March Report

Della and I have been scrambling to keep up with the enormous amount work that is here to do. The work here is exciting and plenty for all. We can’t wait until more people come and help us!

We are covering the entire bible as quickly as possible. We covered Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and now Numbers in a week each. Small groups meet every night of the week and we have two services on Sundays. I am responsible for teaching the small groups with Hector translating on Mondays and Thursdays. Della and I are also in charge of the youth ministry.  We currently have small group of eight teenagers but we have big visions! I teach the teens on Fridays and Sundays with Della translating. Last Saturday the teens attended Youth in Action which was an area wide gathering in Ahuachapán that lasted all day with over one hundred teens from fifteen churches.

Our visions for growing our youth group involve working with the public school system in Ataco. The city has a large school with 1700+ students! We have talked to the director of the school and there are opportunities for me to teach basic programming courses. Currently there is an effort at the school teaching English as a second language but the people leading this effort have to leave at the end of April so Della and Rachael Cortez plan to teach starting then. We are allowed to teach from the bible in the public school as long as we do not push a particular doctrine. We are very excited about the working at the school and have high hopes for this being an outreach to more teens.

In addition to the teen ministry and leading the small groups Della and I have gone at least five hours a week following up with the 80+ contacts that are our neighbors within walking distance. Many of the contacts that we have worked with were first made last summer during the Signal Mountain mission that Della and I were a part of.

We have also had to make several trips to San Salvador for visa paperwork and other reasons. Friday I had to leave at 2:00 AM for San Salvador so I could make it back in time to teach the teens.  These trips involve seven hours of driving and lots of patience. We are hopeful that this work will be completed soon.

Our settling in has been going well. Our house is now nearly completely furnished. Our team mate Lucky has moved in with us. We got a dog named Lobito. On the down side, I have had nearly no energy / time to study Spanish. Della is doing well with Spanish but I am very far behind. Our health has been good for the most part. Everyone in the team has been sick for a day but nothing serious. We believe that the baby is doing well but we have yet to get her a doctor. We are hopeful that we will have our first appointment next week.

We love you all dearly and we can’t wait to have visitors!

In Christ;
Caleb & Della 

3/31/14: Day 29: Homework

Relaxing day! I got to work at home a bit today. I wrote our first monthly mission report, a lesson on the Nazirite Vow, a lesson on complaining, and a lesson on Balaam and his talking donkey. Writing the lessons took most of the day. Just before lunch I went to the market to get eggs for Della to make fantastic peanut butter cookies for lunch desert. Della, Lucky, and I left at 4:00 to go to Hector’s house to say good bye to Rachael’s mother who is returning to the states tomorrow. We then walked with Hector to the small group study in Shucutitan. I gave the lesson on the Naizrite Vow with Hector translating. About twenty people were in attendance and they gave really feedback. After the study we walked to the end of the road and waited in the dark for the bus. Carlos drove up on his motorcycle and said that it was dangerous so he waited with us. Our van has now been in the shop for a week and I am not sure when we will get it back. Thankfully we made it home safe about 7:40. 

3/30/14: Day 28: Teen Party at My House!

Spent the morning memorizing the short prayer and then went to meet with the church at 8:30. Hector forgot about me leading the prayer so he said I could do it in the afternoon assembly. At 10:00 all the teens came over to our house and we talked about the second half of the celebrations listed in Leviticus 23. The lesson was a little rough, we had to work to keep the focus and I kept adlibbing and Della needed to stick to the translation she made yesterday. We made it through and went back to the building to enjoy the potluck lunch with everyone. For the first half of the meal we had no forks so everyone ate with their fingers. The food was great and had a good varity. After lunch I went to the market and bought some supplies for the teens to enjoy. Then all the teens came back to the house to: hang out, play games, and make origami. We made giant origami cranes and played For Sale and No Thanks. Lucky translated the rules and played some. We went back to the church building at 3:55 for the late gathering. Hector’s step dad (who has our van in his repair shop) was there to give a status report. He said that he felt sorry for me that I had it due to all the rust and other problems it had and that it was very difficult to work on and find parts for… but on the plus side he said that the new power steering pump would be delivered tomorrow so I would not have to go to San Salvador to get it.  After services, Della and I took the dog out for its first walk with us. We walked all around town and up to the catholic cross that overlooks the entire city. Hopefully tomorrow, I should have the day to prepare the four lessons that I will teach this week on Numbers. 

Origami fun with the teens at our house!

3/29/14: Day 27: Atiquizaya

I worked on organizing the budget while Della translated the lesson for the teens for tomorrow. Della also wrote another short prayer for me to lead tomorrow morning. We went to a team meeting at Hector’s house at 12:15 and it lasted until 3:00. It was about teamwork and how we needed to have meetings more often for better communication. Della, Hector, and I then went to Atiquizaya where Herson’s dad preaches. Herson was there, this was the first time I have seen him since last summer. Hector gave the lesson and then huge hoagie sandwiches were served to everyone. On the way home we stopped by the grocery store and got some stuff for the dog while Hector got his groceries for tomorrow’s potluck meal.  We got home at 9:00, I am still tired from yesterday. 

3/28/14: Day 26: Three Docs in a day!

