November 30, 2015

First English classes in the schools.  This morning was supposed to be classes in Salcoatitan and then in Juayua in the afternoon but the school in Salcoatitan had other things going on so our first classes there will be tomorrow morning.  While we were expecting visitors at 9, Kelly and Nicole arrived about 8:45 to show a dress that Kelly had made for Nicole.  I had made a dress in August and had some material left over and gave it to Kelly to see if she could use it for Nicole. It was fabulous.  She made it without a pattern and there was just enough material to make it.  She even sewed in a little room to let out when she grows.  I pulled my dress out of the closet and they were actually very similar.  We laughed and laughed.  We are planning to drive to Sonsonate next Tuesday morning to check out fabric stores.  At 9 we had our weekly meeting with Carlos, Cesar, Ricardo and Joli and spent most of the time evaluating the events we had held in Salcoatitan and Juayua since the last meeting.  It was really good -they have an acrostic they use FODA  which in English translates to strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and dangers.  I had not expected such a thorough evaluation of what we had done with how to make the next events even better for both places.  Right now we hope to have something like these once a month in each town with our next ones being near the end of December.  The results we have already had from the one here have really been exciting.  We ran over time this morning and since we needed to be at the school at 1:30 for our classes in Juayua we had to hurry through lunch.  We got all loaded up and arrived at the school on time and were all set up and waiting by two.  We had the older students first and that class was by far the larger one.  It was for students 12 and older.  Most of the students were girls and everyone said they knew no English and were really shy.  The class went by fast and we hardly got through 2 pages of material.  The second class was the younger kids with only 2 girls and 6 boys.  Actually they seemed to know about as much English as the older group and were definitely less reserved and more willing to participate.  After the class we walked by our new house which was just across the street.  We needed to get the exact street address so that we could give it to immigration and to get the internet transferred.  We also rode with the man over to a lot they owned to consider it as a possible site for the church to meet.  It was really pretty but not in a real good location.  Then we went to Raul and Ana's for a study.  We always study on the back porch of the large house they live behind and it was really windy and the ladies were cold.  The wind has really begun to blow and we have not had any rain here for several days so I guess summer has arrived.

Nicole's new dress!

Beautiful!

 

Older English Students!

Younger English Students!

Fun teaching.

Land possibilities for a church.

Lots of trees.

Pavillion

November 29, 2015

Only our second Sunday for morning services here in Juayua.  Sure does leave more time in the morning at least until January 3^rd. When the first morning services begin in Salcoatitan.  We had time to walk Wicket and get some things done.  We checked with Kelly and family but they did not go again and as we were about to drive away the lady who Charlotte had talked to last night was walking by but she said she could not go this morning. We did get to introduce her to Zuleyma. We did have a good turnout.  Carlos from our English class came and Ricardo and Joli joined us this time.  I always lead the communion service and usually I will write something in English and google translate it and print it out.  When I got ready to print our printer had hung up for some reason.  Charlotte had to work on it a while in the afternoon but finally got it going.  So I was not able to print anything out and just had to wing it from what I remembered from my study.  Charlotte said I should never print anything out because just talking was much better.  We really spent a quiet afternoon getting ready for the marriage class this week and working on other stuff and even resting some.  This week we are studying about forgiving one another.  I told Charlotte we were well prepared for this class at least from experience because I was always needing and asking for her forgiveness and she was always having to give it.  She spent a lot of time in the afternoon working on getting ready for our first English class tomorrow at the school.  She prepared a power point of the entire presentation.  I don't know how it works out that she always puts lots more work into what we do than I seem to but it has pretty much always been that way so she is used to it. 

Blindfolded for a study of the healing of the blind man.

Some peekers!

