30 enero - Final Day in Alejandría

Today was our last day out in the community of Alejandría. We had one last visit to do in the community, as this was the first day of our trip that the family would be home and then we headed back to the gathering place for a wrap up meeting with the Directiva. This meeting, after our visits, is a chance for them to ask us to reflect on what we've heard during the visits, to ask us questions about anything that has come up, and a chance for us to ask additional questions. It also is the opportunity to address any lingering questions or concerns from the first meeting we had with the Directiva. For example, in our first meeting this trip they spoke of the 2 projects they were hoping to complete - the new gathering building and the stream crossing. We had asked them about estimated or projected costs so we could consider what we might be able to fund/raise money for. They brought those estimates to this second meeting. After the meeting wrapped, we walked up to the water source for our community. We've been up to the water source each of our previous trips and I wrote quite extensively about it my first time down here. You can find that post here.

Once back down from there, we had lunch and then it was time to PARTY! On the last day, we have another community gathering and this one includes piñatas, food and drink for everyone, and a chance for the community, and us, to say our goodbyes. Everyone is offered the chance to say something and then it's time for the kids to have some fun. The girls and the boys each have their own piñata and they go after it and then the candy. It's so much fun to watch. Finally the food and drinks are brought out.

I want to pause in the day here to comment on something that really struck me. One of the things mentioned in the second meeting with the Directíva was that they know of a number of families struggling with getting enough food. We would label it food insecurity in the States and while that is often a concern down here due to the poverty levels, it was interesting to hear it directly referenced. But when you combine the fact that many people in our community do not have steady employment and that the cost of goods is continuing to increase, more families are struggling to get the necessities as they have to make decisions about which bill to pay (electricity, water, school fees, etc.). I had wondered if this was becoming more of a concern because I was bringing all the photos from the last trip (August 2024) and as I passed them out I had noticed that many of them had lost weight. It made me curious. The final thing I noticed that made it home that this is a definite struggle right now was the food and drink that was given out at the party. My last two trips there was a juice drink, cake that people would eat while they were there, and then some small veggie sandwiches for them to take home. Today, everyone got a take out container full of food. It included plantain chips, papusas, a fried veggie treat, and the toppings for the papusas. And what went through my head was that the Pastoral Team was trying to make sure everyone got a good meal. It was another reminder of how hunger is everywhere.

Finally, everyone headed home and everything got cleaned up and then we headed back to Berlín and the Pastoral House. On our final night in town, we take the Pastoral Team out for supper to thank them for all their hard work in ensuring that our trip goes smoothly. There is SO MUCH that happens behind the scenes, done before we arrive, while we're visiting families, or even before we get up in the morning. We get so many thanks for coming and supporting the community but we always want to make sure the Pastoral Team knows our thanks because these trips would go nowhere near as smoothly without them.

While we were at supper, though, Cecilia, one of the team members, got a call that every pastor is familiar with - a medical emergency in the community. Jesús, one of our beloved community members, has been struggling with health issues over the past 12-18 months. It's been a real challenge because he is caregiver for his mother (86 years old) and his aunt (91 years old). Oscár, our translator, and I noticed as he was leaving at the end of the party he was having a really hard time walking and seemed to be in a lot of pain. Blanca, a Pastoral Team and community member, as well as others helped him. But then Cecilia got the call while we were at supper that things had not improved and he was feeling much worse. So, one of our drives (Elmer) and one of the Pastoral Team/Community members headed out to Alejandría to get Jesús and bring him back into Berlín to the clinic. As of this moment (8:30 p.m.) he is still at the clinic. They won't keep him there overnight, however if they don't feel he has stabalized enough to go home, they will move him to the hospital. It seems both his blood sugar and his blood pressure are dangerously high. While we know what is like to get those phone calls, it's not a great way to end a night. So, we pray and we wait. Please keep Jesús in your prayers. 

We're back at the Pastoral House for the night. And it's my bedtime. Tomorrow will be final things in Berlín before heading to San Salvador in the afternoon. 

Make sure to check out the photos below.

Jessica