Day 8 -- Costa del Sol, Time to Relax and Reflect

Well, we actually got to "sleep in" until about 6:30 a.m. today, before heading down to breakfast and a day of fun -- shopping in the morning, and a trip to the beach in the afternoon. 

As I lay awake in bed, I was missing my family.  I hope my kids can understand what happened here, how different the life is here as compared to theirs.  But also how similar -- how important family is for helping you get through life, how laughter and goodness know no language or country barriers.  How all people seek what is good and right.


The patio at the Guest House was a nice place to catch a morning cup of coffee


Not the patient described to the right, but another happy recipient of donated glasses

 Over breakfast, Kalpna and Elizabeth told a story from the week -- how Ken had examined and prescribed glasses for an elderly woman, who was thrilled to be able to see clearly again.  After checking herself in a mirror, she went straight to the line for General Medicine.  After a wait, she was able to see Kalpna and Elizabeth.  They asked what her problem was, and she said she had three spots on her face.  Upon closer examination, they explained to her that those spots were merely freckles.  Freckles she hadn't seen for 20 years due to poor eyesight!
We began our morning with a trip to the CRISPAZ and CIS offices, where they have small gift shops.  All the materials are hand-crafted by local artisans, and all the proceeds go toward helping this type of cooperative survive in the local economy.  So although we may have been paying a bit more than we would see in larger markets in the city, we were happy to practice some socially conscious good ol' American shopping.  And judging by the number of tubs we filled up on the bus, we shopped with gusto (those tubs followed us everywhere)!

We then went on to a larger outdoor market with a huge variety of tourist type merchandise.  One popular item were the hand-painted folk art alphabet letters, which many of us bought to spell out the names of our children, etc (I have a PazSalud sign hanging in my cubicle now).

For those back at PeaceHealth, Kathy Garcia occasionally organizes a market to sell these types of goods from El Salvador, with the proceeds once again supporting the mission and the local artisans.  When you see this opportunity, we'd encourage and appreciate your support of the mission in this manner.


Jenny and Sr. Eleanor take a break from shopping


Seņor Dave contemplates whether a spotted leopard matches the decor back home


The pool at Costa del Sol

Beach-front housing

Sr. Eleanor gets the latest fishing report from a local shrimp fisherman

Sunset on the drive home

 Once our shopping craze was complete, we took about an hour and a half bus ride to the beach, to a place known as Costa del Sol.  

It's a beach-front hotel/resort, and we rented 1 room for the entire group, so we had a place to lock-up our belongings, go to the bathroom to change, etc.  When we unlocked the door, it was the first encounter with air conditioning that we'd felt in 8 days.  We just stood in the doorway with arms outstretched enjoying the chill -- and it felt like it was freezing.  Funny thing -- after a few minutes of actually getting cold in that room, we noticed the air conditioner was set to 75 degrees.  Guess it's all relative.

We arrived at lunch time, and the group was treated to a wonderful lunch at an outdoor table -- complete with ice cream for dessert (if you ate really quickly, it was ice cream; otherwise it was a milk-shake).

The resort was wonderful, complete with a salt-water swimming pool that had very cool water -- once I got in, I stayed for quite awhile.  Felt so good to not actually be sweating for a change.  We also got to meet the monkey that attacked Sr. Eleanor last year - biting her on the leg all the way through her jeans, breaking skin and the whole 9-yards.  There was also a pair of talking parrots saying "hola" that had us turning our heads a time or two.

As we walked down the beach, I got a couple of the pictures you see to the left -- some beachfront housing, and a picture of Sr. Eleanor talking to a local shrimp fisherman.  The shrimpers were prohibited from working, as the shrimp population was small and undersized.  More hardship for the economy.

On the drive home, we saw another gorgeous El Salvador sunset, which was hard to capture from a moving bus.  But as the sun sets on my writings, I thought I'd include that picture here as well, imperfect as it is.
The next day was a day of "rest" for me (it was actually work, but no complaints here)--while the rest of the group took Sunday to visit an ecological park, I stayed behind at the Guest House in San Salvador to go through my pictures, begin naming and organizing them, and starting on my writings.  As I had over 500 photographs to pour through, it was good for me to get a jump on this project.  I also took a few minutes to walk down the street from the Guest House, and photographed some of the beauty you see in El Salvador, namely in the bushes and trees that all seem to have their own unique color and character.  Not unlike the people.


A typical flowering tree in El Salvador

By the end of day 8, we were all exhausted and ready to return home, and I think this picture of Seņor David carrying Forrest in off the bus sums it up pretty well:


Seņor David & Forrest

Several years ago, I sat in the Auditorium at Sacred Heart in Eugene as a wise man* speaking at PeaceHealth once said how when you're a patient, you're neither rich nor poor, important or unimportant, insured or uninsured.  All our societal trappings go away -- we're all basically vulnerable, and put our hands in the lives of healers.  I felt this very real connection to the Salvadoran people during his brigade--as patients, they're certainly no different than you or I.  Reminds me of reading the words of another wise man named Paul who once wrote that there is no Jew or Gentile, no slave or free, no male or female, that we are all one under the name of the man and spirit referenced in our mission statement.  A man who's healing ministry we continue to make real to this day.

While I was in El Salvador, particularly during my day of rest, I reflected upon these words:

We carry on the healing mission of Jesus Christ by promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way.  

It struck me that this is the mission we were undertaking in El Salvador.  I certainly saw everything embodied in that statement in the caregivers that were part of this brigade.  But wait, isn't that the same mission statement we use in the Pacific Northwest?  Is the PazSalud mission any different than the PeaceHealth mission?  I've come to think not -- same mission, different location.

And I think I'll leave you with that final thought.  This is my last article in this series of writings (it's possible other volunteers will author an article or two to fill in some blanks).  Who knows if I'll ever return.  I would certainly encourage others who have an interest and a talent to share to join the PazSalud mission in the future.  I'd also encourage all of us to think of PeaceHealth as a mission-driven organization.  I know the paperwork hassles, the government regulations, the internal and external politics, the feeling of having much more to do than people to do it leaves us all pulling our hair out at times.  But we struggle in the name of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, here in the Pacific Northwest, to fulfill the same mission that Sr. Eleanor is struggling with in the far off land of El Salvador.  The same mission Sr. Margaret Anna Cusack brought to Fairhaven in 1891.  We are aligned with good.  We are a light in our communities.  We are a light in the world.  I know, because I've seen it with my own eyes -- remarkably, I think I am part of it.  You are too.  It shines.

When I think of "PeaceHealth", that's what I think of, and it's all (to me, anyway) that really matters.


One last attempt to document that I actually did
help out from time to time -- following Forrest's
instruction, of course J

 

* Wise man:  John Hayward, PeaceHealth CEO

I started this series with a photograph of an empty chair at the Sisters residence in Bellevue Washington, wondering why it was empty instead of having a content Sister relaxing within it.  Now I know why it's empty, and I think we're all better for it. . . . . . Glen Campbell.