Bienvenidas/os Santa Cruz Delegation y Que les vaya bien!

New Years was spent on a different level, Tom got sick with parasites a few days before so he was on medication and his body was physically exhausted. Therefore Tom was in bed by 9pm while I was again at the Arili´s house for the dance (yes another dance), however it just wasn't the same without Tom so I went home rather early. We were in bed by 11:30 and that's how we spent the New Years. A group of our neighbors from the community however used the still brilliant light from the moon to walk to each of the communities singing songs all night long, some of them did not sleep at all that night.

The day before New Years a delegation from Lutheran and Presbyterian churches in Santa Cruz, CA arrived in our community. We had heard lots about this group from various people in our community and we were excited to meet a group who had been coming to our community for the past 10 years. They were scheduled to eat breakfast everyday at Arili’s the week they were in the community. So every morning Tom and I would wake up bright and early to help Arili serve breakfast for the 22 people (21 + the interpreter Brenda). Unlike other delegations that have come through our community this group spent a majority of a week in the Ciudadela, giving them time to connect with many people, including ourselves. We found that we were not only helping with breakfast but also trying to spend time with them during the day. Throughout the week we noticed from their strong presence in the community that we had much to learn from them. Those who have been coming for years have developed very close relationships with people from our community.

This particular delegation supports AMUDESCO, particularly paying the salary of the doctor and the health promoters for the majority of the year, if not all. Without this group from Santa Cruz I don’t know financially where the clinic would be. They also support the school, providing scholarships that include school supplies and uniforms for a number of students. Recently they also have started supporting some of the graduates to continue to study in college. Needless to say, we had a fantastic week with them; they left us with a lot of inspiration, hope and energy to continue the work that we do.

As I finish this long rambling blog, I hope I am not boring too many of you. I hope that many of you are able to connect with an organization, church, or start a group of your own, to see what role you can play in the developing countries that most need your help. The options are as limitless as your ambitions, and for those of you interested more in Santa Cruz you may visit the following link:

http://www.santacruzalsalvador.org/

Posted by Melissa and Tom

Christmas tiddings (and writings)

This Christmas we enjoyed in our community with close friends and people who are practically family. We were invited to 2 celebrations on the 24th and 2 on the 25th. The 24th was spent eating lunch at Arili and Mauricio's with all of their immediate and some more distant family. In all we were around 25 people, many of whom we knew well from the Ciudadela, but all of which we spent some time chatting with throughout the afternoon. The picture shows Arili, Claudia, and Alexander (two of her children). Supper was a date at Luis and Wilma´s (Luis who teaches Tom guitar and Wilma (his wife) is a member of AMUDESCO with Melissa), and the two children of Wilma and her father. We had visited them before and enjoyed returning as they all have a little spunk and plenty of energy. We walked home that near full moon night to join in the DJ dance at Arili and Mauricio's. The 25^th (which here in El Salvador is not celebrated as much as the 24^th) was spent visiting a few neighbors in the morning and the family of Nena (Gloria’s oldest daughter) and her family in the afternoon, eating nearly everywhere we went. For both of us this was our first Christmas away from family and friends, whom we did miss terribly, and unfortunately the season just didn’t feel the same. Nonetheless we felt content in our environment and were happy to be able to celebrate with other families to experience holidays here. But oh how I miss those Christmas goodies!! I went the whole season without gaining a pound….now that is sad.

We baked banana bread and gave those loaves to 13 families who live near us, or with those whom we’ve developed special relationships. We hope that the small gift we were able to give warmed their hearts in the way they have welcomed and warmed a place in ours. We received many warm thanks and grateful responses but hoped that they felt our appreciation for each of them that is sometimes difficult to express. A interesting difference to us was that none of the families we visited placed presents under trees and many of them did not exchange presents at all. While lack of money is certainly part of a reason for this fact, those that we visited seemed to look foreword to certain foods and family time as well. We understand that air in our community had a different spirit of Christmas feeling to it. One that at times seemed to be expressed in a sad pause of realizing this day was as much of a struggle as any other.

One such example was that upon arriving we learned that Nena was not able to celebrate Christmas due to no money for gifts, food etc.. We invited Nena, Walter, Gabby, Juan Carlos and Carolina to have lunch at our house a few days after Christmas. It was eminent how appreciative they were of the meal we had given them (pasta, chicken nuggets and garlic bread) and stated that they had not had that variety of food in a long time. So, giving them a variety from their typical beans and rice was our Christmas present to them and their happiness and appreciation was their offering to share with us.

Our christmas coffee tree

Posted by Melissa and Tom

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

Hit n run

Several weeks ago Tom, myself, and 8 other people from our organization were out eating dinner at a restaurant. It was a dark and misty evening and as we were finishing with our meal we heard the sound of tires squealing, a large thud and saw a truck driving away. I immediately thought that the truck that drove away hit one of the parked cars on the street. Then some of our team members realized that there was a man laying in the street, all of us then realizing that it indeed was a hit and run. We all sat stoic for a few moments, at this one of the other person’s from our organization (Tedde) asked if we should go over there, to which I replied yes. So, we proceeded towards the body, at the time we were thinking he was dead, however he soon started moving his limbs. Tedde started talking to him while I was directing traffic. She was encouraging the man not to move, however one of the other bystanders insisted that he be moved from the street, at which time he picked him up, not graciously, almost dropped him and proceeded to bring him to the sidewalk. As many of you are probably familiar that you are NOT supposed to move a person/body after a serious injury, obviously that is not the case here in this country. During this time Tom and one of the other members of our group had run down the street looking for the police station. After asking several people and getting responses of just down the street they arrived at the police station almost a mile away. Upon entering they found that the call had been received and the police were ¨on their way¨. When they began walking back they saw the police truck driving down the road towards the accident. When the police arrived their first and only question to people around was "Is he drunk?". The man who carried him before again carried him to the police vehicle (a short-bed pickup truck), he was put in the back along with the man who carried him to the truck, and proceeded to what we all assumed would be the hospital. We were all (the northamericans) amazed at the lack of professionalism, with no questions asked in regards to the other vehicle, etc. It really felt like it was clean it up, get em out and maybe we will ask questions later. Unfortunately, the Salvadorans had stated that this is a normal occurrence here in this country.

Thirty minutes later as we were heading back to the office in our company vehicle, Tedde (who was driving) suddenly slammed on the brakes. We then saw the same man who had been hit and taken away by the police was walking up the hill towards where he was hit. Obviously, he had not been taking to the hospital and was just dropped off away from the scene of the crime. We were completely in shock (again) of how this situation was handled, yet sadly enough the Salvadorans with us told us that events such as these can happen quite often.