Day 4 in El Salvador

Visiting Nueva Esperanza
Today we visited a community of resettled Salvadoran refugees in the Lower Lempa region. It means a great deal to Chava that these women are living a religious life and are regarded as nuns to all those around them when they are not under the umbrella of the official catholic church. Essentially they felt called to do what they do and they didn’t wait to receive approval or direct orders.

Day 3 in El Salvador

San Salvador
On November 16, 1989 six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her daughter's lives were taken by the Salvadoran military. This travesty occurred on the campus of the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador. The Jesuits were targeted for speaking out against the oppressive socioeconomic structure of the Salvadoran society. The lives of these priests were taken for their steadfast defense of the poor. On this day we honored their memory by visiting UCA. As visitors we visited the garden where the priests were martyred. We heard stories about how many people’s lives were taken and there was no one recording the deaths. Photographs were taken of their bodies and the entire scene so the government could not cover up the death of the priests. Those photos are preserved at the school. Oscar Romero was shot in the heart for his love of the poor. The priests were shot in the head for their intelligence. There is a small museum dedicated to their lives where you can see the blood-stained clothes they wore and see the pictures of their deaths. Turning the pages of those albums is very difficult. During the military’s raid of the school, they used napalm to burn a picture of Oscar Romero and shot the painting through the heart, just as Romero was.

After visiting the museum, we met Soyapa Perez who is a feminist theologian and is in charge of the extension school that educates lay-people. This school is mostly attended by women. Soyapa discussed how the school invites people with any beliefs and thoughts. There is a plurality in the theology department and nothing is prohibited. All focuses are optional but Liberation Theology is emphasized. Each program teaches national reality. For liberation theology to be relevant, the faces of the oppressed must be seen. Soyapa is passionate that the paradigm of liberation theology includes everyone. One fear of hers is that as students pursue different theologies, they will forget what has happened and what shaped who the students are. Everyone we spoke to described a fear that they young people would forget what happened to the older generations. At UCA there has always been students with different Christian backgrounds from all over the globe. We shouldn’t ask the question, “is the Church founded on Jesus” but “what should the Church be like if it is founded on Jesus”. She says that we should not be focused on the Church, but focused on the Kingdom! “Another Church is possible” is a quote that deeply moves Soyapa.

Day 2 in El Salvador

At 8am we began our day by sharing breakfast with our host family. This consisted of chicken tamales, sweet bread and orange juice. Sleeping was somewhat challenging because you can clearly hear all of the street noise, if you come here I highly recommend ear plugs! At 9am we drove to Shekinah where we enjoyed their faith gathering. The music was spectacular. I even managed to record one hymn that they had added drums to, and I have to say, they totally breathed new life into what can feel like aging songs. One interesting moment was after announcements where everyone got up and said hi to each other and gave wonderful hugs to all of us! It was so unique to spend the time hugging every single person in the room.

After the gathering our team was invited outside to share in a conversation about the history of their community. It was a fascinating story beginning with a dream. The women of the group all felt that they were equal with women and wanted to belong to a group that agreed. Unfortunately in many Christian circles women are seen as people who should be quiet and allow the men to control things. The women of Shekinah dreamed of a gathering where their voices could be heard and their leadership could be encouraged, they wanted their children to to have more interaction with the adults and they longed for a gathering that wasn’t so structured so that they could allow the Spirit to move and to leave room for their friendships. This led to many discussions at their early community of faith and later led to a painful separation. The women of the group told us that there are no bitter feelings when they see their old friends. They smile and hug one another but share a deep sorrow that they are no longer close like they once were.

Day 1 in El Salvador

My name is Jon McClay and I will be posting about the April 2nd trip to El Salvador that was partly organized by the Simple Way. Today Caroline and I both woke up at 3:30 am and began our journeys which united us in Houston Texas. There are 7 members of our team and we have all come from different parts of the country.

I am from Greensboro NC where I work for the Habitat for Humanity Affiliate there doing home repairs. This trip attracted me because I wanted to learn more about the events of El Salvador’s revolution and I wanted to hear stories about how the church united to care for those in need and how their communities banded together in order to survive! The idea of Liberation Theology is also completely new to me.

Day 1: We all met in San Salvador the capital city of El Salvador. We met at the Shekinah faith community with Ruth the Pastor. I should introduce the members of the team and include photos of them.