To the Peak of Another Volcano -- Chaparrastique

December 16,2010,

There is something about hiking and reaching a peak that excites me. I love the challenge of the climb and then the view from the top. On Sunday I woke up early to head out to a volcano with an "extreme hiking group" here in El Salvador. The climb began with us winding through a coffee plantation ripe with coffee beans. They were so pretty that I was tempted to snag a few and eat them but I resisted the temptation. Along the road we came upon a coral snake that had been cut up but it was still obvious as to what it was. I preferred coming upon it dead than alive.

After the coffee plantation we began the real ascent with some steep grades and slippery terrain because we were walkig on loose volcanic rock. One of the words of warning that the guard gave us was that of, "Make sure a rock is solid before you step on it. Sometimes the big ones seems solid but when you put your weight on them, they start an avalanche of rocks." I reflected on that statement as I gingerly tested rocks before putting my weight on them. I thought of how sometimes even in life, that which appears solid, will suddenly give way. At one point I was singing (in my head) "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand ... ." I encountered quite a few other analogies in my hike that day. At one point one of the girls -- a new found friend -- reached back to offer me a hand up a large rock. I hesitated a moment before accepting herself because I knew that I could do it alone. But as I thought about, I realized, but why? She had gone before me and was already up on the rock. Accepting her help would make my climb easier. So why not let others help me? It was a good reminder to curb some of my independence and allow others to bless me and help me along.

The rocks I had to climb or step over along the way reminded me of another song called "The Lead of Love" by Caedmon's Call. The words that were in my mind were that of, "... you have to walk the rocks to see the mountain view... looking back I see the lead of love." I love that about life that as we move forward from a moment of difficulty, a rock or obstacle, if we reflect on the moment, we can see God's lead of love through those hard times and that in the end He has a plan and purpose for our lives. The rock we had to face was not the end. He is there with us among the rocks, offering a hand and comfort or even carrying us at times, and afterwards He is has a mountain view for us -- the opportunity to look back and see the purpose for which He allowed us to struggle over those rocks. Sometimes we cannot see the reason until much later, but there is good to come from even those bad situations because God is a God of love.

When we reached the top of the volcano, the crater was barren with sulpher fumes coming out and a gurgling sound coming from it. There was a little ledge where I could sit and see to my left the barreness of the crater and to the right the green valley below. I was reminded of those who try to straddle the fence between the living and the dead. I definitly choose life in my walk and indeed in this case I did not go down and explore the crater. That would have been too much. The view from the top was awesome and I felt like I could see so much of El Salvador. We kept taking pictures along the way but someone commented that the view would be best from the top. I had to think of our Heavenly Father who sits in heaven and can see the whole world. He has the perfect view!

The descent was even more challenging for me than the climb because it was no longer about strength and endurance but about traction and the shoes that I took are on their last leg. Indeed that might have been their last journey. I fell quite a few times and slid many more but thankfully made it down the volcano safely and back to the car. We got to the van just before dark for which I was thankful. Overall it was an awesome journey and I made some new friends too which is always fun. The majority of the group were not Christians as I could tell by their words and actions but I hope that I was able to share a bit of Christ's light with them in our hike.

Culture Shock

December 16, 2010

Culture shock is something that happens every now and then and often unexpectedly. For me this week it was looking for baking soda in the grocery store only to be told that it is in the medicine aisle. I guess it shows that baking is not a tradition here. Yesterday at the theater I was handed a bag of popcorn with the straw sticking out of it. One of the housemoms joked that that is how they eat popcorn here in El Salvador -- with a straw. Definitely another culture shock! Though really the straw was there for easy carrying.

And finally the other culture shock moment came on Sunday when I left my house at 4:20AM to go on a volcano hike. I figured that on a Sunday at that hour there would be no problems with traffic but I did not take into account that it is a week of various fairs and celebrations within the Catholic church. And so at 4:15AM I found myself in a traffic jam because people were arriving to celebrate the fair of the Virgen Guadalupe. Unfortunately the church is right along a main highway and the cars were taking up one of the lanes and sometimes unloading in a second and so there was one good lane for traveling. Would people go to a fair at 4:20AM in the United States? I do not think I know too many people who would, but maybe I am mistaken.

The Days of Summer

December 16, 2010,

It is actually not summer here in El Salvador though we have entered into the dry season (so maybe it wouuld be called summer). It does not feel like summer in that we have enjoyed some cooler days over the past few weeks and lots of wind. But nonetheless it feel like summer in the sense that the children are on vacation. I have been doing lots of baking with the girls and in that teaching some lessons on what it means to share, wait (as we worked with yeast the other week), and think of others before ourselves. Today will be another cookie baking session with some of the older girls who will help me to make cookies for a snack for tomorrow's award ceremony. I have also introducted exercise or recreation to the schedule. I was impressed the other day when one of the older girls got some of the younger ones together for stretching and soccer on the tiny porch because they had not been able to to go the park and play there. When I was out last week for a workshop, they still went to the park to play soccer and basketball. I am encouraged to see the concept fo the importance of exercise taking root. Without it the children pass too much time sitting in front of the television.

