Recovery Continues

I had three packages to take to the post office today so I took my first solo drive since surgery.  After the post office I took the car to our local express car wash to get rid of the dirt and salt from the last two weeks.  It looks so much better.

We confirmed a ride to the airport on Saturday morning and have started thinking about what goes to California and then on to El Salvador.  It's looking like there won't be much extra space.

Busy Day on Saturday

Saturday morning Daniella and I were up early to drive to the airport.  Our good friends, Don Laity and Kent Brewer, had a nine-hour layover in Guatemala on their way to Bogota, Colombia for the Good News in Action mission trip.  We picked them up at 8:30 a.m. and returned to Nelson and Rosemarie's home so they could relax a bit.  (No one enjoys a red-eye flight.)  

We were able to go to breakfast with them at our favorite restaurant, Capistrano.  All of the tables at Capistrano have white paper on them and there are always crayons which bring out the creativity in all of their patrons.  While the majority of us just doodled, our artist friend, Kent, drew a masterpiece which I saved.

After breakfast we returned home so that Daniella, Stephen and I could finish packing our suitcases.  Next was a return trip to the airport to drop off Daniella for her flight back to John Brown University and Don and Kent for their late afternoon flight to Bogota.

Stephen and I drove our truck to the Biltmore Hotel and checked in for the week-long campaign.  Shortly after we arrived, we were able to welcome the team from Faith Baptist in Youngsville, North Carolina, as well as the bus load of Salvadorans.

By 3:30 p.m. everyone was ready to go out for the first family festival of the week.  We had 12 team members (7 more arrived later that night.)  Sharing door-to-door went well and the neighborhood really enjoyed the inflatable, games, dancing, drama and preaching.  There were 30+ professions of faith.  A great end to a busy Saturday and even better start to the Guatemala campaign.

Pine Cove Camp

Friday morning our day started with a trip to the airport to send Fabi back to Cal Baptist.  We went along with her family and got in our last minute hugs.  After the airport the remaining "girls" made a PriceSmart (Costco) run to buy snacks for the second camp session that would start on Friday afternoon.  I'm not sure how much it cost, but we had a flatbed cart filled with chips, bottled water, cookies, juice boxes, crackers and more--enough for 4 snacks for 100 people.  The best thing for me about going to PriceSmart in Guatemala is that I find things we don't have in El Salvador.  This trip is was quinoa (2 pounds for $10) and grapefruit juice.  

The next stop was camp, where we had lunch with the Pine Cove team and then got ready for the campers to arrive at 3:00 p.m.  Dani showed me around--it was a beautiful place.  It is a Christian campground with great facilities.

 By 4:00 p.m. there were more than 75 children (ages 6-12), as well as 30 adults.  They started the afternoon getting to know each other with games and small group activities on the basketball court.  Each small group had a Pine Cove counselor and a Guatemala counselor.  

 This week's theme is "Finding the Treasurer," and all of the Bible study sessions were from Matthew 6:19-21.  After Bible study time, dinner was served.  Dinner was followed by a treasure hunt where each group had to complete a task to receive the next clue.

The treasurer hunters returned to the dining hall for a time of music/dancing, then praise and worship and a short message.  

Nelson, Rosemarie, Dani, Camila and I slipped away to enjoy dinner together and, then, after driving Rosemarie back to the camp to spend the night, we drove home.

It was a great day seeing how the Lord has been working with the church in Guatemala, seeing how faithful their members are to serve at the camp, lead the music and prepare all of the lessons.  The camp ends on Sunday afternoon, so I'm anxious to hear the stories of changed lives!  

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We're back in El Salvador . . . landed at 7:45 tonight and made it home about 9:15.  Pam Kern picked us up and brought dinner (warm, homemade quiche and fruit) as well as the basics (milk, bread and eggs.)  Friends are one of God's best gifts to us.

Travel Day

Without Internet access, my blog posts have been few and far between--this is the second in the last ten days.  I have decided never to take Internet for granted and have realized that we were clearly "helpless" without it.  

