A Few Snapshots

Unfortunately I have not been able to get internet on my comp for a week or two, but... low and behold, I brought a memory stick by accident. Yay! Therefore I can share a few pics with you. Hope you enjoy!!!

The beauty of this country seems to constantly blow me away.

It takes time to see and appreciate beauty in a new place.

My 2 favourite things about riding the bus; first the wind blowing in my face and second the salesmen that get on board. They hop on, walk down the aisles handing out whatever they are selling to everyone and then go to the front to give their "shpeal". Whatever it is, whether a lanyard, a pack of halls or even a single pencil, they rattle on and on about the benefits of the item and what a good price you are going to pay. Its like a infomercial right on the bus. "For only 25 centavos you can own...". At the end they either take the item back or your money. Quite an interesting sales tactic!!

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This is Lenox, the dog I was living with. He´s quite a beauty but has way too much energy for such a small space! Oh, and I moved! I have been welcomed into the home of Miguel and Lidia (the pastor and his wife) for my last 3 weeks.

 Sometimes we use the computer....

sometimes we get a little crazy!

 

There was a huge Valentines Day party at the school. In El Salvador they call it "La dia de la Amistad" or Friendship Day, which I think has a bit of a better ring to it :)

We sing songs for the whole school...

we enjoy the day.

We stand on logs...

we pose for the camera. 

The beauty of friendship...                     and excitement!              

 We enjoy the sun...                   we hang out together...                we put on our shades...

We swing...                                    we play...                                    we chill.

  

We party!!!

Please notice the boy on the left.

Skinny jeans and rad shoes. Ya, some people have got style!

Dear friends. Friends I will miss.

Wow! What a blessing to be here, to spend time with the kids, to share a portion of our lives together. They ask when I´m leaving, I tell them and they groan. They ask when I will come back. And I say I don´t know.

 

       We write notes...                        we share our love.

Just as a body, though one,

has many parts,

but all its many parts form one body,

so it is with Christ.

There are times and seasons for everything. This is a time of reflection for me. It is a time to meditate, to observe all thats around me, to see how God relates to it all; to hanging sneakers, to the drunk on the corner, to the kids laughing and playing futbol.

  One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Another day, Another dollar (minus the dollar)

Hola Amigos
Well, I am very happy to report that I fully recovered a week ago from my little buggy friend otherwise known as the infection. Thank you for all your prayers.And now I am being much more careful with what I am eating. NO cortido (the pickled vegetable eaten on pupusas), NO drinks or frozen slushies made with water from who knows where and NO pupusas made with pork (revueltas).
Life is going well. I am feeling more and more comfortable with living here. Today when I got on the bus to go to church, all the seat backs had Canadian flags and I couldn't help but burst into a grin. I praise God for giving me the opportunity to be here and ask that he would continue to show me how to serve and love those around me in this different environment. Every day I learn more about the culture, obviously its different on the outside but there are many internal differences as well.
Friday I had my first real Spanish lesson. Yay! Its nice to have something a little more structured to learn the language. Hopefully it will fill in all those boring but necessary grammatical blanks in my head.
It is looking like I will be needing to move again. I haven't heard when or to where so for now I'm enjoying where I am staying day by day until I hear differently. I'm loving where I am living and thank God for this blessing. Unfortunately I no longer have internet at my house and therefore cannot post pictures until I take my computer to a location with internet.
More stories and pictures to come later. Much love to all!!

A Bug and Bugs

Just wanted to post a quick update.

Turns out I am sick! What a surprise. Tuesday night, I was up all night because of  a painful stomach, diahrrea, a headache, dizziness and vomiting. What fun! Theres nothing like throwing up all over the bathroom floor and then cleaning it up :). I couldn't even manage to keep water down and was becoming extremely dehydrated. Anyways, the doctor came yesterday (Im pretty sure thats the first time I've had a doctor make a housecall) and it turns out I have an intestinal infection. Im now taking Cipro, drinking Suero Oral and Gatorade and keeping myself to a strict diet. I haven't actually tried any food yet but Im thinking today may be the day.

