Where in the world is SHIP International? And what’s it like to stay there?

We talk a lot about going to El Salvador. Have you ever wondered where we’re going? Have you ever wondered where we stay? We’ve got answers.

Where are you going in El Salvador?

Obviously, El Salvador is a country in Central America, so we’re going to Central America. But where do we stay when we go there, and, more importantly, if you go with us, where are you going to stay? Fun fact: You can find our location online! Something that makes us feel pretty cool is that you can find us on Google Maps by searching “Fundación SHIP.” You don’t even have to worry about the accent mark. Click here to see the magic.

We even made a little site map (above) to give you an idea of what’s on the SHIP property. But, what are you looking at when you see that picture? For one thing, you’re looking at twenty years of hard work, prayers, and determination. More plainly, you’re looking at four big buildings that house our school, host our mission teams and long-term volunteers, and make room for our SHIP Shop. One of these buildings is where you’ll stay when you visit SHIP in El Salvador.

Here’s a quick tour:

1. You’ll enter SHIP’s property through a gate to the right of AREA E. The first thing you might notice is that the whole place is surrounded by a concrete wall and topped by concertina wire. We take safety VERY seriously, and we put all of that in when gangs were a huge problem in El Salvador. They currently aren’t an issue, but we’re keeping all the safety measures.
2. BUILDING C is the first thing you’ll see inside our property. That’s our three-story classroom building, worship center, and Bible study hangout. Building C is where we host the neighborhood outreach service on Mondays, where our first through fourth grade classes meet, where our Bible studies meet, and where basketball games go on late into the night. You’ll be spending lot of time there if you help out with Bible studies or if you like playing basketball or soccer.
3. To your right, you’ll see BUILDING A, where our Kinder classes meet. You’ll make lots of friends here and spend time here if you want to help with VBS.
4. To your left are BUILDINGS F & G. This is where you’ll rest your head at night, eat your meals, and play way too many games of cards and dominoes.
5. We have tons of construction jobs within the main area of our compound, but you also might go to AREA B, our enormous (for us) bridge, which will take you over to the affordable housing site SHIP is developing.

Okay, we know that’s a TON of information, but we want everyone to feel like they know where they’re going when they’re going to SHIP El Salvador. Let us know if you have any questions!