Not a Goodbye, But a See You Later!

Blog post written by Danielle Straka
Trabuco Canyon, California

This week our team had the special opportunity to finish and dedicate a home for the Hernandez family. When we arrived on Tuesday morning, we went straight to work. We spent the whole morning shoveling gravel and sand into buckets, which was used to make cement for the floor of the house. 

I was so blessed to spend time with the Hernandez children.  And I can easily say that spending time with Jonathan, Moises, Osiris and Natalia brought joy to my heart.  Little Osiris, the child I connected with the most, grabbed my hand during construction and pulled me away to play. I’m not sure how much more time we spent together that afternoon because time flies when you’re having fun. However, it's safe to say that the hours I spent loving on her were my favorite hours of the whole trip. And before we knew it, the day had ended and it was time for the Gringos to go. I gave her a hug goodbye, a little teary-eyed, and boarded the bus.

I was so excited to return the next day to pray over the family, dedicate the house and hand over the keys.  They were shocked to discover that the house had been fully furnished.  What joy!

At the end of the day we had to say goodbye again, and it was harder than I expected. Before making our final departure, I gave Osiris a hug. And after that, I asked for one more. And after that, another. Saying goodbye to someone sure is hard when you don’t know when you will be seeing them again. But then God planted a wonderful thought in my head. When we said “Adios,” it wasnt' really a goodbye, but "See you later!" The same goes for the many others we had met this past week. God sent His son to die for the people of El Salvador, and He is revealing himself to them.  So although I might not get to see all the bright faces of the Salvadorians that I met again in this lifetime, I have faith that I will get to spend eternity with them in Heaven. If the short time that I spent with these people was already so magical, I cannot begin to imagine the joy that is to come the next time I see them.