Two powerful days

 Remember the downpour Tuesday evening?  The FPCDC delegation was sitting in the Des Moines airport for two hours waiting for the plane to arrive and then to find an opening in the skies to permit take-off for Houston.  Luck was not on our side, and we missed our connection by two minutes; no flight with seats for seven was available until the next morning.  Imagine your distinguished pastor, headphones in place, stretched out on the floor between rows of empty airport chairs, six fellow travelers contorted into really uncomfortable positions while vacuums roared all around.  No one slept.  But Wednesday morning we were winging our way to Guatemala City and then on to El Salvador, bleary-eyed but in high spirits!
Our plans for Wednesday were necessarily adjusted--a short afternoon visit to Divina Providencia where Monseñor Romero lived and where he was assassinated in the chapel on the hospital grounds.  The most delightful Carmelite sister welcomed us to the residence and told us some wonderful stories about the Archbishop's life among them.

Mission Co-worker Katherine then escorted us to the chapel where Romero died.  Every one of us was moved by her account of that day and her description of what he means to the Salvadoran people.

It was then time to leave San Salvador and (finally!) head down the road to Berlín.  Sleepy heads sagged, eyelids drooped, and the sunlight faded during the long drive.  We pulled up to the Pastoral House with a full moon on our left and a beautiful sunset behind the mountains on our right and a warm welcome in the house.  Dinner, reflections and beds--day 1.

Day 2 started early with another long ride in the bus--destination El Mozote and Perquin, the site of a horrific massacre of hundreds of innocents during the Salvadoran civil war.  First, at El Mozote, the volunteer related an account of that day as remembered by the sole survivor in that village.  It was a painful story to hear.

We visited the new monument with representations of the resurrected Christ flanked by Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and Martin Luther King.  Who was missing?  Looking across the valley to the hillside beyond we saw him--Monseñor Romero.

A short climb on up the mountainside took us to a new addition to the site--a mosaic of the seven days of creation.  Balmore shared an incredible reflection on the peace we all seek and the solidarity we share that brings us closer and closer.  Prayer and passing la paz, the peace of Christ brought our El Mozote visit to a close.

A short distance down the road is Perquin and a museum of the civil war created and maintained by volunteers to document the history and struggle of the guerillas, with artifacts and a recreated encampment.  Our volunteer guide often pointed out, during his descriptions of the photos and items on display, that there were victims and perpetrators on all sides and from many places in the world.  Some arms started out in Vietnam and made their way through several conflicts before ending up in El Salvador. 

The ride back to the Pastoral House was pretty quiet as we all pondered what we had seen and learned--painful and powerful all at once.  Reflections were deep and heartfelt.  Two powerful days.