November Rain and December Travels

Our apologies to our friends and family that we have not written in quite some time, but we are writting today, yey! In summery November was full of celebrations and activities for us including baptism/confirmation, birthdays, the aniversary of our comunity, buying a refrigerator, end of the year volunteer retreats, and many other visits within our community. Perhaps the biggest news of this past month was that we became god-parents to not one but two girls within Gloria's family, her youngest daughter Ana and Carolina her grandchild. This was a great experence and although neither daughter really knew what they were experiencing with baptism (Carolina) and confirmation (Ana) it opens the door for their own spiritual journey (where-ever the road will lead). The aniversary of the community was a big and great event that we were glad to be a part of. From a soccer tournament, ferris wheel (with a much faster speed limit than any I've ever ridden, but Melissa was brave enough to ride), games and rides for kids, and a big dance that night in which we were too cheap to pay the 2 dollar cover... the place was rockin and a large part of the community was there.

There were strange events as well such as rain during a month in which it normally doesn't and hot, hot weather when it was supposed to be cold. These thoughts can only allow oneself to wonder about the effects of global warming and how it may be changing climates all over the world. Hopefully not adding to that problem was our exciting news of purchasing a used refrigerator. The cost of electric appliances here is more expensive than in the states and way out of our comfort range but we really had no choice. We were not able to continue traveling 3 or 4 times a week to purchase vegetables or other food and having no place for leftovers. Hopefully we will not have any problems with it, as it is used, and can enjoy a little cold milk with cereal, YUM!

A more personal note we have continued connecting with our community and the lack of school has really slowed down the pace of life. Many of the boys have been working the fields (or ¨milpas¨) since school ended and the next school year isn't far away (mid- January). We were glad to use this time to connect more to the people in our community and trying to be patient in finding our place. The language has been a roller-coaster ride and the patience we find within our community has been great. We also took this month to keep track of our expenses in part for goal that we have of cutting ourselves down to what people in our community can afford. Our goal in Feburary will be to cut ourselves down to the minimum salary here in El Salvador which we will tell you more about in the months to come. Since we spent some time here in December seeing Honduras and seeing my brother in Guatemala, my mother and aunt as well as Melissa's father and brother will be coming to see us in January; we may have to wait until Feburary or March to begin our change in lifestyles of living on little.

We would like to close with wishing you all a Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year. We thank you all for your continued support.

-posted by Tom