A note about the upcoming posts

So, even though it has taken me way too long to get these up, I have tried to write them as if I were able to write and post every night on the trip. It may seem a little ridiculous, but I'll also be posting once a day over the same time period as our trip. Please enjoy!

Final Countdown

Today at First Trinity, service focused on El Salvador. Throughout Epiphany we have been highlighting a different world culture, celebrating the message of Epiphany that Jesus came to Earth to share God's message of love to all people. And so, as a send-off to our Habitat team, this week we celebrated the Salvadoran music and culture. In addition to special music and hymn selection, our post-service reception featured Salvadoran-style quesadillas and delicious tamales!

I also gave a "mission moment" during the announcements. Due to a printer malfunction, I realized once I got to church that the first page of my speech had never made it to a hard copy. As a result, the text below is not quite what I actually said, but I think it still worked!

¡Hola! Buenos Dias, hermanos y hermanas.

Hello! Good morning, brothers and sisters.

My name, for those of you who don’t know me, is Amanda Wahlig. I am here this morning, full of excitement and joy, to thank you on behalf the 11 people that you, the people of First Trinity, are helping to send to the beautiful country of El Salvador for a week to build a house with Habitat for Humanity.

When many people think of El Salvador, they think of the horrible civil war that ravaged that country throughout the 1980’s. And that war has left deep scars that will take lifetimes to heal. But since the peace accords were signed in 1992, the country has been undergoing a dramatic turnaround and rebuilding process.

One of the biggest remaining effects of the war has been its impact on the Salvadoran economy. Since 1990, El Salvador has experienced an inflation rate of 7%, while its economy has averaged only 5%. Annual remittances from family abroad, particularly in the US, total approximately $2 billion, while external aid is only $500 million per year. The minimum wage is only $145 a month, while the cost of basic necessities for a family of four is approximately $600 a month. This means that there are many families who have to go without the basics of food, shelter, clothing, health care, and education, even if more than one family member works full-time outside the home.

Shelter is the one area that Habitat for Humanity can, and does, help dramatically. In El Salvador, the concrete-block houses are typically 450 square feet, with two bedrooms, living and dining areas. Some houses, depending on the site, will either have an outdoor latrine or an indoor bathroom and shower. In 2007, one of these houses cost between $4500 and $5000, plus land and utility fees. The average family is only able to pay $45 a month.

The housing need is great in El Salvador. Between the poor economy and the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, earthquakes in 2001 and January 2007, plus volcanic eruptions and Hurricane Stan in 2005, there are over 720,000 families in need.

Habitat El Salvador was founded in 1992, and it is one of the fastest-growing and most stable programs in the developing world. Despite the lack of domestic funding and an almost exclusive dependence on foreign volunteers and monies, Habitat El Salvador has been able to build over 8,400 houses all over the country. Since June 2007, Habitat El Salvador has expanded their mission to reach an even lower economic stratum of families, working with so-called “model” communities, providing families with land, a house, basic services, and community development social structures, such as a community center or daycare facility. The goal of this is to encourage the families to unite and work together for their communities.

That’s why our ability to go down as a team is so wonderful. Because we are able to pair up with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Thrivent will be donating an additional $8,000 because of our team!

Our team will be going down this Saturday and, after having a chance to see some of the capital city of San Salvador, will be going to the region of Ahuachapan, the poorest region of the country, and near the Guatemalan border, to worship with a local community on Sunday and then to build for five days. While we don’t know the exact stage of construction the house will be in, we will be moving the blocks around, mixing the mortar, helping to form the dirt foundation for the floor, and perhaps helping to lay the blocks. Through it all we will be working with experienced masons, and, depending on the family’s schedule, with the family who will be living in the house. We will then have one more day to experience some of the incredible natural beauty and hospitality of the Salvadoran countryside before returning on Sunday.

As I finish up, I would like to thank those of you who have supported us, both financially and with your prayers. This trip is a wonderful opportunity for us to do some extremely valuable work in the name of God, and it would not be possible without your help.

One final note—this trip has a blog! There is a link to it on the home page of the First Trinity website. As internet access permits we will update it while in country, and we will definitely post stories and pictures upon our return.

Pr. Tom also spoke about our trip in his sermon today, which can be heard here. Please note this may take a few days to post.

Phase 1 Complete!

Our team is now entirely registered, flights are being booked, and folks are starting to receive their packets with their t-shirts and other helpful info! It's getting exciting around here!

This trip, we will be building with the Thrivent community in Getsemani. Our last trip, we helped ESHFH put together their video bid to be the host for a Thrivent community in Latin America, and it was wonderful that they got it--it's a great program, and this wonderful country has benefited so much from the increased partnership with Thrivent.

Getsemani is located in Ahuachapan, right next to the border with Guatemala. It is one of the poorest departments (the Salvadorian equivalent of states), despite having some of the richest soil for coffee. One-fifth of the families survive on a monthly income of less than the cost of the family food basket.

The area, because it is up in the mountains, is also subject to earthquakes. Habitat houses are seismic-resistant, and therefore represent not only stability for these families, but desperately needed safety.

