Last week of school!

I can't believe it, but it's true! In just a couple more weeks I will be coming home. I'm really excited, even though leaving El Salvador for a while does make me a little sad. During our weekly family Skype sessions, Katelyn always asks me "How many more sleeps, Samuel?". After which I grab my phone and look it up for her. The poor little kid about can't wait. :)

Only 15 more sleeps, Katelyn! :) I'm not sure whose more ready, my family or I, but either way we'll be glad to see each other.

However, despite my anticipation, there are some things I'm gonna miss for a while. Namely, the cheap, abundant food here (no offense, Mom!) with all the goodies such as rice, beans, tortillas, avocados, fresh tropical fruit, glass bottle drinks, hot chocolate (the El Salvador kind), etc., etc. 

I'm also gonna miss the people here. Even though, I've had difficulties, I've come to love each one of the deaf children here, almost like my family. It will feel weird going home and not having to sign or talk Spanish at all!

And of course, with the time to leave drawing near, it's getting close to "crunch time". I plenty of things I need to get done yet before I'm ready to leave:

• Finish up school, tests, etc.
• Practice words for the competition
• Practice for the end-of-year drama with the children
• Go shopping for things I want to take home
• And a bunch of other small things I want to get done yet...

School this year has gone well. We will practice their words a lot this week in preparation for the last spelling competition this year. I'm hopeful that I taught my students a good bunch of things this year. We'll see at the start of next year, whether any of their learning stayed in their heads!

Jairo, Eduardo, and Joel work on their math work. I keep
 telling them to avoid using their fingers for addition
and subtraction, but it's like talking to a post. :)

A big thing that happens at the end of each year, is the drama, or program, that the students perform for their parents and local community. We're doing the story of Elijah this year when he holds a competition on Mount Carmel. We've been practicing hard these last weeks, and the children are slowly learning their parts. Next week, we won't have school, but the children will still come to practice for a few hours each day.

Mauricio, Carlos, and Eduardo act out a scene as the rest of the
children watch how it's done.

Another big change that's coming is the Ramos family moving to the States. They have been my rest stop here in El Salvador for many a weekend! I will be sad to have them leave, but I bless them in going and doing God's work somewhere else.

And that's about it for this week's snapshot! A bit shorter than usual, but I have other work that's calling my name! :) Thanks so much for all your support and prayers. It means so much! God bless you all! Here are some things you can pray for:

• Staff as we wrap up these last days of school
• Students that they could pay attention and not slack off
• The administrators of CICS as they figure out the different staff positions
• Patience and humbleness for "yours truly" as I try to give it my best

Blow them bubbles, Silvia!

Eduardo smirks as Joel tries to avoid picking the "old maid" out of his hand.

Miguel and Joel try to convince everyone that they can
mow the lawn, too.

A beautiful view from a Suchitoto motel where Matthias, Elmer, and I stayed
for the weekend. We were celebrating Elmer's 22nd birthday.

Meet a student: Ana

Name:      Ana Deysi Ramírez Rosales

Age:         17 years old

Arrival:    First started coming to CICS in 2007

Teacher:  Mary Eva Pacheco

Ana is part of a family of six deaf children. She is a sister to Verónica, the cook, and Teresa whom I wrote about earlier. If you would like to know more about Ana's home life, you can click here to got to that post.

For the rest of this post, I will let someone else do the talking. Her teacher, Mary, has been in school with Ana for many years and knows much more about her than I do, so I asked her to write a piece which she gladly did. She wrote it in Spanish which I translated below. If you want to see the original text, whether you know Spanish or not, you can click here. Maybe you can even critique my translation skills! Confession time: I did use a bit of Google Translate, but nobody's perfect, right! :) Here you go...

I remember the first time that I met Ana. She seemed like a very pretty girl, with intelligence and a lot of energy. She always had a beautiful smile, which made me want to try to get acquainted and be her friend. But to my surprise, she rejected me immediately and always tried to do different things to openly show that she didn't like me--things like disrespecting me, hitting me, or pushing me. It wasn't easy, but with the support and advice of Nata and Becky, I was finally able to get close to her and she accepted me. 

