April 25, 2010
There are what I would call "blog moments" when I encounter something during my day that I know would make a good blog entry, if I could just remember it later on. Today my moment came as I sat with some friends in a little Swiss-El Salvadorean restaurant in the hills outside of San Salvador. We quickly discovered that half of the drinks and dishes on the menu were not available at this time. There was only one flavor of fruit drink, no ice tea, and no pudding. The owner had just given us a speech about how welcome were to be there and that we would enjoy the food and everything. When the waitress walked back to the kitchen just as soon as one of the girls ordered an iced tea, we had a feeling that there would be some "shortages" of options. Sure enough, the waitress had left to confirm that there was no tea. I know that I had a look of "here we go again" on my face because so often this happens in restaurants.
Because there was only whole milk for the hot drinks, I had decided not to order anything so I was not too disappointed with so little being available on the menu but another day I would have been. So much is run differently than in the United States which makes sense because it is a different place with its own culture. I am the one that needs to adapt. Though the food was lacking, the view was not, nor the fresh breeze that flowed through the open air seating areas. It was a welcome change from the humidity and heat of the city. We also got to hear some live music which included mostly songs in English from long ago, "The Piano Man" and "Hotel California" to name a few.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Bubbling with Thankfulness
April 25, 2010
Yesterday the title of this blog most definitely described my sentiments. Today I feel mostly the same except that I am too tired to really know how I feel. It is hard to explain exactly why I am bubbling with thankfulness but I think that it stems from seeing God answer prayers. During my first few months in El Salvador I struggled to meet young people and find people to hang out with. This past week has been quite the opposite and it is such a blessing.
I was first introduced to the young adult group at the Spanish church last Sunday when we went to visit a nearby volcano and now this weekend there have been various get-togethers and excursions. I still have a long way to go in developing strong friendships within the group, but I am thankful that I am moving in the right direction.
Last week I also visited with lots of friends over birthday meals which was fun. In Latin America birthdays are a big deal and you can almost get the day off of work because it is your birthday. I did not quite get that far, but I did go out for lunch. All in all, it has been a good week and I am just very thankful at the moment.
Yesterday the title of this blog most definitely described my sentiments. Today I feel mostly the same except that I am too tired to really know how I feel. It is hard to explain exactly why I am bubbling with thankfulness but I think that it stems from seeing God answer prayers. During my first few months in El Salvador I struggled to meet young people and find people to hang out with. This past week has been quite the opposite and it is such a blessing.
I was first introduced to the young adult group at the Spanish church last Sunday when we went to visit a nearby volcano and now this weekend there have been various get-togethers and excursions. I still have a long way to go in developing strong friendships within the group, but I am thankful that I am moving in the right direction.
Last week I also visited with lots of friends over birthday meals which was fun. In Latin America birthdays are a big deal and you can almost get the day off of work because it is your birthday. I did not quite get that far, but I did go out for lunch. All in all, it has been a good week and I am just very thankful at the moment.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
With Gratitude In My Heart
April 18, 2010
I suppose that maybe some day I might catch up on writing down the many things running through my head, but then again maybe not. Life has been pretty busy this past week and then this weekend I needed the time to relax and hang out with people.
As I look back on the past week, I am very thankful for God answering my prayers in two ways. First, my health has been much better, though I still need to figure out what has been wrong. And second, I have met a lot of new people and several of the relationships have potential for deeper friendships. On Friday I had lunch with a girl I know from my church and she mentioned that this Sunday (today) the young adults were going up to a one volcano to walk around. I, naturally, was excited about the opportunity. I went to church last night so when I showed up to meet with everyone, I was ready to be outside. I should have known though that in general in the Latin culture one dresses nicely, even to go on an outing which involves “hiking”. (I put hiking in parenthesis because it is more a of a walk at this particular park and not what I would consider a hike.) I was prepared though in case it rained the whole time because just before we left, the heavens did let loose the rain.
The weather turned out to be fine and I had a good time getting to know some new people. I will probably be switching small groups to join up with the young adult group since I can relate better there than in the small group I am currently in.
One of my projects this weekend (not exactly restful but necessary) was making yogurt yet again. My track record is not turning out to be so good because I think I only am at 50% for having the batch finish without separating. I also let this batch get too hot so I may have killed all of the good bacteria, but hopefully not. I should really try to find a yogurt maker because trying to regulate the temperature of the yogurt using the oven or the stovetop is difficult.
