Our First Day

We're here! Happily snacking on mango in the home of Leslie, David and Ryan David.  On the left is Ryan David, 2 yrs old, lover of soccer balls and his family. On the right is Savannah, my travel and teaching buddy. And between them is fresh mango which grows everywhere.

We arrived last night. We're here through our Friends (Quaker) meeting, courtesy of the generosity of Upper Midwest Friends. Northern Yearly Meeting (upper midwest) Friends have had a relationship with Salvadoran Friends since 2002 with many visits back and forth. Right now we're staying with Leslie and David for the weekend at their home in a suburb of San Salvador. It's hot and somewhat humid--along the lines of Minneapolis or DC in August. On Sunday we'll head north to San Ignacio and spend two weeks helping to teach English in the Friends school there. Then we'll return to San Salvador and teach at another school in the city in the neighborhood of Soyapango.

Raul and his wife Loyda picked us up at the airport last night and drove us here. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and generous-- Leslie and David spent much time welcoming us last night, assuring us that their home is our home, cooking delicious platanos y frijoles for us, and orienting us to their neighborhood.

On the way in the airports I really missed my family. The delight Tajah and Da'Jon show whenever we go to Jamba Juice or any food in airports (that delicious junkie stuff we never buy at home). The joy of exploring new places and cultures with Sarah. I'm glad to be able to maintain a connection to home and all of you through this blog.

One of the gifts of this experience is a chance to reflect on, share and explore my faith with friends whose style of worship is very different from my own. For me God as a person is a concept more than a reality. A way of describing and being able to get our small human minds around the deep connectedness between all humans, the earth, and the universe. I find myself using God language because sometimes it conveys concepts that I don't know how to convey otherwise. But at times I feel lacking in integrity because God is not El Senor for me-- or more, accurately, El Senor is only a small slice. 

I've been thinking about faith and what it means to be faithful. At Northern Yearly Meeting Tajah commented again about how Friends truly are friends in a different way than she experiences in the rest of her life. Another friend commented about how the spiritual work and the learning is that we create that community--and we can create it anywhere. For me faith is the ability to truly trust in connectedness. To know that it exists regardless of my ability to perceive it. And that being faithful, now, seems to mean accepting hospitality and being the best friend I can.

Savannah and I are posting these blogs both to share our experiences and to help raise money for the schools in which we'll work. I'll have more info. about how to contribute if you wish later. You can also check out Savannah's blog at http://savannahbug.blogspot.com.