Thursday morning

Dear Family and Friends,

We had the option to sleep in this morning ... You know I took it! It felt good to have time for my body to rejuvenate a little after very intense, emotional, full days!

I've had a little feed back from home that the stories in sharing are filled with such pain that it is hard to carry it all. And while yes that is absolutely true—there is so much pain and suffering—there is also great joy and we are meeting people who are really making a difference for their country. 

So, a story of joy.  Last night we went to the office of the Minister of Exterior Relations where we were present for the official announcement that the site of the martyrdom of the four women would soon be recognized as a national historic site! I think this is so powerful and such a huge accomplishment for the cause of justice because it is a national recognition of the justice and peace for which they gave their lives!

Bishop Gumbleton from Detroit has been traveling with us these past few days. Many involved in the social justice world know his name and the great work he has done to stand up for so many important issues in our church and world.   He spoke beautifully of what this means for the path of continued justice here in El Salvador.

One of the representatives shared her thanks for all those who have been "captured" for the cause of justice. I was not following the translation all that well but I wonder if she meant those who have been arrested protesting things like the school of the Americas. She shared this gratitude on behalf of our Salvadoran brothers and sisters.

After the speakers we were presented with roses and then we all gathered to celebrate with food and drink! It was a beautiful evening of solidarity celebrating a step in the direction of peace and justice!

Today we head to the graves of Maura Clark and Ita Ford—Maryknoll Sisters are buried in the country they die in ... We will travel about two hours outside San Salvador to the town where they served and lived. 

Con Paz y justicia,

Sarita

Wednesday 6:30 pm

Dear Family and Friends,

This afternoon we spent some time at Cietta—a center for investigation, experimentation, and transfer of ecological agricultural technology. We heard the president of the company and the women empowered to work there of their desire to know where their food comes from.  They no longer want to see people getting sick from the toxins of pesticides and other chemicals injected into food. They do what we do on our very own Red Hill Farm—provide healthy, organic food for the local community!

They asked us to return to the states with a message for our legislators ... They spoke of their struggles with CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Act). They clearly understand trade will and maybe should happen but what they ask of us is to petition our legislators to remember the small farmers and to protect them in these policies. 

Rural North America can relate ... Can we not? What has happened to our small farmers in the face of the genetically motified food of Mansanto?  I have a friend who is allergic to apples ... Or so it appears as every time she would eat a store bought Apple she would begin to have trouble breathing. One day she picked an apple off a tree on her street—growing naturally with no chemical assistance—turns out she's not allergic to apples ... Her body is physically rejecting the chemicals smeared upon their skin! Our bodies are actually pretty smart if we allow ourselves to listen to them ... They tell us when something is poisonous ... If only we listen!

The work these women are doing is so vital to the health of El Salvador.  They spoke of "food sovereignty" saying that "food security" is not enough ... Having enough food is one thing ... But having access to healthy food is what we should actually consider a basic need!  I think we struggle with the same issue in the States —just look at what is allowed to be purchased when using EBT cards. Not the healthiest food options. 

Seems food sovereignty is an issue not confined to El Salvador but certainly one for which they are taking a stand!

I want to close by sharing the importance of trees ... The president spoke of the trees being the only "crop" to last through times of drought... They spoke of all the gifts the tree gives us—shade, water retention, air—and now they plant mango and coconut trees because in addition to all these other things they give us food.

Cietta has commited to planting 100,000 trees in ten years. 30,000 have already been planted. Each tree costs $3, if you would like to donate a tree ... Or two ... Or more please contact me ... I will collect money to send through SHARE to Cietta.

Por ahora,

Sarita

Wednesay 12:45 pm

Dear Family and Friends,

The bus drove in silence as we made our way on the road where Maura, Ita, Dorothy, and Jean had been taken. As we walked in silence up the rocky road that lead to the place of their deaths we heard what sounded like gunshots (we later learned the sound was from the celebratory bottle rockets commemorating the anniversary or their martyrdom) ... But we had not known that ... I could not help but feel the fear these women must have felt that day.

But every where I turn I hear nothing but stories of hope sprouting from the land on which their life bled out. Stories of faith, of love, of companionship, and of devotion to the human rights of all people! The Mass in the chapel resurrected on the site where their bodies were found was one of celebration and joy!

After Mass we processed outside to the monument in their memory where we heard story after story testifying to the lives of these women! We laid roses in their honor. We remembered!

We have all experienced moments of hurt and discouragement ... We have all had experiences where we have felt misunderstood and attacked... In some of those moments in my own life I have had people of deep faith and compassion reach out, touch my hand, and listen to my story. I think we forget how powerful listening and solidarity are ... We are not always called to "fix" sometimes—maybe even often—we are called to just "be". 

I think that's what these women must have been to this community. They came to be with, to live with, to reach their hand out and touch the hands of others. To say nothing more than "I am here".

I am grateful for those in my own life who have been that presence! And I hope that I may lead my life in a way that others may say that of me.

Con amor,

Sarita

Tuesday 8:45 pm

Dear Family and Friends,

As I write to you our bus is attempting to make nearly impossible turns to decend the mountain on which we had dinner. On the way up they gave up after hitting something ... A tree? A high curb? We walked the rest ... But somehow the buses eventually made it ... I have most certainly experienced some of the most impressive bus driving skills here is El Salvador! I wouldn't take a pick up truck through half the manuevers these buses are making!

