of art depicting Jesus life, death, and Resurrection. We spent the afternoon looking at the “alfombras”, or carpets,  in the town of Santa Tecla. Good Friday is also a day when many people participate in processions to remember the Crucifixion. On their way to church, the processions pass over the alfombras. We walked down the street right before the processions to the local church began so we got to see the alfombras in full color. So many times when we are out on the streets it is to feed someone who is hungry, […]

Trip to Apaneca

Places to Visit in El Salvador, Short-Term Missions, Third Culture Kids -

One of the things I love about our job is that we constantly get to meet new people and do new things. For the last few weeks we have had the opportunity to meet lots of great people by teaming up with Possibilities International to host a short-term mission team in El Salvador. This organization is aimed at helping dreams come true for the hopeless.  They brought a team from Ontario, Canada into El Salvador to build a home, feed the hungry, and serve in poor communities around El Salvador. We were so blessed by getting to spend time with them! After their week of hard work, they did some “touristy” stuff and we got to tag along!  A highlight was a trip to do the zip-lining canopy tour in Apaneca […]

Inspiration from a Sea Turtle

Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Thinking About God, Third Culture Kids -

    This little guy is headed straight for the big, gigantic Pacific Ocean. He was hatched on a beach in El Salvador and every instinct inside his little heart tells him to run for the ocean. He is small, and the ocean is immense. But he is still going for it. He knows his purpose, and he knows his calling. He doesn’t stop and look around and wonder what everyone else thinks. He doesn’t question if he is really supposed to go, or wonder how he will survive in such a deep and large sea. He just knows that’s where he’s supposed to go…no matter what dangers he may face, or how scared he is inside. On Saturday, our family took part in a project run by USAID to help […]

Market Day

Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador -

We walk down the crowded street, rubbing shoulders with many along the way. The scent of sizzling tortillas is carried on the breeze with the smell of cigarette smoke and fresh bananas. The air is filled with the songs of women selling their fruits and vegetables…bananos-tomates-cebollas-chiles. Stalls filled with baby clothes, furniture, pirated DVDs, and shoes line several streets while on another few blocks sit rows and rows of fruits and vegetables in every color. Little shops with cheese and cream sit next to shops selling meat and bread. We move quickly through the crowd. It’s not a great idea  to linger long in downtown San Salvador with cash in our pockets. But we stop to chat for a moment with the usual ladies who give us the best prices. The city steams as the […]

Trip to Morazán – Part Four – Río Sapo

Crossing Cultures, Family, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador -

After eating in one of the best pupserias in El Salvador for dinner Thursday, we woke up on Friday for one last excursion before heading back to San Salvador. We spent the morning exploring the Río Sapo (meaning “Toad River” or according to Tori, “Frog River”…honestly not sure which is correct…still working on the Spanish). Anyway, the Río Sapo is a beautiful river that runs down from the mountains and cascades over rocks of all different shapes and colors. There are several swimming holes in the area, and the water is said to be turquoise. It didn’t look too turquoise to me, but we are in the last few weeks of the dry season so the river wasn’t running too deep and I think that may make a difference in […]

Trip to Morazán – Part Three – Memorial at El Mozote

Crossing Cultures, History of El Salvador, Justice, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador -

On December 11, 1981 a horrific event took place in the town of El Mozote located up on a mountain in the department of Morazán. The government troops decided to repress the guerilla movement by killing around 750 men, women, and children in a terrible massacre in the town square. The people were systematically killed. The men were interrogated, tortured, and shot. The women and young girls were raped and then machine gunned. Children were locked in a church, shot, and then the building was burned to the ground. After leaving the town square more people were killed in the surrounding communities. In the end,  1,000 Salvadorans were dead. It was a human rights atrocity of the worst kind. A cover-up followed as the government insisted this was a false claim by the […]

Trip to Morazán – Part Two – Guerilla Military Camp

Crossing Cultures, Family, History of El Salvador, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

The kids really enjoyed our trip to Morazán department last week, and I think one of the highlights for them was the opportunity to explore the miliary encampment of the guerilla troops. Morazán is very moutainous, with craggy hills and valleys perfect for guerilla warfare. One of the campsites of the rebel troops has been restored and preserved by the local community in Perquín. Many artifacts have been found around the area and brought to the site of this military camp to show what life was like for the guerilla troops during the Salvadoran civil war. It was really interesting to see. Growing up in Maryland, and then living in Pennsylvania, I have visited battlegrounds and military campsites in places like Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Antietam, and Fort McHenry. But this was very […]

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