Last night, on one of my trips to the bathroom, I went in and felt something run across my foot. I turned on the light, found out it was a cochroach and jumped onto the toilet. Turns out there were three of them, so after having a little bit of a breakdown, I made a mad dash for my bedroom to arm myself with sandals on my feet and shoes on my hands. I managed to kill 2 of them (they're fast little buggers) but by that time I was starting to black out so I decided to let the last one go. Apparently there's a hole in the bathroom where they come in through so it doesn't look like I'll be able to take them all.

Thats all for now.

Much love, Meghan

Hey Team!

Well, it being the first of the month I thought it would be an appropriate time to post an update. I´ve only been here for 11 days yet it seems like so much has happened. To start off, I have a confession to make. I have not eaten a bean since I got here. I feel this is both a triumph and a copout.

 

I have been at the school every morning helping with English class in classes ranging from Preschool thourgh to Grade 6. The kids are truly wonderful though perhaps slightly rambunctious. I have made so many little friends in no time. They come running up to me with ''Hola Meghan'' and many hugs and kisses. I love being around the kids, teaching them what I can and just hanging out.

There is one boy in particular I´d like to mention, Javier. He is 12 years old but has the mental capacity of a 5 year old so he is in Grade 1. He has learning challenges so when Im in that class I have become his aid. He is such a beautiful and creative child! I love the time I get to spend with him. Mostly, he explains to me just about anything under the sun. So I sit there as he rattles away in Spanish as I try to keep up. He´ll bring out a book in Spanish and explain by looking at the pictures what is going on. I love it and also get to learn a bit of Spanish too.

Javier, my new found buddy!

 

On Saturday there was a celebration at the school. It was like an assembly for the parents. There is alot of encouragement for the parents to really take interest in their kids studies' and to commit to helping their kids. Its amazing working at a school where God is the main focus, where they have a devocion every monday morning put on by the students and where being Christlikeness is the goal. What a change from public school!

Dance Lessons

 

Sunday included church as per usual, a birthday party out in San Marcos and an afternoon of playing futbol. What a wonderful day that was! Last night there was a special event where several churches from San Salvador and San Marcos met together to pray for their country and for their government. I would compare it to World Day of Prayer in Canada. It was quite facsinating as the newly elected President of the Legislative Assembly, Sigfrido Reyes, attended and played a major part in the event. He was prayed for and made several commitments to the church and to God.  It was surprising to see the government mix with the church but I hope and pray that good things come of it. John 3:16, the band from IBE, played for the service which was great! After the 2.5 hour service, cleaning up all the sound equipment and driving it back to the church, we headed off for supper at McDonalds at about 9:30. Certainly not the best choice for gluten free but food non the less.

John 3:16

Sigfrido Reyes with "the people"

 

I'm finding one of the hardest parts about being here is being a white girl. I knew it would be problematic but its hard to get used to. Everywhere I go I get cat calls, whistles and the like. To me it seems so ridiculous. It wouldn't matter whether i was pretty or ugly, the fact is I'm "exotic". I'm different. White people are so rare here. I haven't seen any except a few at the church. I have considered dying my skin, but then realized i would then need to dye my hair too and then of course i would need to color my eyes. It would be similar to "If you give a mouse a cookie..." (if you haven't read that children's book you should). Whenever they whistle i just want to walk up to them and say "Hey! I'm a real person, just like everyone else, not an object. Just because my skin is different doesn't mean I'm different". Of course i don't have enough spanish to say all that confidently and it seems if you give them any attention at all, even eye contact it goes from bad to worse. I'm doing my best to give this frustration to God and to thank him for the blessing of Canada, where everyone looks different so that in the end no ones different.

Cal Pupil (the youth house)

Life in general is really good. Everyday seems to fill up with different activities or events to keep me busy. I am kept very occupied with learning Spanish. My brain is always working so Ive been trying to go to bed earlier and have also ended up eating more. My stomach is not doing so well but that is to be expected, or so I think. Thank you so much for all your prayers and thoughts! God is teaching me so much! Today I had a really good conversation with one of the teachers at the school today. Despite my broken Spanish and his broken English we had a good and interesting discussion about the political situations in Canada and El Salvador. It was really nice to be able to have a real conversation with someone, deeper than just the surface level. The more I can communicate the more encouraged I feel, so thanks for your prayers in the language department too! God is certainly answering them. Love to all you back home, and to those abroad too!

Observing the contrast