We've spent half the day on the bus ... or so it feels! I slept on the way home from the sisters of the Pequeña Comunidad—what a beautiful experience!

There was dancing ...

And singing ...

And all the while we were surrounded by immense beauty!

There were so many things experienced today but there was one woman's sharing that I believe sums up what it meant to be present to each other today—sr. Ana is a sister from the States who has been in El Salvador for the past thirty years. She began with the question, "Is it dangerous to go to El Salvador?" Followed by silence and then a second question, "If your brother or sister were sick would you go to them?" She shared that she does nothing of great importance here but that she does a lot of things of little importance that bring others life! 

Isn't that how we should all live? If we ALL did lots of little things a whole lot of big things would happen! We could indeed change the world ... And that's what I witnessed here today ... Lots of little things making a huge impact!

She asked us to listen to her heart not her words ... She told us we each had to answer for ourselves, there is no universal answer but we each have a call.   She told us we were each called to El Salvador and asked us to reflect on that ... I believe I'm here to share their story.

And despite the real reality of violence here I would encourage others to come! Because in the face of that violence are those standing for truth and love in solidarity with so many who have lived their lives and gave their lives for this land and its people!

Buenos Noches,

Sarita

Tuesday Morning Catch Up

Dear Family and Friends,

Still at the "rest stop" so I shall share my final "catch up reflection" on Monday!

Last night before returning to the hotel the group of us who split yesterday to visit the Romero sites visited the Jesuit martyr sites where the others had early spent time.  

It was once again a powerful experience of "the church" the people. In some ways—though it was difficult to see the rose garden in the dark—it was eerily appropriate. The priests were marched out of the rectory in the middle of the night, in their sleeping clothes, and killed right below where the rose garden now commemorates their lives.  

Inside we saw the very clothes they were wearing that night, the torn bathrobe, the  ripped night shirt, the blood stained under garments and sandals. I cannot imagine the fear they felt walking to what they surely understood would be their death. 

Where does such courage come from?  Did they doubt in their final moments? Were they filled with peace? Did they try to talk to their assassins? What would you or I do? 

One day I hope to live in a world that was made peaceful by the courage of men and women who did not arm themselves with weaponry but with love and who gave their lives for the cause of justice!

Con Paz,

Sarita

Tuesday 9:15 am

Dear Family and Friends,

We are about and hour and a half into a two and a half hour trip to the country side to visit with the sisters of the Pequeña Comunidad—a group of sisters who have walked with the poor and persecuted communities before, during, and after the war.  This is our first bathroom break ... And with two stalls and 100 people looks like this will be a chance to rest as well ... Walk ... Stretch ... Blog!

I was a bit exhausted after yesterday's events ... So there are a few things to share ...

After returning to the UCA (the most prestigious university in Central America) we went to a lecture on the root causes of immigration.  We heard the stories of two young men who traveled to the US where they lived as undocumented until certain events occurred that lead them to deportation. 

The one in particular struck my heart strings. He left El Salvador because as a young man he was being targeted by the gangs that have become rampant throughout the country.  He essentially left to save his life. He worked as a mechanic in the states which was good for work but unfortunately was pulled over while testing the cars and was sent to a detention center after being unable to produce documentation. 

No matter what side of the immigration issue you stand we cannot turn our backs on these issues ... We all want  immigrants to come "legally" but then this is where we must work urgently and diligently to create just and appropriate immigration legislation. Until then I cannot justify turning people away who are fleeing for their life.

As we left the lecture there was the loudest group of birds chirping from the surrounding trees ... I feel as though the birds had been following me throughout this day to teach me something profound about relationship.  Below I share a poem inspired by the birds!

Con amor,

Sarita

The birds know no boundaries

It must be freeing

To be a bird

To know no borders

Worrying not of fences and walls

They have no papers

And no one notices

Moving with the wind

If they wish ...

Or not

It must be freeing to be a bird

To not be detained

Nor sent away

The purple Martin comes

The purple Martin goes

We rejoice in her presence

We ask no questions

A little girl looks up

Hearing the caw of the crow

She thinks:

It must be freeing to be a bird

Monday afternoon

Dear Family and Friends,

If we are quiet enough, and aware enough we can commune with the spirits that inhabit the space in which we find ourselves. This afternoon I stood on the very spot where Romero's body fell after being fatally wounded. My hand brushed the stone floor where his blood was poured out.  I prayed at the altar of his sacrifice. I walked through his living quarters and breathed the air he breathed.  I cannot explain in words the feelings coursing through my own veins as I stand in this space—this space that such a holy man, who cared so deeply for his people lived holds stories of pain and suffering and yet ... Once again ... Hope! His life has not been forgotten, he preached of his potential death saying if he were to be killed that he would rise again in the Salvadoran people—this was clearly a prophesy that has been fulfilled and continues to be so!

"On this altar Monsignor Oscar A. Romero offered his life to God for his people."

¡Oscar Romero Presente!

Con amor,

Sarita