Hola! My name is Susan Barnish. I graduated from Kent State in 2011 with a master's degree in Spanish translation. While at Kent, I was an active member of CSA and could often be found in the kitchen helping with anything that involved cooking (and eating leftovers).
In March of 2014, I was part of the Newman Center mission trip to El Salvador. I love to travel, and figured this trip was a win-win situation: I could visit a new country and feel good about the work I'd be doing at the same time. However, I got a little more than I bargained for. On our second day in El Salvador, Padre Rafael was giving us a little talk during breakfast about solidarity and how mission groups from the United States often come in with preconceived notions about the good they'll be doing for the people they encounter. You have to leave these notions behind, he told us, and open yourself to the idea that although you may have more material goods than the people you are here to serve, they are rich in faith and hospitality and have something to give you too. Listening to him speak, I started to get a feeling that this trip wouldn't end for me the day we left El Salvador...in fact, this trip might be just the beginning.
In the months following our return, I talked a lot about how I wanted to move to El Salvador. I prayed even more. Was the feeling I'd had at breakfast that day just a whim, or was it a call to service? What was I supposed to do?
I finally decided that I was truly being called to return to El Salvador, to help Padre Rafa with his mission. I quit my job in the United States, packed all my belongings into boxes in my parent's basement, and moved to Agua Caliente on December 28, 2014.
I will be spending this year teaching English at the colegio and helping out with whatever other projects arise.
Please pray for me to continue to listen to what the Lord wants for me and pray for the children and teachers at the colegio.

PS - I love getting mail! My address is:
Susan Barnish
Colegio Catolico Padre Nicolas Antonio Rodriguez
Barrio El Carmen
Agua Caliente
Chalatenango
El Salvador