November 28, 2015

New studies!  Zuleyma and Arnoldo arrived about 9 on Saturday to begin follow-up work on the ladies that came to our event and wanted to study.  Arnoldo helped to carry Danielito and the diaper bag.  While five requested visits, one was a neighbor of Zuleyma and she was not available for today.  She is the lady that we visited several weeks ago that had lost a grandson to the gangs.  So, we went to our first, and the lady was not home.  The second was a neighbor and they were available.  They invited us in.  There was a man, his wife and young girl of about 5ish and a toddler of about 15 months.  I did not take a picture, but the baby had a crib/playpen with sides made of a wooden frame and several strands of twine running back and forth to create a barrier.  I prayed that a family member was always nearby because a small head could easily be caught in the twine.  The family was eager to study and they all listened.  Currently, they are not going to a church mostly because of the trouble to take the young children and thier work.  The man had several questions if prophecy was still happening today.  This is a common question and I shared several verses.  Dwaine had recently finished an indepth study on this topic and I wish that he had come along.  I did not expect to study with both a husband and wife.  He had stayed home only because we thought it would just be ladies.  Next, another lady was not at home and finally, we found our last study.  While this lady attends a church, she had the study and said she would continue studying.  She had just lost a grandchild.  Her daughter’s son of just a few months had suddenly come down with a virus and passed away quickly only two months ago.  So many are faced with tragedies.  Dwaine volunteered to teach the English because we were only expecting a few students.  I stayed to work on my Sunday children’s class because it was my turn to do this.  When he returned Arnoldo was with him and Cesar arrived soon.  Kelly and Nicole and Kiki came for a study and we shared some coffee and cookies.  She said she was expecting company on Sunday and would not be able to come.  We headed out for the Sat. service and stopped to check if Mr. Rivers could go.  He could!  Afterwards, I let Dwaine off at Selectos to get some food for Wicket and I drove on to take Mr. Rivers home and to walk Zuleyma home from our door.  I took a flash light and the walk is very short.  On the way back, a lady with a young girl stopped me and asked where I went to church because she had visited our event!  Wow, that was so unexpected.  I told her where we met and told her she could ride with us.  While it is only a 5 minute ride to church, she did seem a little apprehensive to ride with us.  Dwaine arrived from the store and we told her that Zuleyma also rode with us and they were probably neighbors.  Hopefully she will come.  That was an exciting end to the day!

Sister Regina joined us for the first time for a class after her surgery!!!

November 27, 2015

ScienceJ!  Noé had invited us to come to Turin and teach a class and then go visiting with him on some of his studies.  School is in vacation time here.  A lady from Turin, Darlene, works with a program in the States called Helping Hands.  Each summer break, she puts together a five day program of classes for the children.  Earlier in the week she had put together classes for several subjects.  Lizbeth, from Juayua had gone on Thursday to teach math.  Friday was my turn.  It was a three hour session with 25 elementary children.  I have now accumulated several illustrations, so the prep was as bad as some.  What I remember from science club is that the children sure like to eat.  So I typically had a demo or experiment and then an edible model to make to eat.  They all loved that part.  We did everything from atoms, states of matter, acids and bases to fire, of course, to cells.  Needless to say, I didn’t get to everything, but I enjoyed it.  Nowadays, I usually use my science demos as an object lesson for a Bible class, so I did a mix.  I enjoyed the morning and hope the children did.  Afterwards we drove back to Ahuachapán for lunch.  Noé asked if Subway was good and I said I didn’t know Ahuachapán had a Subway.  He said it had only opened three weeks earlier.  What luck!  It was great.  Betty, Noé’s wife, met us for lunch and then we went on to their house for it was still lunch time.  At 2 we headed back to Turin again, about 10 to 15 minutes away to have two studies.  We met with a neighbor of a sister and studied with her.  Then we went to a lady with two sons for a study.  One of the sons, of 14 years of age had done all 11 Bible studies on ‘Que Dice La Biblia.’  That is a very involved study with homework.  I was impressed.  Then we went back to the church so Noé could meet people for a five o’clock study.  We headed back for Juayua and passed a huge hay cart with oxen.  We stopped for a photo opt.  Going through Ahuachapán we stopped at Selectos…what a surprise.  Juayua has been out of disinfectant for veggies for a while, so I really needed this.  Selectos was next to a furniture store and they had a big crowd!  Why?  Black Friday!  They don’t have Thanksgiving here, but they do have Black Friday.  We had heard it was mostly in San Salvador, but alas, here it was close to us.  We did go in and look and they certainly had some sales.  We saw a few things we liked, but we didn’t purchase anything.  When we move we think we will need a couple of things, but we are waiting to see what our new landlord will leave in the house.  It was a busy day, but it was good to spend a little time with some friends.     

  

Yes, it reads 10 miles....the distance left in our gas tank before 'E!'

Gathering students.

Noe with introductions.

Getting started

A few necessary items....

Loving it.

  

Atom models

3-D was so clear.

Next is eating!

Eager students.

Team Work.

Demo time.

Passed Katerine returning from graduation.

