I am Only Human

Before you interpret the title as me grasping for compliments, accolades or pity...please just keep reading before any of these ideas take hold in your mind. I mentioned last week in the video that I have the hardest time keeping up with my blog because there is so much I want to tell you that I never know where to begin or end. This is true. Another reason is there are times when I would like to express my failures, insecurities and frustrations but fear appearing as though I am complaining. Usually, I'm not. I have so many things to be thankful for. And I am living a dream I have had since I was just a little kid. But every dream has its rotten parts. It doesn't matter whether you are working in your favorite job or in a job you absolutely hate,there are good and bad days. Doing so while navigating life and a completely new kind of work, without the benefit of a team or other people of my own culture, in another country further complicates and magnifies the horrors of the bad days. But 1 Corinthians 15:58 tells me that as long as I am working for the Lord, my labor is not in vain. What an encouragment! I have recently been inspired by my friend, Ashley Collins, who is working in Tanzania, to try to put into words what I feel as I try to do my best to serve God here in El Salvador. She is a brilliant writer and describes what any person serving in a foreign country goes through in such an impeccable way and with her natural funny wit, I would love to just copy and paste pieces of her blog her. She is just that good at it! 

First, I want to talk about the loneliness. It is something that I don't even have words to explain. When Ashley spoke of this in one of her blog posts, our mutual friend and missionary in Romania (also from Indiana), Joe Bradford, shared the link to her blog and a quote from it as his status on FB. Here is a piece of it below. Mark and Kaye Collins (Ashley's parents) responded to the comments Joe and I posted. You see, we all know each other. We attend/ed the same church in Indiana. Ashley is now in Africa, Joe in Romania and I am here in El Salvador. I realized that I was not the only one feeling this way when first I read what Ashley wrote, and it was affirmed even further when Joe re-posted this. I also found out, that through this type of communication, family members and friends left behind at home can better understand what we are feeling. I was incredibly encouraged by this. The full blog post, and other beautifully written pieces, can be found on Ashley's blog at www.bound2tanzania.wordpress.com

Joe Bradford posted:

This is the difference between a writer and a guy who tries to write stuff. Beautiful piece! ..... appetizer from Ashley's blog post: "I often think “what am I doing here?” but I can usually assuage those doubts with my convictions of the work I’m doing. But being lonely is different. It’s when you want to throw in the towel and be selfish, so you can run back home to the people and places you know. Loneliness doesn’t care about your strongly-held views of justice and and your sense of adventure. Loneliness is nagging and hopeless and draining. I went to sleep empty."

east african roadtripping

Sunday was a 6-hour ride in a shuttle through the mountains of Tanzania and scrubland of Kenya. It was heat and dust and an angry two-year old seated somewhere behind me. It was stopping at the bor...

bound2tanzania.wordpress.com

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  Kristi Burns It is an awesome piece and I am posting part of it too. If only I could explain my feelings, that are so foreign to most, so eloquently and accurately. I have struggled with loneliness for most of my adult life but this scenario takes it to a whole new level sometimes
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  Joe Bradford: The peculiar thing is that even if you are going around like a rock star, you're no less doing a stretch in solitary. You are not just unknown, you're also unknowable. People laugh but they don't get your joke. See you in 8 weeks!
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  Mark Collins  (Ashley's dad): I appreciate both of your thoughts. It helps me to better understand what Ashley is going through. Thanks to both of you for the difference you are making in the kingdom.
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  Kristi Burns Thank you! Sometimes I wish I had a roommate, or a working partner, even one that was annoying or obnoxious, just to feel like I still possess some interpersonal human feelings! It is tricky when you are alone. I know, I know, be careful what you pray for! Lol. Love and appreciate you guys!!
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  Kaye Collins (Ashley's mom): So love these words, all. Thank you.