As I look ahead to this coming week, I think it might be the first week with a “normal” schedule once again. Over the last two weeks the Fridays have included activities out of the ordinary such as collecting grades or participating in a school rally (the latter of which was a cultural experience). There has been some culture shock the past few weeks as I have moved into the stage of questioning why some things are done in a way that makes absolutely no sense to me. The good news is that it is a part of the cultural adjustment cycle and I will probably move out of it soon. It will be good to work on getting back into a routine at La Casa de Mi Padre though I know that the unexpected always happens, and that is just how it is.
Since I cannot sleep in no matter how late I go to bed, I sign off now because I need to catch up on sleep and tomorrow is one of my mornings to be in at work early (8:00AM – which really is a normal work hour but for me I more often go in at 10:00AM).
I suppose that maybe some day I might catch up on writing down the many things running through my head, but then again maybe not. Life has been pretty busy this past week and then this weekend I needed the time to relax and hang out with people.
As I look back on the past week, I am very thankful for God answering my prayers in two ways. First, my health has been much better, though I still need to figure out what has been wrong. And second, I have met a lot of new people and several of the relationships have potential for deeper friendships. On Friday I had lunch with a girl I know from my church and she mentioned that this Sunday (today) the young adults were going up to a one volcano to walk around. I, naturally, was excited about the opportunity. I went to church last night so when I showed up to meet with everyone, I was ready to be outside. I should have known though that in general in the Latin culture one dresses nicely, even to go on an outing which involves “hiking”. (I put hiking in parenthesis because it is more a of a walk at this particular park and not what I would consider a hike.) I was prepared though in case it rained the whole time because just before we left, the heavens did let loose the rain.
The weather turned out to be fine and I had a good time getting to know some new people. I will probably be switching small groups to join up with the young adult group since I can relate better there than in the small group I am currently in.
One of my projects this weekend (not exactly restful but necessary) was making yogurt yet again. My track record is not turning out to be so good because I think I only am at 50% for having the batch finish without separating. I also let this batch get too hot so I may have killed all of the good bacteria, but hopefully not. I should really try to find a yogurt maker because trying to regulate the temperature of the yogurt using the oven or the stovetop is difficult.
As I look ahead to this coming week, I think it might be the first week with a “normal” schedule once again. Over the last two weeks the Fridays have included activities out of the ordinary such as collecting grades or participating in a school rally (the latter of which was a cultural experience). There has been some culture shock the past few weeks as I have moved into the stage of questioning why some things are done in a way that makes absolutely no sense to me. The good news is that it is a part of the cultural adjustment cycle and I will probably move out of it soon. It will be good to work on getting back into a routine at La Casa de Mi Padre though I know that the unexpected always happens, and that is just how it is.
Since I cannot sleep in no matter how late I go to bed, I sign off now because I need to catch up on sleep and tomorrow is one of my mornings to be in at work early (8:00AM – which really is a normal work hour but for me I more often go in at 10:00AM).
Friday, April 16, 2010
Lesson from the Birds
April 16, 2010
This morning I went with several of the other staff from La Casa de Mi Padre to the school where 26 of the children attend to help go to the classes and collect the grades for each student. I was assigned the four children from Kinder and Pre-Kinder and hence had the quickest assignment of all. After I finished talking to the teachers I walked up to the other part of the school and sat on a bench near the snack shop to wait. While waiting I noticed several large wrens flying from tree to tree in front of me. At one point the three wrens gathered together and sang for a short while.
Shortly thereafter two of the wrens moved to a branch almost directly overhead of where I was sitting. The one wren found a black string that was hanging from the branch and began to pull on it, trying to free it from its entanglement with the branch. Indeed in this particular spot there were several colorful strings twisted around the branch and so it appeared that some little bird had begun to make its nest there but then abandoned the site. I found it amusing watching the wren as it yanked on the string and even hung from it in it's efforts to free it. But the problem was that it was pulling on the end that was already free and was not doing anything about the knot at the other end. Eventually the wren gave up and flew off. As I watched the scene before my eyes I had to think of how many times I probably approach a problem or issue in vain because I try to deal with the easy part or the surface issues. It makes me think of the various readings I have done regarding children and discipline. All too often we try to just deal with the behaviors of the children and do not get to the root of the issue -- the attitudes or the state of the heart. I was reminded this morning that I want to be constantly evaluating my heart to make sure that I am free from entanglement with bad attitudes, sin, or baggage that I do not need to carry. I think of Psalm 139:23-24 and David's prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Tomorrow one of the tias and I will have a group session with the youngest girls and need to somewhat touch on this theme as we look at the enemies within ourselves. We get to use one of my favorite stories from the book, "Tales of the Kingdom" which I am excited about. I pray that we can clearly communicate the applications to them and that they can start to deal with some of the character issues. And of course I never know what God might say to me during the time too and what work He might want to do in me.