I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I being attacked by a bug all night, I forgot my pillow, had no fan, and the bed was as hard as a rock. I got out of the bed at 1:30 AM and played Spanish games on the phone until we left at 2:00 AM. Edgardo and his friend were waiting for us on the main road and the truck that Edgardo had hired arrived on time at the gas station. We followed the truck in Hector’s micro bus at blazing speeds down steep crazy turns. I managed to get a little sleep because the van was much more comfortable than the bed. We arrived at Hector’s grandparents’ at 4:30 in San Salvador. There we worked for 1.5 hours loading the store into the truck. We managed to finish and Hector and I left to meet the first doctor. The appointment at 6:30 AM was for; Analysis de Orina, Hemograma, Examen de Sangre, and Prueba del Sida. The tests didn’t take us long and Hector talked to the doctor the entire time about the church and the work in Ataco. We then went to Wendy’s for breakfast at 7:15. After breakfast we shopped a few places for installing a roof rack on the van to kill time until the next doctor visit. At 8:30 we got an estimate for putting the church logo on the micro bus and at 9:00 we arrived at the second doctor. The second doctor checked for; Examen Médico, Electrocardiograma, and Electrocardiograma de Esfuerzo. The doctor hooked eight suction cups to my chest that had wires that connected to an old printer. While I was having this done Hector was hard at work talking to everyone in the waiting room about the studies in Ataco and inviting them! We then went to the last doctor at 9:40 for a Radiografía del Tórax. Hector asked if I felt healthy after all that and I said no because they wouldn’t tell me the outcome of any of the tests, it was all for the insurance company. We went back get Hector’s grandmother for her to stay with Hector’s family for a while. The next stop was in Santa Ana for paying the taxes on the van and getting it in my name. Afterwards we ate hoagies for lunch from a street vendor. A couple of blocks over, Hector found a roof rack he liked so he bought it and they installed it while I walked several blocks to Vidrí. Vidrí is a huge store that claims to have everything. I waited for an hour for Hector to get there to help me buy two sofas. Turns out they had only one in stock and we will have to come back on Tuesday to get the other one. We finally got back to our house in Ataco at 4:00. Della wasn’t feeling well and mini Carlos arrived at the same time. I tried to send him away so I could rest a bit but he refused. I crashed for about 40 minutes while Della tried to entertain him. At 4:50 I woke up and big Carlos had come over too. Lucky, big Carlos, and I all talked to mini Carlos (age 10) about how his talents would be better served in the pre-teens and that he could start working with the teens when he was 12. Della stayed home due to not feeling well while Lucky and I rushed to ride the bus to teen time in Shucutitan. The lesson went really well. I covered the first half of the feasts from Leviticus 23 and Lucky translated very well. While we were teaching, Della messaged me saying that she could not get rid of mini Carlos. Lucky and I rushed to catch the last bus of the night. We got worried that the lights at the gas station were going to get shut off and there was a creepy guy watching us so we earnestly prayed and the bus immediately arrived. We thanked God and got home by 7:25. Mini Carlos asked if he could spend the night and a bunch of other questions and we told him no. Then Lucky and I walked him home to the other side of Ataco and talked with his parents about the situation. We got back at 8:00 and Della had spaghetti waiting on us for dinner. This day felt like one long 50+ hour day due to not really sleeping at all last night.  

Loading up the store

About to get my X-Rays

Our couch on the new new rack!

3/27/14: Day 25: New Roommate!

I felt much better today! And I got to rest more in the morning. We spent the morning calling Lucky working with her to help us to arrange my doctor’s visits for the insurance policy in San Salvador tomorrow. Hector and Carlos arrived at 12:00. Hector was really worried about the logistics of traveling tomorrow so we decided it would help if I spent the night at Hectors and Lucky move to our house today. Our water stopped running and we got worried because we were not prepared. We called Lucky and she said she was ready to move so we went to get her. When we got Hector’s house there was no water and no electricity. We loaded the van with all of Lucky’s stuff and then went back to Ataco for evangelism. We split into two groups; Della went with Lucky and Carlos and I went with Hector. Hector and I had two studies. The second one seemed particularly promising because the man were talking to had lots of questions and responded positively to all the answers that Hector gave. Hector said we were studying Leviticus and the man started asking about animal sacrifices. Hector basically gave the entire lesson about the offerings that I had given at the small groups on Monday and Tuesday. I had to leave a bit early to have dinner because I could not eat after 6:00 tonight for the blood test. After cramming down as big a dinner as I could get my hands on (2 peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches) I rushed out to the small group study in Ataco. I led it on Leviticus 23 about the feasts and how they were all prophecies that have been fulfilled. Hector translated and it went really well because I got lots of good questions and feedback. Then we rushed back to the house for me to grab a few things for spending the night at Hector’s house. Edgardo and Javier were there waiting on us. Edgardo was still struggling to arrange for a truck. He finally managed to get one at 8:30 so I went to bed. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 2:00 AM to go to San Salvador for Edgardo to buy Hector’s grandmother’s store and for me to see the doctors. It is going to be a super long day!

3/26/14: Day 24: Rest / Sick Day

Finally a day of rest… kind of. I had an upset stomach all night and all day today. I worked on the lessons for tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday and tried to sleep a bit. At church last Sunday everyone exchanged coffee mugs that had a paper with prayer request on them. Della’s requests were given Manuel’s mother Maria. So she came over to pray with Della at 2:30. She saw that we had a few dirty dishes so she went and washed them. I felt like she was washing our feet. We all prayed together and visited for a while. Maria has eight children and four are very active in the church. She is very sweet. After she left Della went to pay the light bill and get medicine for me while I rested some more. I stayed home from church too. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better. 

Our pet butterfly!

3/26/14: Day 24: Della: Relaxing Day!

Today is the first day that Caleb and I have had a break together. I must admit that lately I have had a few days at home by myself relaxing while Caleb and Hector has had to go to other cities for various reasons. I have thoroughly enjoyed the days at home. =) I have been getting the house organized and cleaned slowly but surely. While the move has been stressful in a lot of ways I haven’t really felt worried about too much lately. My Spanish is improving slowly. At first the slowness was frustrating but I am trying to just focus on learning a little better every day through practice and not worry too much. I think for the most part people understand what I am saying or trying to say. I understand more Spanish every day and am confident that one day in the future I will really get the hang of it.

Getting Lobito has really made El Salvador feel more like home. Caleb is going to have a difficult time getting me to move back to the U.S any time soon between the warm weather year round and having a dog here. He has been sick off and on and I sure that he has worms. I am trying to get a day where I can go find a good dewormer but so far that has not happened. Our van is currently in Sonsonate getting some minor repair work. Hopefully once we have the van back we can make a trip to Ahuachapán for dewormer and some ant killer. The ants here could just about carry you off. I want to find a better solution before the baby comes because he/she will not be crawling around in ants.

