Life is full of fun surprises...

One of the things that I love about life in El Salvador is that you never know when you're going to get a fun surprise experience. (It can be frustrating at times too--like when you have a planned event and other things pop up and supercede your schedule.) Monday was a day when we got a fun surprise learning experience for the kids.

Jose showed up with a giant pole of sugar cane--several feet long. He had been out doing visiting and had picked it up and was stopping by our house to talk before church. We wanted the kids to see the sugar cane up close and Jose said he'd cut some off for them to try. He asked for a machete so Nathan happily went and got his new machete to use and Jose hacked off a section of the sugar cane. We followed him outside where he hacked at it to remove the outer layer of the cane.

He then told me to take it inside and wash any dirt off of it so I rinsed it well with bottled water. Then he used a kitchen knife and cut it down into a length of about 3 inches and quartered it lengthwise. He then demonstrated how to put it into your mouth and chew on it to release the juices and told us you don't eat it--just suck the juices out of it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't terribly sweet and we didn't like it that much. We did chew on it a bit, though, enough to get a good taste of it. While we were rather timid in our method of chewing on the cane, Jose's method was to put the whole piece in his mouth and chew it till all the juice was gone and then throw away the pulp that was left. He said it normally is sweeter but that because it's the end of the rainy season the rains may have affected the taste. Even though we didn't enjoy the taste it was a fun surprise in our day and a good learning experience for the kids. Rarely a dull moment around here. :)

A Bible class restart...

Sunday morning was the first time in many months that there has been a Sunday morning Bible class for children in La Palma. Jose had various problems with the teachers and felt that it was not working effectively so at 9:00 everyone (adults and children)came into the auditorium for Bible class and afterward is the normal 15-ish minute break for snacks, etc. Then everyone assembles into the auditorium again for worship. By the time worship is ending, the children who had been there since 9:00 are getting very wiggly and squirmy and being able to hear the preaching was very difficult over the noises and the distractions around. Jose asked me and Ruth to undertake starting over the Bible classes for children and we did that this past Sunday. There is a Betty Luken flannelgraph set here but the flannel figures are in disarray and it's going to take some time (and I'm going to recruit some help from local moms) to get it in order. There are also various boxes of curriculum and materials that I need to sort through and put in order so that they can be used. So I have spent the last couple of weeks getting some beginning plans put in place and will continue to get them in order for the months ahead. For now the class is for ages 5-10. As we get further into it we may break the ages into more than one class but we're starting from scratch so one class worked best.

I opted to start--where else?--in Genesis as we re-started the Bible classes here. So this Sunday was the story of Creation. I used 7 styrofoam plates and each one depicted what was created on the corresponding day. The kids were familiar with the story as most of them were children of members here. They enjoyed going through the story with the plates, though. (You'll notice in the picture that my son is the one not paying attention--I think he was making a face at his sister for taking a picture. *sigh*) The other students were eager to participate and listen. To review I handed plates to different students and put them in the wrong order at the front of the room and had the other students rearrange them to make the days in the correct order. Then I had a printed color page that they colored and then glued little pieces of crepe paper that I'd cut to make 'feathers' for the bird. Here Jessica proudly shows her finished paper. You'll notice that behind her, they're using their chairs as tables to color on. We're using one of the "spare" school classrooms (Teresa also uses it for English classes.) and were able to bring over small chairs from the church but don't really have any tables to use. The kids here are so adaptable and don't mind at all sitting/kneeling on the floor to color and sharing handfuls of crayons from a giant baggie with their neighbors. Not a one of them complained about the situation. :)

We also sang a few songs--I don't know that many of the children's songs in Spanish yet so we had to sing fewer than I would have liked. I plan to incorporate some of the older kids in the class in this effort next week and have them help me lead the songs because they know them and they love to sing. All in all, I think the class went well. The kids enjoyed it and Ruth and I enjoyed our time with them as well. Norma helped us this Sunday but is not going to be available to help every Sunday right now because she travels to San Sal on Saturdays for college classes and comes home Sunday mornings. Whether or not she can help depends on whether she can catch the early bus to La Palma. (Ruth even enjoyed coloring a little while! LOL)
The current plan is to get the class established and get the children used to being in class and sitting and listening and being in class. As that happens, we are looking for some of the members who would like to step into the role of teacher and will train them and gradually hand over the responsibility to them. Please be in prayer for the children's program here as it restarts and as we train the future leaders of it.

