In January, Love & Hope hosted two different teams of women, and we had a great time getting to know everyone who came!
The first team, composed of Kathy, Mary, Christie, Kayleigh, Lauren, Kirstyn, Sarah, and Mattie, focused on helping Love & Hope get ready for school. We've talked about this before: in El Salvador, every book and notebook must all be wrapped in plastic or contact paper. Sometimes, they even have to be color-coded! It takes a lot of work and a lot of time to wrap all of the books. Since each child has at least 20 items to be covered, we easily have over 400 books and notebooks to wrap each January! We're always extremely happy to get help with this enormous project, and the women's team delivered!
The team helped the kids create great Easter cards to send out to their sponsors. If you're a sponsor, be looking for that handmade card in the mail this spring! Additionally, we enjoyed a game-night where we played Bible Pictionary (very, very intensely!) and a new game for us called Left-Right-Center. The winner won a giant container of chocolate kisses!
Our first group also took everyone on a trip to an indigo farm called San Juan Buena Vista. It is a wonderful, cultural, Salvadoran experience. Indigo was once one of El Salvador's biggest exports until advances in chemistry allowed indigo to be synthesized in the late 1800's. The people at San Juan Buena Vista are trying to re-claim that part of El Salvador's heritage, growing and selling indigo again. The farm gives group tours and invites visitors to make an indigo tie-dyed shirt, which our kids now proudly wear.
Our second team, composed of Kathy, Rachel, Hannah, Suzanne, Tiffany, and Anita started their week at a local public hospital, San Rafael. They painted in the psychiatric ward and also provided funds for the construction of a new consultation room. A few days later, the team returned to San Rafael to have a party with some of the patients there and dedicate the new space. Love & Hope is excited to have made this connection with the local hospital and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.
The team also treated us to a day at the beach. We arrived a bit late due to a large traffic jam in the city, but once we got there it was a blast and the kids played until the sun went down.
Finally, our second team closed the week with another game night. We did relay races and created crazy balloon sculptures. We are very competitive here at Love & Hope; everyone loves to win. This makes any organized games we play very fun and very loud!
Both of our teams also visited a local community where we hosted "back to school" parties for the children who live there. The kids loved it and had a great time making bracelets, decorating folders and pencils, playing games, and just goofing around with a bunch of gringas.
Thank you to both teams of women for serving with us in El Salvador. We loved having you, and we hope you'll come visit us again soon.