Since the oldest girls are without a tia at this point, I had them over for a sleepover one night and stayed at La Casa with them another night to give them a little extra attention and allow the other two tias to focus on just their groups. Tomorrow night I will be back as a tia which will make for a long weekend, but it should be fun. I look forward to sharing a devotional with them to encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

Yesterday a local business blessed the home with a free trip to see Narnia in 3-D at the theater. It was a fun time even though I missed a lot of the movie by taking the girls out for potty breaks. A free 18oz soda for everyone is not the best idea for little children! On the trip home several of the older girls and I were able to talk some about the movie and the spiritual applications that we saw. I was disappointed that one of my favorite parts from the book was left out (as far as the detail) in the movie but overall it was good.

So all in all these "days of summer" are going well. I will not be here for Christmas but come New Year I will have a couple of the children stay with me for a few days as the children are divided among the staff families so that the home can close down and no one has to work. It should be an adventure!

A Belated Look at Thanksgiving

December 10, 2010
So I still have a lot to catch up on with my blog entries and before it gets too far away in the past that I forget about it, I went to mention my Thanksgiving here in El Salvador. It was a new experience for me as far as Thanksgivings go. Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here it is a day like any other and is fair game for events. This year two graduations took place on Thanksgiving Day, one in the morning and one late afternoon. The first was the equivalent of a kindergarten graduation – the kind that are always interesting because of the cute children and their different acts or behaviors. Unfortunately the program started very late and then dragged on, but overall it was okay. It was great to see Agustin’s family there celebrating with him. After the first graduation a co-worker invited me to her house for a Thanksgiving lunch. I already had plans for a 3:00PM Thanksgiving meal but it was with people who I did not really know so I decided to stop by my friend’s house first and enjoy a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal but with friends.
From there I ran over to the other Thanksgiving party which was with persons who work with USAID. I only slightly know the woman who invited me but I ended up having some good conversation with a Christian El Salvadorian woman there. Directly after the meal (and before dessert was served) I had to leave to get to the second graduation of the day. Salvador, one of the boys in the home, was graduating from high school and he actually graduated as the valedictorian. I did not realize he was valedictorian until the next day since I did not know that word in Spanish. I had wondered why such a big deal was being made about this graduation since it was actually the second among the children. When I realized he was graduating with the highest honors, it all made sense. I was just a bit slow. 
After graduation we went for my third Thanksgiving meal of the day (thankfully I ate only a little bit at each meal) at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Not my typical Thanksgiving stop but it was where Salvador wanted to celebrate with his family and staff. During the graduation ceremony it was moving to see his biological dad up front with the housemom and counselor participating in the ceremony of passing on a candle to the graduates. God is at work in the families of the children at La Casa and in several cases bringing about restoration and healing which is very exciting. This Christmas more children than ever are going to be spending time with their biological families instead of going to the homes of the staff.

Night of Talents

December 3, 2010

This past Tuesday was a Night of Talents for the children here at La Casa de Mi Padre. Through songs, dance, and drama they demonstrated their many talents and here are a few photos to give an idea of what it looked like. My talent was helping a few of the girls make cupcakes for a snack so I did not have to get up on the stage which I preferred.

Where Has The Time Gone?

December 3, 2010

That is the question I ask myself as I reflect on all of the days that have slipped away without any sort of update. In some ways I feel as if there are have been so many happenings that keeping up with them is nearly impossible. But I will try to do a re-cap with some photos and then maybe go a little deeper in another post. With the coming of December it feels like the children truly are in the middle of their vacation time. I have gotten into more of a routine here at La Casa for this season. Instead of having varying hours every day, I mostly work 9:00AM-6:00PM. At least that is the plan. But then there are events such as rallies and Talent Shows where everything changes. Just this week I started a schedule for doing physcial recreation with the girls twice a week and made cooking groups. Today the older girls and I went to a nearby by sports complex and ended up playing some kickball. Yesterday with the younger girls we ended up in a shady park near my apartment where we were able to run, nearly get sick on the merry-go-round, play tag, and of course try to catch leaves. (I am trying to bring a revolution to El Salvador via creating a new sport -- leaf catching. It is catching on with the girls even though not too many leaves are falling right now.) This afternoon while the girls are playing nintendo, I find myself with some time to do some catching up. And so I think that I will work backwards from today.

Two weeks in a row I have gone out to the farm and witnessed the Equestrian Therapy program underway. This week I actually got on a horse myself which I have not done since Camp Hebron days in 1996. The first week the older girls were very scared of even getting near the horses but they all mounted. One of them remained terrified and trembled most of the time. This week she chose not to get on the horse but I am hoping that in the weeks to come, she will try again. There is something to be said about conquering a fear of heights, horses, climbing, etc... and how it can give courage to also face the fears one has in the daily life. Coming from a recreation therapy background, I am all for those challenges that can be applied to life. I knew that I should ride one of the horses to show that even though I am not really comfortable on a horse and have a healthy fear, I am willing to push myself out of my comfort zone. And in the end it went better than I had expected.