Been a long lonely lonely lonely time without internet...

But I feel lucky that we still have a house and that our community still has crops. The storms last weekend have killed 190 people (not counting the disappeared) and left some 14,000 homeless. Yikes. The worst damage we suffered was a loss of phone and internet.
Now my new partner in crime and I are getting our youth groups organized to help out the nearby communities that were damaged. From the highway we can look up and see the landslides that came down off of the volcano and we know that we need to go help rebuild the communities in a safe and sustainable way. The media here has mostly been covering the "great" amounts of aid pouring in from national and international donors, but reports from the ground say that needs of those displaced by the storm are not having their needs met. People are stacked in on top of one an other in schools and institutions are slow to move. That is why I am really excited that there are grassroots efforts here coming from the poor themselves to get food and supplies to the communities in need.
I was impressed when I went to mass this Sunday and found a box full of donations - all from one of the poorest communities in the zone. Solidarity is what keeps people alive in El Salvador.
As you will see in the photos below, help is more than necessary.

These amazing photos were passed to me through CISPES. You can see more photos and make donations at the CISPES website cispes.org