SMVlog

Hospital Camps

We have so much more to share about our adventures to El Salvador, but let's take a moment for the present.  I am writing from the office at St. Dorothy's Camp and Retreat Center in the first of two weeks of hospital camp: camp for critically ill children and their siblings.

Yesterday we welcomed with great fanfare our largest group of kids with cancer and their siblings.  One boy walked up with his 6 pins-every camper receives a pin at the end of each year and they are sacred.  For others, this was their first time at camp.  Leaving home for a week of camp is scary and exciting.

During our gathering time in the evening we focused on the theme of the summer, "Naming the Sacred," and heard about what is sacred to these campers: family, friends, peace, life, breath, my past, trees, the future, camp, this place.

St. Dorothy's fundraising is in large part to pay for the cost of camp for these children.  It costs about $1500 to send a child to health camp.  This money covers the cost of their camp, in addition to the hospital staff who join them and help make this week possible. 

We welcome many returning campers this week, but we have a large number of new campers.  One teen is at camp for the first time in his life.  By dinner he told me: I'm coming back to be on staff! 

Consider making a donation to St. Dorothy's Camp-your gift goes a long way!  Your gift makes it possible for a critically ill child to have the opportunity to be free and be a child for a week of pure delight and joy!

http://www.stdorothysrest.org/wp/home-1/

stmarythevirgin St. Mary the Virgin
I posted 200 photos on Facebook in the album "Maryonamission2011" http://fb.me/RIToxJpZ

PHOTOS!

More photos soon!  My old computer can't upload all 2000.

HOME!! Hi all, thank you SO much for all the prayers, the love and support! We just arrived home safe and sound and have had a wonderful week. Many photos are to follow, but for now I cannot say how proud I am of our teens and how the people of El Jicaro and Los Ramirez are forever imprinted in our hearts. It was so so tough to say good-bye. Thank you thank you for all the support!

Sopa De Pollo

Report from Jen as of Thursday 6/30 4:30 pm

“Mike killed a rooster!” was the big news in El Jicaro today. Evidentially there are lots of chickens running around and to honor our delegation they’ve been serving several of them up in the past week. And our group, wanted to help out as much as possible, including by decapitating chickens. After one member of the Madison delegation killed a chicken last night the "sopa de pollo" took on a whole new meaning. And tonight's chicken will be courtesy of Mike. Jen was very proud of our youth who have been extremely polite and have helped out by washing dishes, clearing the table, and generally being very grateful. Jen was even told that they are much more polite than teens from previous delegations (naturally).

Yesterday, our group went to the town of La Palma for shopping and to view art by Fernando Llort.  While in town many enjoyed the fried chicken at Pollo Companero for about $5 a person, while Jen and a few others braved the local restaurant (which Jen said was much less expensive and much more delicioso). Upon returning toEl Jicaro,  they encountered a brutal thunderstorm that knocked out all the electricity. As a result the everyone spent the evening with their host families (although it was difficult to talk over the din of the rain on the aluminum roofs).

The days are very full, up at 6:00 with the chickens for breakfast with their host families, followed by teaching English at the school at 7:30 until noon. The children call our youth “teacher” and remain with them after school, where they return to Rude’s house for lunch followed by games, jewelry making, and other activities. The school only goes until 9^th grade, however, there are people as old as 19-20 in the 8^th grade, however, due to the less nutritious diet and poverty they live under, the El Jicaro kids look much younger than they Americans of the same age.

There have been lots of festivities including a birthday party for Rude, a Father’s Day celebration, and they’re planning a big goodbye Carnival for their departure on Saturday night. The other day, our group walked through the town and picked up all the trash. The teens eat both breakfast and dinner with their host families and are typically in bed by 9 or 10.

Jen said everyone is having a really great time, and mixing well with the Madison group.  One of the bigger challenges is the language – and not just for the non-Spanish speakers. Living in a remote village, they have a unique dialect, so there are lots of new words to learn, but they’re picking it up. They’re also getting a good understanding of the political situation and an appreciation of poverty in our world.  Now the big debate is whether they want to return to El Jicaro or find another village next year.

En las Montañas

As of 5:30 pm (Salvadoran time) on Monday, June 27th

I received another call this afternoon from our delegation with updates from the last two days. This time Jen put me on the phone with Izzy and Allie to give me an update. They were both very excited to share their experiences and sounded like they were really getting a lot out of this trip.

Izzy told me all about their hike up the mountain on Sunday. The group woke up early and traveled by truck to a nearby mountain, Montañona (?). During the course of their journey up the mountain, they heard stories of the Civil War (1980 – 1992) from their local guides. Both Rude, a woman who is our main host, and Oskar, Izzy’s host father, were guerrillas during the war which cost Oskar an arm and the lives of several family members of the community. Our delegation was very moved by these stories and upon reaching the top of the mountain, they said prayers for those lost in the war.

