Children of El Salvador: Life in El Salvador

We are coming to the end of week 3 and things have been going very well with the children. They are learning so much and really seem to be enjoying themselves. There are an occassional few days where they all decide not to cooperate and to fight about everything it seems like, but for the most part they do pretty well. When I start to feel frustrated with the children, I try to think of how God must feel when he is dealing with me, an adult, as His child and how patient and forgiving He is with me. It helps me to be more patient and understanding when I remember that I also have a stubborn and rebellious heart, just like the children sometimes do.

We don't always get a lot of participation out of Kember, but now he actually sings and does the hand motions too! He says his Bible verses and seems to enjoy the Bible story time. Every now and then he will say some English phrases, but he is still pretty shy about that. Fabian is still a little troublemaker, but we are learning how to handle him better and he definitely loves to come. Veronica is a new one and she is very smart, but she also likes to be in the middle of everyhing. :) She picks up on things very quickly. We also had a new little one today, Abellio. He is Melvin's little brother. Everyone calls him the "chelito" (white one) because he's very fair and they say he looks like he could be my son. :) Jocelyn is doing much better. She still does not participate in singing, English, or saying the Bible verse, but she will play with us and sit with us and really enjoys coming. Each child is very special in their own way and I just love them all.

I've been keeping myself pretty busy here. Sunday morning, I went to Segundo Monte with Javier to help teach Sunday school. We worked with 2 groups of children who were all adorable, but a little shy with me. I spent Sunday afternoon making pupusas with some of the ladies in the church to help raise funds for the church. I didn't actually get to eat any of those pupusas, so I made some more at home and had some friends over to eat with me and we had quite a good time.

Monday, Matia took me up into the mountains through part of a canton called Soledad. We walked a good ways, but had to turn around before it got too late. It was very helpful to get to know the area a little better, know where the children are, and see what the needs are in the community. I have all kinds of ideas running through my head now for the future. It hurts to see how some people are really struggling to make ends meet. I hope that we can help ease the burden some. On a more positive note, I loved walking through the mountains - they are absolutely beautiful! There's a lot of walking here since most people don't have cars and there are quite a few places that don't have roads that are built for cars. I love it though!

Yesterday was very fun. Celso took me up to Matia's house and told me that I was cooking. : ) We spent the afternoon cooking over an open fire. There is no electricity up in the mountains. It was a first time experience for me, but very fun. I cried from the smoke and we all laughed at me. :) It's a very different experience from the US, but there is something very cozy, comforting, and fun about enjoying each other's company in a snug little house lit only by candles and the fire. We miss so many things in life sometimes by not stopping to enjoyt the very simple things and just being thankful for what we have. It's easier to enjoy the simple things in life here. I love every minute of it!

Please keep praying for the children, my friends, my helpers, and me. Pray for wisdom as the project develops. Thank you all for continued prayers and notes of encouragement! You all are very special to me.