Listening, Learning, and Growing in El Salvador

Staff member & trip leader Arissa shares experiences gained and lessons learned during the cross-cultural service learning trip she and the Gap Year Program took to El Salvador back in January.

Listening

“You will sing the first verse in English, then we will sing the second verse in Spanish, then we will all sing the chorus together.” Our translator, Delaney, relays this to us as we sit in the common space of Casa Semillas. We are about to open our day with a devotional. It’s awkward. We sing the song too fast, our Salvadoran friends sing the song too slow, but somehow it blends together into harmonized worship. As we reach the chorus we begin to find an understanding of how to balance our two languages and as we sing “This is Amazing Grace” together. What begins as confusion ends in laughter as we connect over our shared commitment to God. The joy of those connections defeats the awkwardness of the language and cultural barriers. After all, we’re all just people longing for connection. 

Casa Semillas is the office of the organization, Semillas de Nueva Creación (Seeds of a New Creation). They were our hosts as we explored the culture, history and ways of life in El Salvador. We spent three weeks in January learning both about El Salvador as a country, and about the ways that “Semillas” are working as the physical hands and feet of God in El Salvador. Our 21 days with them served as a refreshing reminder of the ways that we can live out our missional purposes in this world. 

Learning

We learned how to make organic fertilizer and pesticides, and how these organic mixes are taught to rural communities. They replace the expensive chemical options that have also been causing kidney and liver diseases in the farmers who use them. Semillas showed us the gardens that they are busy helping schools and churches create. These gardens are a way to meet the food and nutrition needs in communities while empowering them at the same time. We met a man who teaches kids to breakdance and paint artful graffiti as his ministry to them. He teaches these things so that the kids know that whatever their interests are, God has a place for them. We met other children’s clubs and churches who play games and teach children about God so that they can be a part of a family that they might have otherwise lost to gang violence or prison. All throughout the country, we were introduced to the creative ways that the Church in El Salvador is making space for people from all walks of life. And, we were reminded that our role here in Hamilton is to do the same. Because, after all, in the words of our translator, “service and learning trips like this are great, but if we don’t also let them impact our own lives long-term and within our own context, we are doing something wrong.”

“We were introduced to the creative ways that the Church in El Salvador is making space for people from all walks of life, and were reminded that our role here in Hamilton is to do the same.”

Growing

As we spent our last few nights in El Salvador debriefing our trip, Act Five students were given the opportunity to create goals for back home that reflected what they had learned in El Salvador. Just recently, we received a host survey back from El Salvador, where Delaney, our translator, reflected on how impactful listening to the goals of the students was. She wrote:

“I was truly touched listening to how each student was impacted in such unique, personal, and profound ways. One student who struggled with social anxiety on the trip set a goal for herself of having at least one deep conversation per month with someone she does not know well yet. Another was excited to go home and start volunteering at an organization like Big Brother Big Sister – one that focuses on building relationships and healing and transforming people (like Semillas does), rather than just giving free handouts. Another was struck by the hospitality she experienced and wanted to bring that gift back to Canada to improve community outreach efforts with more intentionality within the Act Five program and at home. Although these students were so young, it brought tears to my eyes to see how much wisdom, conviction, and passion each of them have, and it was a privilege to know that their time in El Salvador will have a lasting impact not just on their lives but on their families, friends, and communities as well.”

Gratitude

So, to all you who have supported us on this trip in prayer or donations or any other way, we are grateful. Thank you for your help in allowing this impactful trip to happen. When you see this group of students, ask them about their experience in El Salvador. Ask what happened in them on this trip, so that their stories may not only impact themselves, but you as well.

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Act Five facilitates service-learning trips in for young adults in partnership with Resonate Global Mission and World Renew Disaster Response Services. This trip to El Salvador with Seeds of a New Creation was in partnership with Resonate, who supports the work of Christian organizations doing local missions around the world. To help make future trips possible, visit https://actfive.ca/give/. We are grateful for your support.