Over the years, I have discovered that Ana has a very strong character and a heart that wants to do what is right. However, she fights against her human nature that wants to lead her astray, and which often does. She has a very brilliant mind and is very intelligent, to the point where academics are very easy for her. I would say she pretty much learns by herself--she doesn't need much explanation in order to learn something new. Year after year, she wins first place in the spelling competition, although some years her little sister Teresa has won, which has not been easy for Ana to accept.
In these last few years, Ana has struggled with submitting to authority, influencing and making groups between the rest of the deaf children, and leaving her house under false pretenses in order to go to places that wouldn't be allowed. 

She confesses to fighting a lot against the Tempter in doing what is right. She has expressed her desire to be faithful to God, even though she knows it isn't easy. 

Let's pray for Ana, that she could remain firm in her decision to be faithful to God. Pray also that God could provide a place to work for her. That is another big decision she needs to make next year, since she won't be coming back to school. 

Through faith, I see Ana completely decided to serve Christ, being a useful instrument for the glory of God, teaching other deaf children what she has learned. I think she would be a good teacher! 

I am happy to have had the privilege of teaching her these years, and I leave the rest up to the Lord. --Mary Eva Pacheco

Like Mary said, please pray for Ana. She has many struggles, but desires what is right. Pray that she transform into a shining example of what Christ can do. Pray that she wouldn't lose what she was taught when she stops coming back to school next year. Pray for Ana...

Ana, along with Teresa, "busy" helping Verónica make
 chocobananas (chocolate covered bananas on a stick).

Fighting for something, not sure what. Left to right: Beatriz, Tiffany, Ana

In school, supposed to be paying attention!
Left to right: Teresa, Paola, Ana

Sooooo tired! Hammocks are always so inviting
right after lunch. I can testify to that!

Ana tries to whistle, making for a hilarious expression,
not unlike Elmer's "fat person" impersonation. :)

Believe it or not, more people than this can fit on the swing.
I believe we've had up to five on there at one time. ;)
Left to right: Teresa, Beatriz, Ana

One of the all-time favorite afternoon games: trapo. You see if you can
knock the mop handle down without getting caught, which frees everyone.
Left to right: Mauricio, Ana, Eduardo, Teresa, Beatriz

Checking math problems with Carlos'
state-of-the-art calculator.

Practicing for this year's drama, with Ana playing the part of a distraught
mother whose son Mauricio is about to "resurrect".

How many people can fit on a bike?
Left to right: Ana, Teresa, Beatriz, Paola

Best sisters! Left to right: Ana, Verónica, Teresa

What is Samuel doing?

Image Credit: http://thechristianleaderscoach.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/4-goals-of-a-church-planter04021011.jpg

Purposes and goals are what motivate people. Not having at least somewhat of a vision can be disastrous--like a ship at sea with no rudder, if you permit me to use that oft-used metaphor.

I've been thinking about this often in the last while... why am I doing what I'm doing? Why am I a teacher for the deaf in a foreign country with a different culture? Why am I not at home working and earning money like it's just not possible to do in what I do? It's totally possible to do something good for the wrong reasons, which I have been guilty of numerous times.

Of course, in a perfect world, everyone would know exactly what they're good at and what they'll be doing with their life, and why. But this isn't a perfect world, now is it?

These paragraphs are an attempt to both clarify my own vision and to let y'all into a more personal area of my life.

There are many reasons to be a missionary. And by the word "missionary", I mean anyone working to bring people to the Kingdom, whether at home or abroad, just to make that clear. These reasons can be good or bad:

• to help people
• to make myself feel like I'm "doing" something with my life
• to impress others
• to mingle with other cultures

However, what is the ultimate reason? Why do we do missions? I believe it is because it's what we're commanded to do by our commander-in-chief, Jesus Christ, who commands us in Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...". Therefore, why should I ultimately be a missionary?