The pregnancy has gone really well so far. I haven’t had any nausea since about the 11th before then it was only if I didn’t eat fast enough. I need to find a doctor for prenatal care as soon as possible. I am hoping to find one in Ahuachapán that would be close. There is a lady in the congregation that is pregnant and has a midwife and I would like to interview her midwife as well. I am still hoping that Chloe will be able to come to help with the birth. I still need to go look at what baby items I will find here and what I might need the groups to bring down. Although I don’t believe in getting too much stuff until you know for sure you will use it. There are just a few actual “needs” and the rest is just stuff that gets in the way. Luckily I have Rachel here who has had lots of practice and knows what I will need and what I will not. We still plan to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender. That way all of the stuff we do get will be gender neutral. Ha! One night Caleb and I both had dreams about our future baby. In both of our dreams the kid was about a year old. But Caleb dreamed we had a girl and I dreamed we had a boy. One of us is bound to be right. ;) We will know around the end of September or whenever the baby decides to come join the outside. We just want a healthy baby and don’t really care either way.

So far one of the worse things about living here is the noise and the garbage truck. It is really difficult to catch the elusive garbage truck. You cannot just leave your garbage bags sitting out. The dogs around here will tear it up within minutes. You have to listen for the garbage truck’s bell. And it is not the only thing with a bell. I have run out the door to see the ice cream cart man, the bread man, and an unknown product salesman… It is pretty annoying because the thing runs every day except Sunday and for some reason I can only catch it about once a week. Usually it goes by our house at 10 and sometimes 9 and sometimes 12… it just depends. One day maybe I will figure it out. It is a small price to pay for the perfect weather. And at least they do pick up garbage.

3/25/14: Day 23: Hector bought a bus!

Manuel arrived at 7:55 to ask our neighbors about taking the bee hive on their roof. They were not home so we tried to get some videos of bees off his phone but we had no luck. Della and I then left for Ahuachapán to have our first time at grocery store alone. While we were shopping Hector called and said that the rest of his furniture needed to be delivered to our house for storage until he got his house. We got back to the house at 10:00 and the delivery people were waiting on us. We tried to stack everything as best as possible in the garage but we broke a window with the mattresses. The truck left and came back again with another load of furniture an hour later. At 1:00 I met Hector and followed him to Sonsonate to drop off the van for repairs. We then went to the bank. Hector took a number and then started talking to a high school friend he saw and missed his number call. While Hector was talking I got bored and started playing with my cell phone but guard saw me and came over and told me that wasn’t allowed in the bank. We then went to the insurance company and I got liability and answered a bunch of questions for life insurance. I apparently have to go to San Salvador again to have doctor exams to make sure that I am healthy before they will enact my life insurance which will hopefully be on this Friday. I took too long with the insurance agent so Hector left to get his new van. I finished about 15 minutes later and the agent drove me to meet Hector. The van was very shiny and new smelling. It had less than 8 kilometers on the odometer. I then followed him to his step dad’s shop to drop off his mom’s car. After dropping off the car I got on the new van with him and we rushed back to Hector’s house. Hector was so impressed with the lesson I gave on Leviticus yesterday that he asked me to give it again tonight. The lesson went even better the second time. After the lesson I ate some pupusas and some honey comb while I waited for Hector to take me home. I arrived home at 8:00.  I am super pumped about tomorrow! It is potentially our first day of rest since we got here!  

Brand New Van!

The Odometer showing 7 Kilometers 

Hector's little dog

3/24/14: Day 22: Driving all day

Woke up at 5:30 and rushed to get ready. I picked up Hector, Edgardo, and his family and drove to Sonsonate. The drive was super steep and we nearly died when I decided to pass a bus while there was a truck coming from the other direction. The study in Sonsonate was at a small business that was owned by a member of the church in Ataco. The owner believed a weekly bible study for all his employees was important so we are blessed to be a part of it. There were about 15 people at the study. When it was finished, one of the leaders got up and said that he expected me to be leading it by four months in Spanish. At 8:00, Rachael (Hector’s wife) took Della to Osvaldo’s house so she could spend the day with Luz Elena (Osvaldo’s wife). After the study finished my crew went to Hector’s step dad’s shop for him to determine what was needed to fix the van. He said he needed to keep it for a while to fix it so we will have to drop it off tomorrow. We continued on to San Salvador and everyone said I was driving way too fast. On the way, Hector got a call from the translator saying she needed Della’s passport expiration date. This was very frustrating because we had brought our passports to her when we dropped off the papers but she said she didn’t need anything from them. I called Della and she had to arrange for Noé to come get her and take her back to the house (1 hour round trip) to get it. While I was driving to San Salvador I got redirected from the main road due to construction and we got lost for a bit. We finally navigated to Hector’s grandparent’s metal shop for Edgardo and his family to inspect and consider buying their “food home store” setup. The setup included: several display cases, two coke refrigerators, and a bunch of packaged food products. We waited until about 11:50 when Della called with the expiration date. We immediately rushed out to the lawyer’s office to get the papers before the translator went on her lunch break. I parked at the mall and Edgardo and his family went inside to wait while Hector and I ran across the street. When we got to the office we checked all the papers thoroughly. Then we ate the most amazing fried hotdogs that were smothered in mayonnaise and ketchup. We then ran back across the street and we all waited while Hector tried to get the money for Lucky from the bank. We waited for half an hour and then Hector said it was a fail because he was missing some information. On the way back to Ahuachapán all my passengers fell asleep from the heat. Rachael met us with Della at the foot of the mountain to Ataco and we traded passengers. Della and I got home around 3:30. We were both tired from the day so we took a nap for 45 minutes. When we woke up Della was craving soup and we were out of food so we went to a restaurant nearby. The owner spoke English and said he was from New York. At 5:15, I left for the small group bible study and led it on Leviticus chapters 1-8. The study went well and Hector interpreted very well. I got back to the house at 7:30 and a student from the school (Bryan) was there waiting for me to play him in chess. He taught me the Spanish names for the all the pieces and played an intense game. Della made peanut-butter cookies and distracted him just enough for me to get the lead for a while but in the end I got beat by a crafty checkmate. Then Della was feeling amazingly sacrificial because she helped me explain the rules for Carcassonne in Spanish. We had a great time playing until 9:30. Tomorrow we will hopefully get the van fixed.  

Shop where Hector grew up!

