Day Four
Devotions on day four were led by Rev. Steve Berry of the First Congregational Church of Manchester, Vermont. Millard had spoken at the church last spring, which inspired nine members to sign up for the El Salvador Blitz Build and also to sponsor a house. Steve read a prayer called “A Future Not Our Own,” in memory of Salvadoran martyred priest Oscar Romero (full text and history of the poem will appear tomorrow on this site), and we are also treated to two beautiful hymns sung in Spanish by the grandmother of Alirio Acosta, one of our new homeowners.
Rev. Steven Berry of Manchester, Vermont, giving devotions
That evening, Millard held a surfside chat at the Rancho Estero y Mar, and clad in shorts and flip-flops, the volunteers had a chance to ask questions about Fuller Center programs and plans and also to buy handmade crafts to support women in rural villages at booths set up by Pamela Allie-Morrill and Gloria Stanley, the super volunteers we met through Union Church of San Salvador. The feeling of the day was one of being family. It’s amazing how quickly strangers become friends for life on a blitz build.
A Bit About Us
P.J. Riner—the human block-cutter—of New York
- Florida 9
- Indiana 9
- North Carolina 8
- Vermont 8
- Arizona 6
- Ohio 6
- Minnesota 5
- New Jersey 5
- Virginia 5
House sponsor and board member Tom Dineen
In addition to the Manchester, Vt., group, 10 “partying Presbyterians” joined us from Alamance Presbyterian Church of Greenboro, N.C., as well as members of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian of Cincinnati (also a house sponsor), Kern Road Mennonite Church of South Bend, Ind., and several members returning to El Salvador from Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Bloomington, Illinois.
The grandmother of homeowner Alirio Acosta sings a hymn
Volunteers included parents and children, dads and daughters, fathers and sons, and, of course, the Coppin twins—Jennifer and Karla–chaperoned by their mom Karen.
Special mention should be made once again of Pamela Allie-Morill and Gloria Stanley, expats living in San Salvador, who recruited and led the team of volunteer translators. With their help, we were able to bring the Salvadoran families into the Fuller Center volunteer family.
Log on tomorrow for Day Five and a special audio-visual feature on the build and the house dedications.
