Happy Feet--Resistance Overcome

I so much want to convey everything that happened during the Happy Feet campaign, but realize I don't have the time to do it justice.  There were times we knew that our work was being opposed:

• Protests on Monday that kept us getting to the mountains on schedule
• No working stove in the kitchen of the hotel.  Kimberly had cooked and frozen chili for 40 people before we left the Rivas house.  When we got to the hotel we saw that it had a large 6-8 burner gas stove and we were thrilled.  Imagine our disappointment when, after a very long day, we found out that it was not working and would not be repaired while we were staying there.  
• Tuesday we were supposed to have a 30 minute or less trip to the village, but due to the on-going heavy rain there was a landslide that blocked our route.  Instead, we took an almost 2-hour detour around the mountain which included waiting for a front-end loader to clear another landslide.
• Tuesday night during our time of testimonies Nelson received a call that the location on the schedule for Wednesday would be unreachable due to a half mile long landslide.

But, the good news is that God's plans could not be stopped . . . . 

• As explained in my last post, we found a shortcut to the village and arrived in time to distribute 150 pairs of shoes and share the gospel with the precious children and their moms
• Saul, the hotel maintenance man, lives there and had a two-burner gas stovetop which he graciously let us use.  Claudia Jiron brought her single electric burner with her, so between the three heat sources, we eventually heated and served the chili.  
• The detour took us over the top of the mountain and revealed breathtaking views of God's creation.  The front-end loader arrived just a few minutes after we got to the landslide spot.  We made it to the village and had a great day, even holding a afternoon praise/preaching service for the adults.

• Pastor Francisco called his sister who is a school teacher and she arranged to open her classroom in a completely different location.  When we arrived, there was a line with more than 150 kids waiting on us.  Many kids were saved--it was an amazing day.

We serve an awesome God!  

10,000 Ft. above sea level. Cold front above and sunlight down the valley. Tecpán Guatemala

Perfect picture spot while we were waiting for the road to be cleared

Working to get the road open

This is the view from the road beside their house

Girls wearing their new shoes and watching what we were doing inside

Praise team from Pastor Francisco's church singing a beautiful rendition
of Great Is Your Faithfulness

Rich and Pastor Nelson presenting the gospel to the parents

Clean, dry feet deserve a new pair of socks

My new friend and sister in Christ, Luisa

Stephen explaining the gospel bracelet

Happy Feet--Day 1

I'm so sorry I was unable to blog or post pictures during the week long Happy Feet campaign, but I will do my best to bring the blog up-to-date over the next couple of days.  

We finished all the shopping on Sunday afternoon and started packing on Sunday night.  In order to save space in the vans for shoes, luggage and people, we decided to put all of the food/drinks/ supplies/dishes/appliances and everything else we needed for the week in the back of our truck.  Stephen brought a tarp and his straps so we loaded the bed to the roof. The back seat was also filled to the top!

About 8:00 a.m. Monday morning the caravan of two trucks and four 15-passenger made its way from Nelson and Rosemarie's house to pick up the team at the Biltmore.  One van was filled with luggage, 15+ duffles of shoes/socks and the rest of the supplies (soap, powder, towels, gospel bracelets.)  The turnaround time was quick and we were on the road to our hotel in Chimaltenango about an hour and a half out of Guatemala City.  We were able to get checked in and drop off all of the food (except for Monday's lunch cooler) and begin our journey up the mountain.  

On Sunday evening, we had heard that several groups of workers were going to be staging protests and the protests would block traffic.  After about an hour of driving we came upon a long line of traffic which was unable to move past the protesters.  Everyone was out of their vehicles and a few of the gringos shared the gospel with the people on one of the stopped buses.  After about an hour, we decided to take our lunch break so we set up the cooler behind one of the vans.  

We had plenty of time to eat, clean up and visit because the protest was expected to continue until 1:00 at the earliest and 3:00 at the latest.  The local pastor we were working with told us that the the people in the town where we were planning to go began gathering at 10:00 am and would wait until we arrived (at whatever time.)  About 1:30, we were informed there was a "short-cut"around the mountain and the four vans began following Pastor Francisco.  We were stopped yet again, but finally arrived at the church about 3:00 p.m.  It was completely full!