3/23/14: Day 21: Dinner with Osvaldo

We woke up and immediately started cleaning for the teens that were going to have class in our house. We got to the church building at 8:30 and Carlos asked me to serve in the Lord’s Supper. During the 15 minute break of service we ate more of the same great ice cream that we had yesterday. Alejandro (age 13, Warner’s son) visited the church today and he came over with all the other teens to our house for the class. I talked about the Ten Commandments and how Jesus died to fulfill the law. I felt that the class went much better than the one on Friday. We ran a little late but when we got to church building Hector was saying his final words so the timing was perfect. Della brought Lobito and introduced him to everyone. After church Della and I were both tired so we went home and took a nap. When I woke up I read all of Leviticus and then I went to the market to get a few groceries. We got to second service at 4:00 and Osvaldo gave the sermon. Afterwards Manuel and I went to ask our next door neighbor if Manuel could transplant the bees that had made a hive on their roof but they were not home. Then Manuel and I went to see Lobito but Lobito had squeezed into the garage and dug into the trash bag that had gotten into our bathroom trash so I was really angry at him. He knew it so he rolled over and peed all over himself. Manuel said that Lobito would grow up to be a giant. Then we walked back to the church building and we invited Osvaldo and his family over for dinner. We ate spaghetti and we played two games of Blockus. They left at 8:30 and I worked on the lesson for the small groups until 10:30. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5:30 AM and go to San Salvador…

Della giving Lobito his first bath

3/22/14: Day 20: Youth in Action

I checked the fluid levels of the van because there was a big puddle of something underneath. It turned out to be power steering fluid. Mini Carlos arrived at our house at 7:08 AM and we went to the gas station to buy two bottles of steering fluid. We then picked up Hector and then went to Shucutitan to pick up three of the teens. Hector went up to get them while Della and I waited. While we were waiting Lucky came walking up in a dress and high heels. We told her we would have gladly picked her and but she said she was afraid she would miss us so she started walking. She said she was dressed up because she couldn’t figure out when she needed to dress up and when she didn’t. We left for Ahuachapán at 7:55 and arrived at 8:30. After dropping off the teens, Hector and I went to get Carlos and ice cream for everyone. Franklin and several others delivered a powerful message about having a good attitude during devotionals. Then we all ate the ice cream which tasted wonderful. Della and I ate sandwiches that we had packed for lunch then Osvaldo asked if we could drive his family home so we did. We got back to the event hot and thirsty so we bought some cold water. Della had a head ache all day due to being tense while driving down the mountain last night. During the second half of the youth rally they discussed controversial topics like should women wear dresses or pants. I spent the second half talking to a high school student that wanted to practice his English with me. The final activity the teens had was to have a competition to blow all the flour out of a bowl, it made for some good pictures. We finished at 4:00 and took the teens home being careful to deliver them each to their parents. On the way home I had to buy three more bottles of steering fluid and chairs for tomorrow. We finally got home, exhausted at 6:00. I now have to finish the lesson on Exodus for tomorrow, have Della translate it, and come up with four new lessons on Leviticus.

Youth in Action meeting

Ice cream for everyone!

Flour blowing competition

Team Flour

 

My Origami dragon with 274 Steps!

My dragon next to the book I got the design from!

3/21/14: Day 19: Ridiculous

Last night, before Hector left he told me that I needed to be at his house to pick him up at 4:00 AM to drive to San Salvador. I told him that he better be ready if I had to be there that early! Hector called me later last night and said that the trip to San Salvador would have to wait until Tuesday and that I would have all morning to rest and study Spanish. So far, I feel like I have not had a chance to catch my breath, much less study Spanish. I have been folding a little origami to wind down each night but that has been my only entertainment and stress relief. So I woke up feeling rested and refreshed just knowing that I had the day to study even though I didn’t sleep well due to drinking a coke. At 7:00 Hector called and said that He and Lucky were on their way and needed me to take out all of the seats in the van and that they needed me to meet them with the van at the bus stop in 40 minutes. I struggled with no space between the van and the wall for the entire 40 minutes and finally got all the seats out. Lucky, Hector, and his son (Zach) were already there waiting on me when I got to the stop. Hector said we needed the van to go to Ahuachapán to get furniture for the church. We first went to a general goods store for Hector to look at the fans. After spending about 30 minutes there we went across the street to a furniture store. Lucky and I waited for bit and then I asked her if she wanted to check out the mattress store next door and see if we could get beds for our guest rooms. We went over and bought two Semi (Semi is a size between single and full) sized mattresses that have legs that screw directly onto the box-springs. After about 30 minutes there we went to see if Hector was finished but he was already gone so we went to the fabric store. We bought Della some batting and then walked to the van to hopefully meet Hector and go back to the house and study Spanish. When we got to the van I called Hector and he said he was at the furniture store where we bought all of ours. So we walked over and Hector announced that he was moving, today was a big sale day, and that he needed to store furniture in my house until the new house was available.  At this point I realized that all was lost and my first day of studying Spanish was not going to happen. Zach, Lucky, and I were hungry even though it was only 10:30 AM so we walked about 8 blocks to Ban Ban for lunch. I called Della and asked her what she would like me to get her for lunch because I was hopeful that I would soon be heading back. She said our new dog (Lobito) was feeling sick. After lunch we went back to the furniture store to see how Hector was doing. When we got there Lucky exclaimed that she had forgotten a number she wrote at lunch so we rushed off to go back to Ban Ban. Then we went to the bank for Lucky and there were about 25 people in line. Hector then met us and said he wanted to go to the pet store while Lucky waited in line. The pet store was about four blocks away and there Hector picked out a dog he wanted to buy. At this point I was getting worried about Lucky being by herself so I went back to check on her. When I got to her she was next in line to go inside and she said she needed Hector quickly and she didn’t have his number. So Hector rushed back and told me that he needed me to go back to the pet store and pay for the dog he wanted. When we got back to the store we waited about 30 minutes while they gave it a bath and then we paid them and went and sat in the van for another 30 minutes for Hector to get finished at the bank. We got so hot while we were waiting that I had to go and buy bottles of water before we passed out. Hector finally got back and I drove up the mountain to Hectors house to get Rachel. We then went to the school in Ataco to attend the ESL class for 3^rd graders at 1:45. At 2:30 we went back to the house and I gathered everything needed for teaching the teen lesson tonight. At 4:00 an insurance agent met at our house for Hector and me. We talked until 4:20 and then half of Hectors furniture got delivered. Then we resumed the meeting with the agent until 5:15. At this point we were both running late for the studies so we rushed to drop of Hector and then went Shucutiton for the teen time. This was Della’s first shot at translating a lesson. I made it hard for her; bless her heart. We studied until 7:45 and I felt like it was pretty rough. After the study Carlos, Della, and I went to visit all the teen parents to promote the Youth In Action activity in Ahuachapán tomorrow and ask if they were O.K. with having the Sunday morning teen class at our house. We visited three homes and then took Carlos back to his house in Ahuachapán. We finally got home at 9:30. Today was a nice relaxing day of studying Spanish.