Study with Ana

Oxen with hay wagon.

Well decorated.

Colors were so pretty coming home, but it is hard to get a view in a moving vehicle.

November 26, 2015

Difficult day.  We have gotten into pretty much of a routine for most days.  Charlotte gets up about 5 to 5:30 depending on what all she has to do.  She showers before anything else then gets her coffee and gets going.  I get up around 6:30 usually on my own but she calls me (at my request) if I am not up by then.  I have a cup of coffee with my home made creamer recipe of one spoon of Nestle Quick and one spoon of sugar then I wash the dishes and then shower.  At 8 we go walking with Wicket if we have time.  Then we go out for studies or door knocking about 9.  This morning was no different.  Charlotte skype messaged Happy Thanksgiving to the kids and said the same to me when I got up.  Certainly did not feel like Thanksgiving.  The only study we have been having lately on Thursday is with Mario and since he and Sara are separated Charlotte has been working at home while Cesar and I go.  He was not at home when we got there but we called and he arrived soon.  We have really gotten to the point where he knows that he needs to obey the gospel and says he intends to but keeps resisting.  Seems like we are at that point in most of the studies we have going right now.  It reminds me of the verse in Acts 7 where Stephen told the Jews that they were always resisting the Holy Spirit.  After lunch we got to skype with our family during their Thanksgiving lunch at the home of our daughter Christina and her husband, Dan.  It was certainly great to see everyone and to watch as they chowed down on all the delicious looking food but it was hard too because this is the first big holiday that we have not been there for.  After that we went to do some shopping for the last items Charlotte needed for her science classes in Turin tomorrow.  After going by the copy store and the book store I parked in the parking lot of the Family Dispensa.  It is enclosed with a wall but there is no guard and they have a sign up about not being responsible for your vehicle.  I went to the Credit Union and did my first withdrawal of money while Charlotte looked for some items.  I then joined her in the store and when we came out we noticed that the driver's door was not fully closed.  When I opened it there was a large hole where our car stereo had been about 15 minutes earlier.  I thought I had locked it because I always do that as soon as we get out but there was no alarm.  Also, it was all bolted in so obviously whoever got it knew what they were doing because they were very fast.  It is not like this doesn't happen all the time in the States but it still spoiled our day.  We had planned to go by the ice cream shop since we have not had ice cream once since getting back from the States and starting our diet but we just were not in the mood anymore.  We went by Selectos for a few items the Dispensa did not have and came on home.  Charlotte still had plenty to do to get ready for tomorrow.  I went by to pick up Cesar to go with me to take Regina for her checkup and stitch removal at the Dr. office in Apeneca.  Her appointment was for 6:30 but they wanted to get there early incase the Dr. was available earlier.  I thought that probably only she and one of the girls would go but when we got there she got in the front and Zuleyma and Pedro got in the back with Cesar so we dropped him back off at his house to make it less crowded.  We arrived at the Dr. office about 5:45 but no one was there.  We waited in the car until 6:45 when he finally drove up and then it took another 30 minutes before he was done.  She got a good report except that she needed one more round of antibiotics because she sis still running a little fever.  After I got back home Cesar came over for dinner since Eliza was in San Salvador with her parents.  Charlotte found her first sweet potatoes here and baked them for dinner since it was supposed to be a traditional Thanksgiving Day dish.  We had a nice dinner but I was not in a very good mood to be company.  He stayed till near 10 and we went to bed pretty soon after he left since we knew we had an early morning for Friday.  

 

It's a gonner...

Putting up the Christmas Tree in the square.

Made a friend on a walk.

