Final Reflection by President Michael Cooper-White
From El Salvador Travel Seminar of Gettysburg Seminary
From El Salvador Travel Seminar of Gettysburg Seminary
President Cooper-White and Bishop Medardo Gomez |
The specifics of the current challenges faced in El
Salvador formed the basis for our 90-minute session with four staff members at
the imposing U.S. Embassy in San Salvador on Friday morning. Our conversation was delayed due to the
hyper-security measures triggered when front-gate guards puzzled over a granola
bar discovered in a student's backpack!
An embassy communications officer acknowledged our frustration and shared
that these days he often schedules private appointments outside the embassy
grounds at a local Starbuck's so that visitors can avoid the security
hassles. While by no means on an equal
par, the obstacles we encountered in the process of gaining access to the turf
over which is flown the flag of the United States of America gave this U.S.
citizen a glimpse into what it’s like for Salvadorans who aspire to our visit
or reside in our land.
The conversation with our embassy representatives was
lively and covered a broad array of subjects.
The hot topic of the moment was the State Department’s issuance of a
travel warning to U.S. citizens, indicating heightened concerns for personal
safety. Explaining the action, the staff
indicated our government is not convinced the gang truce, which has resulted in
a significantly reduced murder rate in recent months, will last. This unexpected action angered the
Salvadorans, of course, at the very time they are seeking to boost their
economy through increased tourism. As it
is, more Americans come to Gettysburg on a typical summer day than visit El
Salvador in an entire year.
As we lifted off from San Salvador’s Comalapa airport and
headed northward on Saturday morning, I had a profound sense of gratitude—to
our valiant hosts of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church, to our trip coordinator,
Pr. Stephen Deal, the ELCA’s Global Mission staffer who truly embodies the
mission stance of “accompaniment,” and to Prof. Erling and our students for
being wonderful traveling companions and fellow pilgrims. As I had first witnessed in two previous extended
sojourns in El Salvador more than a quarter century ago during the fiercest
period of the war, once again I left with no doubt that Salvadoran Christians
are, in Bishop Gomez’s words, “building signs of the reign of God.”
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