P.S. Taking the seats out of the van was a complete waste of time because we had all the furniture delivered. Tomorrow I have to be at Shucutiton at 7:30 AM to pick up all the teens so I have to put all the seats back in the van. The good news is that Lobito seems to feel better. Although he hasn’t gained his appetite back yet. 

3/20/14: Day 18: Car & Dog!!!

I was the first to arrive at the church building 8:00 to resume painting. I was eager to redeem myself because I hate painting so much that I gave a half-hearted effort yesterday. Hector publicly thanked everyone during service last night while I shook my head and he laughed said that I only painted for an hour (I actually painted for at least two…).  Carlos, Hector, Lucky and Serafim arrived soon after and Hector announced that today was car day and that we would have to leave at 9:30 to go to Santa Ana to get the paperwork complete. Yay, an excuse not to paint! I held the ladder for Carlos’ dad while he knocked stuff off the roof and tried to make some repairs. He told me to be careful not to look up and that I needed a helmet. I managed to hold the ladder under the roof from inside the house for protection. While I was holding the ladder Della and Lucky went to the market. At 9:40 Hector, Della, and I drove to the public health building for Hector to get documents for the dental brigade. We then continued on to the mall at Santa Ana and had Pizza Hut for lunch while we waited for Osvaldo to arrive. We then drove to the lawyer’s office to write up a bill of sale. The lawyer used an editing program that must have been from the 80s; it had no mouse and looked like the original dos prompt blue editor. After waiting for a while he called us into his office for signatures and his previous machine, an old typewriter. Then we went to another building to pay the taxes but they said I had to have an identification card. We didn’t know where that was so we went over to Osvaldo’s brother’s (Daniel) house for Osvaldo to have lunch. But sadly, on the way, Della spotted a guy selling puppies in front of the mall and Osvaldo said we had time to stop. We did and Della fell in love with a giant puppy. I said that will be a horse dog before you know it. I told her no and she got sad and we went on our way. After lunch Daniel went with us and showed us where the ID place was; right behind the prison. I now have an El Salvadorian ID! We went back to pay the taxes and they took the papers and said I will have to return in 8 days to get the vehicle ID card in my name. Then we took Osvaldo to the mall and Hector said he would like to see the dogs because he was interested in one for himself. We managed to find the pet shop but Hector couldn’t find one that he liked. We ended up buying the soon to be horse dog (Lobito). Then we went back to the mall to get Osvaldo and his family. While we waited I got ice cream and Della stayed with the dog and talked to the security guard. The guard was nice and funny, he said in Spanish “Spanish must be harder to learn than English because I knew a lot of Spanish people that can speak English but very few the other ways around”. Funny… and he didn’t speak English.  Osvaldo arrived and we took him back to Ahuachapán and then rushed to the evening small group bible study. After the study Della and I went to the market and we bought dog food and stuff. When we got to the house Lobito had gotten stuck behind the pool and when we let him out he peed on the floor. Hector then called and said “is Lobito feliz en su casa”, I told him I sure hoped that Lobito didn’t bring fleas in our house!

Happy Della in our van with Lobito

Osvaldo's son (David) petting Lobito

Our van

My pet Gecko. It came with the house.

The van is in the garage and we have a dog all in one long day. 

3/19/14: Day 17: More Painting

I woke up feeling a bit panicked about not having the Friday teen lesson ready. I needed to get it done ASAP so that Della could translate it. Hector and everyone started work painting at the church at 8:00. I walked over at 8:30 and told Hector that I needed this morning to work on the lesson. I worked until 10:30 and felt a lot less panicked so I went back to the church and helped Lucky organize the supply room for an hour. Then I took lunch orders and went to the house with Lucky to prepare the food. I prepared five sandwiches and Della prepared three burritos. Then I took them back to the church building and after lunch I painted trim for two hours. Lucky stayed with Della to help her translate the lesson I wrote earlier. I painted all the trim in a room while a man named Serafim painted the walls with the roller. This was my first time to meet Serafim and he spoke English really well so we talked as we painted. At 2:00 I went back to the house to work on the lesson a bit more.

At 3:00 Della and I went with Carlos to attend the funeral for the lady that passed away yesterday. For funerals here, the casket is put in a glass case on the back of a pickup truck. Everyone solemnly walks along side as it slowly goes through the town and finally to the cemetery. The cemetery was very full and overgrown with mostly crosses over graves with no plaques. My heart ached because of the time the man will have to spend without his wife.

After the funeral Della and I went back home and had some dinner. At 5:30 we attended the Wednesday night service and then went back home to study.

There will be more painting tomorrow!

3/18/14: Day 16: Painting

We woke up still tired from yesterday. I started the church website, but it is not worth putting up a link yet. I got a phone call from Lucky asking us to go to the church to paint at 9:00 AM. We discussed the classroom situation with the team and decided that it would be good to have the teen class at our house this Sunday due to the noise and traffic through the room at the church building. After the discussion Carlos and I went to get paint and I got a pipe to use on the washing machine. Then I was given the task of painting a large shelf. I painted for 1.5 hours and then went back to the house to prepare lunch for everyone. We all ate and then resumed painting until 1:30. Della stayed home because of the fumes and cleaned. She also went to the market by herself for the first time thankfully she made it back safely. Then I used acetone to clean off all the paint on my arms and hands. Then Della, Hector, and I went to Ahuachapán to get more paint. We compared prices at two stores and then bought paint for the church and ordered paint for our house. On our way back we saw a member of the church walking and we gave her a ride. We got back to Ataco at 3:45 and I was exhausted so I went back home for an hour nap while Della went on to Hector’s house in the car so she could avoid the bus. After my nap I went to the bus stop and got on the bus. When I looked up from reading the Spanish dictionary I was surprised to see Lucky and Carlos. They asked if I had paid already, I hadn’t so they told me to change buses, to one that would travel closer to Hector’s house. We all arrived at 5:30 and Carlos told Della that the old lady that thought I was her son had passed away today, very sad. The study lasted until 7:00 and then Della, Carlos, and I walked in the dark to the bus stop. We waited in almost complete darkness for 20 minutes to catch the last bus of the night.