• Because Jesus commands it!

If I am then under Jesus' command, what should my goal be? To bring glory to God, by showing others how to have a relationship with Christ.

How do I apply this to my life, then?

If I am here at CICS under God's calling, then it follows that my goal will be to bring the people around me (mostly the deaf, but others as well) to Christ. I will be more concerned about that than anything else I can think of.

But what if I have problems? What if I can't get along with people? What if I have difficulty adjusting to the culture? What if I can't give something up?

Then I have to remind myself of my ultimate goal--saving souls. If Jesus could die on the cross for people that hated him and for me, a sinner, surely I can endure some hardship, don't you think!

You're probably wondering by now what brought this up. I know it must sound like I'm having a terrible time. Don't worry, this year is going well and I'm definitely not complaining.

That said, I have some struggles as well. Bunny trail: isn't it funny, you seem to have those wherever you go?! However, as long we live on a fallen earth, nothing is going to be all peachy, bed-of-roses, et cetera, et cetera... Problems are real, and they aren't fun! It just helps sometimes to put those problems back in their place with a little bit of perspective.

So please pray for me as I continue to work here in El Salvador. Pray especially that I could have humbleness and patience.

Humbleness:

• for when I need to give up my own way.
• for accepting correction
• for being willing to do things outside of my comfort zone

Patience:

• for when I need listen quietly for God's still, small voice
• for the times when it seems like God isn't doing anything

Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying, sending mail, and supporting me in various other ways! I appreciate each and everyone of you. You are making a difference, whether you can feel it or not! Just take my word for it...

Out of hibernation...

Announcement: The latest installment of the official CICS newletter just came out which you can read here. There's also a google group set up where each update gets posted. If you would like to join it, you can click this link.

So sorry to all you fine folks for not posting an update in such a long while. No excuses. Although, I was busy, I didn't feel quite inspired, and I had a lot of other things on my mind. Okay, three excuses. Not good enough, right? Yeah you're probably correct. Anyway...

Things have been going fairly rapid-fire lately. The month of August whizzed past and we are now in our last two months of school. I have already purchased tickets to come home, which makes me very excited! I should tell you a little bit about that, though. I had been praying that God would drop the ticket price (I know a bit Mennonite-ish), but God hears our prayers, no matter how small, right? I started monitoring airline prices via my trusty KAYAK app. I even wrote a quick C# program to monitor ticket prices from multiple dates. However, for several months, the prices stayed at an average of $600, the lowest $526.

One day, Melody mentioned how ticket prices were down a lot. I checked and to my jaw literally dropped! Here were tickets for $439, which included two free checked suitcases to boot! I didn't waste much time snapping that up. God is good! Lord willing, I plan to fly home on November 4 and return to Guatemala on January 7, the day after my sister Lydia's birthday. The time spent at home will be short, but I plan to make the most of it!

You probably noticed I said return. I will indeed be returning for another year if everything goes according to plan. I plan to first spend a month in Guatemala learning Spanish, before busing back to the deaf school for another year of teaching.

As far as school goes, I have been pretty busy. Jairo started coming to school again after not coming for three weeks. I've been pulling my hair out trying to teach him number order (this seems like a recurring situation doesn't it?). Yea, he's not the fastest learner, but he is making progress. Slowly, but progress nonetheless.

I've also been teaching my students more words in preparation of the next and final competition this year. Sometimes my students think there's no more brain-space, but I always try to find another unfilled cranny. :) Funny story about that. There was this formidable word on the list they needed to learn. A nine letter word called triángulo (triangle). They were having royal conniptions about it ("that has NINE letters!!", "but, that's too HARD!!", etc., etc.), but don't you know, within a very short while, they had the word installed into their brains. Explain that please! Something about the challenge, I guess...

