LUCIANO

Today was a day full of emotional highs and lows. We headed back out to the Ranch early this morning to deliver food (beans, rice, flour, oil and sugar) to 12 impoverished families that live around the area.

As we left the farm area on foot, our back packs filled with food for them, although we knew we were going to be helping these 12 families, we had no idea how incredibly powerful this experience was going to be.

One of the people that lives in the village that also helps work on the farm led the way. He's lived in the village for many years and knows which families are the ones currently most in need.

On the way to our first stop.  As you can see this "road" is not like the one that leads up to your house

El Salvador is a country with nearly 80% of its people living in extreme poverty and is overtaken by gang violence.  It's currently the country with the most homicides in the world. We have learned that most people here don't and can't think past "today" and live only in the moment... How they're going to get food for the day to feed themselves and their families...how they're going to survive today...as tomorrow may or may not come. We got to see the extent of the poverty and experience this first hand as we visited these 12 families. The supplies we delivered to them should last them approximately one week.

The poverty and conditions were unlike anything the group had ever experienced. Many of the families we met were single mothers or grandmothers with multiple children ... it was heartwrenching to hear many of their stories and see their everyday lives. Please keep these families, and the people of El Salvador in your prayers as you read of our encounters from today.

Visit #1 - At this house there lived 4 families. We recently hired one of the men that lives here to start work in the construction of these new orphanage houses on the farm. Although this will start to help him and his family, they are far from doing well. In addition to their poverty, their little daughter is mentally and physically disabled. She needs the care of specialists and a wheel chair because she cannot walk. This little girl will never have the opportunity to have an education, as there are no special education teachers and children with special needs are not allowed in the normal public school system since class sizes average around 40 children and there is no one that is trained to care for or teach the children with disabilities.

Visit #2: An 80yr old man that lives at his home with his wife. He's been living at this home for more than 20 years. This man told us that he is in great physical pain. The whole right side of his shoulder area and back hurts so badly that he cannot do anything around the house, go out to get food or work. His wife was not there because she was out finding food, since he could not...our food delivery ended up being perfect timing for them. He told us that he has two sons, but they have left them and are on to "different things"...he did not specify, yet, in El Salvador it's very common for impoverished children to be swept up and recruited into a gang that promises them a better life. He said that they come by every so often, but provide him with no help whether it be around their house, food, medical...anything. They seemingly only come to check to see if they are still living or dead. He asked us to join around him and to pray for him, his family and his healing. We all joined hands around him and asked God to provide him with all that we could not.

The road leading to our next family

Passed by a cow farm, whose run off from cleaning the cows/cow manure was not filtered and drained into one of the only water sources

Still walking...

Almost there!

We were greeted by this peppy, yet starving little puppy

Visit #3: ...And then we met Luciano Ramirez Castro. Señor Castro is a bold, faithful, and incredible man. He also lives in impoverished conditions like other locals, but was fortunate enough to have been taken to the hospital to have surgery for his prostate. The healthcare here is not like ours... It's free but with conditions very similar to those during World War II where a curtain separates each patient as they are lined in rows. Since his surgery, Luciano continues to have complications and serious medical issues, BUT as we gathered around him to bless him something was different about Luciano. As we began our prayer for him, he interrupted our prayer and started praying for US. In his prayers, he thanked God for bringing us to him, for the food we brought and simply just for caring about him to come visit, as he has been abandoned by all others. He added, "we are now all family since you have come to care for me, like no other has." He must have prayed for literally 5 minutes straight, thankful for all that he has, for us coming and for his heavenly Father that he said has never left his side. Powerful: to share this moment with this man who had nothing yet was thankful for everything... him pouring his heart and soul out in our presence. Emotional for everyone in our group: how could he pray like this given his conditions? Why would he pray for US?  His response, God provides and is always there for me when everyone else abandons...after all, he sent you!" Incredible moments that will be with our team forever.

Heading to delivery #3

Still headed to delivery #3

Needing comfort and a place to dry tears after this emotional visit

Our visits continued on similarly the rest of the morning... Our life lesson? Of the many, we are certainly reminded that there are countless amounts of people that definitely have it harder than us and are still faithful, persevere and make do with what they have...although the bare minimum.

And then it was time to shovel! We began mixing and pouring the foundation for the home we have been digging the trenches for throughout the week. It was incredible to see the walls forming, and more importantly what the home would mean to the children that are able to live there. Afterall, all of the children that we have met in the orphanage have come from situations and circumstances like those we saw today. This house will be another blessing and another step to providing these children with a future that they deserve and some hope for the future. We shoveled granite, dirt, and other "organic" material ... we were so thankful for our friend with a truck to help us move materials!! The team is so excited to continue to see the ranch progress so it can be used to change the lives of so many children. Completion and a full move in is estimated by the end of August/early September.

Roxanne and her axe

As we left the ranch for the last time this trip, we were absolutely on a high. We did awesome work this week, helped make great progress, and then got to visit one of six super volcanoes in the world, volcano Ilipongo, that could be seen right from the Ranches property! Although it is currently inactive, of this volcano were to blow again, it would wipe out all of central America! What looks like a lake is actually the part that blew off last eruption and has since filled with water.

During our drive back to the hotel, we encountered more traffic than on previous days. As we came closer to the cause of the backup we saw a roadside market with locals gathered...the police.....number place marks on the street......a funeral van..... and then there it was... a chubby, older female lying on the ground in pools of blood...dead. After gasping at the site, silence overcame the bus.  The lows...

The reality of what we witnessed is heavy. The truth is that this was likely the mother or grandmother to a home full of children that no longer exists on this earth. She may have been the sole provider to her family, like many of the other families we saw earlier in the day that were also struck with tragedy. Who was she? What would become of her family? What could have been so terrible to have led to someone to doo this to her?!?... Nothing...This amongst so many other things... rocked us.

El Salvador is such a beautiful place, but is flooded with sin, injustice, fear and violence which corrupts and pollutes this beauty.
All of what we witnessed and experienced today reminds us of our mission and why we felt called to serve here in the first place. We have only been here for a week, but the help and support that we've provided to this Foundation that has had its roots planted here now for nearly 15 years has worked miracles with these children, many families and many community members. We can now can only hope and pray for the renewal their hearts and minds, to change their behaviors and attitudes, to bring about change to not only people of this area, but to the whole country that so terribly needs it.