Click.
My camera snaps a photo. I am sweating under the sweltering sun in Talnique, El Salvador. A little boy runs toward me and rips my sunglasses off of my face, proceeding to place them on his own. They are enormous on him, and his laughter lets me know that he is well aware of the fact.
Flash back to a year and half ago when I was in the same place at the same time. An older woman from the village led me inside her home that my work team and I had built a year prior. Tears slid down her face as she showed me each room. She kissed both of my cheeks, and whispered love into my ears. I remember this moment as if it were yesterday.
If you have ever been on a mission trip or volunteered in another country or even within the States, you understand the impact that the experience has on you. You have seen poverty at its worst, and you have seen devastation and despair. But, you have also seen irrevocable hope. No matter how much time you spend in this place, you leave with an overwhelming measure of insight and a whole new perspective on the concept of humanity. If you are anything like me, you probably come back with lots of injuries and a sunburn that will last you a month and half.
I was blessed to travel to El Salvador three years in a row during high school. My high school's Rotary Interact Club built homes in a village an hour from San Salvador, the capital. Every day, the fifty or so kids and chaperones hopped onto two buses and rode through twisting rural roads into the village. The bus rides are some of my fondest memories as they were the most fun I've ever had. We'd work in the village for the day, and return to our hotel where we were allowed to relax and drink in the musty, yet refreshing air of the city.
Every day in El Salvador was the best day ever. Despite all that I saw, I was surrounded by a people who loved and hoped and dreamed like no one I'd ever known. Their hugs warmed my heart, and I still feel the kiss that my madre de El Salvador left on my cheek on one of my last days in the village. Even as I am writing this, I want nothing more than to return to El Salvador and embrace the community I was welcomed into only a few years ago.
I learned a lot about myself in El Salvador. I learned how selfish I am, but also how powerful the act of kindness truly is. We built the villagers homes, but they changed our lives. I received infinitely more than I could ever give, and for that I am so so thankful. Because of these three separate, but very much connected trips, I have grown as a person. My heart yearns to help others, and I have an insatiable desire to travel and volunteer my time helping others.
Another thing I learned? Mi corazn está en El Salvador.