The thing in the picture above is a trompo, a top that you wrap string around and then throw, as you can see Carlos doing. It's the time of year to have one--I think everyone in school has at least one, for sure among the boys. It's a little funny to us Americanos, but they have seasons for toys in El Salvador! A certain time of year everyone plays with marbles, which was just recently. Now it's the time for trompos. A little later on, when it gets windier, everyone will be playing with kites. It seems strange, but that's how it is!

Outside of school, I've been pretty busy as well. The two last weeks I had been (unsuccessfully) trying to get my El Salvadoran license. I was able complete the driving test successfully, but they refused to give me the license because of the red bar on my Pennsylvania license that says "Under 21 until..." They took that as an indication that I was a juvenile driver (under 18), no matter how hard I tried to explain that it was just to check for underage drinking. I even showed them my real juvenile license which I was supposed to throw away, but didn't. No go... So we had to go to another office in Santa Ana, where I had no hassle (thank God).

Cool story about that as well. I had taken my vision test earlier with my driving test. However, when I came to Santa Ana, they asked me to do it again. I didn't have my driving glasses with me, so I was afraid I might fail just because of some glasses I forgot. I prayed about it, and sorta guessed at the letters, and don't you know everything went alright! I was really thankful for that!

The finished product! 

I was also working on getting my wifdom teef pulled (see what I did there?) :) I'll spare you the bloody pictures and needlessly gory details. I went and did that last Wednesday (finally!) after needing to take medication first and after my blood tests were done. The actual surgery took about half an hour to cut out two teeth and everything for under $300! I had asked Loncho about which doctor to go to, so he very graciously went along twice to get everything done. I don't know what I would have done without his help. Thanks so much!

I've been praying for patience lately with my students and just in general... and by the way, don't ever do that unless you're sure you want to be taught (in God's way)! I think you know what I mean. There have been a number of incidents recently where I found myself getting frustrated. Then I think "oooh I see what you did there, God!". Sadly, I fail the test often, but I'm sure God won't give up on me. He is the Great Teacher!

Oh, and one last thing, I had a very happy birthday on Saturday. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! It was different not having a birthday at home, but it was still fun. I had spent the weekend at the Ramos's and they gave me a wonderful birthday party complete with cake and ice cream. I was very blessed!

Thank you so much to each of you for your support, prayers, cards, gifts, etc.! I really feel your support. Keep praying for me--it really does help. Satan has been trying hard to disrupt the work here, but he will not succeed if God is with us!

Also pray for:

• José, a student who had been suspended from school. He hasn't come back since. Pray that he would respond to God's promptings.
• Silvia, one of the girls that stays here during the week. She has been giving Andrea, Melody, and Becky a lot of problems lately. Pray for a breakthrough.
• CICS in general. As I mentioned earlier, Satan is always trying to cause problems and confusion. We've been feeling that a lot recently. Pray for victory and clarity in teaching and mentoring the children.

A baptism in Sign Language

This weekend we were all exceedingly blessed to witness a baptism of a deaf member at our church here in Auguilares. Verónica had been a Christian and coming to church for quite some time now, but it wasn't until Sunday that she publicly announced her desire to be an active part of the body of Christ. It was a ceremony that I'll never forget.

But a little bit of background first...

Verónica is a part of the large Rosales family that also has five other deaf children. Two of her sisters, Ana and Teresa, attend the deaf school here at CICS. Longer ago, Verónica also attended school here, after her parents discovered this deaf ministry.

Life hasn't always been easy for Verónica--she had (and still has) a father that frequently gets drunk and she had to work hard helping her mom selling vegetables in the market. Her mom needed all the help she could get to support the family, since Dad frequently spent the money he earned on more beer.

When she turned 18, she had to stay at home once again, since CICS doesn't teach students older than that. God only knows what would have happened, had we not needed a cook after some difficulty replacing the cook that left. So Verónica was asked to come back to learn how to make lots of good food under the supervision of an experienced teacher. She learned rapidly, and in about a year she was on her own. She's been doing a wonderful job ever since!

