Worship and Water

We enjoyed a day of rest in El Salvador today. Some of us chose to sleep in a little, while the true die-hards enjoyed a 20 minute workout DVD. Six people actually showed up for our workout on the rooftop deck! I'm sure the hotel staff thought we were nuts. Not so sure if we'll do it tomorrow.

We went to Sunday service at Iglesia Cristo Rey here in Santa Ana. Cristo Rey has two pastors- Pastor Carlos and Pastor Wilma. Pastor Wilma's congregation is about 30 mins. away. She holds 2 services during the week, then her congregation joins Pastor Carlos' on Sunday. There were about 30-40 congregants today, and about 30 of us. The congregants are mostly women and children, as the men in the household will relax and play futbol on Sundays, so they are not normally in church. The service was a traditional service- hymns, readings and a sermon. The hymns were acappella and in Spanish, so we had our work cut out for us. The children had the songs memorized and sang with such joy. The congregation was very welcoming to us, and offered us hugs of peace as we departed.

For lunch and our afternoon activity, we went to Lago de Coatepeque, this beautiful crater lake at the base of a volcano. It was a bit of a treacherous drive down a dirt road to get to lake-level, but once there, it was well worth it. The crater lake is 800 feet deep in the middle, and the hillsides have coffee and corn growing up their sides. We had lunch at a lake restaurant and took a couple of boats out to a small beach. The water was cool and refreshing.

On our drive back to Santa Ana, we were going uphill for the first fifteen minutes of the drive. Suddenly our driver, Eduardo, stopped, and when he did, we noticed some smoke coming out of the dashboard. Not a cigarette to be found...just a little electrical difficulty. We got out of his way and headed into a cliffside restaurant for a cerveza. After using his machete and some electrical wire, we were in good shape again. After that, it was an uneventful ride back to the hotel.

Dinner tonight at the hotel, and then our evening team meeting. We spent time reflecting upon the day and discussing the history of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated during mass in 1980. His mission was to serve the poor and underserved, and that remains his legacy. He has a great presence here in El Salvador, and is honored by many faiths.

Off to bed now and back to Villa Esperanza in the morning!