We quickly organized the shoes, feet-washing stations and began the process of sharing with the kids.  Oh my goodness, what a blessing to see their precious faces!  I was fortunate to translate for Emily and she was so patient with me.  Most of the children who are under 6 years old (not yet in school) only speak and understand Kaqchikel (their specific indigenous dialect) so there were times when we were translating English to Spanish and Spanish to Kaqchikel.  The school-aged children learn Spanish and, even though it is their second language, they were able to understand us.

Since we arrived so late, we had to work quickly through the 150+ children in order to make our way back down the mountain roads before it was dark.  The process includes measuring each child's feet before taking them to a place in front of a gringo and translator.  The gringos washed their feet, covered them with talcum power, put on a new pair of socks and gave them a new pair of "Crock" style shoes.  After receiving their shoes, they were given a beaded bracelet through which the gringo was able to present the gospel.  Even though the benches were hard and our backs were hurting, we continued working until every child had a new pair of shoes/socks and had heard the gospel.  While we were sharing with the kids, two other team members shared with the moms.  Wow--what a privilege to be a part of this ministry.  

There's more to come, but that will have to wait for another day.

Happy Graduation

I was blessed with the opportunity to hand out diplomas to the New Life Christian School sixth-graders on Wednesday night.  Graduations down here, at whatever level, are a very formal occasion and during the procession, graduates are accompanied by their parents.  The event Wednesday was also the closing program for grades 1-6, so it was quite long--almost two hours--with each grade presenting a drama, song, dance or other type of entertainment.  Stephen and William provided the music for the sixth-grade song, "God my Rock," by Paul Baloche.

Here are some pictures of the night.  It was awesome seeing the graduates so dressed up and looking like young adults.

Quiet before the storm

We followed Pastor Nelson and his family to Guatemala on Friday morning.  We are at their home helping prepare for the Happy Feet mission group that flies in this afternoon.   By helping prepare I mean going to PriceSmart and buying almost $500 worth of food for the trip then chopping onions, celery and other veggies to make a pot of soup that will feed 40.  Later today we must shop for the fresh fruit, bread, cheese and other perishables.  Nevertheless, this is the quiet before the storm of loading up 5 vans and driving to the mountains with 40 people.  Monday we will spend our first day passing out new shoes and sharing the gospel with the children in the  little town where we will be staying.  The team is bringing 1000 pairs of shoes and we will try to give them all away, although Nelson says it is difficult to do more than 200 per day and we will only have 4 days.

Please pray for the team, the kids and those of us from the church in Guatemala who will be helping, translating, cooking, etc. 

Healthy Eating + 10,000 Steps = Slimmer Me

I last wrote about my healthy eating, active walking lifestyle a little over two months ago.  At that point I was down 20 pounds and feeling great about what was going on.  Now, two months later, I am happy to say that another 10 pounds has disappeared, and I am nearing my goal.  

Over the past two months my biggest challenges have been (1) not having any clothes that fit me, (2) trying to keep myself psyched up to plan, shop and prepare healthy meals and (3) learning to make the best choices possible when I find myself in situations where my food choices are either unlimited (dining in the states) or very limited (dining in food courts in Nicaragua.) 

Challenge 1:  I was finally able to overcome this, in part, when, I had the opportunity to shop for a few new clothes while we were in the states.  It felt really great to ignore my previous size and move down to the smaller numbers.  Funny thing, though, it seemed like the only clothes I saw on sale were size L and XL.  When I needed those sizes, I seem to remember that the only sizes I ever saw were S and M.  Guess it's just Murphy's Law in action.  I have also realized that replacing a wardrobe, however humble, isn't something that can be done all at once . . . . even on sale, it's easy to spend your entire clothing budget in just one visit.  In addition, since I'm not quite at my goal weight, I don't know where my final size will land, so I bought enough to get by with a plan to shop again when we are in Kansas City at the end of July.

