Do Not Worry - 6/24/15

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6:26

Today, as we walked into the corn fields of the subsistence farmers of our partner community of Casa de Zacate we witnessed firsthand the pending disaster facing them. Winter, or the rainy season, starts around the first of May. 

This corresponds to the planting season. After a promising start the rain has stopped falling. In fact, the first and only rain storm we experienced during our week long visit was around 8:00 PM tonight. Usually the landscape is lush, a verdant green. 

The dusty fields are so devoid of topsoil moisture seeds are simply lying in the ground not germinating after being planted. Corn plants may only be a few inches tall instead of waist high.

In addition, the fields have been invaded by an army of worms. 

These worms attack the center of the plant affecting the ability of the plant to grow. 

There worms have attacked even the smallest of the plants. 

In Casa de Zinc and Casa de Zacate and in other cantons and caserios there is worry about having enough to eat.  The safety net is at the least in poor repair if it even exists. The farmers have used their reserve seeds in order to plant a  second time.  The third planting will require purchasing expensive commercial seed, the price of which will only go up if the drought continues.

They may not have a crop if the rains don't arrive soon and if the worms can not be brought under control. If there is no crop there is nothing to eat. 

Many expressed how worried they were about not having anything to eat. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink. This verse takes on a whole new meaning in the areas surrounding Berlin, Usulatan, El Salvador.

Questions abound.  Will the rains come?  Even if they come will there be enough to make a difference? Will the worm infestation be controlled? Should there be a third planting? Will it make a difference?  Will there be enough to eat?

Each trip I take to El Salvador I look for the reason I am traveling. Yes, I look to renew relationships between Trinity and our partner communities.  However, there is alway something else I look for.

The purpose of this trip was to be present during this time of anxiousness. To stand beside our brothers and sisters is to reassure them they are not alone.  While we can not make it rain and while we can not eradicate the worms we can offer our prayers, our thoughts, and potentially our help if the situation worsens.

As we closed our visit we came together as one community.  Complete with a band our Trinity delegation along with members of the mission team and members of Casa de Zinc and Casa de Zacate  partied.  With dancing, soccer, refreshments, gifts for the children, pinatas,  all the worry was set aside for a couple of hours.

As the laughter wound itself within the strains of the music, as the smiles appeared on the faces of those watching the children, I was reminded of the great faith exhibited by our Salvadoran brothers and sisters.  Somehow, someway God will provide.

Maurice

6/23/2015

Greetings, Hola, Bonjour, Grüße,

    Our second day visiting the villages took us to Cassa de Zinc.  Geographically speaking Cassa de Zinc isn't very far away from our Pastoral house by Iowa standards.  However, when standing in the back of a pickup truck while bounding down a gnarly dirt road ducking branches to avoid concussions, it felt pretty far.

We were greeted with a colorful sign, balloons, and decorated hearts with greetings written on them, which apparently is the first time to happen here, so that made us feel very appreciated.  We were all given one of those hearts to take with us.

After our initial greetings we had time to talk to
the people of Cassa De Zinc about their issues and fears which, expectedly, mirrored those of Casa de Zacate.  The Directiva elaborated on the same fears and frustrations the townspeople voiced which further demonstrated how deep the problem of the worms and drought are effecting the community.




The rest of the morning was spent visiting the houses of the people.  It is amazing the level of gratitude everyone had for us.  They were excited to invite us into their homes, be it wood and tarp or block and steel.  It was their home and they were proud of what they were able to make with what little they had available.  Even some of the houses that were only wood and black tarp were impressive which showed the level of care they have.

















After our morning visits we stopped at one of the houses to be served lunch. The vegetables were tender, the tortillas were fresh, and the succulent seasoned chicken was likely clucking just a few short hours earlier.

In one respect its hard not to feel guilty when given such a big meal as it is not something they often get for themselves.  However there is a great deal of self respect and pride a community has in being able to take such good care of their guests.  This pride and self worth is one of the main purposes of our mission.  Our actions are intended to help build strong self sustained communities through a relationship of mutual respect and cooperation.  If the meal they provided and the hospitality they showed us was any kind of indicator of this, then they have a great deal to be proud of.

The remainder of our day was spent visiting the rest of the houses in Zinc.  It was enjoyable to meet all the different families.  There were elderly living on their own; parents dealing with teenagers; new families just starting out; and everything else you would find if you took a slice of any neighborhood in America.  These are bright, driven and caring people who's most important desires are just as our own.  They are not a people who need pity but a people who need a partner.

On a special note: 

At the end of the day there was a special visit for three of our delegates.  For the past few years the Weinmans have been supporting a specific family through Trinity's efforts in Berlin.  Today they met that family in person for the first time and took a new family photo.

