Hola! Noah R. here.
This Thursday was a special day as we spent time at a local park with some of the clients from Mission to El Salvador. The park was absolutely beautiful — the Lord truly blessed us with stunning scenery. Holly opened the day with a heartfelt devotional, and Chris and I were honored to share a short devotional as well.
Afterward, we all made bracelets and painted canvas bags using cross stencils and a lot of creativity. It was a great time of connection through art. We followed that with a delicious lunch in the park, spotted some wildlife (two friendly dogs and a few colorful parrots!), and then headed back to the facility.
Back at the facility, we continued the arts and crafts activities, this time with the New Dawn kids. Only four of us were able to participate directly, while the rest of the team helped the staff with various small projects around the building. When the crafts were done, we came together again — this time for one last game of soccer with the New Dawn kids. Let’s just say we found out they went easy on us the first time!
Saying goodbye was tough. Every one of those kids has such a kind heart, and it was clear how much they had impacted us in just a short time.
When we returned to the guest house, the mood was somber. We all felt the weight of knowing it was our final visit to the facility. But we were met with warm smiles from Loida and her daughter — and a warm plate of food, which lifted our spirits.
Later in the evening, half of our group went out with John to deliver food to people sleeping on the streets of San Salvador. Even though it started pouring rain, they pushed through and made the deliveries anyway. When they returned, they were completely soaked — but the smiles on their faces told us everything we needed to know. It was worth it.