I was told they could see Honduras from the mountain. This leads me to believe that the town Jen mentioned as being close by is “El Cacahuatel” which is in Honduras, but I can’t be certain of that. Reports are that it hasn’t been too hot, but it rains a bit every day. Allie demonstrated some toughness when she told me that she and Ellyn found a scorpion in their house, but it sounds like they handled it very gracefully.

On Monday morning, our teens went to the school to help out. They were put in groups of three into the various classes. Some taught lessons in the younger classes, while others participated as students. Several of our youth didn't speak any Spanish at the beginning of this trip, but they are picking it up quickly. Allie was very proud to tell me she's learned all her colors and numbers.

In El Salvador, schools run year-round, but only in the mornings, so there’s lots of time to keep them busy in the afternoons, which included lots of games and making friendship bracelets. According to Allie, the local kids love Uno, and she’s played a ton of it already. The local children also love their digital cameras and they spend all-day taking random photos on them. Allie also mentioned that Ellyn, Walker and Lia have all been busy playing soccer with the kids with the new balls we sent down.

I was told that the food is “super good.” Allie’s host mother is a bit concerned that Ellyn and Allie won’t be able to feed their husbands because they don’t know how to make tortillas which amused them quite a bit. Other popular items include the 30 cent cokes and red sugar water than can buy in the tiny local store.  Another “popular” item was the lime-flavored BBQ pork rinds, which Allie reluctantly announced as “Delicioso!”

The Middle of Nowhere

A report from our delegation (as of Saturday, 6/25 6:30 pm El Salvador time).

After a very long journey and very little sleep, our delegation of 12 arrived on Friday evening at their destination of the villages of El Jicaro and Los Ramirez after nearly 24 hours of travel. Meeting up with the six from Madison, we're happy to report are that groups are melding very well and everyone is really happy.

Upon arriving safely in San Salvador, the group immediately jumped on a bus and enjoyed a quick visit to a historical site where 6 priests were assassinated in the 1980s. According to Mother Jen, Salvadorans are pretty literal with their history, and the museum showed the clothes the priests were shot in as well as a room with pretty gruesome photos. Good thing they had a history teach (Mike) and Spanish teacher (Jessica from Eagle School in Madison, WI) and a spiritual guide to help them put it all into context.  

After the museum, they took a 3-hour journey on the back roads of El Salvador. There's no interstate highway they could enjoy and they had to stop for every cow, cart, washed out road, etc. which added a lot of time to the trip. According to Jen, El Jicaro and Los Ramirez really are in "the middle of nowhere". She told me the nearest large town is called Chahuatel, but I couldn't find that on the map either. (Next time I her from here, I'll see if she can find out another point of reference for us). In fact, El Jicaro is so remote that the bus couldn't even make it up, but a pick-up truck was able to navigate the path and transport their luggage up the hill. Apparently a good thing because it was pouring rain when they arrived.

Once up the hill, our exhausted crew settled in and started getting to know their host families. Most people crashed by 9 pm, but were up bright and early Saturday morning, and started working immediately - which involved playing with the children in the village. Apparently the boys - Mike, Walker and Andrew - enjoyed a very dark room and sauntered over to the meeting space at 9 am (3 hours after everyone else started working). The rest of the day was filled with playing lots of game playing - including the Youth Group favorite of Waaaa, which Natalie and Ellyn (both great Spanish speakers) explained to the locals. Saturday afternoon involved a welcome festival, which started an hour and a half late (sounds like they need to get used to El Salvador time).

Sunday will start early with excursion out of the village to a nearby mountain. Jen will celebrate Eucharist for our group. Evidently, the locals can sort of comprehend a woman priest, but they can't wrap their hands around a priest with a tattoo.

All in all, very positive reports back. When asked if anyone was complaining about the beds or showers, Jen said "Not at all, they're not even complaining about the huge bugs in the toilets". Prayers that their mission continues to be so rewarding both for our delegation and for the communities they are serving.

Journey to El Jicaro

Our delegation of 11 youth led by The Rev. Jennifer Hornbeck and youthgroup leader Mike Stafford left late last night for a long journey to El Jicaro and Los Ramirez. Beginning with a red eye from SFO to Houston the teens and leaders were in for a long day. Here's a pic of the crew porting their new brightly colored "Jovenes sin Fronteras" (Youth Without Borders) t-shirts, making it easy for our leaders to locate them all in the crowd. (Thanks to Steve Dini for making those happen).

 

Our group is blessed to have Mike, Jen and friend of SMV from Madison, WI Cory Muir lead them on this amazing journey. Here you see Mike, a history and comparative government teacher at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School, giving the kids a less in Salvadorean history and politics during their 3-hour layover in Houston.

Jen called this morning (Saturday) to let us know they arrived safely in El Jicaro. All the kids are settling down into their new homes. More news to come.