Girls Day Out

We all drove to San Francisco after lunch yesterday.  The guys (plus Aviah) dropped Shannon, Maleia and me off at the War Memorial Opera House so we could see the San Francisco ballet company's performance of the Nutcracker!  It was an amazing performance with unbelievable special effects and beautiful ballerinas.

While the girls were having fun at the ballet, the rest of the family went to the California Academy of Sciences and checked out the penguins, caribu, albino alligator, the sting rays, the park and more.  Obviously, it was easier to take pictures at the museum than at the theater!

Show in Santa Cruz

Jon had a Maker's Market Pop-up show on Tuesday night.  We drove down to Santa Cruz in the afternoon, walked around the quaint downtown and bought a couple more gifts for the grandkids.  About 6:00 we drove out to Chaminade Resort and Spa where the show was being held.

There were probably 12-15 artisans showing their wares, including hand-made soaps,  organic jelly and jams, beautiful jewelry and much more.  Jon's showed his live-edge cutting boards, walnut/brass serving trays, wooden coasters, hanging lamps and more.  

It was fun hanging out with Jon during the show and watching people admire his work.  We also had a chance to eat at Bantam again--their gourmet pizzas are amazing.

First Day in California

I'm not a fan of long flights and, by a long flight I mean one that is more than 4 hours.  Normally we fly United from San Salvador to San Francisco which means we go to Houston  (3 hours +/-) and then Houston to San Francisco (4+/-.)  However, yesterday we flew the Avianca non-stop from San Salvador to San Francisco, a 6 hour flight.  Stephen and I played several card games which seemed to help pass the time, but it was still a long flight. 

We landed at SFO at 7:00 p.m. and exited the plane shortly thereafter.  Unfortunately, the line for customs extended about 100+ feet out in to the hallway.  Definitely, not what you want to see when you get off an international flight.

As it turned out, it was much better that Daniel and the family didn't pick us up--by the time we got through the line and got our luggage it was well after 8:00.  Instead, Jon picked us up in his truck and we made it back to Daniel and Shannon's house around 8:30.  The big grandkids were already in bed asleep.  Shannon had our dinner waiting for us and we visited for a couple of hours.  After that, we called it a night pretty quickly as we began to notice the two-hour time difference.

This morning we worshipped at Peninsula Bible Church.  Both Daniel and Shannon worked in kids classes, so we were in the worship service by ourselves.  They celebrated the third Sunday of Advent with a special time of reflection and song.  We sang several hymns and, once again, I was taken by the depth of meaning in the hymn lyrics.  The last phrase of "We Sing the Mighty Power of God" says:  "while all that borrows life from you is ever in your care, and everywhere that we can be, you, God are present there."  What a great truth!

We had family time for the rest of the day, including dinner at a great Mexican restaurant followed by Christmas cookies for dessert.

  

Merry Christmas and goodbye until 2016

Thursday night was our last worship service at Vida Nueva until 2016.  The church was beautifully decorated for Christmas and we sang some Christmas carols,  By the way, "Joy to the World" really sounds different in Spanish; in fact, the word "joy" isn't even in the song.  It's called "Al Mundo Paz," which is translated peace to the world.  It probably has to do with the fact that in English the words "joy" and "world" are one syllable words, while in Spanish the words for "joy" (gozo) and the word for "world" (mundo) both have two syllables, therefore, they aren't a perfect substitute in the song.  Hence, "peace" to the world, instead of "joy" to the world.    

The pictures make it look like no one was there.  Really, there was a pretty big crowd, they were all sitting behind me.

We were able to say "adios" to almost everyone on Thursday night:  Pastor Steve and Pam, Pastor Julio and Patty, David and Maritza, Guillermo and many more. 

We fly to California this afternoon and should be getting grandkid hugs before they go to bed.  

Metro America 0-20

Stephen and I work closely with Guillermo Hernandez--he is charge of the missions activities of our church here in El Salvador.  The mission emphasis is called Metro America 0-20, it is so named because the goal is to plant churches in cities with populations over one million between the 0-20 latitudes (basically from Mexico City, Mexico, to Quito, Ecuador.  We collaborate with Guillermo on all of the mission trips; he is a great man of God and lots of fun to work with.  If you've ever met him, you'll never forget him!

On Sunday, Metro America is having a "garage sale" to raise funds for next year.  So, yesterday afternoon I spent some time in our storage room in the garage to see what I could donate to the sale.  I found quite a bit of fabric, some notions and other miscellaneous items.  I delivered them to the church yesterday morning.

