A few weeks ago I posted a blog about a group of Rochester-area students and adults who traveled to El Salvador on a service trip for Young Life. Forty-one high school students and adults — from Young Life, Browncroft Community Church and Grace Road Church — participated in the nine-day trip, which took them to a rural part of the country called Baja Lempa in the village of Taura.
The group has returned safely, and I recently received a very nice email from Dustin Bailey, one of the organizers, reporting on what an incredible experience it was. Not only did the team accomplish an amazing number of building and painting projects, they grew much closer as a faith community.
And when I say an amazing number of projects, I mean AMAZING. Here are some highlights, pulled from Dustin’s email:
- This week we got to see the completed house from last year that many students worked on and begin the work of building a house for another family to be completed this summer. We did a lot of digging and moving sand.
- We spent a lot of time working on the greenhouse – inside and out! We came alongside the young people who work in the greenhouse to turn over the soil, replace irrigation, treat the soil, replace growing posts, clean the mesh walls, pick weeds, and prepare for the next planting later this month.
- We also cut back a forest in order to prepare the outside of the greenhouse for the planting of papaya trees. This could be a huge benefit for the community as a papaya tree can produce up to 150 papaya per year and they can sell them for $1 – $1.50 each.
- The mural on the wall by the playground was in need of updating. The students worked with the niños of the village to pick out their favorite characters to bring them joy as they play on the playground. Our team designed the mural and added much color to the playground area.
- A special project we were able to help with was a fence project that Pastor Santos began years ago. Enclosing the church property and protecting it from dogs, chickens, cows and other animals has always been a dream of the community. A member of our team is a welder in Rochester and lent his skills to Santos’ son, Daniel, to help finish his father’s project.
But as important as all those projects were, Dustin stressed, were the connections they made with the people of Taura.
The relationship is always the project and our team was awesome meeting the people of Taura, playing with the niños, and serving the community. We even mourned together with the community as we watched a video put together by the family of Pastor Santos who passed away in July 2024. We were honored to be a part of the 16-year friendship between Young Life and the people of Taura.
Welcome back, team. Thank you for making this world a better place. (And thanks, Dustin, for the great report and photos!)
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(posted 2/28/2025)
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