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.