  The day this happened was a breakthrough day for me! Ashley is the only one from her area who went to Tanzania but she has American, English-speaking friends where she lives. She has a roommate. She is having to learn Swahili from the most basic words. That is enough to make one feel crazy. Joe is married and he and his beautiful wife Kendra work with a team as well. They are in a land with a different culture and different language, but at least they don't stand out because of their color or size where they live. But I am sure that language barrier is sometimes frustrating and being away from their children can at times be unbearable. I am here and speak the Spanish language pretty fluently, but stick out like a sore thumb in this town because with the exception of a few Peace Corps Volunteers who occasionally come into town to do some shopping and get internet access, I am the only white girl (white person period for that matter), native English speaker in town. But, even with the different advantages and disadvantages we each have compared to one another: We are all in different shoes, doing completely different kinds of work, on three different continents. But we all experience the exact same feelings! I was so glad to know this! I felt a little less crazy! So, thank you Ashley and Joe for your candid thoughts. And thank you Mark and Kaye for your encouragement. I love all of you!

  
  

  So this past week was not much different than weeks past, with the exception of the pace picking up at record speeds! I am teaching sustainable agriculture classes in 2 different towns, with 4 different garden sites in the works. I also have loom knitting classes going on in 3 different towns and one English class in the town down the road. You talk about confusing. Pair that with the fact that communication here is not what it is at home. Unlike when I was teaching in the classroom in the States, I now NEVER have to write the date...ever, have no concept of the month because I can't gauge it by the weather or holidays, and I have to check what day of the week it even is to know where I am supposed to be. Which town? Which class? Was this the one that the group decided to cancel this week or am I supposed to be there? Sometimes the group cancels and doesn't tell me until I get there because no one had minutes on their phone to call me and none of them have WiFi to be able to message me. Frustrating right? At first maybe. But now, it really doesn't bother me. You see, people here often live day to day to make ends meet. And if this is the only day of the week it isn't going to rain and the bean crop needs harvested, the whole class drops everything and we all go help to help harvest that crop. No one complains. There is no hustle about life. We take is as it comes and we help each other out. I actually love this aspect of it and feel like I may be in big trouble when I move back to the States. I have developed a ton of patience and really enjoy being able to see what's most important in someone else's life vs being a slave to a schedule that only makes you feel like a loser if you can't fit it all in. You see, I have slowed down a lot. A whole lot. I do still make it a point to be where I'm supposed to be and to be there on time. I feel it is the respectful, responsible and right thing to do. But I don't throw a fit if the whole plan changes. I am adjusting to this.

  Friday night, a group of Peace Corp Volunteers was going to be in town to have a get-together for Halloween. I was invited to go and 3 of the girls needed a place to spend the night. All 3 of them live outside of town, 2 up in the Zona Alta that is freezing right now, and none of them have WiFi or warm showers. So, imagine the excitement when I invited them to stay here! I knew Halloween wasn't really recognized here, but I did not know that it is actually pretty much completely banned for members of the church. They spent the whole day here Friday and we had a wonderful time listening to music that we all could sing along to in our own language, they were treated to no-bake cookies, WiFi, warm showers and just good company. They all had costumes for the party but I just did not have the energy during the week to find one. So, we went that evening to the party. No big deal. Costume contest, mummy wrapping contest, pin the wart on witch, etc. An American gathering that did not involve anything close to what the locals associate Halloween with. It was a fun time. But after telling my good friends the next day, I learned that is was super frowned upon here. Oops. That pesky cultural barrier. They asked what we did in the States. I explained that it is a tradition of dressing up in costumes and giving and receiving candy.  Even churches host Trunk or Treats, etc. Whew! That helped my case. I did not hurt anyone's feelings and won't be voted off the island any time soon I don't think! It was so much fun having the girls over that I didn't want to go outside Saturday morning and continue the digging and tree chopping that is involved with the garden on this site. I also had a knitting class at 10. I just wanted to pull the shades and stay in with my new friends (fairly new anyway). We had mattresses covering the floor and we all just wanted to stay in PJs, listen to music, laugh, cook breakfast, have coffee and enjoy each others' company and be American the whole day! I was responsible though and did my work. I do thank God though for giving me a couple days of relaxing fun though. 

  I still owe you guys a video tour of my apartment, which is on the school and church property. After figuring out how to do a video last week, I will have that coming up soon. I will also do a post about the sustainable gardens and the super students God has put in these classes. I have learned more from one of these groups than I could ever express and they are a very special group of people. That post will be loaded with fun pictures! 

  Subscribe if you want automatic updates of new posts. 

  Gob bless and be with you all! 

  Kristi Burns

  Acts 20:24 

  
  

  
  

  
  

Catching Up! Video :-)

Catching Up!

