hay un amigo en mi

saturday, august 7th: san salvador, el salvador

"in everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'it is more blessed to give than to receive." -Acts 20:35

we arrived back in san salvador late friday night. after a good nights rest, we were up the next morning and on the vans to the volcano. on our way up the mountain we saw many el salvadorans selling things like fruits, vegetables, and clothing. when we arrived to our destination, there was a small market in the street.



soon we were hiking up to the top of the trail.

along the way, there was a beautiful heart made of foliage.

dad and i stopped for a photo op. :)

at the top, we could see the entire volcano and where it had erupted.

here is a closer look at where the volcano erupted. in the middle, the words "E.S. para Jesus" are written - el salvador for Jesus! how awesome.

while we were up there, we spent some time taking pictures before it started raining. here is eric secrist, me, caleb norton, & yan sim - my late night hang out buddies.

they have actually decided to start a band and this will be the cover of their album.

dad, rene mejia & rene gonzalez.

dad and aunt connie - sibling love <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4zKmhuZyybIqT57q7Mqz2ko5p1VZO042qJuWH04KCsnOAifBNTB0ybmaUIHWMNWmMLweKgU28TdfhEMK8WGq2CBMAbJ-DtQGbIRanxZaPkfiuzuT019p5p9cHPaC5ovqiwWCnztp/s1600/DSC_4038.JPG">here i am with all of the translators/my amazing el salvadoran family! love you all so much!

renecito with his daddy.

the beautiful alicia with her mom.

the peck family.

carlos, cody, & diego, looking so nice in their flowers.

once it started raining, everyone took cover. it didnt last long though.

taylor moser & larry causey in their matching rain gear.



dad and dr. wade in deep conversation, as usual.

my beautiful marce!

the girls.

my el salvadoran sister! love you gabi!

after visiting the volcano, we left to go to lunch at a nearby restaurant.

here is the view from our seats on the porch.





there were coca-colas to drink

and cheese dip for appetizers.

to pass the time, we played with baby alicia.





andrea ward and david friedman decided to spend their free time dancing. i love it



finally the food arrived - chicken, beans, bananas, lime, & cheese. mmmm

after lunch, some of the team went to the local market to pick up some souvenirs.





for dinner that night, the entire team met up with many of our translators and friends from the past week. we ate dinner...



sang songs...

and celebrated the birth of lindsey peck. :)





and then it was time for a group pic! first, the GHO team.

then an attempt at everybody!

of course its pablo!

ana moran, dad, & me.

DIEGO! miss you bff

the eye glass clinic! go team!

me, eu & dad.

some crazy boys with a crazy flash happenstance on my camera.

majo & me.

dad & jamie campbell.

cara, KJ, cody, meghan, & me.

love you ana!

later that night, some of the translators came to our hotel and hung out. after they left, some of the younger, crazier people, stayed up all night before leaving for the airport. im pretty sure i only got about 15 minutes of sleep that night, but it was all worth it in the end!

I LOVE EL SALVADOR! and i cant wait to be back in ... less than a year! (ive started the countdown already)

mis amigos salvadorenos querido el: gracias por una semana increible. te has convertido en mi segunda familia y me encanta todos, muchas gracias. Estoy orando por ti y pensando en ti todos los dias.