This morning I went with several of the other staff from La Casa de Mi Padre to the school where 26 of the children attend to help go to the classes and collect the grades for each student. I was assigned the four children from Kinder and Pre-Kinder and hence had the quickest assignment of all. After I finished talking to the teachers I walked up to the other part of the school and sat on a bench near the snack shop to wait. While waiting I noticed several large wrens flying from tree to tree in front of me. At one point the three wrens gathered together and sang for a short while.
Shortly thereafter two of the wrens moved to a branch almost directly overhead of where I was sitting. The one wren found a black string that was hanging from the branch and began to pull on it, trying to free it from its entanglement with the branch. Indeed in this particular spot there were several colorful strings twisted around the branch and so it appeared that some little bird had begun to make its nest there but then abandoned the site. I found it amusing watching the wren as it yanked on the string and even hung from it in it's efforts to free it. But the problem was that it was pulling on the end that was already free and was not doing anything about the knot at the other end. Eventually the wren gave up and flew off. As I watched the scene before my eyes I had to think of how many times I probably approach a problem or issue in vain because I try to deal with the easy part or the surface issues. It makes me think of the various readings I have done regarding children and discipline. All too often we try to just deal with the behaviors of the children and do not get to the root of the issue -- the attitudes or the state of the heart. I was reminded this morning that I want to be constantly evaluating my heart to make sure that I am free from entanglement with bad attitudes, sin, or baggage that I do not need to carry. I think of Psalm 139:23-24 and David's prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Tomorrow one of the tias and I will have a group session with the youngest girls and need to somewhat touch on this theme as we look at the enemies within ourselves. We get to use one of my favorite stories from the book, "Tales of the Kingdom" which I am excited about. I pray that we can clearly communicate the applications to them and that they can start to deal with some of the character issues. And of course I never know what God might say to me during the time too and what work He might want to do in me.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Smiles
April 4, 2010
Over the past week of traveling, I have seen a few sights that made me smile. First, there is the beauty of God’s creation which of course I always love to see. But then last week when I was driving from Campamento Manantial de Vida to San Pedro Sula, I noticed alongside the road a sign for a funeral home. It’s name was “Funerales Milagrosos”. Translated to English this means “Miraculous Funerals.” As I read the sign I had to smile and wonder just how the funerals were miraculous. Did the funeral home offer the hope that the person would rise from the dead? To me it seemed a rather ironic name for a funeral home.
My time out at the camp was very short but I had a few hours to reconnect with the staff and see all of the babies and little children who are growing so quickly. Little Lisbeth has become fond of the camera and modeling for it though she needs to work on her style. At one point it looked as if she was poking her eye out instead of posing.
In Honduras I had to smile at the timing of the road reparations. Semana Santa happens to be one of the biggest weeks of the year for travel. Many people go to the beaches or mountains to celebrate vacation time. (Unfortunately the vacation has become more important than the reason for the time off). But last Sunday as I was driving out to camp I discovered that the road crews had chosen these days to work on repairing the roads, closing down one lane. For me there was not much of a backlog but I would imagine that depending on the time of day, people’s travels were delayed.
In Pennsylvania my smiles came from the beauty of spring and from seeing friends and family. My nephew had grown considerably and was adorable, freely giving smiles and kisses. Surprising my parents and sister with my return visit was fun too.
As I return to El Salvador I smile and give thanks because I received another 90 days to be in the country. I smile because I know that God has unexpected things planned for the days and months to come. I smile at the thought of seeing the children again and being a part of their lives. I also rejoice because in my conversation with Evelin this morning while I was still here in Honduras, I learned that she heard God speak to her this week through one of the sermons during the Semana Santa retreat at camp. And with having listened to God again, has come a new desire to pursue Him. Our conversation last Sunday was tough because of the struggles she has been going through but the Lord has given her hope. I smile at what that means for her and for Lisbeth (and really for the others around her because if she is living for Christ, her life is going to be a powerful testimony to those around her).
Yeah for smiles and all praise to our Father who created the smile and the reasons to smile.