I don't know when or how Verónica became a Christian. But I'm convinced she is. Recently she spoke to Nata and asked about the possibility of being baptized. All the preliminaries were taken care of and the date for a special baptismal service was set.

We had the service in the afternoon, so that people who have their own church in the morning could be present. People came from far and near to witness this special event. I think our poor little church was about bursting by the time everyone arrived! And the singing...it was heavenly! Imagine a small-ish building with a tin roof, filled with people singing praises at the top of their lungs. You had to be there, but let me assure you that it was wonderful!

Many people from Verónica's friends and family were present, but I think the person whose presence meant the most to her was her mom's. Why was this so great? Because her mom almost never comes to church, because of having to work, and things like that. After the baptism, her mom stood up and even affirmed Verónica in what she was doing. Very special moment, indeed!

After church was over, everyone fellowship-ed over tamales, hot chocolate, and coffee. It was great time of meeting friends all over El Salvador.

Like I said, the service was one I'll never forget, which is true for more than one reason. The obvious one is the language differences. Verónica is deaf, so everything needed to be translated especially for her. We had special singing in sign language. Verónica signed her testimony which was translated into Spanish. The baptismal vows were done in sign language. Additionally, the service was translated into English for Andrea's family that was visiting. Three languages for one service! It made me think of the Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter to God what language we speak! We can cry to him in our thoughts or any conceivable language and He will hear. How awesome is that!

Another thing that made this service so special was the affirmation it brought to the on-going deaf ministry here at CICS. Of course, we know that God is at work here, but sometimes it's really nice to see it firsthand if you know what I mean. This Sunday afternoon was the answer to many, many prayers! To God be all the glory!

And if you think about it, please pray for Verónica. Life isn't easy for any of us and being deaf presents extra challenges. Pray that God would show Himself mightily in her life. Pray that she could grow spiritually and be a mentor to the deaf children that look up to her. Pray that we could be an encouragement to her wherever possible. And don't forget to praise Him as well for his goodness. It is truly never-ending...

Paying attention to the baptismal message preached by Joseph Miller.

Verónica giving her testimony.

"I believe."

"I baptize you in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Lots of people!

Verónica's mom stops for a picture with her daughter.

Serving tamales and drinks to hungry people.

Tiffany and Teresa neglect the hungry people
for a bit so they can take a picture. :)

A Strange Visitor

I was sitting at my desk get word test papers ready for Eduardo and Joel when a lady I had never seen before strode into my classroom without any invitation. Seeing an vacant space at Jairo's desk (he was sick), she occupied it as if she belonged there. Taken by surprise I uttered a bewildered buenos días, to which she promptly responded. At first, I thought she might be a mother of one of my students coming to visit, but after she started using one of Jairo's math books I knew something must be amiss.

It was a good exercise for my students in learning to pay attention, I must admit, but this was not sustainable since I hadn't planned on teaching an extra student. Especially not an adult one. So I called Mary from her room next door. Nobody else had seen her either so she was just as surprised as I was. "A woman? In your classroom?! Who could it be?"

She peeped in the window and immediately recognized the lady, who by this time was happily drawing figure-eights, as a local lady suffering from mental illness. Her story is a sad one. Some believe her mental illness stems from an abusive father and home life. Apparently, she had been a perfectly normal child until around 13 years of age.

Anyway, in a little while, Mary along with Becky (whom Mary had called) came into my classroom. After a bit of small talk about her life and her child, which Delilah claimed to have given away, they convinced her to leave my classroom so I could teach in peace. And that was pretty much the end of that!

She has paid us other "visits" as well, using the hammock at 10 o'clock at night, sometimes calling out Verónica's name in the middle of the night, and taking off wearing one of the dresses she stole from the wash line (she has since returned it). I'm still not quite sure what to make out of these happenings. They make us chuckle a bit, but what about her as a person? What horrific happenings did she endure to make her this way? We might never know...

