Project 214 in El Salvador 2016: So We meet again.

On July 9th, 2016, a team of 4 with 1 in the field boarded a flight with American Airlines to embark on but another journey to the dirt roads of El Salvador. Sacacoyo y las Palmeras were awaiting us. It would be a completely new team, a blank slate of expectant souls within the living shells of these women. I grinned as I looked on them thinking, "You're lives are about to change forever." An impression receded within me like swallowing hot coffee. It seeped through my esophogus and through my bloodstream. That warm sensation came over me: I was going to be reunited with my extended family and be confronted with another dimension of myself after three years of absence. I was ready.This experience would be different, as we were first and formost going in the Name of the One who sent us. Yet, we were also going in the name of our, oh my word can I say it, non-profit organization: Project 214. How we arrived to that point, only the current of destiny could've taken us there. Invisible hands guided by purpose and matteroffactness. Nothing was going to stop this tidlewave of design. It had officially become unstoppable.When we arrived that night, a flood of emotions, familiar sights and sounds were engulfing me. It was a surreal feeling, as if I never left. The pastor and his team were glaring through the large glass windows that were just outside of customs and immigration. We hustled to get our monstrostity amount of suitcases filled with love, clothing, and offerings. It was quite a scene trying to rally almost a dozen suitcases. It was a small feat in light of what we had to accomplish, the many tasks that lied at hand.We locked eyes, as I saw my mother-in-law shuffling through the crowds to pick up her cubs, as she would be the mama bear of the group. She morfs into local dialect and manerisms I would stay instantly, and each time she returns to her homeland. Our site coordinator, she was working overtime to make sure we had our lodging, food, and transport under control. That's my girl.Loaded all in the van and pickup truck, the team and our luggages, we whipped and winded through the captial of San Salvador after dusk. Reunited with my spiritual brothers and team members from the church Iglesia de Dios Ebenezer, I got lost in my gaze, as the trees swayed past me. Tears slid down the crevice of my cheeks in silence. Purpose radiated through me. My heart started pounding, almost feeling afraid it was audible. As I heard the laughter and chatter of the team and our friend Danny the driver, I sunk in the greatness of God. The fight, the struggle, the battle that needed to be won...officially had been. Like when a country declares triumph, and they stick their flag in the dirt? Yeah, that's how I felt in that moment, in that car ride up the slopes of the capital. We had arrived. And the God of Israel ensured it. Wow, was all I could whisper.And there we were: on foreign soil to promote the power of education as a means to combat poverty, illiteracy, crime, violence, and hopelessness. We were on a serious mission not just to provide some resources, but to EMPOWER the people themselves to then generate resources of their own, and for their own lives with their own hands, minds, and potential. That's what systems of sustainabilty should look like. We'd be the cheerleaders with some tools. They themselves would be the heroes.To recount every single moment would be nothing short of a manuscript. The people, the locals, the families, the children were exctactic to see us. Our host Rosa was just incredible. Her heart and her hospitality were mother-like! Her house was like a palace for us. It was God's gift of comfort for us, uniquely designed for our coming, it felt.We can't forget about our private chef Tia Mila. Tia Mila is my husband's aunt who takes great pride in cooking authentic and restaurant quality meals for the group. Her famous pupusas were a hit. Each day she arrived early in the morning to make sure we had our meals ready, hot, and waiting for us. We called her our preciosa, bella Tia. She was all over it. The projects came nice and steady. We had a plethora of assignments to accomplish before our ten days expired. It reminded me of grad school all over again. Yet, I was so glad that this was a group assignment. On our agenda: organizing our donations of clothes, shoes and school supplies, purchase of backpacks, more school supplies, and back to school party items just to name some. When speaking with the pastor and some of the locals, it was clear that they were in need of milk, toothepaste, and toothbrushes. Hygiene and nutrution were lacking they said, in order to have a successful school day. The government gives each student in El Salavdor one box of school supplies for the year. After that, that's it. No backpack is ever given as well. So many of the kids recycle backpacks from sibling to sibling. We were there for a purpose, it was becoming crystal clear as the conversations progressed, and so was the evolution of our resources that we would provide.Since we are there in partnership with the local church, we also particpated in their services as well. They go to service everyday as a custom, so we would go with them. It was always a joy to see authentic worship in an indigenous part of El Salvador, as Sacacoyo is way up in the mountains, with swirving roads and livestock to pass on the way up. I always deliver an inspirational message, as I'm asked to speak each time I come down with a team. I always give away a visual to remind them of the main ideas of my message. This