May 6 Report

Hello family and friends. Another good day with much action. First a follow up from last night. The meeting with our partners of Club Rotario went very well with closure and a new beginning. We really enjoy working with the men and women of this club, both professionally and personally.Wednesday is the traditional day of the Bishop and the pastors. We look forward to these gatherings because we have many friendships with these pastors. We renew relationships, catching up on their lives and their ministries. Bishop Gomez told them of our move to El Salvador to be of service in a community. They are excited about this news and many have offered their spiritual and vocational support, even though we will not be in a Lutheran community. This is true solidarity.Today was an historic time for us. Two pickup trucks of people, both in the cabs and the back beds, traveled one hour to Peidras Tontas (close to El Paisnel), then off the highway about 15 minutes into a very rural setting. The country side is a beautiful open expanse, fertile land, organized development could be a reality. The land has not been tilled in 20 years thus many native trees grow in the fields with larger ones along the edges. The land is being made available from the government through an ngo. The community will have 180 homesites in this region with land reserved for a church, a school, a community center, and a clinic. We were greeted by a community leader when we arrived. We asked about the water. Years ago two wells were dug only to find lead dominated both wells. The lead is pollution left from past gold mining. A Chinese ngo provided help to construct 11 homes and also run a water line just under 2 miles from the mountain to the community. That is the current source of water for the current community. We don't know if this will be sufficient for the proposed additional homes. Much mining in the past has left contamination throughout the country. Mining continues to be a threat to the health of the people and the land. There is currently a $70 million lawsuit against the government because the people will not tolerate more mining and the mining company is suing the government for breach of contract. We have many questions about this development. We are looking at this through North American experience, laws and culture. Practices are different here. If one buys a piece of land, there is a risk of squatters settling and it is very difficult to remove them. Therefore purchased properties are wrapped in barbed or razor wire by the owner. This is prevalent throughout the country and it is disturbing.Tomorrow we meet with the new major of Nejapa, the municipality in which the Rotary sanitation project is located. The former mayor was a very supportive with manpower, transportation, equipment and lodging for the engineering students. We need the partnership with the new mayor of a different political party for the project to continue effectively and efficiently. Please keep praying.Then we pack for departure on Friday. We'll give you an update tomorrow afternoon about the meeting results.Buenos noches,David and Nancy