Visiting with Erick

At last, I was able to see Erick again. Erick is a very special and dear friend. For the last 4 years my friend Frank and I have been sponsoring Erick through World Vision. Erick is now 11 years old and lives here in El Salvador. He lives with his grandmother, an aunt, a couple of siblings and a couple of cousins. Erick's mom left him at a very young age and he has never heard/seen her since. Erick doesn't know anything about his dad. Erick lives very far from the capital about 3 hours by car and about a day and a half via public transportation.

I am grateful to be living here in El Salvador so that I can visit with Erick more often. By more often I mean a few times a year, instead of once every other year. It is still somewhat hard to see him more often than once every other year, but I'm hoping that World Vision can accommodate for the many visits I want to have with Erick. I look forward to seeing more of Erick this 2011 and enjoy many more adventures.
During this visit, Erick met Frank for the 1st time and also got to visit "Mundo Feliz" which is the biggest arcade place in El Salvador (it was Erick's 1st time there too). Also, Erick got to try hamburgers for the 1st time. We asked Erick what he wanted to eat and he said, "Those things that I've seen in TV occasionally and in those big signs (as he pointed to a Burger King sign), they look so tasty". It was so hard to believe that he had never tried a burger before, wow, not sure how many kids have gone without ever trying a burger. So, we took him in, got him a kid's meal and saw the glow and excitement with which he devoured his burger.

This really got me thinking: Wow, I have tasted such a variety of foods and eaten at a variety of places. Since I've been in El Salvador a lot of what I think about are foods that I miss from back home. I crave all kinds of foods and favorite restaurants and at times I have even become frustrated for not being able to have certain of these foods that I am craving. How selfish am I! I definitely need to be grateful for the opportunity to have enjoyed such foods and not take these experiences for granted, rather enjoy them each time they are available and whenever they are not, continue to be grateful for the opportunity to at least once in my lifetime having tried them. Oh, Elsa, you have much to learn. It is so easy to start complaining and overlook the fact that I have a choice to pick wherever I want to eat, whenever I want to, and whatever I like. There are so many people all around that don't have these options. They are grateful to have rice and beans on their table, even if this is all they eat every day, all the time. Grateful to be encouraged and challenged by such awesome young fellow. I love you Erick!

To read more about fun adventures, click here!