November 25, 2015

Day of studies.  While we have many possibilities as a result of Tuesday’s event in the park, we still have our regular studies on Wednesday. Cesar and Arnoldo arrived about 9 and Cesar asked if we had picked up the power point screen after our event on the basketball court.  Unfortunately, we had not.  It was Ricardo and Joli’s screen.  He had also checked with Carlos and they did not have it either.  It had been hanging on the canopy.  The best we can decide, is that it was laid aside and then overlooked on the final loading.  Hopefully, it will turn up.  It will be definitely be a loss for the group for we all use it. First, we stopped by Mr. Rivers.  His grandmother and sister had come to the event, but we did not see them.  He had several questions, so the study focused on these answers.  We did not see any of his family members.  Mr. Rivers did say that he would come to our Bible study on Saturday.  Next, we went to visit Delmy.  At the end of the study she said that she had some prayer requests regarding conflicts.  That was our topic for Wednesday night Bible class so we encouraged her to come.  But in the end, she didn’t.  We remain in prayer.  Finally, we stopped by Julia’s.  It was good that she had come to the event, but we don’t see any real signs of change.  We had lunch with Cesar and Arnoldo and rested for about 30 minutes.  Then we headed out again for a visit with Ana.  While she seemed to feel okay, she seemed a little discouraged.  At best, she can sit on the side of her bed.  Her faith is always strong.  We laugh and talk and study, but it is such a short visit.  Cesar had gotten some vitamins that she needed and hopefully that will give her a little more energy.  Next we went on to study with Sara.  At first she was not home, but we waited for her neighbor said she had just stepped out for a few minutes.  We had a good study and she said that she would come to the evening study.  By now, it was time for us to gather our class materials and head for the evening service.  Dwaine and I have four more classes on marriage and we had prepared 6 short skits of how people handle conflict.  The best part of the evening was that Sara and her children came to the study.  We skipped with the children.  Many were cooking, trying to get ready for the Thanksgiving meal!  

Julia with a friend visiting

Cesar said it was  'horse spider.'...you can read about this on online.

Night visitor.

November 24, 2015

Exciting Day….the event!  Tuesday morning arrived with a new friend….Wendy.  She has finally arrived.  We have heard that the dry season was late in arriving and now, the rain is subsiding and the wind is picking up.  We planned to recanvas our area to remind contacts that our event in the park would be today at 3.  While several people were out, many said that they would come.  We worked about three hours door knocking.  We came home for lunch and worked on a few details.  About 2, Dwaine walked to the park/basketball court about a block away. I put on some coffee, which was a total guess.  The coffee part I think I hit pretty close, but here, people will add the sugar before preparing the coffee.  I put about 32 tablespoons of sugar in my 42 cup maker and everyone said it was great.   I drove down at 2:30.  Several people were already there and canopies were going up.  The mayor’s office was supposed to deliver 50 chairs at 2, but when I arrived, there were none.  People were beginning to arrive, so Dwaine went to our house to get our 14 chairs.  Then, he went to Regina’s to get 15 church chairs and 8 from Regina.  It quickly was not enough.  So Joli and Cesar went to Joli’s home to get some benches that they had.  We visited with ladies during this time and it looked like the turnout was going to be good.  The mayor’s office arrived at 3:30 with the 50 chairs and we got things kicked off.  It was amazing how many people we were studying with came and how many people we recognized from door-knocking.  We had 32 ladies and 49 children!!!! Linda, Carlos, Dwaine, Cesar, Arnoldo, and 3 helpers from Apaneca helped with the kids and visited with some men that also dropped by.  Joli and I each did a lesson for the ladies and Zuylema kept up with registration so we could have a record of the ladies. Ricardo did the sound. After these activities, we served hot tamales and sweet coffee.  Then, we had a drawing for door prizes.  Some were small, but several were food bags.  Everyone stayed to the end and Zuylema went around asking if anyone was interested in studying.  We were already studying with about 6 to 8 ladies and 5 said they wanted to study.  Others, we will try to revisit.  It was definitely exciting.  When things finished up about 5, we started loading everything.  The court was on a steep hill and the only level entry had a lot of brown water.  After one load, Dwaine slipped and fell on his back.  Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt, but he was covered in mud.  He helped finish loading and I drove a load of chairs back to Regina’s. Later we learned, Ricardo and Joli’s movie screen for power point presentations was missing.  We are hoping it will turn up from someone we know.  But, if not, it will have to be replaced as we all used it regularly.  We got home about 6 and Dwaine cleaned up to get ready for a study at 6 with our landlord.  We were ready, but he never arrived.  He is very good to keep his word, so we are sure something must have come up.  Overall, the day was really encouraging and we definitely have some follow-up to do.  The response is comparable to a campaign group coming through.  How exciting!

Christmas time...poinsetta bush

First arrivals, Julia and Mr. River's aunt and sister

Ricardo and Cesar

First group

Growing in number

Ladies Class

Linda with children

Sac races

Sac Races

Respite for a moment

More Sac Races

Children

Time for Refreshments

Delmy's family 

Arnoldo

Briana, daughter of Carlos and Linda

Zuleyma and Linda

Muddy after fall

Squeezing in with the chairs.