The Getsemani community seeks to create a holistic community. It will not only be the location of 90 homes, but the project is built around increasing community leadership and economic opportunities. Because many of the volunteers are international volunteers, it is also an opportunity for cultural exchange and education (on both sides).

For more information on Ahuachapan and the Getsemani community, please go to the HFHES website on the project.

2011 Trip is On!

I have been confirmed as another trip leader for a Thrivent trip to El Salvador Feb. 19-27, 2011!

Membership on the trip this time will consist not only of First Trinity members and friends, but also fellow Lutherans from the DC area.

Registration information for trip members is going out soon, and then we'll be able to start the process of booking travel, choosing our activities for our rest days, and pre-departure meetings.

Having so many months before the trip is a luxury compared to our extremely quick turnaround the last time we went down. But I'm getting excited that the ball is moving!

Home Again!

I know that if you're reading this, you don't have much information. That's coming, I promise! We didn't have internet access after the first night, so I apologize to those of you waiting to hear what we were doing.

I will have more detailed posts, and others will share stories and pictures, later this week as my schedule allows. But I wanted to say that we are all OK--there were a few minor illnesses along the way, but we met some nurses and other medical people during our first night, and they helped us immensely by providing the proper medications. I am also currently suffering from some allergic reaction to an unknown substance, but if allergies are the worst thing we come home with, that's great!

The trip was wonderful, and I cannot wait to share with you all what we have done. Again, thank you for your prayers and support--we could not have done this without you!

Natural Beauty

I just heard from our in-country coordinator, Patty Cordero. Patty has been an incredible help to me in setting up this trip, and I know she has been extremely busy in working with all the other teams coming into El Salvador this year!

Habitat arranges our lodging during the time we are working and building, and they do an excellent job of making sure we are as comfortable as possible.

The hotel they have chosen for us in February is absolutely beautiful--it took my breath away when I looked at the hotel's website. I think we are going to be VERY happy there!

We have also finalized some of the final pieces of the itinerary. It's all coming together, and 16 days to go!!!

Less than One Month!!!

In one month from yesterday, 14 people will be in El Salvador! It's hard to believe that it's so close!

A lot is already finished. Our number is set at 14, everyone is registered, and almost everyone's paperwork is filled out. The tickets are purchased, and everyone seems excited to get there!

We got an update from Habitat El Salvador today. We will be building in the area around Sonsonate, a beautiful little town almost directly west of San Salvador. It's where I built when I was there in August, and I'm excited to go back.

There has been one change to the itinerary. Instead of taking the free day at the end of our trip to go to the beach, we have decided we would rather see some of the beauty that is the country. So we're going instead to a little town in the mountains named Juauya. It has some beautiful hiking and waterfalls around, and the town itself has a very rare black Jesus statue (it was burned in a fire and never repainted). Best of all, it has a huge food festival in town every weekend, and it's supposed to be one of the best in the country.

I spoke to the leader of the trip I took in August, and she and her husband are helping me set up our hotel in San Salvador. If it works out, we'll be at the Casa Concordia and connected with the El Salvador Lutheran Church. Hopefully we'll even have a chance to meet and talk with Bishop Gomez. We'll keep you updated!

Flight is Booked!

Well, all 13 people going to El Salvador are registered, and we have booked the group flight from DC to San Salvador!!!! The great news with the flight is that we got a spectacular deal on the airfare--about $100 less per ticket than we had originally thought we might be facing. Pr. Tom joked that the flight was so cheap that several of us might have to fly the plane! Plus, the flight is non-stop, so no dealing with changing planes in Miami or Dallas and all the hassle that means, especially on the way back.

There are still details to iron out, but much of that will be done in conjunction with the El Salvador folks. We still need some hotels in-country, and I'm beginning to rethink the beach proposition. I've found this neat little town with spectacular hiking, a unique little church, and a food festival every weekend!!! The beach just seems to be a surfer's hangout, and from what I've read, it's a semi-dangerous area, as well. I think more people would be happy with the change, but I'll talk to the coordinator in El Salvador and see what she thinks.

It is great to have some of the biggest steps out of the way and finished. Since this is the first time I've led any group like this, I won't really be able to relax until things are set and ready to go.

Our Trip is On!

With our Habitat for Humanity trip to El Salvador confirmed and the initial members registering, I thought it would be a good time to establish this blog so that we can share the details of our journey with all our friends, families, and supporters! As the official leader of the trip (though with plenty of help from Pr. Tom), I decided to get the ball rolling.

Come February 16-24, members and friends of First Trinity will be headed to El Salvador to build a house with Habitat for Humanity. This trip will be organized through Thrivent Builds Worldwide, a division of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Thrivent will not only help us with coordination, etc., but will also provide a great deal of financial support for the El Salvador affiliate! In addition to the $500 per person donation (and right now we have 20 people going), which Thrivent will pay for Thrivent members, Thrivent will give HFH El Salvador an additional $10,000 because of our trip! That's enough to pay for the materials and labor for two additional houses!

With the trip coming up so quickly, however, things are moving at a fairly hectic place. Right now team members are registering and paying deposits, securing our place on the schedule. We'll be sure to keep you updated with our progress and let you know how you can help!