El Salvador 2026…Day 6

Prison. 

It’s a place that might elicit different emotions from different perspectives. A place of punishment for some…while providing protection for others. A place of consequence for poor choices and outright rebellion...A place that, unfortunately, also offers consequences to those that love someone who lives there. A place where sins are many and grace is absent. 

Santa Ana women's prison

I have had my own notions about what prison is or what I think it should be like. And I'm not sure that my perspective is right or wrong. I'm finding that, after seeing more clearly from the inside, there is more of a tension in my heart about a firm stance on how I SHOULD feel about all of it.

There is a little decal at the top of the van that says IN GOD WE TRUST. It's parked outside the prison.

Friday, we drove for about two hours to get to a women’s prison outside of Santa Ana El Salvador. It was the same one I worked in 2 years ago. This experience was the same and different all at the same time. 

There are more than 13,000 women locked in this large white compound. They are divided into 10 sectors. Last time we visited the sector with the sickest women. This year, we worked in the roughest sector. This sector has many still-active gang members. And plenty of tattoos to prove it. On their faces, their fingers, their necks, their arms...all branded with who they belong to. 

We had 5 American doctors and 7 El Salvadoran doctors. Between the dozen of us we saw about 450 women in 6 hours. It was exhausting, but more so because by then, my head was already as tired as my body. 

Google map overhead of the prison complex-courtesy of the Cami and Molly

The layout of this sector was different than my previous experience and you could see so many more things in this sector. Last trip you could barely see into their cells, and what you could see was a mass of chocolate faces. This time, we could clearly see into the cells. The chocolate faces all had two big eyes that were focused in on all of us. No doubt we were the most exciting thing they had seen recently. They were still dressed in white shirts and white long pants...a sea of fallen angels.

Because we were in their building, they had to be in their "rooms." There were 9 caged areas that were approximately 40 by 40 feet. I wouldn’t be able to guess how many bunks were in each, but they were stacked in some cases and some were singles. They were quite close together with not much room for women to stand and move between them. The bunks were a bit shorter than a twin bed in the states but about as wide. Each bunk was shared between 2-3 women and in each of those 40x40 spaces, there were approximately 125 women living in there. There were no pillows…and the thin pads covering the bed was no more than 1 inch thick. Someone later said that the women turn over in tandem at night. 

The doors were unlocked but someone stood at the door. It seemed that many, if not all, had their own white knapsack or basket of things that were tied to the ceiling wires or the walls. The rooms were separated by wire panels…think livestock fencing. Like canary cages really. No walls, just fences within that entire complex.

Many of them stood looking out at the action all day. They were eager to make eye contact. Their smiles came easily when I held their gaze, and often times they would offer their hands up in a small wave. 

And they were grateful. Grateful to be seen and heard. As we left, I was slowly walking, making eye contact, and waving...a lady from the middle of a pack of women was yelling in English...God bless you. We are so thankful to God for sending you all to us to take care of us. We appreciate you. Thank you God for sending these people. Thank you. 

It was a goosebump moment. And a reminder. Sometimes you just have to show up. One held glance. One wave of acknowledgement that screams I SEE YOU...People can exist on this moment. And you don't have to leave your passport at the gate in another country to do that. 

Most of these women have children whom they haven’t seen or heard from since they got there. Many left small children and know they are missing their growing years. Often times they have no idea who is raising them either. It is rare for there to be any outside contact for these women. Abandoned. One woman told me that she was sure that they all had stomach problems because they were worrying about their kids. Most of them have NOOO idea how long they are in there. One woman that I saw has been in there for 20 years of a 40 year sentence. Twenty YEARS. I looked back in those cells after she said that, wondering how a person can survive that. The hopeless feeling of every day being the same as the last and the same as the next. No room to move your body, cry to yourself, or think. Overcrowded and overstimulated 24/7. Literally. For 40 years. The bible tells us much about an eternal place just like this...called Hell...but then I digress...

