friends...

Oh, and here is a cute shot of the ladies weekend in antigua! (Jenny & Cindy came up for a fun weekend and to help me take the bus successfully without a total freak out! They spoil me! The rest happened to also becoming for a quick Christmas shopping trip.) I am in the front row with Priscilla, (Michelle's sister) and the back row starts with Jenny on the left, then Cindy, Dara and finally Michelle.

Aren't we cuuuute?

Antigua is Pretty

Here are some shots of pretty Antigua.

More art

For your viewing pleasure!

art in el salvador

I know that a lot of you think that I have moved to a land of volcanoes and snakes to live in a mud hut, but the reality is that San Salvador is an urban center for El Salvador and there are many moments of light and culture. You just have to look for them a bit!

Thankfully my dear friend Jenny is an amazing artist and has already been introducing to some aspects of the art world in El Sal. She is hoping to join a collective of local artists called the FabriK and I got to tag along to an amazing art show about two weeks ago. Below are a few of the pieces that I particularly loved and a shot of Jenny, Jonathan and myself in front of Jenny's piece.

To see more of Jenny's artwork, visit: http://www.daveandjenny.org/ Much of her work is for sale and would make a beautiful Christmas gift, as well as support missionaries in El Salvador. So, you can buy a piece of art that is gorgegous and help make the world a better a place. If anyone is interested, contact me or Jenny and I can probably bring artwork home with me when I return on Dec. 13th!

my date for thanksgiving

OK, I have commited to telling the good, the blessed AND the ugly. Well, the ugly truth is that on Thursday I was so homesick that I couldn't bear going out and eating a Thanksgiving meal by myself. Turkey is great and all, but Thanksgiving is about having friends and family near and sharing in a day of thanks. Well, with no one here, I was kind of a sorry sack. And by the time I got around to dinner, I just didn't have any heart left and found myself standing by McDonalds. And so I sat in the McDonald's garden in Antigua (which is actually quite beautiful) across from this wicked clown man statue and ate fries. Trust me, I missed every single one of you on Thursday!

Gratitude – Thanksgiving 2007

For about a year now, I have been compelled to write about gratitude. There is so much to be thankful for! I see signs of God’s grace and abundance all around me and I really do want to just shout out all of the reasons that I have to be thankful for everyone to hear!

But every time I sit down to write, I am at a loss because the list gets so long so quickly. And this truth quiets me because the reality is that there is no trumpet loud enough, there are no words eloquent enough to truly describe the deep well of gratitude within my spirit. There is actually no response that I could ever give that would be appropriate.

And I realize that all I can say is thank you. It isn’t enough. It does not articulate my gratitude in the slightest. The words do not play the song that I feel deep inside as a response to so much richness. (I know that sounds a little bit sound of music-ish for me, but it’s true…) The words can’t show you how I walk the streets of El Salvador and now Guatemala, continually buzzing with thankfulness for you—each one of you. I could send thank you cards every week and that still wouldn’t do it.

And so I sit in silence and simply say a pray of thanks:
I am thankful for
each one of you that has enriched and blessed my life in so many ways.
I am
thankful for a family that always supports me in whatever crazy ideas I
pursue.
I am thankful for new friends that bring laughter and joy into my new
life.
I’m thankful for old friends that know me like a book and love me so
much anyway.
I am thankful for God’s work in El Salvador and for including me
in it.
I’m thankful for the people of El Salvador because they share beauty
with me in ways that lighten my path.
I’m thankful for friends and family
that so generously continue to partner in this work in words, prayers and
financially.
I’m thankful for River West—my heart’s home.
I’m thankful for
ENLACE—where my journey gets interesting!
I’m thankful for good music and
people that can play guitar in my life.
I am thankful for good Spanish
teachers!
I’m thankful for the internet, hand made chocolates and cute
shoes.
And I’m thankful for planes into El Salvador because they will bring
some of you to me in the months to come.

And this thanksgiving, I have to say that everything on this list is all a
direct result of God’s hand on my life. And as we turn the corner towards
Christmas, let me encourage you to take a moment to be thankful for the most
precious and powerful gift ever. For me, all blessings flow from that
night in December.

Psalm 34:1-4
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the
LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. Magnify the LORD with me, and let us
exalt His name together.

And in Spanish: Bendeciré a SEÑOR siempre; Su alabanza estará continuamente en mi boca. Mi alma hará su alarde en el SEÑOR; La voluntad humilde lo oye y rejoice. Magnifique a SEÑOR con mí, y exalt su nombre junto.

Love you all & miss you all terribly today.
PS: Shelle & Liser – Be sure to make some mashed potatoes in my honor! Aunt Sue- I am using my emergency $20 for Thanksgiving dinner tonight in Antigua! I might even have enough left over for a pedicure!

oh and two more!

Ooo, these are so good. Here is our tiny team with Pastor Miguel. I love these guys so much that I even let them take a photo of me from below. (Yep, the dreaded double chin angle!)

And on the last night in Las Delicias some of the kiddos that we had been hanging with all week wrote our names in the cement. I get pretty emotional just looking at this shot. Of course, that is a bit overwhelmed by giggles when I think about how the kids came up with spelling Shane's name "Chet." Oh yea, that nickname will stick!

But truly, what a gift to be known and so remembered by our friends in Las Delicias. It makes me want to go out and haul some tiera right now!

how to build a muro

It's sounds easy, but just wait! Here are the steps in case you want to build your very own tire retaining wall!

1. Get tires - a lot
2. Get dirt - a whole lot
3. Clear the ground & make it level.
4. Lay down tires & start cramming dirt in with your handy pala.
5. Repeat these steps over and over
6. Build a small cement volcano and shovel until your arms want to fall off.
7. Load said cement into any available bucket, barrel or bowl.
8. Make a lovely cement floor at the top of your muro and toss cement into all available holes in the wall.
9. Let dry.
10. Start over on some other part of the hill that is washing away with the rains.

All I have to say is that Pete, Mike & Shane are all amazing in my eyes. They worked like animals all week and absolutely gave all of their hearts. Good stuff.

Ana Maria's House

Since I will be traveling around so much, I am not planning on moving into my new place until January. So I have been staying at a few different spots. Below are a few pics of Ana Maria's home where I have spent the majority of time thus far. For $70 a week, I get a room, a cold shower and breakfast and dinner. And Ana Maria is a mother to all and has graciously cared for me, helped correct my Spanish, done laundry, etc, etc. If you ever come to El Salvador for a while, I highly recommend trying to stay with Ana Maria! This week, I will try to get a photo of Ana Maria to post on her as well.

The 80’s Live On

A while back, my friend Wendy declared that she did not know any other person that had so embraced the return of the 1980’s—her tone implied that this was a problem of some kind. And I quickly admitted that I kind of like the 80’s and I will proudly wear my checkerboard vans for many years to come!

Well, about two weeks ago, I was sitting on the front porch of my home stay earnestly discussing the merits of Michael Jackson, Journey & the Police—in Spanish! I even got into an argument about where Madonna was born (Bay City, Michigan if you didn’t know!) And afterwards, I realized that El Salvador and I have one major thing in common—an appreciation for the decade that brought the world jelly shoes, Cyndi Lauper and Boy George. Of course, in an effort for international relations, I had to actually admit almost all of the 80’s bands that I still love, but my new friend Shane was the only witness and has promised to take my embarrassing music preferences to the grave.

And it was pretty amazing being able to grunt out some sense of meaning in my horrible Spanish. It was a first glimpse of what all of these classes and hours might bring. Thanks for your continued prayers, as I continue to study and will attempt to speak beyond MTV in the coming months.