EL SALVADOR: MY MISSION TRIP STORY (The Starting Point)

Looking for a more personal story? This is the post for you! Read all about the day-by-day experience I had on my El Salvador medical mission trip as someone who has had no medical training whatsoever.

In the Beginning...

It's Thursday morning of Harvesters' Homecoming, a church conference in Santa Monica with pastors and their families who are pioneering churches in America and internationally. My family, a friend, and I had traveled about four hours from Pismo Beach, California, to Los Angeles to attend this conference. After a morning of worship, sermons, and altar-calls, (and maybe only a few hours of sleep; my friend and I had been staying up late discussing topics ranging from God, her own mission trips, funny stories, and the movies we had watched.), my mom and I end up chatting with a friend in the Lighthouse Church who works with Lighthouse Medical Missions. She mentions the upcoming February trip to El Salvador and something in me realizes that this is important. Immediately after the conversation, I turn to my mom and make sure that she knows that I really want to go. I had to get the point across that I was really sincere about it; it wasn't just a whim and a wish. On Friday, she ended up asking for the emailing and trip information so we could stay in touch with updates and the sign up process. On Saturday, we left Santa Monica and headed back up to Pismo Beach.

Waiting

It took us a while to sign up for the trip, deciding which parent was going to go with me, getting together the financials, etc. I remember feeling awed at the amount we had to pay, but with the upcoming trip to Liberia, it feels like nothing now. I did receive a scholarship from an anonymous donor for one-thousand dollars, since I was a high school student, and I don't think I would have been able to go if not for that so, thank you from the bottom of my heart to whoever that was.

To prepare for the trip, there were two or three zoom meetings with the lead doctor, a pediatrician, and the main managers who dealt with all the paperwork and administrative details. We got a background on the country of El Salvador itself. It is actually very interesting and if you have time I would recommend researching it. To put it briefly, El Salvador used to be overrun with gangs and criminal mafias; it was a very dangerous, unsafe place, and the people there were suffering. Then, new leadership came into power, wiped all of the threats off the streets into massive prisons with questionable living conditions, (this was very controversial, especially in America, because of the lack of due process). We were assured that El Salvador was perfectly safe, and to their credit, we heard many stories when we were down there about how amazing the change was. Many people gave testament to the radical change that had occurred there and expressed how safe they now felt.

Packing and Preparation

Okay, so now we knew for a fact that we were going to El Salvador on a mission trip, and we had a pretty good idea of what the schedule would look like, (I say we meaning my mom and I).

While packing, I was a little surprised at the dress code. I didn't take into account that the cultural differences between the United States and El Salvador meant that I might have to change my wardrobe slightly. We were informed that we needed to be respectful of the customs and only pack modest items, (we were given a list to specify "modest"). This included covering tattoos (due to their affiliation with gangs), wearing only skirts and dresses below the knees, pants no shorts, and no tank-tops, specifically, but not limited to, spaghetti straps. We were advised to pack clothing that was breathable, as the weather would be humid and hot, and my mom and I had to go out and buy a few pairs of scrubs for clinical work, (I already had one pair from my Halloween Costume).

At this point, I was starting to get questions from classmates and teachers and the like asking if I was nervous at all. All I could tell them was that I felt extremely excited. I can honestly say that I felt basically no nerves at all. I think this is due to the fact that my frontal lobe isn't fully developed, but I can't be sure. I only remember that my mom was more nervous that I was, I think because she was more fully aware of the situation and traveling particulars.

I did start to get a little intimidated by the amount of homework I would have to make up (shout out to my English teacher), but at least my Spanish teacher didn't assign me any homework! I was right to worry. I had to work to catch up, and after getting back I definitely stayed up later than I usually did, (there wasn't any time to do homework in El Salvador, obviously).

Travel

Then came the day that we were going to depart. My mom and I left Pismo Beach and with my dad, three younger brothers, younger sister, and grandma, and drove down to Santa Monica to stay with some friends down there the night before the flight. It turns out that they had gone on a mission trip previously, and they were able to share some insights, tips, and experiences. That night, Wednesday, we went to the church send-off service, where the pastors there prayed for us. Personally, I slept very well that night, but I don't think I can say the same for my mom.

We had another friend and member of the church drive us and our bags to the airport, where we checked our luggage, with only a slight hiccup, (we had too many bags and had to pay extra. No, not because we had packed to much, but because we were each required to check a bag of medical supplies, along with our personal baggage. We were later reimbursed.)

Confession: I LOVE flying, and airports are actually one of my favorite places to be. Another confession: my mom HATES flying, and she also doesn't like how much a coffee can cost at an airport cafe. We got through it.

Our flight was only about four hours, a short flight. It was helped by the fact that my mom and I had stopped at Trader Joe's and picked out snacks. When we landed, I felt a little cramping in my legs, but it wasn't bad. We got through customs and left the airport relatively quickly. Outside of the airport, we met the pastor in El Salvador around whose church we were basing the mission, and he was really friendly, and pretty funny too.

In order to get to the hotel we were staying at, we had to take a large bus; this mission trip had the largest number of volunteers, setting a record for Lighthouse Medical Missions. It was about a forty minutes to an hour drive. The windows were cracked, and you could smells some gasoline, but the wind felt really good on my face and in my hair. We used the time to catch up with some of the people we knew from El Salvador and to meet new people. Honestly, I think the people that we met on the mission trip were some of the friendliest, most outgoing people ever. I loved hanging out with them and learning from them.

When we got to the hotel, we learned that for the first night, mom and I would be staying with a leader from the organization with which Lighthouse Medical Missions was partnering. She said that she had lived in South America for a long time and she was fluent in Spanish, though originally a native English speaker. She shared some of her backstory and very interesting insights and stories into the culture of El Salvador. She was very informative and struck me as someone who really cared about the people who she was helping.

We went to bed, not really having any idea of what to expect in the next few days. Little did I know that I would have experiences that would prompt me to realize that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.