Challenge 2:  I haven't really missed or craved any of the foods that I've eliminated from my diet (sugar, white bread, white flour, white pasta, most dairy.)  What I have missed is the ability to throw a meal together, albeit not a healthy one, in 5-10 minutes, i.e. peanut butter/jelly sandwich, hot dog or chili dog, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese.  Even though I do my best to menu plan, there are always things that come up at the last minute which require adjustments to my plans.  So, when we get home much later than we'd expected and it's to late to fix the dinner I had planned, it's been really hard to "stay the course" and try to eat the best way and not just the easy way.  Thank goodness frozen leftovers of healthy soups--they are my go to menu item on nights like I just described.  

Challenge 3:  We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by spending two weeks in the San Francisco area.  Of course, celebrations call for eating and staying at a hotel means eating out.  One of the best things about the Daniel Plan is that since it's not actually a "diet," but rather a healthy eating plan, there seems (at least to me) to be much less guilt associated with making a less than healthy choice.  The book encourages 90% compliance, which allows room for an anniversary meal at Morton's!  When we returned home, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had even lost a pound while we were gone--most likely to the 15,000+ steps I walked most of the days we were there.  

The next time I write about this subject, I hope to be discussing how I'm managing the "maintenance" phase, but only time will tell. 

Happy Father's Day 2014

Father's Day in El Salvador is this week--Tuesday, June 17.  Nevertheless, they celebrated at church this morning with a World Cup trivia contest among 6 different dads.  The top three walked away with a team soccer jersey.

Just a note about the dad's in my life:

Earl McKinney--so thankful to have you as my dad.  You taught me the value of hard work, education and loving God.  

Stephen Parris--celebrating forty years with you (on May 25) was the highlight of my year!  The next best thing about "growing old together" is seeing our two boys grow into men.  

Daniel Parris--it's so much fun to see you as a dad to your three kids.  I'm so proud of how you love God, your wife and your three kids!

Graduation, Salvadoran style

We had the privilege to attend Rafa's graduation today and celebrate with Koky and Ena Lopez and other close friends. A little different than the graduation ceremonies of our two sons.   The graduating class was 37 students so the ceremony was more personal.   Graduates are ushered in to the ceremony with their mom and dad on either side.

Congratulations to the whole class and especially to Rafael!

La Cima y Escuela de Ecuador

Last night we went to a neighborhood called "La Cima" which means summit or top.  We had our family festival in La Cima IV and it was very hilly.  There was a central street which ran to the park and the residences were on perpendicular streets.  The ones on the left of the central street extended one block "up," while the ones on the right extended one block "down."  Either way you went there was hill climbing involved.  Good thing the team is made up of young families!  

Thankfully, the rain held off and we were able to have a "normal" festival--inflatable, games for kids, pinata, movie, drama and gospel presentation.  The team went door-to-door when we arrived, but it seemed like not many people were home--or perhaps they were not anxious to answer their doors on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  The attendance at the park was quite good by the end of the evening and there were over 20 people who made decisions for Christ.  It was a great first night!

About 4:30 this morning a powerful storm rolled in and brought lightning, thunder and buckets of rain.  By the time we had morning devotions, the storm had moved out, leaving an overcast sky and a fog covered volcano.  After devotions we went to "Escuela de Republic de Ecuador."  Each family, along with a translator and another Salvadoran to give the lesson, formed a classroom group.  Attendance in the lower grades was quite small--one team shared with the 4-6th graders.  The other 7 teams shared in the 7th, 8th and 9th grade classrooms.  

There were 109 raised hands across all 8 of the classrooms!  Glory to God!

Today's the Day

Although my June newsletter talked about wrapping up our 48th month here in El Salvador, today's the day!  On June 8, 2010, about 10:00 in the morning, our son, Jon, took us to KCI to catch our flight to El Salvador.  We checked four large duffle bags, each weighing 50 pounds, and each of us carried on a medium size duffle weighing 30 pounds.  Jeff and Paula picked us up at Comalapa Airport and, thus, began our journey!

We're not the same people who arrived four years ago today.  Now . . . .