There will be more painting tomorrow! 

Hector hardly working

I forced a smile for the camera

3/17/14: Day 15: Bus to Santa Ana

Bus riding for the day:

1	7:00 AM – 7:20 AM	Bus to Hector’s to pick up our teammate Lucky	$0.25
2	7:30 AM – 7:50 AM	Bus back to home to get Della	$0.25
3	8:00 AM – 8:35 AM	Bus to Ahuachapan to meet Eva & Fernando	$0.40
4	8:45 AM – 10:00 AM	Bus to Santa Ana	$0.50
5	10:05 AM – 10:15 AM	Bus to Metro Central (the Mall)	$0.20

Today was a long day, but thankfully we made it through without any problems. Originally we were only going to have Eva for our guide but she contacted her uncle Fernando and he came along with us too. At the start of the bus from Ahuachapan to Santa Ana, a guy got on and put a pack of candy in everyone’s hands. The pack said “gift” in English but I wasn’t really hungry so I just held on to it. After about 5 minutes the man gave his sells pitch and said that the candy cost $$ and then went back and took the candy back from everyone unless they paid. I thought it was a very tricky sells tactic. Throughout our journey several sales people got on the bus yelling out information about their products trying to get people to buy. At the mall I bought a clock and we looked through the furniture store at the bunk beds then Della said she had to eat something. So at 11:00 we went to the food court and I ordered Pizza Hut for everyone. Fernando said it was way too early for him to eat so he just watched us. During lunch we told Fernando how we were looking for a truck and he said he knew of some places nearby we could go look. After lunch we walked out of the mall and down the street and hid behind trees while Fernando went and talked to used car lot salesmen. All that they had was either at the end of its life or way out of our budget. Then we went to a huge store that sold “everything” and I bought a new sink fixture that would enable the filter to be hooked up in the kitchen instead of the bathroom. At 1:45 Fernando got hungry so we went back to the mall and we got ice cream while he ate lunch. After lunch we took buses 5 and 4 back to Ahuachapan. There we bought all the groceries that Della, Lucky and I could carry and then took bus 3 to get back to our house. We all rehydrated and rushed to Shucutitan to make it there for the 5:30 small group bible study. Edgardo had given me an old digital camera that wouldn’t charge last Sunday to fix. I plugged it in and it seemed to work fine at my house so I took it to the study tonight to give back to him. At the study Edgardo said that the charge light wouldn’t come on for him so afterwards we went to his house. There I tried every socket he had and sure enough it didn’t work there. He said he used the camera to get paid to take pictures of events so hopefully we will be able to help him out with this soon.

Hector said that the paperwork for the dental brigade was not going to be ready until Friday so we are not going to San Salvador at 4:00 AM tomorrow!!!

Hector brought us home and we discussed how to respond to an email for helping Central’s mission and then I installed the new sink fixture in the kitchen and moved the filter.

3/16/14: Day 14: Brisa Baptized!

Woke up at 6:00 ate cereal for breakfast and then took a shower. I then worked to ensure that I had the prayer memorized and worked on origami to calm my nerves. We arrived at the church building at 8:00 and greeted everyone and I also got the projectors setup. Just before service began Brisa (Hector’s oldest) came up and told us that she was going to get baptized today! I managed to remember all the words to the prayer but I was not loud enough and I failed to have “in Jesus’ Name” at the end so no one realized the prayer was over when I finished. Then Della and I went to the teen class and Carlos taught about Moses and how he used his staff to perform the signs (Exodus 4) and how we should use our talents and what we are good at. When he finished his lesson we all rushed out just in time to see Brisa coming up out of the water. Brisa was the first one to use the new pool baptistery but hopefully there will be more very soon! Hector’s dad and grandmother were visiting and his house was getting sprayed to combat the insects so we all went out to lunch. We finished lunch at 12:40 and Lucky, Della, and I walked around a bit. We went into an art store that had amazing paintings. The paintings were so vivid and intricate, when I looked in the back I saw the artist working. We talked to him and he said that all his paintings were of real places here in El Salvador. We studied them more and then as we were leaving some ladies asked if they could take my picture. I tried to resist but they insisted and Della and Lucky thought it was hilarious. Then we found a guy selling tables and I bought two and carried them back to the house. We arrived at the house at 1:15 and we visited with Lucky for a bit. At 1:30 I got a call from Hector saying that it was time for another team meeting.

During the meeting we all told what we had accomplished this week and then Hector outlined what we needed to do for this week. This week is going to be super stressful. The car Hector had has broken down and we are all now having to take the slow crowded dangerous busses everywhere. Tomorrow is our rest day so we are going to be on the bus for three hours to somehow get groceries for the week. We will also have small group studies from 5:30 – 7:30 every night this week. I have got to prepare lessons for the teens and Della will have to translate for Friday and Sunday. Tuesday, Hector and I, will be leaving at 4:30 AM to ride the bus for seven hours to get to San Salvador to push our paper work through to the next step. Wednesday and Thursday should hopefully be normal days with evangelism in the morning and small groups in the evening. Friday we are hoping to shadow the teachers in the public school here in Ataco to learn how their ESL classes work. During the meeting Wendy (Paolo’s mom) cut my hair! The meeting ended at 3:58 leaving us with two minutes to run to the church building for evening services.

For the evening service Hector had me repeat the same prayer. I think it went a little better but still forgot to properly end it… I asked Hector for another chance next week, that I would do better.  I haven’t had nearly as much time to study Spanish as I would like. I am going to bed early tonight.