I also dropped off the tray of goodies I wrote about yesterday--I got the idea that the tray wouldn't be around too long!  .  

Christmas Cooking and Sewing

Living in El Salvador has drastically cut down the amount of Christmas cooking I do--after all, Christmas cookies just aren't very portable.  Before we took the trip to Panama, I made cranberry pear butter (like apple butter, but not apple) to share with friends.  Tuesday, I made saltine toffee (recipe) and strawberry cookies (recipe) and today I'm taking a tray full of both to the church office.  Hopefully, everyone likes things that are sweet, because the toffee is the definition of sweet.

I started my Christmas sewing about a month ago, but it's still going to come down to the last minute.  I made 30+ miniature fabric trays (pictured below) using Christmas fabric I ordered in August.  I've given almost thirty of them away to my Bible study ladies, our IDEM group ladies and more.  

I also finished the sewing gift for my three grandkids.  (Not going to put a picture because their parents may read this and I want it to be a surprise.) 

I'm making two quilted table runners.  One of the tops is done and the other is still in pieces.  The fabric for the border, backing and binding is on it's way to California, so I'll have to find time to finish them when I get there.  If not, they'll be after Christmas gifts and will be ready to decorate the house for Christmas 2016.  That's just the way it goes when I don't have access to everything I need.

Two more days to get everything done before we fly to California--my "to do" list has never been longer.

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.

Friday in Bogota

Friday morning, our last day, we again went out on the streets near the hotel to share.  There are a tremendous number of people walking around in the area and you can almost always find someone who will stop and talk.

The bus picked us up at 3:30 p.m. and took us downtown so we could visit Monseratte, a mountain that dominates the city center of Bogotá. It rises to 10,341 ft above sea level, and there is a Catholic church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine.  The hill is a pilgrim destination, as well as a tourist attraction. In addition to the church, the summit contains restaurants, cafeteria, souvenir shops and many smaller tourist facilities.  All downtown Bogotá, south Bogotá and some sections of the north of the city are visible facing west. Monserrate can be accessed by an aerial tram, a funicular (cable railway) or by climbing, the preferred way of pilgrims.  

We took the cable railway up about 4:30 p.m. and there is an amazing view of the city.  After everyone had visited the sites, we all paused to pray for the people of Bogota, and, specifically those who made professions of faith during the week.  

We stayed to watch the sunset and see all the lights come out in the city and then rode down the mountain in the aerial tramway.  It was a great end to a wonderful week.  Now we wait to see how God moves in the hearts of the people and how he grows Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, Bogota.

Thursday in Colombia

We boarded the bus at 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning loaded with candy and soccer balls.  We picked up Pastor David and his family and then Pastor Alex and his family and started what ended up being a three-hour journey.  It was only about 20 kilometers; even though we started early, the Bogota traffic was a nightmare.

Our first stop was at the office of the office of the foundation, "Hogar Integral," where we met the director.  She explained that they have multiple child development centers throughout the greater Bogota area and that we would be visiting the center in Soacha.  She also tried to prepare us for the reality of the neighborhood we would see and the children's living conditions.  All of the children are between 2 and 6 years old and are from homes in crises (extreme poverty, parents with drug problems, family violence, child abuse and more.)  They are at the center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. where they receive breakfast, two snacks and lunch.  They also provide them pre-school education and work with their parents to resolve family issues.  We spent a short 15 minutes at the office and then continued the trip to the center.  As she mentioned, it was not long until we noticed that the buildings and homes changed dramatically.  

The director also mentioned that the center was a like a "castle of safety" for the kids and we could see that as soon as we entered.  There were 120 little kids (most seemed between 2 and 4) sitting at tables and the teachers were leading them in songs.  We got a short tour of the facilities.  

Some of our translators lead them in some action songs and then it was time to serve lunch. I don't have enough space to put in all their beautiful faces, so I'll choose just a few.  

The kids had a program away from the center after lunch so we gave them the cookies, juice and candy we brought as a snack to take with them.  There were lots of hugs and big smiles when they left.  Several of the team members brought new soccer balls with them which they presented to the staff.  I know the kids will have fun with them, because the teachers really enjoyed them!

We were so happy that the center was there to help the kids, but understood that it is still a struggle.  Each afternoon the kids are sent back to their homes--the center was not designed to be an orphanage and the kids are not adoptable because the are living with their parents.  Nevertheless, the needs are great--this is one of 5 centers that serve more than 900 pre-school students.  The organization is funded through charitable donations and offers "sponsorships" to help meet the food cost and education costs for the children.  Here's the link to their site if you'd like to learn more about it:  Fundacion Hogar Integral