First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to have a new blog post! I do have the best of intentions, I just get overwhelmed trying to narrow down what to say, etc. Anyway, this video hopefully catches you up on the highlights of the past 2 months! I hope you enjoy the video! I don't post my blog on FB but if you want to share it with someone, you may do so through email or private message. Subscribe if you haven't done so already! Leave me some comments below about anything and everything! I love hearing from you. God is blessing me beyond measure and always faithful and on time! Until next time, love and blessings!

Kristi

Video link:

So Very Grateful

Hello again friends, family and supporters!

I promised to post regarding the bus incident from last so this is it! But before I get into all of that, I want to announce that the "subscribe" button has been successfully installed...this time for real. If you want regular updates, please subscribe. Then, please let me know you have done so so I can take you off the email list so you don't get double notifications. With a long list of emails I am always afraid I am leaving someone out. Subscribing takes care of that. You will need to enter your email address in the box under "Subscribe: Follow by Email" and then go to your email to confirm subscription. No worries about excessive emails. You will only get an email when there is a new post. Also a warning, this post is pretty long. Hopefully the next one will be fun, like a video tour of my apartment, cute kids or something like that. I have been thinking all day about what to write, which is why I didn't get it done in the morning. I decided to just tell the story as it happened because so many people asked so many questions. Also, maybe it is just therapeutic to just get it out publicly. Read it if you wish. Feel free to comment, but please do not send negative comments. I do live in a very peaceful place and take all the precautions I can, especially since there is no way for me to hide the fact that I am a foreigner. I do not feel like my life is in danger and I do not feel I made any flippant decisions when this occurred. Thank you so much! I don't think you can leave comments unless you have subscribed to the blog.

El Salvador is an absolutely beautiful country. But just like any other country in the world, there are dangers every day. Central America may have more crime than a lot of areas of the world but most of the time it is not something you will see or experience unless you frequent the dangerous cities and neighborhoods. As some of you know, I had the misfortune of experiencing something many in this country fear: being "asaltada" (assaulted) on the bus. I was not physically assaulted as the English word typically refers to. I was on a bus traveling back from San Salvador with a friend who needed to visit her baby. Her baby was in the NICU and they only allow one hour visits here. She had her 9 yr old son Kevin with her, who could not enter the hospital. I offered to go along so that he wouldn't have to stand outside a hospital in a not-so-great part of San Salvador by himself for an hour. Jose, the preacher here, agreed and said he would like it if I accompanied them. We went on a public transportation bus. 

The visit with the baby went great. My time outside with Kevin was pretty good. We bought a little gift for the baby from a vendor right outside the hospital. I wanted him to be able to give something to his mom for the baby. On the way back, we decided to stop at a Burger King. We had passed one on the way there and Kevin had never been to a restaurant with a play area. He was so excited. We planned for the meal and play time to be less than half an hour so we could get on the very next bus and be back before dark. The meal, complete with play time climbing two stories high, kid's meal toy and Burger King crown, was a success! We made it back outside to the bus stop before the next bus was to arrive. The problem was, the next bus didn't come. Neither did the next one...or the next one. We contemplated calling and having someone come pick us up but we decided to give it a little more time because that is a long way for someone to have to drive to get us. Bad move.

