Friday November 26 Part Three

Yesterday was my birthday.  Normally I would have shared this day with family and friends, perhaps gone out to dinner and enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake with a nice glass of Merlot.  This year I found myself in the developing country of El Salvador, and awoke on the 25th with no expectation, only the feeling that I was so lucky to have such a special day in such a wonderous country.  This team of people who I have shared the last five days with all wished me a happy birthday, and I left it at that.  The day began, I had a breakfast of fried egg and beans and rice, put on my bandana and Canada hat and boarded the bus to the site that has become such a big part of my life.  There were buckets of soil to move, tamping of the floors and the pouring of cement (and sweat).  The birthday girl was razzed, and tested....joked with and embraced.  I couldn´t have asked for anything more....but more DID happen, much more.  Yesterday I was too overwhelmed to talk about my experience, but today I have more clarity, and a sense of peace.

On one break I took to the streets, camera in hand hoping to catch a moment in time, an illustration that might speak volumes, might explain how I feel and what this place represents to me.  I was lucky... I found it...in the form of a little girl looking over the wall of her tin home, too shy to show her whole face, but interested enough in me to be bold enough to sneak a good look.  I just happened to see her sweet face, and that instant  began a chain reaction that will forever change my life. I asked to take her photo...and in that photo I saw a beautiful little girl, enveloped in poverty...her face, her clothes, her hands caked with dirt.  In her eyes I saw something else, and it was that moment that changed everything for me.

I am going to pause...so I can collect my thoughts...it is important I get this moment right.  I will write again in the morning.  My birthday celebration in El Salvador was something I have never experienced in my life...more tomorrow.

Be well...be peaceful...be happy.
Jill