Well, to all who have been keeping up with us, thanks for your love and support.
I know Marty wants to tell you more about our friend Douglas (Doo-glus), but maybe at a later time. Douglas has found a house to provide respite for kids whose parents have HIV. The house serves to support them while their parents are in treatments. Douglas has many plans and they need support to make life happen, but it is so clear God has been paving the way for them as they step out in faith. If you'd like to know more about this work, pls. let us know. We would love to talk about it.
We love you all and hope to see you sometime soon.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Costume Party: Ashley's Birthday
- For Ashley's birthday, she and two other friends celebrating this week decided to have a costume party together.... we celebrated at the church with a myriad of other characters and pan con pollo (chicken and bread). Marty and I realized last night that we have celebrated six birthdays with friends here over the past month! whew.
- We were: Forrest Gump & Jenni... Princess Leia & Luke Skywalker, hahaha!
The guys outfits were pretty scary! so we'll just stick to these... Hope you're all well.
- We were: Forrest Gump & Jenni... Princess Leia & Luke Skywalker, hahaha!
The guys outfits were pretty scary! so we'll just stick to these... Hope you're all well.
Happy Birthday Ash!!!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Moje & Coffe Fields
www.mojecasaartesanal.com
Moje: The top pictures from the previous post are from an artisans shop called Moje. It started as a place for young people to hang out when suicide became a common idea among youth. Once the respite became a bonding place, Moje was born to encourage purpose and work in the town. The way it works is through a store in town and many other places that sell printed material, clay pieces, and beautiful wood workings. A workshop is located a little further out in the countryside (we took a motor taxi to get there - they are outlawed in the city!). The road is rough, but the workshops are full of ideas, molds, and teachers. Our friend Belin has been teaching the artisans English so they can sell their wares to English speakers. She introduced us to them and we were shown how everything works. We met several local artists this way because people love Belin! You can see how people who are interested in clay would be drawn to this town, but even more, we could see how clay art evolved from the land itself. The red clay under our feet was so rich and plentiful, I'm glad someone knew how to use it for many purposes.
Coffee Plantations: The other pics are from a hike in a coffee field. It's designated as an ecological park, so they welcome visitors and have rangers, etc. Elvis is holding a red coffee berry in his fingers. It is ripe for picking. The other pics are how we shooed away mosquitoes! They are everywhere. We actually bought coffee from this place the first week we were here. It's hard to buy coffee now and not think about all of the hard work that created each bag that we buy. It's nice to have an appreciation for something this simple and yet so integral to my everyday life.
Moje: The top pictures from the previous post are from an artisans shop called Moje. It started as a place for young people to hang out when suicide became a common idea among youth. Once the respite became a bonding place, Moje was born to encourage purpose and work in the town. The way it works is through a store in town and many other places that sell printed material, clay pieces, and beautiful wood workings. A workshop is located a little further out in the countryside (we took a motor taxi to get there - they are outlawed in the city!). The road is rough, but the workshops are full of ideas, molds, and teachers. Our friend Belin has been teaching the artisans English so they can sell their wares to English speakers. She introduced us to them and we were shown how everything works. We met several local artists this way because people love Belin! You can see how people who are interested in clay would be drawn to this town, but even more, we could see how clay art evolved from the land itself. The red clay under our feet was so rich and plentiful, I'm glad someone knew how to use it for many purposes.
Coffee Plantations: The other pics are from a hike in a coffee field. It's designated as an ecological park, so they welcome visitors and have rangers, etc. Elvis is holding a red coffee berry in his fingers. It is ripe for picking. The other pics are how we shooed away mosquitoes! They are everywhere. We actually bought coffee from this place the first week we were here. It's hard to buy coffee now and not think about all of the hard work that created each bag that we buy. It's nice to have an appreciation for something this simple and yet so integral to my everyday life.
Beaches are free
Thanks to Ashley and Elvis we found a beautiful, almost-isolated beach on Tuesday. The tide was high, and we thought we'd be hanging out on old fishing canoes because the water didn't leave much sand. But after about an hour or so, we met a couple who's renting a small house on the other side of the beach. She's from Vancouver and he's from El Salvador. They invited us to swim in their pool and lay in their hammocks until low tide. For a few hours we were the only ones out there. Since some of the beaches here have crime activity, this was a true gift from God. As Emily would say, we met God on the unbeaten path.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Last Sunday
Pastors and friends around here are very open to what God is doing and saying. Since Marty, Ashley and Elvis know these folks, they've been wanting to get to know me too and we've had some great conversations. I think Marty and I are going home very refreshed and encouraged by the presence of God in this place and in our own lives as well.