 
Over an hour and a half later, the last bus arrived. It gets dark around 7pm here so we knew we were going to get back after dark. I never travel on a bus after dark. This was about a 3 hour bus ride. La Palma, where I live, is very calm and safe. But San Salvador, and the towns we were going to have to go through to get back here, are not. I was a little nervous at first, but the bus wasn't crowded and everything seemed calm. Then it happened. I was sitting in the seat across the aisle from my friend, with my legs folded to where my feet were on the seat. Some guy came and sat on my feet. Strange. there were plenty of empty seats on the bus. Then I saw his eyes and I knew I was in trouble. I reached out and sort of pushed him. He then pushed me against the window. I said, "Hey, hey" to my friend. I was so shocked by what was happening I couldn't even remember her name. By the time it got her attention (she had fallen asleep. After all, she had just had a baby 3 days prior and this was her second day traveling on the bus), he had already told me to shut my mouth or he would kill me. He spoke in English, mainly cussing and threatening. He turned to her and asked him to leave me alone, that I had been helping her out and didn't have anything. I suddenly felt horrible for getting her involved. That was the last thing he wanted. As soon as she looked over and began to talk, I started shaking my head trying to tell her not to talk. I felt it would make her a target as well. The music was loud enough in the bus that he could deal with me without people hearing what was going on...as long as I cooperated. I feared he was going to hurt my friend and her son, or others on the bus. He told me he had a gun and raised his shirt tail to show me. I didn't look. I didn't want to know. He told me to give him my phone. He called me all sorts of choice words and asked me what else I had. I said I had nothing. For some reason he didn't take my bag, which was a good thing. Not that I was carrying much, but I did have my passport with me. He asked me for my money. All I had in my front pocket was a $5, wrapped in a BK receipt and some change. I pulled out the $5 and handed it to him. He got super angry that there wasn't more but I could tell he was wanting to leave. It had taken longer than he anticipated I think, with my friend talking to him, etc. He looked at the money, called me names and left the bus. As you can imagine, I was pretty shaken up. I went to sit between Sandra and Kevin.

About 20 minutes later, several people who had been sitting in the back of the bus were getting off together. A guy walked up, leaned over the seat and tried to hand me a card. On the inside, I panicked. I thought maybe it was a threat of some kind or something. Sandra took the card and we looked at it when they left. This is what is said, front and back:

 Since these people were coming from the back of the bus, I realized that people had seen what had happened. No one intervened, and I am thankful for that. I think that would have made matters worse. No one intervened, but some did care.

This whole incident was probably less than 2 minutes total. And during that time, I can honestly say I did not fear death. I did not need to fear death. I have a loving Savior ready to welcome me home when my time comes. However, I did fear my friend losing her son, or her son and baby losing their mother, getting physically assaulted, etc. I don't see how so many thoughts could go through my mind in such a short period of time, but I can assure you they did. The unanimous opinion here is that it was gang related, probably someone deported from the U.S. based on his English and choice of words. That the bus was already "infiltrado" (Infiltrated. In this case, someone already on the bus scoping things out and communicating with gang members who were waiting for a target). This, of course, is just the opinion of almost everyone who knows about it. However, I don't necessarily disagree. I have spent a good part of today reading about the gangs here and how they got here, etc. My heart aches because for many, especially for the poorest living in the areas where gangs are so active, there only choice is to join one of the two "mega gangs" here in El Salvador. They are recruited as children, before they really even know what is happening to them. And with a country this small, there is really nowhere to run and hide if you choose to get out. I look around the peaceful town where I live and love seeing kids outside playing marbles and soccer vs. being indoors playing video games. But even for a peaceful town such as this, for the kids here to get an education beyond high school, they have to travel regularly on some dangerous routes in order to get a higher education. Many families just aren't willing to take the risk. Most can't afford daily bus fare anyway. I know I can't change the world, or even El Salvador. But my prayer is that I can touch at least one person, even in the smallest of ways, to provide a different hope for the future. I have so many ideas and such but each day I wake up knowing there is only so much I can do in one day. So I press on. I will do what I can, even when I don't feel like it.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read this. Please continue to keep me and this country in your prayers. Even though I don't feel scared to be here, I think somewhere inside I'm still a little bit traumatized by the event. I have had insomnia again since last week that event the essential oils and herbal sleep meds are not working. I have been falling asleep around 4am. And then, I wake up with dreams about broken cell phones, stolen money, bus rides, etc. They are not nightmares or violent dreams, but I do wake up and I do remember them. Since the common theme seems to be about the particular items in the event, I am assuming that is where they are coming from. Some subconscious memory of things. I also hear the buses go by and notice every single one of them. Please pray that I am able to get some sleep and that the dreams would stop. The conscious part of me is not feeling the stress I must be feeling when I finally do go to sleep. 

I will do everything I can to make the next post shorter and happier! 