On another note, if you need a lesson in packing, just let me know.  We packed two checked bags at 49.4 and 49.8 pounds each.  Don't know how much I paid for the portable luggage scale, but it's paid for itself over and over.

Sitting at the Kansas City airport (early) for our 2:00 p.m. flight to Houston.  Leave Houston for El Salvador about 5:15 p.m., landing at 7:45 p.m. (CT.)   Should be at our apartment around 9:30 or so.  One night's sleep then have a team coming in on Saturday afternoon.  We'll be back in the campaign business by Saturday evening.

We've had a great time with family and friends . . . . see you later California/Kansas City.

Saturday trip to the airport

We left for the airport at 11:30 Saturday morning, earlier than usual because we were not able to check-in on line.  We were so glad we did!  About 25 minutes in to the 50 minute drive we came to a complete stop.  After about ten minutes, we called William Flores to see if he could find out what was going on.  He called back and said that there was a tractor trailer blocking the road, but that it wasn't an accident so it should be cleared fairly soon.  About 15 minutes later the cars in the left lane started moving very slowly.  Our lane (we were behind a big truck) wasn't moving at all.  

There was a slight break in the traffic so Stephen changed lanes and it was a great decision.  As we approached the truck we could see that it during a maneuver to make a very sharp right turn (almost in a jack-knife position) it was hit by an SUV.  The cars in the left lane were moving because the police began allowing cars to wind around in front of ithe truck.  Each vehicle had to start their turn and then back up to complete it.  Obviously, the space was much too small to allow anything larger than a pickup to pass, so all of the big trucks were stuck, as were any cars that were behind them.  

We finally "wormed" our way around it as they were dislodging the SUV from under the carriage of the trailer.  We lost more than 30 minutes of time, but managed to arrive at the Avianca counter just after the suggested two-hour check-time.  At the gate, we saw two people from IBVN San Salvador who were also on our flight.  Vilma Camino and her granddaughter (relatives of Pastor Alex and his wife, Norma,) were flying down to help translate.

Although our flight was delayed by 30 minutes, for some reason unknown to us, we were upgraded to first class, a very rare occurrence indeed.  We enjoyed a nice lunch on the 2.5 hour flight to Bogota!  We landed, walked down the steps to the tarmac and then boarded a bus for a 20 minute drive to the international terminal.  The immigration lines were substantial, but that was to be expected because the airport is enormous.  The greater Bogota area has more than ten million people!

We waited a very long time on our luggage as, once unloaded, it had to make the 20 minute drive to the international terminal, as well.  Norma and her daughter, Paola, were there to meet us and show us to the Holiday Inn shuttle, and pick up her mother and niece.

The Holiday Inn Airport was a ten minute drive and the check-in procedure was easy.  We were in our room by 9:00 p.m.  We met a couple in the lobby who were looking for a place to eat so we joined them on a walk the McDonalds, which was a block or two away.

We've been really busy this week, with not too much free time in the room, so I'm really behind in posting what's been going on.  Much more later about how God is really working here in Bogota and how exciting it is to be part of His work!

Catch-up Post (1)

I didn't have much time to update the blog while we were in Guatemala--just too busy, so this is the first of a couple of "catch-up" blogs.

We stayed with the Rivas family while in Guatemala City.  When we arrived on Wednesday only Rosemarie and the kids were there because Nelson was in Kansas City for the mission's conference of Blue Springs Bible Baptist Church.  We went to the airport to pick him up on Friday night.  Stephen had a little sign so he would know we were there to get him.  The name on the sign is Chabelito (a nickname that Nelson uses for people whose names he can't remember.)  

On Saturday, after a long day of working on VBS things, the four of us had a night out at Cayalá, a very upscale retail shopping, living area on the other side of the city.  You can see the Spanish architecture in the pictures--it was an amazing place to walk around.  The pictures "almost" do it justice!

 We had a great dinner at Saul's and enjoyed sharing the night with our friends.  Priceless!