From The Site

A couple of days ago, Cameron and I went out to the site with Maria and Carlos, who were in San Salvador to take care of some SHIP business. In addition to doing some work, they also spent time hiding out for fear that people would assume they were in town to see the El Salvador/Mexico match. I'm not sure that their hiding strategies were well crafted; in just the first day, they ate at two Mexican restaurants. One of those times was our fault, but I have no regrets about that because the tacos were amazing.

Maria and Carlos haven't been our only visitors. Just yesterday, Bob and Mark arrived in town to start filming a video for SHIP. They wanted to see the property, so earlier today, we headed to the site again. What we saw there was inspring. In just a couple of days, so much has changed. There were workers moving forward on all areas of construction. Walls are starting to go up. Land is being moved. I took some pictures while we were out there, so you can see a little of what's going on.

This first photo was taken just outside the walls of the site. I feel like I should say that Cameron really doesn't spend all of his time in trees. It just looks that way. Really, he's one of the hardest workers we've ever seen. When he's not in a tree, which is most of the time, regardless of what the pictures seem to show.

But, this is what we saw going on inside the walls. These men are working on an area that will become our learning center. Right now, the kids have a lot of distractions while studying, mainly due to a lack of space. This learning center will give them the space they need to really focus on their studies.

This space will become apartments for long-term volunteers. We'll also be able to house short-term volunteers who come as part of SHIP teams. This way, we will be able to have people who live right there at the orphange and can help with day to day needs or work with the children on their schoolwork.

Here, Cameron and Bob have headed for a good spot to get a shot of where the main building will go. With a little more time, there will be a dormitory here. Imagine waking up with mango and banana trees outside your door. Imagine children who have lived confined in a small area, completely covered with concrete, actually walking outside their doors to fresh air and a tropical paradise.

This is another shot of the apartment area. I love the trees there, and the views are beautiful.

Does anyone recognize the man on the right? That's our good friend Rey. This construction has given him a lot of work, and he is doing a great job.

And, in case you were wondering how to turn a mountain into flat ground, here it is.

Today it was so good to see how our dream of a new orphanage is becoming a reality. On the way home from the site, we picked up some of the children from school and then went back to the orphanage. Perhaps that was the best part of the day, even better than seeing the changes at the site. Seeing those children reminds each of us why we are here, why we keep returning, why we are building an orphanage that, quite honestly, we cannot yet afford.

It's because of them. And because of God who in His great wisdom brought us here, to a place we had never been and had never expected to go. Gracias a Dios. Thanks to God for His wisdom, for the great blessing of bringing these children into our lives.