  

The simplified opening prayer:
Oremos
Gracias Dios por este día y esta oportunidad de escuchar tu mensaje. Por favor, ayúdanos de entender tu palabra.

Hector and Brisa after being baptized

Lucky trying on a hat

Horses carrying wood through Ataco

Me getting my hair cut during the team meeting

3/15/14: Day 13: Fun with mini Carlos

This morning we woke up at 6:30 and Della cooked delicious eggs and beans. About 7:30 Della got a call from Carlos asking me to go to the church building and watch as the workers fixed the roof. I left at 7:50 and just as I walked out the door a guy was walking by and he said “good morning” in English. We talked as we walked the three blocks, I told him we were living here in Ataco and that we were missionaries here and by the time we got to the church we exchanged numbers. At the church I helped when I could and read the bible and the dictionary. I stayed at the church building until 10:00 and then Carlos and his dad arrived so I went back home. Della and I went to all the gringo shops just so we would know what was where and then we found a cheaper pizzeria for lunch.  We got back to the house at 1:00 and Della was tired so we took a nap. I woke up at 1:30 and Della woke up at 1:45. Mini Carlos rang the doorbell at 2:00 and told Della to go to the church building to meet Rosamilia to ride the bus with her to Hector’s house. Della attended a women’s bible study/ baby shower for a sister here from 2:30 until 4:30. Mini Carlos (age 10) was over the entire time Della was gone. Mini Carlos wanted to take everything I had and eat all the food that we have. When he didn’t get it he would go hide under the table and pout. We used Google translate to talk to each other. I managed to teach him the rules to Blockus in Spanish. While mini Carlos was over big Carlos came and worked on his motorcycle that he had wrecked a few months ago and so was storing at our house. I tried to help him but I broke it even worse, I felt terrible and told him I would pay to fix that part but he just laughed. Carlos managed to complete the repairs and left me with mini Carlos. Della finally arrived home at 5:00 and mini Carlos helped her translate a prayer for me to say tomorrow. It is almost too late for me to manage memorizing it for service tomorrow. We ate peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches for dinner and then Skyped and studied until time for bed. 

3/14/14: Day 12: Preachers Meeting

Woke up at 6:00 and ate breakfast. Today we have no idea what is going on; what time does it start, does Hector being sick affect anything…? I called at him at 7:00 and he said to get up there as soon as we can and that the car had broken down again. The only way to get to Hectors now is to take the dreaded bus. As we rounded the corner for the bus station a guy hollered out “run” and motioned for the bus to wait on us. When we got on we paid him our quarters and said we needed to go to El Rosario. It wasn’t too crowded so we were able to find seats. We got to our stop after about 25 minutes and we tried to get off at the front but the driver kept yelling at us; it turns out we were supposed to exit through the rear. Della said that it was a terrible ride but I didn’t think it was so bad. From the intersection at El Rosario we had to walk another 15 minutes to get to Hectors house. As we arrived Hector announced that he had gotten the car working and wanted to drive to our house to get the tables and the hotspot for the internet… I went with Hector and Della stayed. I asked Hector about the plans for Apaneca and when we might be moving there and he said that we would be working here in Ataco for at least two years and that there was already a good effort going at planting a church in Apaneca. After making a few more errands we got back to Hectors about 8:45. I threw together a quick PowerPoint with pictures of Central, Signal Mountain, and Lucky’s church. The preachers meeting started at 9:00. I counted 14 attendances including Franklin, Noé, Carlos, Harrison’s Dad, Ceaser, Osvaldo, Warner, and Fernando. Della was nervous but she gave our introduction in Spanish very well. Lots of plans and dates were discussed and we were well received. The meeting lasted until 12:45 including a 15 minute coffee break with honey bread at 11:00. For lunch “Foot Soup” was served to everyone. The soup was a large serving and the foot was a cow’s hoof. After the meeting Osvaldo’s wife, Luz Elena, and kids arrived. We visited with Ceaser, and Luz Elena, and Franklin until 2:50. Hector left as soon as the meeting was over to go to the doctor. It was great getting to talk to everyone and we managed to make plans to have meals at our house or theirs for all that we could. We then rode the bus back to our house with Franklin helping us. This ride wasn’t nearly as stressful. We got back to the house at 4:00 and were tired so we tried to take a nap. At 4:15 Rachael called and said the teen meeting was now going to be in Shucutitan and we needed to take the bus back again as soon as possible. The thought of a third bus ride in one day stressed Della to the max so I went without her. I got there about 5:15 and Jenny (Rachel’s mom) had just arrived and she presented me with a big jar of peanut butter. I thanked her and then walked with Carlos and mini Carlos (age 11) walked to Edgardo’s house for the teen meeting. As we walked, mini Carlos insisted on carrying my backpack and we talked about zombies. Carlos gave a lesson about Cain and Able. After the lesson he brought out some art supplies and teamed us up in pairs. My teammate was Javier’s sister Paola (age 5) and our project was origami birds and a frog on a pond. The meeting lasted until 7:00 and then we walked back to Hector’s house. Manuel was there with an 11 month chocolate lab and was trying to give it to Hector. Osvaldo was there and he said that if Hector didn’t want it that I could have it. I laughed and made a motion of Della stabbing with a knife and Osvaldo asked “you or the dog?” and I said both. Then we all ate delicious burritos while the dog tried to choke himself on the post he was tied to while whimpering like crazy. Osvaldo drove me home with mini Carlos, Carlos, Luz Elena and his kids. When we got to our house around 9:00 and they all came in and we all talked for a bit and mini Carlos asked if he could come over and spend some time hanging out with me tomorrow. Woot, time for bed. 

