“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”. – Winston Churchill
I knew these guys were different as soon as I met them. Kenny and his crew had come to El Salvador loaded down with toys, clothes, soccer balls and other goodies to give away. The plan was put in motion by ‘Surfers On Mission,’ a group of guys that like to do surf trips and give back to the local people in each country they visit.
The idea was to head to a small village in southeast El Salvador, but before we left, we made a visit to the first orphanage. The sight of the vans pulling into the compound brought the kids running our way. The plan was simple. Get out, spend some time with the kids and leave in a short while. Impossible. Most of these kids were abandoned by their parents. Just having someone stop by to see them was a treat.
The children at the orphanages in El Salvador were excited to see the 'gringo' visitors.
During our entire visit at the orphanage, she and Kenny were attached at the hip, his smile as bright as hers. All these children wanted to be held, thrown in the air and swung around. And we did just that. As we left, each person in our crew was speechless. A few tears were shed and a spot in each of our hearts was put aside for these kids. Spending a couple hours with the kids clearly had more of an impact on us than them.
Down the road a ways, we ran into some rain and traffic. At one point we were at a standstill and noticed a mid-sized car at the crossroad that was stuck. His front wheel had fallen into an enormous pothole. The car was unable to move. Other people walked by and cars passed him as he sat helpless in the rain. Almost instantly, Mike looked at us in the back of the van and said, “We need to go and help that guy; let’s lift up his car and get him out of that hole.”
Half laughing, six of us ran over, lifted his car out of the hole, making this guy’s day with one simple act. As traffic started moving, I stopped long enough to exchange names and say “Dios te bendiga!” (God bless you.) Kindness rubs off of the guys from Surfers on Mission and becomes contagious.
We spent the rest of the week in a small fishing village on the southeast coast. Each day we surfed early in the morning and late in the afternoon and spent the rest of the time with the local people. Salvador Castellanos, our friend and contact, had arranged to drive his Toyota truck to distribute food in a needy area. Walking door to door, we split up into groups of three and four with one translator. The response from each family was smiles and gratefulness. Some said a simple “gracias” and others wanted us to come in and talk or pray with them.
The team surfed in the morning and afternoon, and spent the rest of the day meeting the locals.
Tin for a roof, trees and scrap wood for walls and natural dirt floors, these people were content owning very little. Life was simple and there were no distractions like iPods or Wii games. When we were down to our last food bag, we called from the fence to a small makeshift house. A middle-aged man made his way to us with a look of confusion; three gringos (white guys) and a frizzy-haired Filipino.
You could see the gears turning in his head, “What could these guys possibly want?” I explained we were making our way through the village blessing people with large bags of food. He shook my hand and did his best to hold back tears. He explained his family “was on their last meal and didn’t know where the next meal would come from.” His next comment showed me how important that whole day was — “Now I know how much God loves me and cares for me.”
The next day we drove an hour or so to another orphanage. At first the kids were reserved, and understandably so, as 10 gringos more than twice their size walked into their building for the first time. After a couple hours of singing, dancing and playing with them, we asked the woman in charge, “What would be a way we could really bless you and the kids tonight?”
The adults loved the pinata as much as the kids, but the little boy who climbed the tree to get the pinata got the laughs.
As we drove back to our base camp that night, all I could think about was how much I take things for granted. How many times I’ve had fried chicken. How many times I’ve spent money carelessly. How many times in the future I’ll stop and think about the things I want versus the things I need.
The big party was set for Friday night. We had posted and handed out flyers all over the small village. With permission from the mayor, we took over the soccer field in the middle of town. We had a raffle for the kids and adults, soccer games, piñatas, and topped off the night with an animated movie about Jesus.
Nearly everyone in the village turned out, or so it seemed. The hardest task of the night was holding the adults back during the piñatas; they all wanted some candy too. Everyone crowded around the boy swinging the stick at the piñata, waiting in anticipation for candy to fly everywhere. It was then we noticed a small boy had secretly climbed the tree from which the piñata hung. The boy in the tree pulled the piñata up and began reaching in to grab hand full after hand full of candy. Ingenuity at its best. Everyone had a laugh.
The highlight of the night came after the movie as we were packing everything up. A man approached with his eyes full of tears. He fought to spill out a few words and explained he wanted Jesus to be number one in his life. A bunch of us gathered around him as he prayed a prayer of repentance.
These are only a taste of the stories and experiences from a trip that was ‘all that and then some’. Not because we surfed great waves on the trip, but more because what we were able to give.
Adventure photographer, “Looman”, looks for the perspective that others wouldn’t and stops time with the shutter of a camera. He’s traveled to over 30 countries and his work has been published in various web/published material. His goal? Showing others the world the way he sees it; from a different perspective.
Discussion
No comments for “Waves of Compassion”