Blessings,

Kristi

All is Well

Hello again friends, family and supporters,

I really can't believe it is past the middle of August! I think my internal seasonal clock has been knocked off the mantel. Kids here are in school, and have been the whole time I've been here. Their break isn't until November, December and part of January.  It is the rainy season and not as hot as it is in most parts of the States, and the temperatures won't change much for a while. You would think that it is kind of nice not having to deal with extreme temps, changing wardrobes, "summer"izing, winterizing, melting in the summer, raking leaves in the fall, shoveling snow in the winter, and then finally the miracle that is spring! Sounds very high maintenance, and I suppose it is. But you don't realize how much it keeps you aware of the time, the months, the dates. I can't even gauge time by holidays because those aren't the same here either. Having been a school teacher, that seasonal clock was very much in tune...at all times. Any teacher knows how long it is until the next break, the next holiday, etc. In some ways, this is a welcome change. In other ways, it makes me feel very lost! Not that I want to shovel snow here in a couple months, but I wouldn't mind changing my wardrobe. Lol ;-)  I'm sure there is a technical phrase out there that is used to capture this concept. Unfortunately, I don't know what that is so you just got the long version! 

During the past month, I feel like I have done quite a bit of traveling. I have made many trips to San Salvador for hospital visits. First, one of the local preachers had a ruptured appendix, and subsequent complications. I think I was able to visit him three times. Then a friend had a baby 4 weeks early so her baby stayed in the hospital while she had to go home. I accompanied her one time. I have made several trips to the local dentist with one of our kids. Other than that, most of my work still revolves around our children's programs. This is a great program and we have so many appreciative families. I regularly (it happened today even) see kids coming up to me with pictures or a note they have received from their sponsor, even if that photo or note is 8 years old and the only one they have ever received. They feel so proud to be a part of others' families. I start teaching English in the new Bible Institute this week. I am looking forward to this. It's only one morning per week. I can handle that! 

We continue to do home bible studies...which the people here really love! The love opening their homes and sharing. I love seeing their homes, their neighborhoods and their families. It is always a pleasant experience. I have also been researching the types of vegetable to grow when the dry season comes and scoping out places to plant them. I only brought 3 drip kits with me so I am ordering a few more and a friend of mine who is a missionary in Honduras is going to bring them to me after his visit to the States in September. 

Speaking of September...!!! I get to join the team from Health Talents International in Guatemala for a week of surgeries! I will be translating between doctors and patient families. I hear that I won't actually be in the operating room most likely. Most of my work would be pre and post surgery. But, since I have a weak stomach when it comes to bodily fluids, I made sure I watched a tooth pulling today (poor little guy) to see if I could handle that much. I will be honest. It made me queasy, but I did it! I am pretty excited to be part of this work. The dentist visit today was unexpected. One of our little ones had an extremely bad toothache that kept him up all night. His mother told me about it this morning and our wonderful dentist Liliana told us to come on over! Lots of screams and tears but $15 well spent.

I want to thank each and every one of you who reached out to me after my last post. I still have rough days but am settling in quite well. I had a little hiccup last week, which some of you heard about. I was held up on the bus coming home from the hospital with my friend. I will write a separate post about that probably tonight. I am thankful that we are ok and that no one else on the bus was affected. 

Please continue to pray for me as I pray for you as well. I have been asked to post information and an update on the bus incident so I am going to start it right after I finish this one and it will be done either tonight or first thing tomorrow. Thank you for stopping by my blog. Many have told me the link they received that last time was not set up for anyone to subscribe. I will try something different this time and see if it works. I will obviously need  your feedback. 

Much love,

Kristi

El Salvador: Time is flying!

Hello friends, family and supporters!

I made it to El Salvador on June 6th. I hit the ground running that day and have not stopped since. It is time for a little rest! I apologize for the delay in the update. Now that the blog is set up, and I am getting ready to set up some sort of routine, I am hoping to be able to update it once every week or two. 

One of my goals in coming to El Salvador, was to be able to work in sustainable agriculture and other sustainable practices. Right now, we are in the middle of the rainy season and a growing season so I am not doing any gardens right now. I hope to be able to start them when the dry season comes. There have been some skeptics who don't think it is something the people here will be open to but so far, I have been asked at least once or twice a week when we can start the gardens! That makes me so happy! 