Preachers Meeting at Hector's House

Carlos teaching the teens

Javier art project and a girl hiding 

Me and Paola with our art project

3/13/14: Day 11: Unpacking

Today I woke up eager to finish the wardrobes. Della cooked pancakes for breakfast and then I worked on the wardrobes from 6:30 until 11:00. I was exhausted when I finally finished. They gave us a number to call and they said someone would come and put them together but I thought I could put them together faster but now I wish I had called. On the 11^th day of being here in El Salvador we finally got to unpack! It feels so wonderful not living out of a plastic bins anymore. We ate leftover pupusas for lunch. Then we waited for Carlos to arrive for evangelism. While we waited I worked on studying Genesis while Della took a nap. Carlos arrived at 2:40 and we (Carlos, Della, and I) set out for the place that was our second stop yesterday to present a bible. When we got there he was taking his siesta so we left the bible with one of his children and continued on our way. The second house was another contact that we had made last summer, it was an older man and wife who had lots of pets, cat, dog, pigeons, turtles, and a rooster. We talked with the man for a while and he said his wife was to the point of no longer eating. While we were talking I got a call from Rachel saying that Lucky had been sick to her stomach all morning and that was why she didn’t go to Linda’s house today. Then I went back in and continued the study. While we were talking we heard his wife coughing and we asked if we could see her. I wish you could see the heart wrenching sight I beheld. She was a precious lady, thin as a rail and very confused. We knelt and prayed with her and after the prayer she kept calling out me “mi hijo” which means “my son”.  We left and stood and studied with younger guy around the corner. While we were talking to him the children of the family we studied with last yesterday came up. The boy’s name was Nestor age 10 and the girl’s name was Estefany age 8. Nestor kept showing off by twisting his foot backward and rolling his eyelids and it totally grossed Della out. A lady selling sweat bread came by and I bought a dollars’ worth and shared with everyone. After Carlos finished talking to the younger guy at the house we continued talking to the kids for a while and then the younger man sent his cousin to invite us to have coffee with them. We couldn’t refuse so this was the first cup Della has had this year and the first cup I have had in many years. I had mine loaded down with sugar. Then we walked across town to what looked like it used to be a barbershop and studied with an older lady there. While we were studying I got a call from Rachel saying the Hector was sick from the spots on his body and that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the small group tonight. So we walked back to the house for a quick snack. Carlos said that he hadn’t had peanut since he visited the states. We then went across town to the small group study. Today the small group was very small, I counted 2 adults. On the way home we stopped by the market and got some bananas and hangers.

Our closets!!!

3/13/14: Day 11: Della's 2 cents

I decided to join Caleb with his blog. It has had my name on it for a while so I might as well. Ha! Caleb is assembling the wardrobes that we bought last week in San Salvador. They offer free assembly but he didn’t want to wait on them to come. Learning Spanish is going slowly for both of us. I have a head start on Caleb but it is still difficult for me too. Every day I understand a little better and remember more words. Some people just talk too fast and my brain just cannot keep up. We have been really busy since we arrived here trying to get set up and settled in. I still need to find a doctor that will take care of my prenatal care and (possibly) deliver the baby. That is if Chloe (the midwife) cannot make it here to help with delivery. But I probably will have to go to Ahuachapán for that and we have not figured out the bus systems nor found a suitable vehicle yet. It would also be nice if I had either Lucky or Rachel with me to help clarify the Spanish for me. Hopefully that will be taken care of soon.

We really like Ataco. It is a beautiful little town tucked in the mountains. The weather is perfect in my opinion. It gets quite warm during the middle of the day but at night and the mornings it is a little chilly. On the weekends there are many venders and also a lot of gringos walking around. Someone here mentioned we should start a gringo ministry. I think he was joking but it may be a good idea. The only down side to Ataco is the noise. Every morning around 6:00 or before there is a vender that honks a little horn down the streets around our house and thanks to awesome ventilation the noises are not muffled. But, I would rather feel the breezes than muffle the sounds. Not having to have an air conditioner is really nice because you can leave the doors and windows open without worrying about wasting money. The flowers here are beautiful and I haven’t seen so many butterflies since moving from the country to Huntsville.  

Settling into a house for the first time is more costly than I remember. In addition to the appliances and mattresses there were so many little things that we bought such as toilet seats, cleaning supplies, pots and pans, cups, mugs, pot holders, sheets… etc. I think the first time I moved out my grandma gave me a bunch of that stuff and I never had to buy it myself. It is difficult to find some things that would be nice to have such as; a muffin pan, baking sheet, wheat flour, and a greyhound =). However, I do not “need” any of those things. But, if anyone is reading this and wants to send me a greyhound I will take it. But I prefer male dogs just so you know. Ha ha ha ha ha!  Some things are more expensive than in the U.S such as peanut butter and good used cars. But for the most part the cost of living here is less than the U.S. Eggs here are not only pretty cheap (in comparison) but also super fresh. Big watermelons are 2 dollars while the smaller ones are a 1 dollar. The cheese here is delicious and priced fairly. Avocados are fresh year round. Pupusas are 50 – 60 cents in the restaurant across the street.

The lower cost of living also means that people here generally make less money. This means there are a lot of people that are poor. It is hard to watch old people bent with age still working physical labor jobs like carrying fire wood down the mountain or pushing ice cream carts. There are many families unable to send their children to the “free” public schools because they cannot afford the supplies, bus fare, or uniforms. In the U.S when people complain that they are poor they usually don’t live in shacks made of tin with dirt floors and often they have electricity, cell phones (many smart phones), and/or have their nails done, and own a car. Even the people that live on the streets often have shoes and access to shelters if they follow certain rules (such as no drugs, alcohol, or sex). In the land of excess, poverty looks different. Even after our career shift and significant pay cut, we are rich compared to so many people in the world. Jesus never had anything nice to say about the rich. We tend to rely too much on our possessions and money rather than God. We need to remember that the rich (we) need God’s mercy and forgiveness. Often we the church try to minister to the poor but we don’t too much think about the rich, after all they have what they need right? If the bible is true (I believe it is), then they are in danger without a relationship with Jesus. Hector has mentioned that there are people in Ataco who are well off financially. We hope to reach them and serve them in our ministry here as well as the poor.

Continue praying for us as we are trying to more help than trouble to our team mates. We need to learn the language and culture (also buy a vehicle) before we can become more independent. I think poor Hector feels like he has 6 children instead of only 4.  Also pray for our team mate Lucky as she has had some trouble accessing her funds from the states to here. We already love her so much and believe she is such a wonderful asset to our team. Also pray for our team member Linda, she is pregnant and is high risk so is supposed to take it easy. She is finding this difficult as I think most would.