 

The complaints were many. Headaches, constipation, heartburn, and stomach aches were hands down the top complaints of the day. And their diets lend to those issues. They rarely eat any meat. Molly heard someone mention that they all get a soy protein powder. They rarely get vegetables either. This leads to so much constipation. They get mostly food like mac and cheese, cereals, breads, and eggs. Most of them drink lots of water though, between 2-4 liters of it daily. 

Several of them had much deeper problems though, and issues that we didn't have the tools to deal with. Each time I told them what I could help with and advised that they would have to seek more help with the local doctor...Oscar interpreted to me that appointments were often made...and canceled. Tests were ordered...but never completed. And it was obvious that I was in a no win situation...and so were they. I asked a few of them why they were there...extortion, homicide, and gang activity were the answers. I asked more of them about their children. Sons and daughters-babies to young children to adults...but now unseen to these women...the four year old they last saw is now nearing teenager stage. Torture for their souls all day, every day.

Oscar, an interpreter that worked with us all week, was a phenomenal man of God. He had come with Pastor Coto (the director of CFCI in El Salvador) to the church on Sunday. And on Monday, he came to me and said "You are like a preacher (based on the words I spoke to the church body the day before). I am tasking you to be checking on the spiritual needs of the people you meet this week. Many of them need much more than physical solutions." I agreed that they did...And I told him I would do my best to cover that too. 

The problem (or maybe an excuse) was that we were so short on interpreters, that they were running among all of us, trying to help where they could. That left no time or resources to dig into the deeper questions...because getting the answers that took time and energy that was unavailable...BUT by Friday, we were bottlenecked together and less people needed an interpreter...so Oscar and I were able work together consistently that day, and had the opportunity to talk about Christ with several handfuls of women. 

We had one woman who accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior...She was listening and crying. Oscar, in Spanish, led her through a prayer of repentance, and I prayed over her while he interpreted. We wrote her name down for the pastor so he can connect with her later. 

A second woman had a friend in the prison that is a Christian. One friend. She talks to her about the bible and Jesus. The woman gets up at 4:00 AM to go to the church service in their sector, just to listen. She knows that she will eventually trust Jesus and give her life to Him, but she wasn't ready that day. We urged her not to wait, and I hope she doesn't. We also had another who was not interested, but was actually deeply interested. She asked some very legit questions about her rebellious nature and forgiveness issues. Those were answered, but she wore a very stoic facial expression. Her eyes, however told a different story, if that is at all possible. I can't explain how I could feel that there was a hunger within her...it had to be the Spirit. She said at the end of it all, that she wasn't interested in what Jesus offers. But seeds were planted there...and I pray that God will continue to draw her to Himself.

Another woman wasn't interested in hearing about Jesus at all. Oscar laid it all out, but there was nothing behind her eyes. Hardened heart. 

I was questioning Oscar later about the woman who was asking the questions...he reminded me that they are in prison. All those women were watching...watching the faces and interactions of each woman that saw a doctor that day...and there were many potential consequences of the women in the prison seeing you "weak." Seeing your tears, your interest, you making a change to be different.

 Just like in many places, if Jesus is a taboo subject for the people in your life, accepting His sacrificial gift, is unpopular...and can create a more unpleasant atmosphere for the person making the decision. Even though Jesus said that you must give up everything you have and everything you are to follow Him...most of us don't take that literally when we really think about it. Most people reading this aren't in a position of isolating themselves from loved ones or creating stress and friction in their environments from their choice to follow Christ. The woman was potentially counting the cost before making the choice...and at least on Friday, the cost was more than she was willing to pay.

The whole experience that morning reminded me of 1 Corinthians 3:5-11 which reads...

What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.[g] I planted,[h] Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. So neither the one who plants counts for anything,[i] nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth.  The one who plants and the one who waters work as one,[j] but each will receive his reward according to his work.  We are coworkers belonging to God.[k] You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

Oscar and I WERE doing the work that God had sent us to do...We were planting seeds and watering seeds that had been previously planted by someone else. God was also gracious to show us some fruit as we watched a woman in the prison ask for His salvation to be granted to her.

