Two Salvadoran teens once helped missioner Josh Wetmore find his footing in an unfamiliar culture and language. Now, three years later, he finds himself walking the same roads with Emelly and Jeremiahs as they prepare for college—and as he prepares to return home. In the classroom, in the library, and along the dusty paths of El Cedro, their journeys have been intertwined in ways that continue to shape them all.
In a small library in El Cedro, El Salvador, a simple typing class becomes a quiet but powerful lesson in patience, persistence, and pride. Maryknoll lay missioner Josh Wetmore reflects on how the struggle to master one stubborn keyboard key becomes a moment of transformation—for his student Gabriela, and for himself.
In a remote Salvadoran village, Josh Wetmore’s education-based mission work continues to evolve with each passing year. From bringing library books directly into classrooms to reviving dusty computer labs, two initiatives are bridging gaps in literacy and technology—one borrowed book and double-click at a time.
Well, here I am again. Sitting by myself in an empty classroom, projector and PowerPoint lesson ready to go. Last year, I barely had enough room to fit all of the students who came to my “summer” classes. But here I am, for the fourth straight day sitting in this room with no one to teach. It’s kinda great. Let me explain.
“Mission is full of invitations and new opportunities to which I should respond with a yes, but I often find myself saying no instead. The instinct to regress to the familiar and comfortable is a strong pull. There’s a cost, though, to saying no and staying with what’s easy,” reflects El Salvador missioner Josh Wetmore. He considers what’s to be gained from saying yes.
Missioner Josh Wetmore worked with the local community to create the new Biblioteca El Cedro, which opened Aug. 10 in the rural area of El Salvador where he serves.
Josh Wetmore shares a few stories about personal and ministry-related growth from his third year in El Salvador.
Josh Wetmore reflects on the new challenges and his expanding ministries of the past year.
Life in mission takes adjustments and frustrations, Josh Wetmore finds. But the payoff is in the encounters with wonderful people.
What I learned on the road less taken … because the normal one was blocked.
If only we notice it, the joy and beauty already present in the world can lift us up when we most need it.