A sweet surprise guest...

In Ephesians 3:20 Paul says that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." This morning I received more than I could have asked or imagined. God gave me a wonderfully sweet surprise blessing.

I had already dressed and was ready for church and the rest of the family was getting ready. I had finished making tuna salad for lunch and had just started a pot of coffee to brew when I heard a knock at the gate. It was just before 8:00 and church doesn't start till 9:00. Some Sundays, Reina has sent a warm loaf of quesadilla (think of a sweet cornbread-like cake) to our family and I imagined that it was her or one of her children standing outside the gate. I slipped on my shoes and hurried to open the gate, imagining the sweet warm quesadilla that I was sure awaited me.

To my surprise, I opened the gate to find sweet little Selena waiting outside. Her beautiful big, expressive eyes twinkled and she smiled up at me. She was already in a dress for Sunday and told me that she was ready for church and thought that she'd come visit for a bit. She said she even already had her offering with her and eagerly held her hand up to show me her two dimes and explained that one was for her and one was for the offering. I asked where her mom was and she said she'd gone to go sell meat this morning and would be at church for services later. I asked if her mom knew she was here and was okay with it and she said yes, so I ushered her to our house.

I offered her a chair at the table and explained that the rest of the family was still getting dressed and would be out momentarily. (I popped my head in to their rooms to let them know we had company.) Selena and I began chatting as I poured her a cup of coffee. I knew she drank coffee because she'd had some here on Wednesday night. She informed me that her mom allows her to have sugar in it but that she's not supposed to have "too much" sugar in hers.

As she and I enjoyed a few minutes in the kitchen before the rest of the family came in, I just kept looking at her sweet face and thinking how much our family has fallen head over heels in love with her. She has such expression in her face and I've never seen her without a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

We invited her to eat breakfast with us and at first she wanted to refuse but I insisted. She enjoyed her meal and was very proud to show all of us her offering she'd brought for church. I haven't been able to stop thinking all morning about how I went to the gate expecting to find a quesadilla but God had certainly given me a much sweeter and much greater blessing.

I took a quick picture of her this morning sitting at the table showing us her offering.
Aren't you glad we serve a God who blesses us beyond what we can ask or imagine? I am.

Education...

Friday morning was a parents' meeting at the school. From what I can gather it's a monthly meeting where the parents come and the teacher meets with the parents of their class as a group and lets them know what's going on and can answer any questions. When it was time for the meeting to begin, Lilian and Norma stood at the gate to the school/church with a list of the students and their parents' names. As a parent would arrive, they were to sign their name on the list to indicate their presence. I looked at the list and thought you might like to look at it as well. You'll notice that some of the parents have a beautiful and fluid signature, some of them "sign" by putting their initials, and some of them used a fingerprint instead of signing. Norma explained to me that those who use a fingerprint are those who cannot write. Those using intials have a limited writing ability. (I blurred the written names intentionally.)

I know that illiteracy is a problem here. More than once on flights to and from El Salvador I have filled out customs/immigrations forms for the person sitting next to me because they could not write. Most figures that I've seen show that the illiteracy rate among adults in El Salvador is around the 20% mark. However, as I looked through the folder for the parents' meeting and saw page after page with thumbprints instead of signatures, it still shocked me and I hurt for them. These are mothers who cannot enjoy reading a sweet love note that their child makes for them or be able to write a note of encouragement to their child and stick in in their backpack for them to find the next day. These parents cannot correspond with their child's teacher through notes. These same parents, though, are making sure their own children will not miss out on these things.

