We leave NY to fly to San Salvador -- the capital of El Salvador.  Travel to  Santa Ana the second largest city in El Salvador where the CFCA center is located.

PICTURES OF OUR FIRST DAY

Travel to the community of Tacuba, location of CFCA’s Subproject SFG. The community happily welcomes you. Remember that your presence and participation is a symbol of love and solidarity on behalf of all CFCA sponsors. You will receive many expressions of gratitude not only during this visit but also throughout the course of your stay in El Salvador. Although the honor and gratitude may feel overwhelming, remember that the promotion of dignity includes the respectful acceptance of gratitude. Father Mike will concelebrate the mass.

Pictures of our Mass and Home Visits

Travel to the Centro Escolar Juan Pablo II school in Tacuba. The elementary school-age students look forward to interacting with you. The Our Lady of Lourdes group will bring activities such as coloring books, simple crafts, easy puzzles, and/or ideas for active games like relay races or tag.  In the afternoon the children of the town will make presentations to us on Salvadorian culture.

Pictures of Bible Camp Tacuba

Pictures of Children’s Presentations

We divided into four groups today to help CFCA workers distribute aid and benefits to community members.  We were given the opportunity to serve sponsored members as you help distribute benefits to families.

After lunch a Sports afternoon! Enjoy a game of softball in company of staff members and sponsored children. Miracle of miracles we won the game this year 21-20!

Pictures of the distribution and game.

Plans changed a bit today as this has been a rainy week in El Salvador.  Instead of heading to an outdoor park to meet with sponsored children we decided to take them to a children’s museum in San Salvador, the capitol.   Many of the children had never been to anything as wonderful as this museum or even had the opportunity to visit their own capitol city.  It was a wonderful day for us of fun and friendship.

Pictures of the trip with sponsored children.

Depart for the martyrdom site of Father Rutilio Grande.  On March 12, 1977, Father Rutilio Grande, Manuel Solorzano, 72, and Nelson Rutilio Lemus, 16, were driving through the sugar fields near the village of El Paisnal. They were on their way to evening Mass in the Aguilares parish when they were bombarded by machine gunfire and murdered. Upon learning of the murders, Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was a close friend of Father Rutilio, went to the church where the three bodies had been laid and celebrated Mass. After Mass, Archbishop Romero spent hours listening to stories of suffering local farmers, and hours in prayer. It is historically known that the death of Archbishop Romero’s close friend Rutilio had a great impact on his priesthood in the following years until his own death on March 24, 1980.

Depart for the community Primavarita. Participate in a gathering with the local CFCA Scholarship Students who will introduce us to their literacy and tutoring projects and services. If you’re interested, ask the project staff to explain the difference between a sponsored child and a
scholarship student.

Pictures from the Day

We begin our journey home.  We stop by a handicrafts market where we can purchas items to help raise funds for our Sister Parish Projects.