The whole day wasn't spent like that...There were 500 women to be seen. We were only able to speak to a few, but we are confident that God chose those women for whatever reason, to get those words on that day.

And back to the tension in my own heart...these women were all sinners, on unimaginable levels in some cases...yet, they all were created in the image of God...and they all have the capacity at any time, to turn from their sins and turn toward Jesus. And that makes them valuable in the sight of the Lord. The living conditions in this prison, from both experiences that I have had...is literally abuse and neglect and is creating chronic health problems for these women that will ultimately cost their system more money, or take years off of the lives of these women. 

You are entitled to your own opinion, but don't be confident that your opinion is correct until you have listened to their stories and cried with their broken souls. I'm actually pretty certain, that if there was a prison like that around here...that would be my thing. It's a field ripe for the harvest...but the workers there are few! 

There is always much for me to consider after we leave one of the prisons...and I was glad for a fun night ahead to take my mind off the heaviness. That's why I couldn't really process that day until now. I needed to have time and head space available to think through it all. And I'm not fully convinced that I have it all figured out yet. 

The drive back was uneventful...still lots of traffic. They have really outgrown their transportation infrastructure. They are doing a lot of construction, but the sheer volume of traffic is insane. There is a lot of trucks like this...El Salvadoran ride share. 

It makes sense, but it is always so shocking to see so many people standing in the back of an open truck getting to work. It was also common to see how the street vendors transport their goods. These ladies were, no doubt, heading to their street stand or corner spot.

We celebrated the finished work week at El Atico, a pupuseria on the side of a volcano, looking at the volcano that we would eat at on Saturday night. I had insulted my own metabolism enough by now, and I didn't think I could, in good conscience, eat another pupusa. Fortunately they had more things on the menu, and I had a grilled chicken with pico and avocado. There is something about the chicken in El Salvador that is unforgettable...not because I can't forget the sight of chickens in peoples houses, or unsee the crazy long necked turkey-chickens around every corner of the Island...but because the taste is PHENOMENAL!! 

I have also started to notice, that no one rushes to get the checks, no one is in a hurry to be in and out...People here linger. Meals seemingly take for-EVER. But I believe it is good for the soul to just enjoy good food...and sit. Noticing what God has put around us...whether that be the people, a mountain vista, or your own dead yard plants. The experience of just being still right in the moment of nourishment is priceless. There were plenty of Burger Kings, Wendy's, McDonalds taking up places among the small groceries and pupuserias. But everywhere you looked there was a tiny restaurant, filled with people at all times of the day. They were just sitting over food. My guess is, that their culture will soon be screaming at them to be as busy as our culture...as more people rush into the American fast food restaurants to get out and get on with their day. I hope they can resist. It was refreshing to be forced to linger. 

My biggest regret of all, is that, in the hurry to get on the road from the prison, is that our El Salvadoran team members, didn't get out of the prison at the same time we did...and the opportunity to say Thanks...and Until next time was taken away. Our job this week was small compared to theirs. We may give up our own lives for a week, but they are the heros that work in the trenches here on the daily. And they need support and encouragement!! We are a blessing to them too as we work together to care for their people. I was able to get small love offerings from me and my people back to the team via Ronald. I pray that God would bless their lives through that.

Tomorrow will be our free day to explore, shop, and eat. I'm excited to turn 53 in a foreign land. I hope God allows me more opportunities in my minutes left on earth to serve Him, not just in my own sphere...but also to serve Him in other lands. 

Thanks again for reading along!! A few more posts will follow, so stay tuned!! I love hearing your comments...they are encouraging to me and my own journey! Just remember to sign your name if you don't want to be anonymous!