In other news, we just finished our second spelling competition. Which means that another third of the year has passed. No big deal. Just means that we only have 12 more weeks till the end of the school year. Wait WHAT?! So yeah, it's actually kind of a big deal. I'm able to count the days now. If I would want to. Don't want to give off the vibe that I'm not enjoying my time here, though. Just missing the 'ole friends and family!

Which brings me to next year. I'm been thinking a lot about my decision for returning next year or not. Please pray that I could make the right decision. This is my adventure I'm on, but I want God to guide it!

School is progressing well. Jairo is starting to catch on to math better than he had been. Sometimes it's a little frustrating teaching him. It seems like he has a switch in his brain that can change it from being a sponge ready to absorb knowledge, to a granite block. It has a lot to do with his motivation. It's a bit challenging sometimes to come up with novel ways of teaching that "23 comes after 22", but when that light bulb moment comes, you take it and run with it! I really do love the little fellas, though. Always so full of energy!

Also, Miguel had his seventh birthday. Look out world! 

So, to conclude this little sketch, life here is going well. We're not without problems and difficulties, of course, but our Heavenly Father is an ever present help! Knowing that He is in control makes things easier, ya know? I really appreciate all of you that are praying for and supporting me in this ministry! God bless you! If you would like to chat, hit me up! Also, if you would like to get an email each time an update is posted, you can sign up via the box on the right or by clicking this link.

Please pray...

• that I could feel God's leading in my life. Also pray that I could continue to grow spiritually in my trip to heaven.
• for José and Carlos (two of the children here) that God could transform them into His disciples. We're not quite sure how to help them, but it is obvious that things won't work out for them if nothing changes.
• for Beatriz and her family situation. Her father has been into alcohol again, on and off, and her mother isn't always at home.
• for Silvia. She continues to have behavioral problems. Sometimes it seems like she's making progress, then she has a meltdown. It's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back kind of thing.
• for healthy bodies. We're having another sickness making its rounds.

Thank God!

• for His protection and His care over this ministry.
• for the progress that has been made in school.
• that everyone can communicate with Him--at any time! I'm struck by this when I see the prayers of the deaf and when I hear prayers in Spanish. God understands every language!

Elmer discovers a great way to use his phone in private.
(And an even better way to stretch a t-shirt)

An actual candelight dinner. Since candellight was all
we had when the electricity went out for the night.

Nice 'do, Teresa!

Miguel gets thrown into the air birthday--once for
each year of age.

In which I use the sewing machine. Yea, it was a scrap, but it was still fun!

That outfit though! Elmer leads the
singing for noon devotions.

Mom, Dad, and Katelyn arrive!

Warning: I expect this post to be verbose and picture-filled, so if that's a problem, you might not want to read on. :) I feel a bit like the author of Hebrews at the end of the faith chapter: "And what then shall I more say, for the time would fail me to tell of school, and of driving, of blowing bubbles also, and of playing games..." :)

Today is exactly a week after my parents spent their last day here at CICS. It was sad, but I guess all good things need to have an end. I even cried a little after I dropped them off at the airport, but hey let's not dwell on that! Let's talk about what we did while they were here! I don't want this narrative to sound like an obituary. :)

I guess it all started when I excitedly messaged Dad one night about a good deal on some tickets. When it was all said and done, we had flights booked for Mom, Dad, and Katelyn to come visit! And before I go any further, let me just enlighten you on what an accomplishment this was. Neither of my parents had ever flown before. Mom had all kinds of visions of airplane crashes, lightning strikes, and what not all. I told her a million times that it's statistically safer to fly than it is to drive and that you have a better chance of being hit by lightning than crashing in an airplane, but she didn't seem convinced. She is very much a feet-on-solid-ground person. Add to this going through an airport all by themselves and the cost of flying... Yeah, I still think it was a small miracle, but nonetheless, one I am eternally grateful for! 

