by Nancy Wiens

Today we toured both Guarjila and San Antonio Los Ranchos. We learned about the challenging history of these communities, which were completely destroyed in the 80’s during the armed conflict — and saw the results of their hard work to rebuild from scratch. Among our stops were a school, church, clinic, day care center and municipal building. The resilience and persistence of these communities are remarkable.

A small memorial and museum in Guarjila.

Nap time at the day care center in Los Ranchos.

Tour of Los Ranchos.

“Welcome Sister Parish visitors” – sign for our visit to the day care center in Los Ranchos.

Tour of the health clinic in Guarjila – and first hand experience of the quality care they provide.

That evening we rode in the back of a pick-up truck high up to El Alto for a picnic dinner and closing ceremony. We soaked in views of the river valley, mountains and all the stars in the sky. Tomorrow we say our goodbyes and leave El Salvador to cross the border into Guatemala.