El Salvador…Day 4

 

This morning started early again...getting up before 6 to share showers and bathrooms. We are relocating our housing to a really lovely area in San Salvador. It was a VERY long day, and we got here in the dusk, so we look forward to seeing the area in the daytime tomorrow. We should be staying here until we leave Sunday. The luggage all had to be loaded and taken with us, and sat in the back of that truck under the hot El Salvadorian sun alllllll day.  

The drive was beautiful. We stayed along the southern coast of El Salvador, so we were able to see the ocean part of the time. We drove through some tourist towns as well as a lot of areas of poverty. The traffic is SO crazy here...and the streets are absolutely every which way. My shout out today is to our facilitator and driver, Ronald. TODAY, the drive was technical and sketchy at best. He executed it all superbly and got us everywhere we needed to go in one  piece. 

The ride was around 2 hours and the last leg started out by having to go past the turn off in order to turn around and hit it from the right angle...We then drove a little bit of a terrifying ride straight up a one lane very rocky/rough road full of short switch backs. Going down, he honked at every switch to alert oncoming motorcycles that we were coming. Only a few times did we have to pull as far to the left as we could and squeeze our butt cheeks together while we waited to see if the oncoming traffic would make it by. The views were amazing though, and the town was small and sweet. We were a little late arriving, and a full house was waiting. 

The El Salvadorian team (including the translators) were about 30 minutes later than we were...so the chaos of trying to figure out who was going where, getting supplies where they needed to be and navigating in a very, VERY tight space was the first order of business. 

If all of that wasn't enough to fry my tired brain, this little sweetie wanted to talk to me and kept trying, but I just couldn't understand...well I couldn't understand his words...I completely understood when he was making toothless little pucker kisses. I finally blew him a kiss as I darted off to get something and that appeased him. The old, old people all look a lot like him...not many teeth, very deep wrinkles, and twinkling chocolate kiss eyes. The young people often look a lot older than they are, and many of the 40 year olds look 15-20 years older. 

The first problem of the day was that our A1C kits have to be between 40-83 degrees. We had clinic rooms with AC the last couple of days, but today, it was all open air. We had brought an ice chest, but the ice was leaking all over the bottom of the cooler and I knew that the reader would get too cold. So I pawed through boxes until I found something that would work for me...which turned out to be a tiny purple plastic sack. So I blew it up, knotted it off and put it on the ice...my reader in a baggie...and PRESTO...a perfect system to save the day. Once again, I was eternally thankful for these devices, as we were able to diagnose more people today with very late Pre-diabetes, and very early diabetes stages. That means that we were able to give them a good objective reason to make changes now. Most of them were sad to know but glad to know because they knew enough people with consequences of diabetes that they didn't want. Knowledge is power...and you won't change if you aren't convinced. I can't make them change...and neither can the medical staff here...but by the grace of God and generous donations, I was able to leave them with very compelling evidence as to why they should. 

The registration table crew took care of getting names, ages, complaints, and issues...they were also in charge of handing out dresses, glasses, colors, trinkets, and bookmarks. 

These kids were well spoiled today!! The magnitude of the health problems was much greater today and felt really overwhelming...Again, trying to decide how to best manage the problem at hand in a way that will be sustainable for another 6 months. I've treated more parasites in the last couple of days than I did the first day, and there continues to be a wave of viral stomach flu and a basic upper respiratory infection going on here. The educational needs are extreme as well, and I'm having to cut the instruction to the most basic things I can. Most of that is "quit drinking coca and juices." I have been afraid to ask anyone how much sugar they drink...I don't think I can handle the answers. But they know. I can see it in their eyes when I ask if they drink and eat a lot of sugar. 