Here are a few more photos to end on

 

6/22/15

Ladies & Gentlemen:

START YOUR PRAYERS!

We came to my favorite part of the trip today - starting our community visits. We first met with the Directiva of Casa de Zacate. 

Here is the very sad thing that learned. For the 2nd year in a row, there has been very little rain during the rainy season, which happens to be right now. Normally, it would have rained at least once a day on us & we have yet to see one drop!  Here is what most of those crops look like...

Mid to late May was when this was planted. And one of the side affects of no rain is worms. They are eating up the plants. Gusanos are destroying what was an already sad looking crop. No crop?

They won't eat. They're scared. They said those words. They really are scared because last year was a bad year & now this is a disastrous year. 

Remember how we've talked about that they grow their bean crop by letting it grow up the corn stalk?  No corn stalk, no bean crop. So, so sad. We need your help.

Please start those prayers?  

Please pray for rain. 

Please pray for the rains to wash away the worms. 

Here are more Casa de Zacate pictures...

It was Denise's birthday today, so the Pastoral Team bought her a cake. 

We all reaped the benefits of her birthday!

Here's our rock star!

More fun times on Wednesday!

Betty

6/21/2015

 Hola a todos y todas,
Hello everyone, we are still alive and well in Berlín and today was a rather relaxed day. Our delegation started off the day with breakfast and a Misa católica (catholic mass) which was an awesome experience.  This particular mass was children's day where the children of the church were heavily involved.  It was a very fun experience and I am curious on ant differences between a Spanish version and mass in the United States.
After our trip to the church we were able to walk to the marketplace and see all of the vendors. The marketplace is a unique place where people will go to get every day items rather than a tourist attraction for fancy gifts. Walking through the marketplace was a fun experience however we were unable to see where the coffee beans are roasted. We enjoyed a lunch back at the pastoral house and got into the truck to go to the finca de café  (coffee farm).
The truck ride to the farm was a new experience but rather exhilarating.  Crowding as many as ten people into the bed of a truck is not an unusual sight in El Salvador. The farm tour was very informational as many of us had multiple questions about the crop, projected yield, and the process of planting. Unfortunately there is a plague going around eating the crop which the farmers are actively combating. After the farm we saw the crater lake which was very low, lower than many of our veterans have seen it.
Upon reurning back to the pastoral house we settled in for dinner, devotionals and putting together the sacks we will give our families. Overall it was a fun day and below I will include various pictures taken from my phone.
Sam Weinman

Day 3 - Understanding the El Salvadoran Civil War

     Today we spent the day connecting with and learning about the history of the El Salvadoran Civil War. This bloody conflict lasted from the early 70s until the peace accords in 1992. We visited the site of the bloodiest recorded massacre during the Civil War in El Mozote and followed that up with a visit to the Museum of the Revolution which explains the Civil War from the guerrilla side. At the museum, we were also given the opportunity to explore a recreation of a guerrilla encampment to better understand how these guerrilla soldiers lived and survived.

Monument to the 1,000 men, women and children who were massacred at El Mozote. The silhouette of the family is meant to represent all the families that perished that day.

The Garden of the Innocents. This garden has been planted on the site where over 400 children (ages 3 days to teenage) were summarily shot and burned. Most likely the children were shot in the church next door and then their bodies were thrown into the nunnery next door which was subsequently burned to the ground.

Picture from below the Monument to Peace and Love built outside of El Mozote. The monument is meant to symbolize the importance of communicating and listening with one another to avoid another war as bloody as the El Salvadoran Civil War.

At the Museum of the Revolution (guerrilla side) we learned more about the guerrilla plight and their fight for freedom from oppression. Our tour guide actually assisted the guerrillas during the war by guarding their injured soldiers.

View of the recreated guerrilla encampment outside the Museum of the Revolution. Our group toured the site and saw recreations of an underground radio station, a campground "kitchen," a medical tent and bomb shelter.

Our tour guide at the guerrilla encampment was a former guerrilla himself who started serving in the guerrilla forces at age 15, two years after he watched his parents murdered at the hands of government forces. Here he is telling us about some of the "artisan" grenades and bombs the rebels would make from discarded materials.

     Overall, the day was an eye-opening and sobering experience. These men and women endured and suffered so much, but they chose to fight to save themselves and their families. It's one thing to read about what they went through, but it's another thing entirely to actually see, and in some small way, experience what they went through. But through it all, many of these people kept their faith in God and the Church. We could learn a lot from their example and we can only hope to emulate that level of devotion.

-Robert Lyons, Soph. (now Jr.) @ Simpson College