And once it got to actually flying, everything went off fairly well, except for a delay during taking off in Houston, in which my ever-adventurous dad got a tour of the cockpit. :)

Elmer and I picked them up at the airport when they FINALLY landed and I could actually see them in bodily form instead of pictures. After we finished hugging and saying hi, we were on our way!

I had warned my mom before they ever came to expect a change in driving habits. We drive fairly rapidly down here and frequently use a normal road as one would a four-lane highway. I heard nary a screech, but Mom told me later that she was hanging on for dear life! Poor Mom was determined not to make a sound. :)

We got here to CICS pretty late, so we had to wait till the next day to do anything which was Wednesday. They toured my classroom and watched while I taught. Dad got the urge to feel some sweat on his back, so he took a turn mowing grass. In no time at all, he was perspiring quite profusely which a cold shower and a change of clothes fixed quite nicely. :)

Old scene, except with a new face in the middle!

Joel is all too happy to accept a ride from the little
snack store back to school.

In the afternoon, we paid a visit to a nice coffee shop in nearby Augilares called "Le Café" in a little white microbus that is used for public transportation in our area. Dad, being an orderly guy, tried to shut the sliding door after we had all crammed in along with three other people, but noticed that it was hanging on only one hinge! He decided it would be better just to leave it open. Once we blutzed to a stop near the coffee shop, we walked the rest of the way there. Air conditioning and all sorts of pastries and drinks were what awaited us there!

After we came back, I got introduced to the stash of things they brought for me. I was about overwhelmed with everything people had sent along for me. Thanks so much to everyone that sent something!

Thursday was more or less a laid-back kind of day. We had decided that instead of rushing around like rats in a competition, we would take it slow and only do some traveling. So on Thursday after school, we sat around visiting. Dad fixed my iPhone, much to the fascination of Miguel. My dad wasn't too sure about the curious little kid dancing around his table holding sensitive electronics and microscopic screws, but it worked out alright in the end. And my phone works now. My dad is an expert, I'm telling you! Katelyn helped Andrea bake cookies much to her delight and Mom helped Beatriz and Silvia fold laundry. Nothing better than visitors helping with work that needs to be done!

Beatriz was NOT going to have me take a decent picture of
her if she could help it!

Wow! This is about too much cuteness for me to handle!
Katelyn enjoys playing "mama" for little Dwight.

It wasn't until Friday that we did some real traveling. We went to visit the Ramos family on Friday afternoon, and then stayed the night at their invitation, which, of course, we couldn't turn down! Mom and Dad hadn't wanted to leave El Salvador without first visiting Loncho's and they weren't disappointed. It was a dream come true for my parents to see where they live in their actual home. Loncho and Pauline told many stories of how they met, Loncho's testimony, and his involvement in the war, and many others. The next morning Loncho, Dad, Kendrick, and I climbed the mountain behind their house for some good, old exercise. We were sad when the time came to leave. It was an excellent stay filled with great hospitality.

Storytime with Loncho!

The town of Texistepeque as seen from the top of the mountain. Loncho's live in the area
denoted by the little red circle.

On Saturday, after we came home from Loncho's, we decided to visit Pollo Campero, a chicken restaurant that is sort of like the McDonalds of El Salvador. Some of the CICS staff joined us as well. Katelyn even got her very own crown! :)

Chicken is the main fare here in El Salvador besides pupusas.
Left to right: Mom, Dad, me, Verónica, Melody, Andrea, Katelyn

Sunday was a busy day for us starting at 7:45 when we went to pick up all the deaf children for church with our school van. My parents didn't get very much out of church, I'm afraid, but they still enjoyed going along. I didn't ask, but I'm sure it was a bit different from our large congregation at home! On Sunday afternoon, we Skyped with all the siblings keeping things under control at home. I'm pretty sure Katelyn did most of the talking--she was so excited to talk to Lydia again. It seemed like the ones at home were at least keeping the roof on the house, and everyone was pretty much behaving except for Aaron being away pretty much every night. Shame on you, Aaron! :) In the evening, all of us went to Boqueron, an inactive volcano, to eat supper. We didn't go see the actual crater, but we had a nice view of San Salvador, the capital city. And we had pupusas to eat!

