"Why would anyone come down from the mountain...?"

Quote of the day:
He’s got a body of steel and a heart of… a pillow?
~Cortlin (Referring to Joe)

As the day comes to a close, it is hard to believe that it is only day 2. So many wonderful things are happening in the lives and hearts of everyone involved in this mission, regardless of the country they claim as home. The team is becoming one, standing “shoulder-to-shoulder”, not only amongst ourselves, but with our Salvadoran brothers as well. Together, we are fighting for one cause, to serve one purpose. United. I wish all of you were here to experience it firsthand. It is truly amazing to see.

Our day started with the group’s first experience of a real Salvadoran breakfast as we awaited the arrival of Melvin and his team from the International Sports Coalition (ISC). Melvin is a man of great passion, that is the best way I can think of to describe him. Tyler calls him a dreamer. Whatever words one chooses to use, it is clear he is a man of great influence, and one who uses that influence in every moment to the glory of God. Our team is blessed to be partnered with him and his team as we run 3 programs together over the next two weeks.

We spent most of the morning hashing out the logistics and details regarding the activities for the coming weeks (with a few breaks for a game of hacky sack, or to grab a quick nap). Then the team piled into 2 microbuses which drove us to Puerta del Diablo, a mountain that both teams would climb together.

The climb was wonderful. We are in El Salvador during the rainy season so while it means everything was wet and somewhat slippery to climb on, it also means that everything is beautiful and green. However, the breathtaking scene came at the end of the climb. At the peak of the mountain, looking over the beauty surrounding us… it almost leaves you breathless. Clouds rolled in and out, surrounding us and then disappearing (you can see in the pictures, some are very clear views of the scenery, some have a white-ish background. We were literally in the middle of the clouds.)

We gathered together as brothers and sisters separated, some might say, by culture and language, but united in a way that abolishes such barriers. We listened to Tyler and Melvin as they shared their hearts and called everyone to step forward as warriors. We talked together and prayed together, beginning our prayer in the midst of clouds and mist, and ending with the sun shining brightly on our backs.

During our debrief at the end of the day, Tanner had a wonderful insight. He said that sitting on the top of the mountain, he wondered to himself, why would anyone want to come down from a mountaintop experience? And the realization… The only reason we go back down is to show others how to climb.

The Team: Together at Last!

What a tiring day for the rest of the team, but how wonderful to finally have them with us! Everything went smoothly at the airport once again, no issues with customs or lost luggage (what a blessing!) The drive back from the airport is around an hour, so there was plenty of time to soak in the new surroundings before reaching the apartments in Zacamil where we are staying.

There was a little time to play soccer with the kids and start to build relationships while waiting for lunch to be delivered! After lunch, Gabi, one of the AY Mission interns spent some time with us and gave an orientation for the trip. She shared insights, tips, and stories to help the trip run as smoothly as possible.

The guys seemed to find their place pretty quickly. Before long, they were playing soccer, goofing around with the kids (goofing around in general actually), playing basketball down at the courts by the complex, and shaving each others heads...

One of my favorite places to eat in El Salvador is "Carnitas", and was thrilled that we planned it for dinner the first night. Everyone was able to experience a real Salvadoran ride to dinner... piled into the back of the pick-up.

Dinner was wonderful, as always, and the group got to spend some great quality time getting to know Juan Carlos, Mario (the pastors at the local church) and their families. It's been a long day for everyone and the beds are looking pretty good right now. Its been a great first day for the team as a whole. Everyone is looking forward to the days to come. We'll keep you posted!

Counting down...

I can't believe the rest of the team will be here in the morning! We are so excited for everything that will be taking place over the next two weeks! Today was another day filled with productivity. Freddie picked us up for breakfast at 7:00 and took us to a small breakfast place in his neighborhood. The people were lovely and the food was great... we did have to stop by Mister Donut for a cup of coffee before heading to meet Wally though. Wally is a missionary who, with his wife Judy, has lived in El Salvador for 6 years now, working with young people, the poor and hosting mission teams from the U.S. He has been a wonderful help to us, and is continuing to lend all the help he can to us on this trip as well. We met with him to, again, get final details worked out. He then took us to meet Tia Ana, a woman who maintains an orphanage in the area. As soon as we walked in, the kids attacked Chad (who had met them on his last trip). One boy in particular wouldn't let Chad put him down, as you can see in the pictures. I can't wait to spend more time with them .

After we finished setting things up with Tia Ana and Wally, and sorted some final details out with Evelyn (that amazingg cook I told you about), Freddie said he had the perfect place for us to have lunch. Well, as Freddie is driving, he takes a sharp turn and we hear a noise like something fell off the car. We stopped briefly for him to take a look at it, just long enough to realize he needed to take it in. We get back in the car and we assume Freddie is taking us to the place to eat lunch. Well he slows down (barely) outside a person's house and yells something in Spanish (with my limited knowledge of Spanish, all I caught was "4 people") and kept driving. He pulled up to the place you see in the pictures, and these guys just dropped everything they were doing to fix Freddie's car. (Let me mention that while we were sitting outside waiting for the car to be fixed, the guy Freddie yelled to came by on his bike asking what kind of meat we wanted, beef or pork. Freddie later told us that we were going to eat lunch at their house, and he was on his way to the grocery store to pick food up so they could cook for us.) The car eventually got fixed, it turned out to be the strut. (I have no clue what that means, but Kevin seems to...) We went to lunch at the house we passed on our way to the shop. The family was so sweet and genuinely so excited to be serving us. It was such a blessing, to meet such loving people, and the meal was delicious.

All in all, a very fulfilling day. Looking forward to the next surprise.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings....

Bedroom

Kitchen...ish

Shower

Bathroom

"Mess Hall"

E-Mailing Tyler... In the living room

Evelyn and Freddie

You know how sometimes when you sleep in a place other than your own bed, it takes a minute to realize where you are immediately upon waking up? Well, in my experience, mornings in El Salvador are nothing like that- you wake up to the sounds of the country, and you instantly find your grounding. This morning I woke up to the sounds of a rooster, the children running, the dogs barking and the unmistakable sound of a bell followed by a woman's voice yelling something that sounds like "Quito". What a beautiful morning.

Freddie took us to pick up Evelyn for breakfast. Evelyn, who affectionately becomes known as "mama" to everyone within five minutes of meeting her, is our fabulously talented cook. Her and her husband were chefs at a local hotel and she lovingly cooks for our group when we come in (such a treat for us, her cooking is delicious) We spent the morning with her planning out the meals for the time we are here.

We spent most of the remainder of our day with Melvin, the director of the International Sports Coalition, working out the details for the retreat and the tournaments that will be taking place while the team is here. Everything is going smoothly, with very few issues arising. Thank all of you so much for your prayers, they are clearly having an impact!

Our friend/driver/translator Freddie

Loading bags up in Freddie's car

The San Salvador Airport

Welcome to El Salvador! Every time a person enters the country, this greeting comes from all directions. It seems we heard the welcoming words over and over again throughout our day, it was a wonderful feeling. It's nice to be back.

The early team has arrived happily and in one piece. We did not run into any issues aside from customs taking a little longer than normal, but no bags were searched, and everything went smoothly.

I can't wait for the rest of the team to get here, I know we are all very excited for the experiences we're going to be a part of. I wish there was more to tell you all, but for now we are working out all the details so that everything runs as smoothly as possible when everyone arrives Thursday. We'll keep you posted, keep us in your prayers.

Called...