Cami taught Paul to run the A1C tests today. Each of those takes 7-8 minutes to do from start to finish, so this made it much easier for her. He did a great job at it. A couple of the guys made a home visit early this afternoon and they wanted to do blood sugars on her because she was very obese. We stopped back by on the way out of the village...Her blood sugar was in the 180s, which made it more important for the A1C...which was packed away in that truck load of luggage you already saw. I would have given up, but the guys kept looking through, and Paul came running in with it just as we were getting ready to leave. Of course, then the reader was too hot...so we took turns holding it up to the air conditioning vents in the van where the rest of the team was very patiently waiting. The collection cartridge could only be open for 2 minutes before it would be invalid...but you didn't know if the reader was working until you put the cartridge in...I had already drawn the blood which was just waiting for the machine to play nice. As I stood up in the van squished between the door and the chairs...opened a new cartridge...found the reader STILL too warm...and had Paul count me down to 30 seconds remaining before the cartridge was no good. I turned it around and around in the cold air and asked for favor from the God that sent us...I'll bet you can't guess what happened. The cartridge was popped in...the reader worked...and we were able to get her A1C...She is .10 point away from being a diabetic...but if she doesn't change her ways, she will be...much sooner than later. We were, again, able to give objective evidence that her body wasn't working right...which gave more merit to the advice that we were offering her. 

Sugar is SUCH an addiction...as strong as cocaine. It will be hard for her to change. It will hard for any of them to change. But they must...They don't have the luxury of a "pill for an ill" that we have here in the US. They don't have the luxury most of us have of a doctor any time we want, or a fairly short drive to a specialist, or extra money for medications...especially without an insurance company to foot the bill so we can take a med and not make any changes ourselves. Our health care system in the US is sick...but I'm not sure the lack of a system here is helpful either. It's lose-lose. 

Molly will be back to doing teeth tomorrow, and the word on the street is that she may be learning AND doing some tooth extractions. Monica, above, will be taking her under her wing...I can't wait to hear about their day. 

We got to stop on the way back to San Salvador to overlook the beautiful Pacific ocean. We have been having a great trip...seeing different things, different peoples, learning different customs and systems, and even learning a different language. I have been so thrilled with the way my own language has improved. It's by far not great, but with continued consistency, I hope one day it will be. For now, I listen as long as I can, and practice as much as I can here before my brain overloads...and then I resort back to the comfort of the language I know.

El Salvador is a very beautiful and intriguing place...One day I would like to come just to explore on my terms...but for now, I will continue to explore on the terms that God put in place for my time here!

I was so exhausted by the time we unloaded our bags that I didn't care if I ate tonight or not...but the cooler air was refreshing...and so was the thought of the pupuseria...We drove a very short 7 minutes to eat our choice of the local delicacy, pupusas...Cami ordered a frozen mango with chamoy, something I'm sure that she saw on TikTok...and she and Molly slurped it up...so any viral flu we catch, is spreading like fire.

Tomorrow we have breakfast at the retreat center where we are staying, and we will head to what sounds like a senior center for clinic. I am soooo glad it is a 20 minute drive depending on traffic...Friday's commute will be 2 hours each way...and that is tiring all by itself.

Sonrie...smiles.

These are the same in any language. 

A kind touch.

The desire to be heard and known.

The pain of illness and loss.

A deep belly laugh.

These are the same in any language too.

God made us in His image. So of course we should expect people to be more similar than different. That is the lesson for today. 

We are no better than they are. But we are also not more favored or blessed than they are. 

God has put all of us on different paths...and we must live them in different ways. We don't get to know all the details...

But for today. Humans--no matter the color, the race, the language, the location...are more similar than different. And if nothing else, that concept deserves to be respected and honored. Amen.

El Salvador-2026 Day 3

Buenas noche!!

It's been another very great day...lots of new experiences and lives touched by our team. BUT FIRST...I have to leave a shout out to our boat captains that will NEVER read this post...I wish that I could get my video to load here...and maybe when I get home it will...But those guys...are AMAZING. We have made 4 trips in the past two days back forth. It's about 40 minutes each trip. The tide was out 3 of the 4 times, which makes it a little trickier for them because the water can be 8-10 feet lower. The waterways can be very wide but also very shallow. There are some blind corners (if that is even a thing in a mangrove waterway), sandbars, and little fingers going different ways and they know just where they are. Last night we left around dusk, and he turned on his party light and Latino music and it was like a fiesta all the way home. This morning, we had a different driver but he was equally as fun. He actually bluetoothed his phone into some speakers adhered under the overhead tarp...and he played Karaoke...American karaoke...and then he serenaded us to several other songs. It was seriously a priceless experience. 

