Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, is an important week here in El Salvador. For us at Love and Hope it is a time of reflection as we think about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. El Salvador, as a country, also marks Easter events with a week of vacation. Every school in the country has the week off, and the government and many businesses are given vacation for the last few days of the week. Love & Hope Children’s Home planned many activities to celebrate Holy Week and keep our kids busy!
On Wednesday afternoon, we left for an overnight trip to the beach. Arriving at the beach house around 2:30pm, the kids immediately started playing in the pool and in the waves until dinner time. After dinner, we enjoyed a bonfire and s’mores on the beach. Later, many of the kids played in the pool until exhaustion set in (which was pretty late at night)!
The previous tiresome day didn’t keep the kids from rising bright and early the next morning. The majority were up and ready for breakfast by 8:00 am (or much earlier). We played and enjoyed the sun until mid-afternoon on Thursday, then finally headed home. It was a wonderful overnight! Thanks so much to the donors who made this mini-vacation possible again this year!
One of Latin America’s richest Easter traditions is the “alfombras” that are made on Good Friday. “Alfombra” means “carpet” in English. Streets are blocked off and closed down where the carpets are created out of colored salt, seeds, flowers and saw dust. They are elaborate and beautiful. Love & Hope has adopted the same tradition, creating our own carpets on Good Friday.
In the morning we prepared the salt we would use. Even the Easter Bunny helped!
Later that afternoon, we went to nearby Santa Tecla, famous in El Salvador for the carpets created by the people there. The kids took note of the designs and images to later make their own. Traditionally, the carpets usually depict Jesus and the Easter story.
When we arrived home, the kids used the colored salt to create mini-carpets on the sidewalk. They turned out great!
After dinner, Rachel read the Easter story from the Bible and played a worship song. The kids listened very intently and sang along. This part of Easter is so important to us
We began Saturday with an Easter egg hunt in the yard. A recent group from Ohio Wesleyan University took the time to fill hundreds of eggs with candy and coins. Even the oldest kids were excited about the hunt, running around the house to find the hidden eggs.
That afternoon, we colored and decorated hard boiled eggs and “cascarones.” “Cascarones” are another tradition in Latin America. Hollow egg shells are filled with confetti, then the holes are covered with tissue paper and the egg is decorated. On Easter, the confetti-filled eggs are broken on top of other people’s heads! It makes a big mess, but is a lot of fun! In the evening, the Love & Hope kids enjoyed a movie and pizza together.
On Sunday morning before church, the Love & Hope kids looked for their Easter baskets in the house. Some of them searched for a good 20-minutes! They were richly rewarded once they found their baskets, stuffed full of candy and other goodies. Many thanks to the Team from Ohio Wesleyan University that brought down all the treats for their baskets!
Later everyone piled in the car for the most joyous church day of the year. After church, we enjoyed one last Holy Week outing to the movie theater.
As always, we are so grateful to our donors for making activities and enrichment like this possible for Love & Hope Children’s Home. Thank you for your support and we pray that your Easter was as blessed as ours!
