Home Alone

I've been at home since Wednesday when Stephen went to West Plains to visit his parents.  Baring anything unexpected happening, this is his final visit before we leave the Kansas City area.

Today I'm one day short of being 10 days post surgery and feeling, moving, eating much better.  Now that I'm getting back to normal I have to remember to obey the lifting (10 pounds) restrictions for two more weeks.  In fact, yesterday I thought I might try sewing a couple of small projects as samples for our women's sewing ministry (Hilo, Aguja y Biblia) in El Salvador, but caught myself before I lifted my sewing machine from the closet floor.  I'm guessing it weighs at least ten pounds.  I decided it wasn't worth trying to sew while sitting on the closet floor--better to wait until this afternoon when Stephen's back.

Home Sweet Home

We left Bogota at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning and, after a short layover in Panama, landed in El Salvador about 1:00 p.m.  The airport was crazy busy--guess there are alot of planes that come in at that time.  Baggage claim was really crowded--only two of the four carousels were in use because they are remodeling the area.  It took longer than usual, but we finally made it to the truck and then after an hour drive we made it home. 

Traveling 14 out of the last 17 days finally caught up to us . . .  I thawed some frozen soup for a quick dinner, we fixed popcorn and then called it a night.

Two days at home

The taxi picked us up at 1:30 a.m. Saturday  morning to take us to the bus station in Managua for our 3:00 a.m. departure to San Salvador.  The trip was almost twelve hours.  We were pretty tired by the time we got home; even so, I made a quick trip to the grocery store so we could eat at home.  After eating at the food court or in the hotel restaurant for eight days, we were ready to eat at home.

We thought that Sunday would be a quiet day, but realized that we needed to remove the four appliances from our old place before we left the country.  So, Gilma and William met us at Finca de Asturias at 8:00 a.m.  William, Francisco and Stephen loaded the frig and the stove in the pickup.  William's son, Willy, and his wife, Patty, were having a garage sale, so they dropped the appliances off at their house and then returned to pick up the washer and dryer.  Willy and Patty are going to try to sell them for us.  

In the afternoon we met with the owner of the house and he paid us for the improvements we made and the things we left in the house (3 ceiling fans, wooden blinds, lights, etc.)  We thought he would give us cash, but he wrote us a check instead.  So, tomorrow morning before we leave for the airport, we have to go to the bank to see if we can cash the check.  Hopefully, it won't take too much time--the bank opens at 9:00 and we have to leave for the airport at 10:30.  I know that sounds like plenty of time, but the lines at the banks are often very long.  

We're anxious to see family and friends in Kansas City for ten days and then travel to California to see our kids and grandkids.

WE MOVED!

I thought yesterday was busy, but, of course, today was even more so.  We got up early to finish the last bit of packing.  The movers arrived about an hour and half late, but within the "normal" range for here.  The six strong Salvadoreños loaded everything in the truck in just over an hour.  They followed us to the new apartment and we realized that the truck had to stay parked outside on the street because it was too tall to enter the parking lot.  This meant that in addition to carrying everything up six flights of stairs, they had to unload it from the truck and carry it across the parking lot to get to the stairs.  It seemed like an impossible task, but they finished it in about two hours.  

Gilma came to the house in the morning to help and Francisco spent all day helping us.  We have put the whole kitchen together--more or less.  I might decide to rearrange when I start using everything, but for now it's all in a cabinet, drawer or on a shelf in the "pantry."

The cable people arrived this afternoon and moved our service from the old to the new.  So, in addition to the kitchen, the living room and dining room are usable.  We also set up the beds, but all of our clothes are still in suitcases and the spare bedroom and office are still full of boxes.  I think the rest will have to wait until tomorrow as we're completely exhausted and we didn't even climb the steps!  

I want to get the our bedroom and our closet as organized as I can before we leave for Managua on Friday morning.  The rest will have to wait until January when we come back from the states.  Maybe in mid-January when we return from the first mission trip to Bogota, Colombia, I will be able to put things on the wall and, then, it will really start looking like home.

 

Leaving Managua

We will be on the road at about 2:00 a.m. in the morning and should be at home by late afternoon.  

It was a great a week--more about that later!

Just like that, WARMTH

Sorry that several of my posts have been so one dimensional (creature comforts) lately. I promise not to talk about being cold for months and months. Of course, that will be easy because we flew home to El Salvador yesterday! But, no promises not to talk about being hot! Just kidding.

Our rent is due on the 9^th of the month and we made the conscious decision not to pay January a month early, hoping that we would make it back to the city in time to get to the bank. It turned out to be the right decision; the bank wasn't even very busy—think I got in and out in less than 15 minutes. We also made a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up.

As always, it's great to be home. We only have today to put things back in order because our first campaign of the year starts on Saturday. Yep, back in the saddle again!

How low will it go?

There's one thing about the winter weather--it sure can mess with the best laid plans.  We tried two different times to visit Jeff and Paula's new church in Topeka, but in December it was the ice that came in on Saturday night and today it was last night's snow.  Tonight they are calling for a "real" low of -11 with wind chills around -25 or -30.    

Here's a friendly comparison of the weather here and the weather at "home."

Where would you rather be?

Praying Elizabeth Home

We visited Elizabeth yesterday and she's ready to go home and praying that the doctors will agree.  Please pray along with us that this is her day to say goodbye to Children's Mercy and start the next phase of her recovery at home!