By Larry Arellano, Salesian Collaborator and Past Pupil of Don Bosco

(Bellflower, California) – On November 6th of this year, I had the chance to spend a week with Fr. Bob Flickinger from South Haven, Michigan, and 10 other volunteers in El Salvador. Fr. Bob has been coordinating outreach to a rural village there for twenty-five years.

Throughout the past year, three different parishes in the area of South Haven prepared for this initiative. They collected items for infants, medical supplies, school supplies, playground equipment, and store-bought eyeglasses.

We volunteers interacted with the children and elders of the community. We stayed with different families in their homes. The weather was hot and humid, and there was no hot running water. Taking an evening shower outside in cold water was an experience.

One night, we fed the entire village of over 200 people; everyone was there.
We also organized a field day for children and adults one afternoon. Nothing beats a lively water balloon fight, a tug-of-war, and three-legged races for a great day of fun.

The children were always around us since it was summertime and school was out. They truly enjoyed being with us, and we enjoyed being with them. They are such simple and loving kids.

One afternoon, we distributed white T-shirts to all the kids. They rolled them up using rubber bands and soaked them in various ink colors. Next, the T-shirts were wrapped in cellophane and labeled with their owners’ names. The children received them back the following day with instructions to air them out. The color patterns were out of this world–the kids went crazy.

The villagers also gathered when Fr. Bob celebrated the Eucharist in Spanish. It was a fitting celebration of the life and mutual care we had known as a community all week.

(Editor: Judy Alvarez)