On the Road Again... and This Time on Easter Day
April 4, 2010
Easter Day. I am passing Easter Day in a different way this year as I travel by bus from Honduras to El Salvador. I am hoping that it will be a six hour journey and not seven and a half hours as was the trip to Honduras. In the past week there has been some rain in Honduras and so the mountains seem a little bit greener. Still as I look out over the terrain, it is not one that really speaks of new life as would be most fitting for Easter Day. In PA I saw the new life of spring in the budding trees and emerging flowers. I enjoyed being serenaded by chickadees yesterday morning as I sat for a few moments on the bank behind my parents’ house.
Easter speaks to me of new life because Christ rose from the dead and fulfilled all of the prophecies spoken in the Old Testament of His death and resurrection. He defeated death and brought me new life – as long as I am willing to accept the life He offers. I chose to receive His gift of salvation many years ago as a child, but I am reminded that my journey with Christ does not stop at that moment but rather begins. I just read a friend’s update which spoke of the little “deaths” that we have to experience all through our life – the death of our own hopes and expectations, our plans, and our habits. If any of these things do not line up with God’s own plans and desires, I need to sacrifice them and put first His plans. I am reminded of that even more this weekend as I reflect upon Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for me – taking upon Himself my sins, that I might live in Him. It is with joy and thankfulness that I can proclaim today, “Christ the Lord is risen indeed!”
Easter Day. I am passing Easter Day in a different way this year as I travel by bus from Honduras to El Salvador. I am hoping that it will be a six hour journey and not seven and a half hours as was the trip to Honduras. In the past week there has been some rain in Honduras and so the mountains seem a little bit greener. Still as I look out over the terrain, it is not one that really speaks of new life as would be most fitting for Easter Day. In PA I saw the new life of spring in the budding trees and emerging flowers. I enjoyed being serenaded by chickadees yesterday morning as I sat for a few moments on the bank behind my parents’ house.
Easter speaks to me of new life because Christ rose from the dead and fulfilled all of the prophecies spoken in the Old Testament of His death and resurrection. He defeated death and brought me new life – as long as I am willing to accept the life He offers. I chose to receive His gift of salvation many years ago as a child, but I am reminded that my journey with Christ does not stop at that moment but rather begins. I just read a friend’s update which spoke of the little “deaths” that we have to experience all through our life – the death of our own hopes and expectations, our plans, and our habits. If any of these things do not line up with God’s own plans and desires, I need to sacrifice them and put first His plans. I am reminded of that even more this weekend as I reflect upon Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for me – taking upon Himself my sins, that I might live in Him. It is with joy and thankfulness that I can proclaim today, “Christ the Lord is risen indeed!”
Saturday, April 03, 2010
On My Way Again
April 3, 2010
Here I sit an airport again. Sadly I am no less tired than when I began my travels last week. I do not think that I have ever passed a week so exhausted as this one that just past. I was behind in sleep before traveling and I have yet to catch up. Maybe I can catch up on the next flight – from BWI to Miami. After all I almost fell asleep on a puddle jumper flight from Lancaster. I do not think I ever flew on such a small plane. There were 2 other passengers besides me and then the pilot and co-pilot. I could have taken “first-class” seats which are really the seats just behind the pilot. It was a Cessna 402 plane and so it reminded me of all the missionary stories I have read of flying in and out of the jungle. I would imagine that they used a similar plane.
I was incredibly close to missing my flight in Lancaster because of underestimating the amount of time it would take to get there. Thankfully it is such a small airplane and flight that I probably could have arrived 5 minutes before take off and still made it. (Well, maybe not quite that last minute).
My time in Lancaster was good though short. I went in search of snow yesterday with one of my friends but the rocks at Shenk’s Ferry which had held snow late April probably 7 years ago hid only leaves this year. Nonetheless it was a good walk because of the fellowship and because of the beautiful trillium, Dutchman’s-breeches, Virginia blue-bells, and violets that were blooming. Even in the few days I was present in PA, I noticed more buds, leaves, and flowers appearing on the trees. I was glad to see spring again even though it was not yet in all its glory.
I found myself in at least one moment of culture shock. I had gone to the lab for some tests and I expected to walk in, leave the tests and paperwork, and walk out in five minutes. I also thought the results would be in the next day since that is what I have experienced in Honduras and El Salvador over the last 3 years. But no, the process was much more detailed and complicated and the trip that I thought would last 5 minutes took more like half an hour. When I asked if the results would be ready the next day the nurse said, no in 7-10 days. And so I wait.
The other thoughts that I have floating around somewhere will have to be recorded at a later hour when perhaps I am more awake and not in need of checking my ticket at the counter.
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