1.  We can "speak" Spanish and are able to communicate with and understand most people.
2.  We can "drive" around San Salvador (more or less) and beyond without getting lost, including driving to Guatemala all by ourselves!
3.  We can "manage" the setup of the inflatable and the rest of the campaign equipment.
4.  We can "live" comfortably, shop for groceries, pay our bills and more without help.

While those changes have made our lives here more comfortable and easier, it would be sad if we hadn't also changed in other ways.  The other changes have not come as a result of what we have done, but what God has done in and through us and what the wonderful people of El Salvador (and Central America) have taught us.

1.  We've "witnessed" a great work of God in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
2.  We've "shared" our testimony in classrooms across this country and the others mentioned above.
3.  We've "opened" our hearts to love and be loved by the people of Central America.
4.  We've "trusted" God's plan for our lives.

We still have much to learn . . . and are still very much in the process of growing into the people God intends for us to be.  Thank you for being part of our journey over the past four years; please continue to pray for us as we continue our work here.

It's only fitting that a group arrived yesterday and we will have a campaign tonight in Aguilares. 

Sunday morning . . . . a new hymn

We really enjoyed the Sunday morning worship at Peninsula Bible Church. We sang the hymn "O Great God" . . . . love the depth of meaning in it's words:

O great God of highest heav’n occupy my lowly heart;
Own it all and reign supreme; conquer every rebel pow’r
Let no vice or sin remain that resists Your holy war.
You have loved and purchased me, make me Yours forever more.

I was blinded by my sin, had no ears to hear Your voice;
Did not know Your love within, had no taste for heaven’s joys.
Then Your Spirit gave me life, opened up Your word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son gave me endless hope and peace.

Help me now to live a life that’s dependent on Your grace;
Keep my heart and guard my soul from the evils that I face.
You are worthy to be praised with my every thought and deed;
O great God of highest heav’n glorify Your Name through me.

Up, up and away

Hiking was the word of the day on Thursday.  The morning hike was along the McCurdy trail just outside of Stinson Beach.  Unfortunately, if Mr. McCurdy knew the shape of his namesake trail, he would be quite embarrassed.  In fact, Maleia and Josiah called it the "grass and flowers in your face" trail.  It could have kept a hard-working Salvadoreño and his trusty machete busy for a couple of days, if not weeks.

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to coffee/donuts at the Parkside Cafe and let the kids play on the playground.  

The afternoon hike was much nicer . . . up the trail with a great ocean view as your reward, well, that plus a couple of wild, ripe blackberries.  

One last splash in the cold, cold water to end the day.

Fun in the Sun (and Wind)

Jon picked us up yesterday and we drove to our home-away-from-home on Stinson Beach about 5:00 p.m.  We stopped to buy groceries on the way out of town so we were ready to settle in.  First stop, a walk along the beach and our first impression of the beaches in northern California--windy and cold, but beautiful.  Grilled chicken, fresh asparagus and corn-on-the-cob made an excellent dinner and a nice change to eating out every day since Saturday.   

We walked to the little town a few blocks away this morning and had a late breakfast.  Then drove up Highway 1 for about 10 miles and then south in to Bolinas--a quaint little town that loves it's privacy.  The townspeople are so intent on keeping their town hidden that they have been known to take down the highway signs at the intersection of Highway 1 and the main road into town.  Stephen read that fact on a website about the town and, sure enough, we missed the turn the first time because there wasn't a sign.  

We got back to the house about 1:30 and within less than 30 minutes, Daniel, Maleia and Josiah arrived.  Hurray for grandkids!  The temperature of the ocean didn't matter to them--there's nothing more fun than running along the beach and having the water sweep over your feet.

We took a walk to the park and while they played, Daniel and I stopped at the little market to buy a few pizza toppings.  Jon made his special homemade pizza dough and with everyone helping with the slicing and dicing, we had two delicious homemade, gourmet pizzas for dinner.  

The kids took another walk on the beach while I baked up a couple dozen Snickerdoodles.  Warm cookies before bed . . . . perfect.  The kids are settled in and the four of us are starting a card game.