As I looked over the thumbprints on the page, I recognized several of the moms from church among them. And several of them are the same moms that I see walking to and from school every day to escort their children to and from school. They know that school is important and they are willing to expend time and physical effort to get them there.

As a parent, I'm always impressed at the dedication of the parents and students in getting to school. Most of the kids at the schools here in La Palma walk to school. Some have to ride a public bus into town which means paying about 35 cents each way and then walking the remainder of the way to school. In the past years, my own children have ridden school buses that picked them up at the front door, or some years walked a few short blocks to and from school, or were driven to and from school. The years when they walked to school, when it was raining (or snowing/icy) I picked them up from school. The students here don't have that option. If it's sunny they walk, and if it's rainy they walk. Here's a picture I took about a week ago of a group of the kids in the afternoon classes arriving in the pouring rain. Some had umbrellas and some did not.

Education is important and the parents of these students know it. For this reason, even in the pouring rain, they walk to school.

(Sidenote: There are, however, some families who cannot afford all or part of the money that it takes to send their child to school here. One of the programs that the church has in place is a sponsor program where you can help offset these costs. If you want to know more about this program, you can email Ralph McClurg at rmcclurg @ mo-net . com and he can get you the information you need.)

As important as school education is, though, I know that the spiritual education of the children here is even more critical and is a big part of the focus of Monte and myself. Our Sunday afternoon classes for the youth are growing and the kids seem excited about them. But this Sunday is when Ruth and I start teaching Sunday School classes here as well. Here's one of the little guys I hope to have in class. This is Kevin and he's got such a darling smile and loves to peek around corners and pews at me and give me a huge smile and twinkle those gorgeous eyes at me. :) His mom is not a Christian but comes to church regularly. I am working with Jose to set up a time to study the Bible with her.

Please be in prayer for the ongoing efforts here in La Palma as well as the new ones that are beginning. Great things are happening here and we're excited that God is allowing us to be a part of them.

Wednesdays...

(Two posts in one day!)

Wednesdays are becoming one of my favorite days of the week because on Wednesday nights here they have something similar to "small groups" back home. One family each week volunteers to host the church meeting in their home. Then on Wednesdays at 6:00, everyone who can make it meets there and we enjoy about an hour of worship time together. The number of people who can squeeze into a small living area is always impressive. And after the worship time, the host family usually provides some kind of refreshments. Sometimes it's coffee and cookies, sometimes it's more substantial. Here's a picture of last Wednesday night's meeting in the home of Gloria and Teresa. (Teresa is the mother of Ulysses for those of you who have been here.) After I took this picture, about 12 more people arrived--at least 8 of them squeezed into the living room and more stood outside.

One of the things that is difficult about these services is that the people who live outside of the municipal area sometimes have a hard time getting to them. It gets dark just before 7:00 now and most people want to be home soon after that. For those who walk an hour into town or ride a bus at least part of the way into town, this means they usually cannot come to the evening meetings. (The last bus runs around 5:30 I think.) For this reason, about once a month they try to host the meetings in someone's home who lives out in the rurual areas so that those families can participate. Tonight is such an evening. Our host tonight is Marina Landaverde, one of the sweet sisters here. She tries to make it to as many church events as she can but the location of her home prevents a lot of them.

So tonight's plan is that those who can go will meet at the church building at 3:00 and we will all go together. Jose believes that Marvin has transportation arranged for us to get all the way to her house in vans but it is possible that at least some of the group will have to ride a public bus partway and then walk the rest of the way. Those in the vans will be packed in tightly. :) It's sure to be a wonderful evening.

We are hosting one of the Wednesday nights here in our new home in September and are looking forward to that. We'll let you know what the capacity of our living room is after that. :)

Class information...