This morning people arrived via this transportation system to be seen in the clinic. As usual, we met together as a group, offered introductions of the medical and dental teams, Dr Morataya speaks a bit, and then I have been privileged to speak a few words to them as well. This has been a new experience for me here, and I have enjoyed it. Sometimes I speak some Spanish and English/Spanish mixups (just to keep my interpreter on their toes.) I have been very excited to be able to actually have short and simple conversations with people, and the interpreters are impressed that the patients can understand what I am trying to say to them. I still wish that I were so much better, but I am worlds further than I was 4 years ago!! I LOVE it!

After that, I showed up to my office in the canopy for a sweet day. Today, we were a few short on translators, but it was fun to see how everyone was able to adapt, switching jobs, switching translators, and switching locations all on the fly!

Today, the girls worked together at the "testing station." Molly started out just writing down information that Cami gave her from the tests, but before long, Molly had been taught, out of necessity, to take blood sugars and blood pressures. So if Cami needed to run and do an Hgb A1C test in the cool room that they were being stored in, Molly was pinch hitting and taking vital signs. The adults on our team have been asking them questions and soliciting interactions from them. It has been fun to watch them both become comfortable enough to show their true personalities. And I'd be pretty certain, that by the end of the week, they will have sweet-talked Ronald (or Ronny-boy as they have taken to calling him) into taking them for ice cream somewhere. 

We were able to pass out some more dresses, slap bracelets and Cami even did a few ear piercings today...Tomorrow will be the last day that we will see any children, so Molly will help Cami again and the two girls will make sure that the dresses have been distributed as well as story books. 

They will also use the earrings, and my guess is that Molly will be doing that by the end of the day as well! Molly will be back to the dental room after that under Oscar's expert supervision.

TRIGGER WARNING…

If you are squeamish you will want to quickly forward past the next two photos…but I believe it important to create an awareness of what people deal with here. 

This man cuts trees for a living, and probably picked up a fungal infection last summer during the rainy season. He has no money so he couldn’t go to the doctor….and he tried a topical fungal cream twice with no success. 

Without treatment and persistent hot humid conditions….and some intermittently high blood sugars…the condition spread from his feet….

To his hands. These felt like the skin of an elephant. Just like they look. Eventually spreading to his entire body. ITCHY like crazy.  We didn’t have the medicine that he needed, but we had two doses in a different stash. Our medicine fund will pay it back later! We were able to get him started and he will see the doctor that comes on Saturdays. Each week he will go to see how it is doing and to get more medicine that Dr M will send to him for free. THIS man…is a direct beneficiary of the extra money that you guys send to help!! We thank you for that!! He thanked me profusely and we reminded him that God was who he needed to thank. He replied with his eyes heavenward….Yes, God sent you to me so you could help to tell me what is wrong and to help me get better. Dios te bendiga…God bless you. 

Another unforgettable soul. I imagine that by the time I see him again, we will both have perfect bodies in heaven!

Lunch may have been a favorite for me...a lightly fried white fish, fresh lettuce salad with only lime juice and salsa squeezed over top, and rice. Those of you that know and love me, know that I am pretty particular with my diet as I try to allow my body to heal from years of sugar abuse, too much stress and too little sleep. I do not eat many carbs, and almost no sugars. So far this week I have eaten pupusas, pieces of tortillas, rice, POTATO TWICE, El Salvadoran hot chocolate, and a dark chocolate frozen banana. As well as fresh pineapple, mango, and papaya. It's so hard for me to watch these sweet people who live on diets that are similar, eat all the things that so adversely affect my blood sugar. However, in their defense, sugar addictions are very high here, and often times if they can stop that alone its enough to make a huge difference in their metabolism. 

