Snippets of Life in El Salvador

I apologize for the severe lack of blog posts recently. Life here in El Salvador has begun to pick up pace a bit. I’m finally getting settled into a routine. Lots of things have been keeping us busy here. Here is a brief summary of all the things that have been happening:

Speaking Hope

Elsa is in charge of an English program here in a community that Christ for the City works in called Bendición de Dios. When I was giving my quad a rest I was able to go with her to an English class and meet the girls she teaches. They recently had a bunch of curriculum donated so on Thursdays before our staff meeting when I don’t have soccer I am helping her organize it all. I’ve been creating lesson plans so that when missionaries come to teach English we can hand them a binder with all the information necessary to teach the class. Christ for the City is in the process of trying to promote this more and are asking Elsa to think of a name and create a logo. During a brainstorm session with her on the way back from the meeting I suggested “Speaking Hope.” The goal of the program is two fold: 1) To use English as a means of sharing the gospel and 2) Giving them the a base in English that will give them hope for opportunities in the future they might not otherwise have. She’s really excited about this and we even messed around with a few logo ideas.

Fresh Start Conference

Christ for the City brought a team of missionaries from an organization in Nebraska called Fresh Start to put on a conference for the staff and a few local churches. The focus was on how to discover places in your life where you’ve been hurt and how to go through the entire healing process to be freed from it. It was a very well done conference and was very well received. It’s especially important in a culture where forgiveness and healing are not frequently talked about. We were able to bring about 10 of the soccer boys to attend the conference as well. It was such a cool opportunity for them and awesome to see them actively engaged. I think many of them have great leadership qualities that if asked to step up and lead they would be capable of doing some amazing things!

English Speaking Bible Study

Last Tuesday night Elsa and I went to an English-speaking bible study at her church to check it out. It was such a perfect fit for both Elsa and I. We immediately felt welcomed into the group. We sang a few worship songs in English (which as much as I love worshiping in Spanish it’s nice to do it in English once in a while) and then had a good discussion about suffering and keeping perspective in the midst of it. Everyone was very really and engaged which was awesome. We both felt like this was a place where we can get support and be understood as most people in the group have a connection to or are from the United States. One couple is even thinking about moving to Boulder, CO! That same couple said that I remind them of and older version of their youngest daughter who is 11. We’ve both been looking forward to the group tonight ever since leaving last Tuesday. It’s a huge answer to prayer for both of us! Although Elsa speaks Spanish fluently, it’s easier for her to express herself in English so this is a great group for her where she can really use either. We’ve decided to make Tuesday afternoons our coffee shop day to avoid the evening traffic on the way to bible study. One of the couples in the group owns a chain of coffee shops in San Salvador called “Florence.” This is going to be our Tuesday afternoon hang out.

Coaching Girls Soccer

This has been one of my biggest challenges here. One day right as soccer was starting, Maltez (one of the coaches) approached me asking if I could coach the girls separately. With absolutely no practice plans and no time to come up with a plan I said yes. I managed to come up with drills and games but this wasn’t the hard part. The struggle is to coach in Spanish. How do you teach drills and basic techniques in passing, dribbling, shooting, etc when you don’t know the vocabulary to explain it? This has continued to be a struggle but I manage using my broken Spanish and a lot of demonstrations. There are usually only about 4 girls in the group and sometimes only 2. This also makes it hard. How do you run drills and games with just 3-5 people? Options are limited, and typically less exciting. However, the biggest challenge has been with 2 or 3 of the girls. They simply aren’t interested in learning how to play. They only want to talk with the boys, which is also a distraction for them. While I believe that they genuinely want to play better, they have no interest in doing what it takes to get there. This leads to low energy, sloppy participation in drills, complaining, and choosing to simply stop when they don’t feel like doing something. Yesterday afternoon some of the other coaches started to pick up on it and I had a conversation with Maltez and Chamba afterward. When soccer isn’t the ultimate goal of the program it complicates the decisions to be made. We want the girls there to build relationships with them and pour into them as Christ would, but then there’s the soccer component. The means by which we do this is soccer. Additionally, the distraction for the boys isn’t healthy. If it’s taking away from the impact we can have on the guys it might not be a sacrifice worth making at this point. No decisions have been made but I think we’re going to set higher expectations of the girls and if they can’t meet those they aren’t ready for the soccer program and might be asked to leave. Please pray for guidance and patience in this area!

My First Salvadoran Wedding

Last Friday Elsa took me to a Salvadoran wedding with her. We only went to the reception and aside from the prom-ish dress and latin music, it was actually quite similar to weddings in the US. Unfortunately, in the process of backing I decided to leave my prom dress at home. With my limited wardrobe here (mostly consisting of soccer shorts and t-shirts) it was difficult to find something fancy enough. After being given many nice shirts to try on that would have been quite appropriate for belly dancing (they were pretty short), I decided it would be best to simply go a little more casual. I figured I would stick out enough with my light skin and blue eyes, and complete inability to latin dance, that it wouldn’t be a complete shock that I wasn’t dressed like everyone else. Towards the end of the reception they have what is called a “carnival.” They bring out all sorts of part items like beads, hats, whistles, masks, etc. to hand out to guests. It was a lot of fun and a cool way to and a little spice to the dance.

Beach House and Eliseo Quintanilla

This past Saturday Elsa took me to their beach house. We stopped at a local surf spot for lunch on the beach. After a tasty lunch we walked down the beach a little ways and found a spot to sit. From there Elsa spotted Eliseo Quintanilla a famous Salvadoran soccer player who played for DC United for 4 years and now is back in El Salvador playing for the national team of El Salvador and another national team called Firpo. After telling me a little bit about him (for more info click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliseo_Quintanilla) Elsa was determined to get me a picture with him. After gathering up the courage to talk to him we walked over and said hi on our way out. He and his friend (manager?) asked us to sit down and we ended up talking for about an hour. Most of the conversation was centered around the soccer school outreach that I’m working with. Elsa explained all that we’re doing with it and he seemed pretty interested. He offered to have some of the boys come watch a practice of his sometime. While it cut our relaxing time at the beach a bit short, it was a good conversation and a great contact for the future. After the conversation and declining an invitation to go out with him later that night in San Salvador, we headed to the beach house. We spent the night relaxing in hammocks, reading, and watching a movie. The next morning we packed up, had a local get a coconut down from the tree for us to eat and a bunch more to bring back to Elsa’s family, and headed back home.

Praises!

My quad and blisters have healed and I’m back in action at soccer

I’m feeling settled in and finding my niche

I’m beginning to see relationships starting to form a bit more with the youth

Elsa and I found an amazing bible study and community to get involved with

I’m still healthy!

Seth was offered and accepted the job in Boulder!

Pray Requests

Patience and guidance with the girls at soccer

Continued good health

Being able to focus on things here while also thinking about and planning what’s next

Continued safety (especially while driving)