last go around, my topic was "Que es en tu cesta?" This translates into "What is in your basket?" It was based off of the miracle of Jesus who turned a few loaves of bread and fish into a feast that was capable of feeding thousands in need. There were broken pieces left over in the baskets, with the notion of still more to go around. My thesis? We can survive off of broken pieces in our lives and be a miracle to live again, breathe again, engage the world again. I gave them all a little bag to represent their basket. It was profound to me, as I arrived to them off of the broken pieces of my life, off the cusp of a bleak, valley-like experience.Yup, you can definately survive. I was a walking, broken miracle before them. And proud of it. Our survival against life's woes isn't just for our sake, I communicated. It's for the sake of others attached to us that would one day need us. We are important to the world when functioning in our full, miraculous potential. We all cried together in that moment. Broken connects with broken. The human condition will do that to you. I realized myself that I needed to survive for them, for my family, my students, this mission. In that moment, my survival became transparent like ocean waters spraying off a cliff. The next experience to a local school would prove that.Due to the fact that education become our primary focus, we were able to visit a local school in the village called Escuela Escolar De Sacacoyo y Las Palmeras. It was the pastor's school, no less. Pastor Julio is a middle school teacher. That, to us, was no coincidence. When we arrived, we were greeted by all the students in their uniform at recess time. I about died and went to heaven. As a teacher from the states, it has always been a desire of mine to see the inside of classrooms around the world. My world was a global classroom now, and well, I wanted to see one. The faces, the giggles, the laughter, the culture, the learning...it was all there in one space. When grabbing the box of school supplies to go in, I was so nervous, the box almost fell out of my hands. And Charise, a member from the group grabbed it before it fell, and said..."Just relax, and go in." A teacher herself, she knew the magnitude of this for us both. We exchanged smiles and I went dashing in like I was going to collect my winnings from a winning lottery ticket. Indeed, I was rich in that moment. I felt I indeed won the lottery.We played games, I said a speech in my broken spanish, passed out school supplies, and Project 214 pencils. It was like I was dreaming awake, a moment in time, a kyros moment. It will live in my heart and mindspace forever. I discovered in that moment I had found it, a main vein, a vital reason for my existance. There was no greater, no larger feeling. I was in my element as my dear friend Monica likes to tell me. When you find that element, you go after that element, as you were created to function in that realm with all your giftings and all your experiences combined. Each moment of your life, both good and bad, will lead up to your element moment. Yah, I was in mine. Quite frankly, so was the rest of the team in their own unique fashion. It was in everyone's eyes, and the electricity in that classroom was palpuble.Then came the back to school parties. First stop: Tia Ana. Tia Ana runs a children's home in Mexicanos, San Salvador. She continues to take kids off the street, her newest addition was a two year named Fernanda, but she was called "Abby" after her middle name. The MS 13 and its rival gang were in war when we arrived, so we were forbidden to go to the capital. We had to send for her instead. She managed to get almost 30 people in a 15 passanger van to meet us at the Church casita for our time together. Our reunion was nothing short of emotional, divine, cinimatic, and threatrical. I sunk in her arms when she arrived as the kids were spilling out of the van. My hero, my Tia and I were finally united again after 3 years.Then I saw my Karlita, the one who has my name as her middle, the one I went to see a lawyer about, the one I envisoned as my adopted daughter, that one...she and I were finally together again.The back to school parties with Tia and the kids were a remarkable success. We sent for them twice. The first day we had pizza and games and crafts. The second party we had pinatas, pupusas, and the backpack giveaway. An added bonus was a clothes project our friends from back home put together. Each child of Tia's was sponsored, and they each received new clothes, goodies, and love notes. I gave Tia a necklace with her name and her favorite verse on it. It was such a special day.

Meet the team:Nothing, I mean nothing would've been possible without these audacious souls above. Each person, each member played a vital role in the overarching goal of promoting education, providing resources, and improving lives. I was so proud of my girls as they ebbed and flowed in a grace only given from their Creator. It's always an honor serve with my mother-in-law whose legacy I will continue for many years to follow. And the guys, they were gentlemen, servants, big brothers, protectors, our drivers, our pastoral covering. They had our backs, and we had theirs.I'm a different woman from before. I came in a new skin, a new resolve, a fresh confidence. Off the heels of a tragic and dark season of my life, it only confirmed that if there is still breath, there is a drive of purpose fulfillment that must be danced with. So I danced, we danced. What a recital, what an accomplishment. I smile at the fact that this is only the beginning...