Well, I realize that it might appear that I fell off the face of the earth or something because I stopped posting to this blog all of a sudden, but I assure you that I am back in the USA in one piece (if only significantly thinner). The four weeks that followed my last post were outstandingly busy. First, I was able to expand my English classes significantly. I started conversation classes with the guys who has been studying with me and a new grammar class for the guys who wanted to get started. I was also able to start a grammar class with the girls. Secondly, my work in the woodshop really picked up. One day I just realized how many projects I had committed to and how little time I had left. My biggest project of the summer was the bookcase that I built with Edwin (one of the pequeños), but there were also lots of other little projects that I worked on. Lastly, we also had some visitors, fiestas, and trips which also took up a bunch of time, but were certainly well worth it. Among those were a trip to the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of El Salvador. That definitely qualified as an adventure. We also had the chance to visit San Salvador (the capital) and to celebrate mass in the chapel in which Archbishop Romero was assassinated in 1980. That was really a beautiful experience.
There have been several challenges to returning to the US after spending ten weeks in El Salvador. The first is that I obviously miss being there with the kids. On the day before I left they had kind of a little farewell for me, and I told them that I would never forget them. And I haven't. Obviously, there were certain kids with whom I had built friendships over the course of the summer. It was hard to say goodbye to them, but in general I really do miss all of the children there - both the ones who became good friends and the ones who just loved to give me a hard time at every turn.
The second challenge was simply to readjust to life in the US again. I won't try to pretend for a moment that I was living out in the jungle on the brink of survival or something, but it was definitely more difficult than living here. Things that we regularly take for granted (e.g. hot water, being able to choose what you eat, washing machines, cars, etc.) were non-existent in the lives of these children, and I feel richer for having shared in some of them with them. There is nothing good about poverty, but the idea of living a simple life is something that I think most Americans can benefit from. You experience a certain level of freedom by living without too much stuff. I guess that I can kind of sum it up by saying "We're too rich, and they're too poor (generally speaking)."
Lastly, I suppose that it is difficult for me to switch out of a reality in which I was very active in making a difference in the daily lives of other people into life in the seminary again. The two are similar in that they both run on ridiculously full schedules, but they differ in the role I am able to play. In El Salvador I was somewhat unique, being only one of two American volunteers. I taught and led in a unique way that was really life-giving for me. At the seminary I return to being one among many - a student who still has much to learn about the priesthood. Both of these dynamics are good, and I suppose that's why priestly preparation is structured as it is. I'm certain that I would at least go crazy (if not lose my vocation) if all we did was go to school. The further I go on the more I realize that life is a continuum of changes and that our level of happiness has a lot to do with our readiness and willingness to respond to them.
Looking toward the future, I know that I will return to El Salvador at some point. In fact, that was the biggest question I got from the kids the week before I left - "When are you coming back?" It was also very encouraging to have the kids ask me to come back and celebrate Mass for them when I'm a priest (which I certainly plan on doing). As I was leaving, I received some of the nicest and most heartfelt cards and notes that I have ever received in my life. I went to El Salvador to learn how to love, and I left there being loved by others.
Thank you for reading, and may God bless you.
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