Day 3: We're in El Salvador!

5-18

We get to El Salvador and go through customs. We already lost one of our group members- Angela in the airport. I honestly don't know how Angela got lost but for being 18, she's extremely smart so I'm glad out of everyone it was her. Angela has such a beautiful soul and is entering the convent in a few months. When I first met her I kept thinking 'woah you are really young to be ready for that kind of comittment' but after being around her for an evening or two I truly saw how ready she is for community life, it's so awesome. After going through customs where they asked me questions in Spanish even though I was assured they wouldn't ask me anything (I can't respond to anything in Spanish and the woman was talking too quickly for me to understand), we are greeted by Francisco the architect. He comes in a white bus with blue curtains and the name Stephanie on the back of it.

All of us on the bus

We get into the bus and Papusas and cold sodas are passed out to us. Papusas look similar to a pancake and are filled with cheese, beans or pork. I only ate one papusa though because I was so full. We drove through San Salvador and made our way to San Miguel, about an hour and a half drive. We got to see a volcano! Being on that bus and seeing El Salvador for the first time, breathing in the sticky fiery smelling air, and seeing that volcano, I knew I was supposed to be in El Salvador. After a year of a really tough and dry period with God, I felt him everywhere. It was so emotional I wanted to cry but tried to contain myself. We finally got to the Bishops residence, where we were staying for the night and were greeted by Fr. Emilio who showed us where the bathrooms and bedrooms were. I couldn't get over how open the residence was, the outside and the inside of the house are combined!

Courtyard at Bishops residence

We were lucky to have beds and air conditioning-- something we weren't expecting. Kaice, Angela, Kellee and I all slept in the same room while the other girls got to sleep at Francisco's house. The best part of the night was that we all thought that we didn't have a shower so we washed our hair in a sink near the courtyard. Someone had washed their hair before me and I wasn't paying attention and slid right under the sink from the water on tile action. Luckily Kellee was there to laugh at me :)