Jose asked Teresa and me to teach a class on Sundays to the young ladies of the church. This includes the young ladies age 12-ish and up. We are studying through a book called "Bad Girls of the Bible" with them. We're mostly using the book as a guideline and have told them the point is to learn from the mistakes of these "bad girls" and apply the lessons to our lives.

We are opening each lesson with a re-enactment of the Bible story, with the girls playing the roles in it. They enjoy doing this and laughing a little bit at themselves and each other. It is a fun time together and they seem to have some good thoughts on the application of the lessons.

Here's a picture when we re-enacted the story of Adam and Eve.

You'll see that Eve has a flower in her hair, Adam is wearing a tie, the serpent as a scarf around her neck, and the other girl is portaying the voice of God. We keep the props very simple. My hope in this is that the girls will see that they can use this same kind of method in teaching children's classes.

And on the subject of children's classes...There have been no children's classes in La Palma on Sunday mornings for several months for a variety of reasons. Jose has asked that we begin to help get them going again. Ruth and I will begin this in September. They will be for ages 5-10 and Jose is already telling the members about this. Because there have been no classes for the children, we have seen them begin to get wiggly and have behavior issues by the end of worship because they have sat for 2 hours. This will hopefully help with this issue as well. After we get the classes underway, we will begin to train some of the members here to teach the classes and we will gradually step back as they take on responsibilities. Ruth and I are looking forward to working on this project. Exciting things are happening! :)

A follow-up from yesterday

Yesterday Ruth and I were able to get out and find a jacket/coat for Selena and Jose was free in the afternoon for a bit so he took us to go visit her and her mother. I had seen where she lived but had hoped it was better than my first impressions. Sadly, it was not. Here's a picture of Selena showing us one of her toys. You can see nearly all of one side of the house in this picture. It is wide enough for a bed on the left (that's an older brother or cousin on it) that was bigger than a twin but smaller than a double, then a dresser, and a bunk bed. I was guessing it was about 10 feet wide. It's slightly longer the other direction--perhaps 12 feet. Her mom, Rosa, welcomed us into their home and went and borrowed plastic chairs from the neighbors to have chairs for all of us. Selena opened the bag with her coat in it and her eyes lit up and she had an enormous smile on her face. We also had put some packages of cookies in the bag and she was very excited about the "galletas" in there. Ruth got a big hug from Selena. And then Selena took Ruth outside to show her the puppies that were yapping out back. After that, they came back in and Selena showed Ruth some of her notebooks from school. Jose was I and were able to visit with her mother and encourage her to come to the Friday ladies' class. She used to come but hasn't lately. It began to rain harder while we were visiting and the roof leaks in a few spots so Rosa was concerned we needed to move our chairs and avoid getting wet. We assured her we were fine and a little rain wouldn't hurt us. We were happy we got to visit with them for a bit. Ruth got lots of hugs from Selena during the visit. During our conversation, Rosa spoke with Jose about the sponsorship program and said that it has been helpful for her family. It was a good afternoon.

Yesterday I also found out where I can buy fresh fish and shrimp every week. There are trucks that drive through town selling them but they can be hard to find and what they're selling doesn't always look fresh and sometimes is from the river--I prefer from the ocean. The truck I found parks in front of one of the restaurants that we have found to be very clean and he said he's there every Tuesday. I bought some fish from him and was able to "bread" it and bake it last night. It was quite tasty and we enjoyed it for dinner.

Last night we also enjoyed some English worship time together. This is something that we have decided to do on a weekly basis and the main purpose is for our family and Teresa to be able to have a time to sing songs of praise that we are familiar with. However, there are several who are interested in participating with us and we welcome that. Last night, Jose and Marlon joined us and we sang and prayed in our living room for about an hour. We believe more will join us next week. The main purpose of this time is to fill our cups but if it can serve another purpose and others enjoy it as well, then that is a double blessing. :)