Hayden is Here--Day 2

We walked to the hotel for the  9:00 a.m. service and Hayden ran into more friends from his last two mission trips--that boy is popular.  After the service, Hayden and I walked back to the apartment; we planned to go to the grocery store.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize that Stephen had the keys to the truck.  So, instead, we walked back to the hotel and waited for Stephen to finish playing for the 11:30 service and then ate lunch at Olive Garden.

We probably watched a baseball game in the afternoon; I don't really remember!  Then David and Maritza game by and we drove to Los Planes de Rendero to introduce Hayden to all th ings "corn."  He was a good sport and tried everything we put in front of him, although the crazy corn with mayo, mustard, black sauce and cheese was a little too much.

Later, Koky and Ena joined the five of us for pupusas at El Atico.  He definitely like the pupusas and the great view!  Of course, the company was outstanding, as well.  

A Morning of Ministry

Today, as representatives of Hilo, Aguja y Biblia, Ena, Isabel and I went to our campus in Apopa to share with the ladies ministry.  We didn't arrive in time to have breakfast with them (they start at 7:30 a.m.) and we had a bit of a drive, but we did get there in time to join them for the praise/worship time.  

After the singing, Isabel taught the Bible study lesson.

When she finished, all 35 of the ladies moved to the room next door for craft time--we made fabric flowers which they can put on headbands, in their hair or on their clothes.  It was a little crazy trying to explain to all 35 at the same time, but we made it and they loved the results.

It was a great opportunity to get to know these precious women better.  

Maria Antonia--leader of the women's group in Apopa

Isabel, Ena and Me

Finished Strong

We wrapped up the El Salvador campaign in Apopa last night.  It was a great week, with more than 500 professions of faith.  

Yesterday morning we went to a "new" school and the kids were so excited to have us there.  

Don stayed with us this week, so at lunch he invited us, Koky and Ena to join him at Restaurant 168, his favorite Chinese restaurant.  

The campaign was in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Apopa and the team was able to meet Pastor Chitty for the first time.  After going door-to-door for an hour and having several kids games and time on the inflatable, the drama team performed the "Everything" drama and Harry presented the gospel (with Vladimir translating.)  

Day of Friendship and Love

For some reason February 14 is not called Valentine's Day here. So, instead, we celebrated "Day of Friendship and Love" three different ways over two days. 

FIRST CELEBRATION:  On Saturday morning the 14th we had a potluck breakfast with our discipleship group.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity to share "gringo" food, I signed up to bring biscuits and gravy.  This became a possibility when I saw that SuperSelectos, my grocery store, began carrying various kinds of Johnsonville sausages, including traditional breakfast links.  Of course, the down side of biscuits and gravy is that there are no canned biscuits here--they have to be made from scratch.  So bright and early Saturday morning I was making a triple batch of my mom's biscuits and a huge pot of gravy.  It's hard to believe that not everyone at the breakfast wanted to try them!  Ryan, Keeley, Stephen and I managed to eat our fair share.  Several weeks ago Stephen and I ate breakfast at State's Diner and I posted a picture on Facebook with the caption, "best biscuits and gravy in El Salvador."  However, after Saturday, the four of us decided to amend that statement to "second best."

The company and the rest of the food was also great, as we hadn't had the whole IDEM group together since November.  

SECOND CELEBRATION:   After being up early to cook, we decided to go out for dinner.  We really didn't know what to expect in terms of whether the restaurants would be busy, but decided to risk it.  We walked to our favorite Chinese place which is called 168, and found it less than busy.  The food is always good and, in fact, when we were in Kansas City over the holidays we thought our former favorite Chinese place was just okay.  Guess we've come to appreciate the restaurant here.  It was a great night to walk, and we're loving the fact that we're in a safe neighborhood and the 4-5 block walk is something we can even do after dark, as long as it's not too late.

THIRD CELEBRATION:  Sunday afternoon I was privileged to share with the single mom's ministry at our church.  This month's theme was "friendship" so we learned what some famous people had to say about friendship, including Helen Keller who said:

and Charles Dickens who said:

and, of course, we passed out Hershey's kisses after reading this quote.  Got to keep your audience involved!

However, we spent most of our time talking about what the Bible has to say about friends and friendship. Not surprisingly, it's quite a lot, including telling us about the friendships between Job and his friends, David and Jonathan and Paul and Barnabus, to name a few.  It was so much fun to share with them and Ena did a great job translating for me!   

Two Days in Managua

Ena and I left on the Platinum King Quality bus at 1:45 p.m. on Friday.  

About 12 hours later, we were settling in to our room at the Canizalez home in Managua, Nicaragua, and they were wonderful hosts.  

Saturday was a full and "very special" day.  Both Ena and I got manicures and pedicures at Bea's Salon.  Beatriz is a member of the church and our special day was her treat!  We also had lunch at the Hotel Intercontinental, courtesy of another family.  In the evening we set up the tables, chairs and decorated for the event.

Sunday was another whirlwind day.  Church first thing and then lunch at Rosti Pollos, leaving us with about an hour and half before we had to be at the event. 

 There were more than 40 women in attendance and it was amazing to hear their sweet voices singing praises to our great God.  Ena did an amazing job with her teaching about Mary and Martha from Luke 10.  

It was a great lesson for all us . . . . we need to keep our priorities in order and not be so busy that we, like Martha, could hear Jesus telling us that we need to choose the "best" thing like Mary did.

The night was a short one--we headed to the bus station at 2:00 a.m.!  Glad to be back home and sleep in my own bed!