El Salvador - Day 3

It's Sunday.  A missionary needs inspiration and spiritual food for the journey.  Recognizing this we take time to reflect, go to mass and prepare ourselves.  One thought I take away from these guided reflections: God's love does not offend, it uplifts. As those who will be zealously bringing the gospel to others this week, we need to get over ourselves, our inhibitions, worries, and concerns about just loving others openly.  If we are showing God's love, we will only uplift, and we should have no fear in this.  This message is important as we prepare to go out and make home visits to the poor, bringing them only God's love, which will only uplift.  We are commissioned and sent forth.  We visit several houses, braving the rain, and even crossing a river on a two log bridge:

As we visit the very simple homes, many with dirt floors and few walls, we are struck by the happiness that pervades their lives.  Who is helping who here?  We now see how our complicated lives are an insane distraction from what really matters.  One man in particular testifies of his faith to us, and how he has overcome the civil war, floods, and the death of a family member, all through his strong faith in God who sustains and protects him.  We will never be the same.  Never.