The first two weeks here in El Salvador, there were groups here from the States. Many of the people in these two groups are dear friends of mine and being with them when I arrived made my moving experience more pleasant. The first group worked mainly in La Palma, the town where I live. They did some home visits, VBS, nightly bible study and lots of visiting. They also took it upon themselves to help get my apartment set up. We cleaned, painted and bought supplies. I can't thank them enough for all of their help. The second week we worked in San Ignacio, which is a small town just up the road from La Palma. Much of the same work went on in San Ignacio. In those two weeks there were a few baptisms and 2 weddings! Also, the second week, I worked with my friend Laurie Hammer to visit each and every child in our sponsorship program to get their picture, updated information and find out any needs they have. I think there are over 80 kids so that was a huge task! We also got to hand out gifts to some of the children from their sponsors. That is always so sweet to take part in! One of the things I decided to take on while here is helping with the scholarship program and the sponsorship program. We rely on sponsors in the U.S. to make these programs successful. We needed updated information and more organized ways of keeping up with this. In the States, Lenaira Day works with the La Palma Christian School scholarship program and Laurie Hammer works with the health and wellness sponsorship program. I volunteered to help from this end by keeping up with the health and activities of the kids, keeping photos updated, relaying any medical or family issues and taking kids to the dentist. This is a huge task but luckily for me, I am working with two of the best and we are figuring out better ways of communication and organization. THE highlight of week 2 was seeing one of the sponsors meet his sponsor child for the very first time. I love this part of my job!! 

So, week 3 in El Salvador was not quite as exciting as the first two. I settled into my apartment, which is on the site of the church and Christian school. Here I am, for the first time in a foreign country alone. I did get to bring my sweet dog Marley though.  I have lived in 2 other foreign countries...but not by myself. The first week in my apartment, I spent a lot of time just unpacking, organizing and shopping for the things I still needed. I even went on a fairly long bus ride with a local friend to a town where there were better stores to find the last few things I needed and some groceries not found here. By the weekend, I was feeling incredibly lonely and inadequate for the year ahead. It hit me hard, all at once. I think I had at least 3-4 pretty long crying spells that day. It was pretty horrible and I doubt that will be the last really bad day. I talked to a couple people from home. I had a network of people on my side. That made me feel so much better, but it also made me want to be back home having fun with them. I wanted to go out with friends and family, eat familiar foods, laugh, etc. It seemed like it was going to be an eternity before any of that would happen and I felt guilty for feeling that way. So, I tried to think of all the ways I was going to be useful here. That just left me feeling inadequate! Lol. It was a vicious cycle. I felt almost panicked. I just prayed, listened to some music on KLove, received messages from dear friends. I made it through the day and evening. I have had several moments since, but none as intense as that day. I have often wondered what God is up to. He took a girl prone to loneliness and depression, and called her to a land far away to work, not alone...but without people from her own country who would understand her language and her bad days. I am determined to be obedient. I ask that if I every cross your mind, shoot me a note or a message! I am probably needing to hear something from you! 

Week 4 was much better. I got out more and visited some of our sponsor kids. I also accompanied some of the local preachers to a mountain village to visit with the families there who are members of the church and who have children in our program. It was a pretty intense hike! These families have nothing and hike close to 2 hours to get to church. They are so incredibly happy and grateful when people show up for visits. We visited 3 homes and had bible studies in each home. That is pretty common here. Each family greeted us with great love and open arms. I admire the preachers and young people who dedicate several days a week to visiting these remote villages. It has become one of my favorite things to do. I love going to homes. 

Week 5 was full of visits, visits in the mountains, a trip to Honduras, a couple of dentist appointments and preparing for another group to arrive. Ending week 4, a local friend invited me to accompany her and her mom to lunch in Honduras, 20 minutes or so away. We just went by bus and crossed the border on foot and headed to a hotel for lunch. It was a nice little excursion. I got to visit homes again. This time we went to the mountain village of Chuntrum. We have many sponsor kids in this village.

