This year’s team from Faith Chapel San Diego came ready to work, and work they did! On this, their third trip to El Salvador, most of the team worked many long, hard hours paving a dirt street using heavy rocks and cement. Another part of the group provided dental assistance at various area churches. About half of the team had been to El Salvador before. The other half was comprised of new visitors.
Among these new members was Rose Necoechea, a dental assistant. She and her husband, Alfredo, dedicated the trip to the memory of their son, a dentist who provided care in the same area in 2007. Mark passed away in 2008 due to brain cancer. To see and work in this area of the world that had such an amazing influence on Mark’s life, was something extremely special to Rose. When a community member, who had been working alongside the team all week, expressed his gratitude at a farewell gathering, it was Rose who felt humbled. He compared their service to the community as following the model that Jesus showed us when he came into the world to serve.
“It turns out that working on road construction and giving dental assistance was just a small part of the trip,” Rose said. “This was more than a trip. This was a life changing experience.”