Right before we ate lunch, I took a walk down the street with Eddie, one of the interpreters, to deliver some medication that had been prescribed by Dr Steve when they made a home visit. I'm telling you, the flowers in this place are like nothing I have ever seen before. They are everywhere, there are so many different varieties, and they are absolutely stunning. Eddie knew the names of some of them, which satisfied my nerdy side.

He was also the first person that could explain the cashew trees to me. In the past, I have only seen them like the above pictures...small and cashew like. 

This week, I have seen that they are actually hooked to these big yellow fruits. Most people here eat the fruit and throw the cashew part away...but Eddie admitted that some people will collect the dried cashew shells, split them and roast and salt them, the way most of are used to eating them. 

I was dying for the girls to see a banana flower...and wasn't disappointed. If you will look, the red flower at the bottom is HUGE...then it is connected to a very long stem of sorts, and all the way above it, you see a GINORMOUS cluster of bananas. 

A couple of other interesting things I saw on our walk...were the chickens running around inside their house. 

And these thatched roofs that were made out of dead fronds from a coconut tree. I had seen them previously on the island, but didn't know how they were made.

I also wanted to show a few pictures of the new reverse osmosis water system that was funded by donations. Up until the Millers orchestrated this project, there was ZERO clean water on this island for anyone. They have very shallow wells that bring up some water, but it is contaminated and made them sick often. It's also a huge reason that coke is such a popular choice. Previously, when I have been here, the same boats that carry us over, also brought over crates of little sandwich bag sized baggies filled with water. They (and we) bit off the corners and sucked the water out of the baggie. This new system has been a huge asset to the people, though some are slow to adopt its use. They can now have water delivered to them in 5 gallon plastic jugs, or they can bring their own to fill. It's free. There is a still a PVC pipe that is about 4 inches wide that is wired up across about a 50 feet section of the waterway that carries in water from the mainland that is used in their homes if they don't have a well.

This has been installed only within the last couple of years. Can you imagine, 2026---still people don't have access to the basics of life...clean drinking water??? It's seriously a crime against humanity that the rest of the world should live large like these things don't exist around us. But that's another sermon for another day.

Speaking of basic necessities, when the clinics were finished up, Monica decided to run to the Island market (and the word market is used very loosely in accordance to anything we would associate with the word) 7 of us opted into the rough truck ride. It was a good excuse to shout HOLA at everyone single person we saw on the way and to continue to marvel at the skinny cows (and many scrawny little calves), the trillion chickens in all the places, plenty of stray dogs, all the different types of houses, as well as to see the market. 

The lady was actually at the church service that starts at 4 every day, but Monica was able to locate her daughter that had just gotten out of school. She came and let us in. The room was maybe 30 by 50 feet, dark, with a ton of dusty items for sale, a lot like a garage sale, thrift store, corner snack store, and vegetable stand all combined into a very grimy scenario. She spent $2.25 on 10 avocados and 50 cents on the papaya. 

The avocados were stuffed with an egg salad and served to us for dinner. Delicious! We left a bit earlier tonight and got back to the dock as the sun set. We enjoyed a bit of time in the pool and as I type from a hammock, the girls are reading in their own hammocks before we hit the hay.

Tomorrow is another early day. We will leave around 7:00 am for a 2ish hour drive through the mountains to get to another mission site. I have no idea whether we will have Wifi access after we leave in the morning. I will continue to process my thoughts and document our trip details...but may have to wait until later to post them. 

I have enjoyed a lot of relational one on one time with various staff members of the El Salvadoran team, and I have no doubt that God is using me in their lives as much as He is using them in mine. Continue to lift our team up in prayer for safety and for sickness to remain at bay, but also that we might have the eyes of Christ as we work. That our words, our glances, our touches, our work...would all be glorifying to the Lord that led each of here...Ask that He would help us to release our own expectations and terms of service, and fully embrace the plan that He has for each of us. I think it works better that way....the hard part is actually surrendering our own plan. 

Hasta luego amigos!