Close to the top of Boqueron with the cityscape of San Salvador behind us.
Left to right: Matthias, me, Elmer, Melody, Andrea, Mary, Verónica

On the start of another school week, it hit me--there's only a couple days yet until they go home! It was ending far too soon.

My parents and I rented a car on Monday afternoon, in order to travel to Suchitoto, a nearby tourist town, to eat and do some "touristy" shopping. We decided to get shopping done first, so we wondered around the old town square visiting various shops. The town of Suchitoto, by the way, is the town where I believe Loncho was stationed when he was a police officer. Its old Spanish architecture, magnificent church built by the Spaniards in the 1700s, and cobblestone streets combine to give it a quaint and very inviting atmosphere. Suchitoto is also adjacent to a very large body of water called Lago Suchitlán. There is an option to take the ferry across it, but we decided against it. We still took pictures though!

The church Suchitoto is know for. It was built by Spaniards in the 1700s.

Lago Suchitlán.

The couple that sold my parents most of their souvenirs.
They were happy to have their picture taken!

On the last day, my parents went with Melody to do a little fabric shopping. And I decided to let them go without me and take a nap instead. What a horrible thing to do, right! I know, and I felt bad, but I knew I needed to get some sleep for our early-morning trip to the airport the next morning which, by the way, started at 3:30 in the morning! That evening we all sat out on the porch amid the numerous bugs and mosquitoes and talked for a while. Elmer told a hilarious story in sign language (while I interpreted) about what could potentially happen if he were to accidentally mow off the hair of a girl ignorantly lying in the grass while he is mowing the lawn. I think my dad has the video. Ask him for the full story. :)

I should also stick a paragraph in here about Katelyn. Any thoughts of her being shy were quickly erased about 15 minutes after getting to know everyone. She was a source of never-ending joy around here, it seemed. Of, course, she was horribly spoiled by all of us, but we thought we'd let Mom and Dad deal with that when they got home. :) Katelyn played numerous memory games, chased Elmer all around creation, and teased pretty much everyone. She learned to sing several songs--we even taught her to sing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"! That latter bit might not have been the best idea according to ones back home since she's been singing it pretty much non-stop ever since. :)

So that about does it for the day-by-day happenings. Of course there were other numerous happenings that I can't include for the sake of some sanity on the part of my readers. :) I'll include some more pictures below that should include some of those other small moments. I hope y'all enjoyed this narrative, even though it's a bit more personal than usual. Please continue praying for the deaf ministry in El Salvador and for us staff. And thank God for family and friends!

Until next time...

One last picture with the girls. Left to right: Mom, Teresa, Beatriz,
Katelyn, Ana, Silvia

Katelyn with her "favorite girls" as she would often say.
Left to right: Melody, Katelyn, Andrea

It's touching how compassionate and caring these kids
can get sometimes. Here, Joel gently pushes Katelyn
on the swing--and she is enjoying every minute of it!

Katelyn could never get enough of blowing bubbles.

Hammock buddies!

Beatriz and Katelyn try to catch an elusive Elmer that had
been teasing them.

Katelyn and Elmer.

Katelyn colored some pictures for me while
she was here. I still have them hung on the
wall beside my desk!

Sidewalk chalk fun!

Katelyn meets a new friend. The friend is the
daughter of a deaf couple that lives near CICS.

We stopped at a little store to refill my phone with data.

Aw, Daddy is tired! :)

Just relaxing after lunch. Left to right: Kevin, Katelyn,
Matthias, Mauricio

Gotcha! Elmer is such a tease...

Verónica and Katelyn.

Here fishy, fishy! Left to right: Ana, Katelyn, Teresa