Instead of going house to house, one family had everyone come to their home for a study at their home. There was quite a crowd there. At the end they served us coffee and cookies. Now, mind you, these people struggle to put food on the table every day for their families and they provided coffee and a cookie for everyone. I wasn't sure the coffee was made with purified water, and I wasn't sure if it had been boiled or not so I drank it really fast. Because, you know, everyone knows if you drink it really fast you won't get sick! :-) Just kidding. But I wasn't going to turn down a cup of coffee offered by a super grateful family. I love the people of this little village. This is where we built a house in December and installed the 2 liter solar light. I will do a separate about the dentist experience from week 5. It was really awesome! The last thing I will write about week 5 was my "never say never" experience. As many of you know, I quit my teaching job in order to have this opportunity. One thing I said when I closed that teacher door is that I would "never" teach again...and I was NOT going to get roped into teaching English! Well, on Friday of week 5, the local preachers called me into a meeting. They had something to talk to me about. Well, as it turns out, they are starting a bible institute. There will initially be 4 students. It is a 2 year program. They wanted to incorporate English and computers. So.........ya......they asked me if I would be willing to teach English! I couldn't turn them down. I didn't even think about it. I am excited about the opportunity! It is only one day a week for 2 hours. I can handle that! So, it looks like I am a "classroom" teacher again afterall! So, week 5 was pretty amazing.

Week 6! Ok, I'm not going to lie. I was super excited, and ready, to have another group coming from the U.S. I wanted to speak English, have casual conversations without effort, hear stories I can relate to, meet new people, have some familiar snacks and get some things I had ordered! So, last Friday night I got my bag packed and headed out Saturday morning to catch the bus that was picking them up at the airport, about 3 hours away. Marley went along with me. The group was mostly from DeSoto county, Mississippi, where I used to live so that was an extra bonus! There were only 2 people in the whole group that I had met on previous trips. We worked in a town called Citala. We visited homes, had a VBS and and evening bible studies. I helped translate the whole week. They were a great group. To say that I feel spoiled at this point is an understatement. I had ordered a few things, including a 2nd pair of Chacos (the shoe every traveler, hiker, etc should have), a new camera to replace my broken one, some velcro, etc. I would have been completely happy just getting those things. Mind you, I had to have these shipped to someone I didn't know. We friended on FB and many messages were exchanged regarding her sponsor child and my things being shipped to her house. I was in for a HUGE surprise when they all got here. A very good friend of mine sent 3 packages that were sealed shut. One said "open Oct. 31st" (halloween), another said "open November 27th" (Thanksgiving) and the last said, "open on a day you are feeling blue." Really?? Who can be so thoughtful. You have no idea how excited I am about these packages. You see, she knows me. She comes here regularly. I work with her in the children's programs, she listens, she is compassionate and caring. Not only did she send those, but she sent me a cotton blanket, mouse traps and other things she knew I needed just because she read into every conversation we had. She paid attention to every message we exchanged. I was in tears when I saw this stuff. To top it all off, someone else from the group, a person I had never met before, friended me on FB before the trip and paid attention to every post I made and asked me to list some snacks I would like to have. I did not realize she was paying attention to my FB posts as closely as she was. When they arrived she had made sure I had quinoa, peanut butter, essential oils to make bug repellent, etc. I was blown away. It felt like the biggest Christmas ever. And I still have those 3 packages to open. I couldn't ask for more. I wouldn't ask for more. I received things I didn't even think about asking for. I didn't deserve all of this. I hope I can, in some small way, be as thoughtful and helpful as these people. Showing kindness when they didn't even know I was missing home really bad. You just never know how far your kindness will go. Don't hold back. There were many highlights to the week, including yet again, introducing new sponsors to their sponsor child. I can't express enough how blessed I feel, even though I am probably at the peak of culture shock and missing home. Having a group here for a week kind of kept me on the roller coaster of being excited at ease of friendship and communication, then missing home and all things familiar when they leave. But, I am happy I got to meet new people again. People who share the same love and compassion I feel for the people of El Salvador. People I will have lifetime friendships with. 

This is a long blog post. I apologize for that. Now that I have this all set up and no more groups are coming for a while, I plan to have more frequent updates and other posts that are just nuggets of life in El Salvador. You may see posts about mice, critters, sweat, dirt, blessings, poverty, paint bucket washing machines :-), recycled bottle projects, the adventures of Marley, etc. Thank you for stopping by today to share in my life! Thank you for supporting me, loving me and encouraging me. Although I am here without a team of people of my own culture and tongue, I know I am not here alone. Please leave comments, messages and emails as you think of me. If there is anything in particular you would like me to write about, let me know in the comments below! I will do my best to do a post for you! Pray for me. I am praying for you!

Love from El Salvador, 

Kristi