Community Built in El Salvador

Hello everyone!! My name is Katherine Medow, I am a junior at Benedictine College.  I am majoring in Psychology, with minors in Education and Theology.  I am from Utica, NE. This is my first time ever being out of the country AND being part of a mission trip.  It has so far, been the most amazing, unforgettable experience I have ever had.  And the week is not over yet...there is still more to come!

  These past three days as you know have consisted of our groups building houses for those in a community here in El Salvador.  Sunday we went to the work set and met the families, then we came back Monday, Tuesday, and today and finished the houses.  Each day we have visited the community, we have gotten to know the families better(even through a language barrier--somehow, someway, it works!).  The children who have helped us build come from other families no less, we have always been greeted by everyone in a friendly manner, and when we leave the friendliness leads us back to the CFCA house.  If there is one thing I've noticed that I've connected back to my own life at BC, it's the community.

One of the pillars at BC is community.  At the work site, I feel that one of their main pillars as well is community, except they don't have any "pillars"..the pillar of community is simply instilled there naturally.  This community is shown through everyone who is willing and ready to work alongside us, including the children, boys and girls, who age anywhere from 5 to 11+.  Even parents did what they could to help us.  For those of us who struggled with nailing wood or sheet metal(yupp--that was yours truly), the children would stand by us as we would try to nail and then they would reach for the hammer in our hand and get the job done in five minutes.  We stood and still stand amazed. They also were more than willing to help us hold things, find things, and offer us a smile as the day progressed.

  I learned especially today and throughout the week so far that you don't have to be in a college setting to have a strong community.  All it takes is parents and children who look out for each other and show love through helping those around them.  The love they show each other is like nothing I have ever seen.  It's truly amazing to see how everyone came together for this event and made it possible.

  We've grown in community as a group as well.  We've gotten to know each other a lot better and have learned how to work well together.  Who knew that a little hard work could bring so many people together. In the end, I think that both our group of BC students and the people from the community we've been working with, have greatly influenced the other and have changed us perhaps in our way of thinking or simply just opened our eyes a little more.

  Everyone is going to miss seeing the families and their children at the work site and there were tears as we left today, but the happiness we gave each other and the memories we created as we worked and played, over powers the sadness and leaves us feeling stronger, appreciated, loved, and most importantly we feel like a community, a community of workers and friends, from the inside out.

Hope you alls enjoyed the post!  :)  Blessings to everyone and continue to pray for our trip! Thank you!!