A couple of weeks ago, our friend Jose Luis asked me to preach if we came back to Comasagua. I said no 1)bc of the language barrier & 2) bc I'm just not used to people asking me to preach. I guess I thought he was being nice. But I had a mesage of God's love on my heart and so I asked God when we got home if I said no to something He'd wanted me to do. Then I asked him to get someone else to ask me if He wanted me to talk about His love.
Well, in the next couple of days, one of the pastors of Ruta 3:16, Ashley and Elvis's church stopped by. He walked in the door, said a few words and then said: Sara, I have a message for you. You need to use your gift. God wanted me to tell you this bc 1) you needed to hear this from a man (who believes women have gifts to share) and 2) from someone in spiritual leadership. Wow-ee! I felt tears in my eyes... you know that feeling when someone says something that matters to you very deep in side? God answered me very quickly. So, Wally the Pastor invited me to use my gift this past Sunday. It was awesome. I felt free.
They had a group here last week and there was a lot of worship and calling out to God. I prayed all week and asked God what he was doing at this church and what role I should take. It seemed to me that He wanted to empower the church to listen to Him and respond to Him. So Marty helped me with translation and we spoke about 3 times, strengthening, encouraging and comforting each believer. I've been really affected by the wisdom of 1 Cor 14:3 over the past year, so I know God embodied His word amongst all of us on Sunday. And the funny thing is... we spoke in order to prepare them for a time of art making! YES! We combined pastoral work with art making and it was SO GOOD.
I'll tell you why: Archbishop Oscar Romero wrote these words in February 5, 1978
What is my word, what is human wisdom
but a noise that reaches the outer ear?
But from that ear to the heart lies a road
that only God can travel.
Blessed the preacher
who does not put their trust
in the noise of their own words,
even though they come wrapped in human wisdom.
What happened was that people were encouraged to listen to God in ways that were very natural to them and then they were given time to interact with God without disruption. I reminded them that God loved them deeply and that his death carried all the things that pain us. I had a vision of handing the weight of the crucified Christ to God and being handed back a pearl, much heavier than the weight of His crucifixion. And this was His message to us: Christ in you, the HOPE of GLORY. Spend time with me. Meet with me. Respond to me.
And it was beautiful. Marty and I brought simple art supplies. After worship, people gathered in small groups or individually. Afterwards, they hung their pieces on clotheslines in the back and we talked as a group about our experiences and what we felt God was doing in our midst. Art can be a voice for the voiceless and everyone was represented. As a whole they were greatly encouraged to see a ton of LOVE in their images, redemption, etc. And individually they connected in ways that were a bit overwhelming bc the experience was so intimate. I can't wait to see how this "group art" speaks to them in the months ahead. They are open to God and I believe He has good things in store for them as the family of God.
Check out their website and pray as you think of them: www.ruta316.com
Around here, "Ruta ___" is on every bus and sign. As a church, they wanted to establish themselves as a group traveling the way of John 3:16. It has been a blessing to be with them.
P.S: Fernando Llort's daughter, the first artist we wrote about, is an art therapist and apparently does art therapy at the same place we visited! We're going to check it out today.
A couple of weeks ago, our friend Jose Luis asked me to preach if we came back to Comasagua. I said no 1)bc of the language barrier & 2) bc I'm just not used to people asking me to preach. I guess I thought he was being nice. But I had a mesage of God's love on my heart and so I asked God when we got home if I said no to something He'd wanted me to do. Then I asked him to get someone else to ask me if He wanted me to talk about His love.
Well, in the next couple of days, one of the pastors of Ruta 3:16, Ashley and Elvis's church stopped by. He walked in the door, said a few words and then said: Sara, I have a message for you. You need to use your gift. God wanted me to tell you this bc 1) you needed to hear this from a man (who believes women have gifts to share) and 2) from someone in spiritual leadership. Wow-ee! I felt tears in my eyes... you know that feeling when someone says something that matters to you very deep in side? God answered me very quickly. So, Wally the Pastor invited me to use my gift this past Sunday. It was awesome. I felt free.
They had a group here last week and there was a lot of worship and calling out to God. I prayed all week and asked God what he was doing at this church and what role I should take. It seemed to me that He wanted to empower the church to listen to Him and respond to Him. So Marty helped me with translation and we spoke about 3 times, strengthening, encouraging and comforting each believer. I've been really affected by the wisdom of 1 Cor 14:3 over the past year, so I know God embodied His word amongst all of us on Sunday. And the funny thing is... we spoke in order to prepare them for a time of art making! YES! We combined pastoral work with art making and it was SO GOOD.
I'll tell you why: Archbishop Oscar Romero wrote these words in February 5, 1978
What is my word, what is human wisdom
but a noise that reaches the outer ear?
But from that ear to the heart lies a road
that only God can travel.
Blessed the preacher
who does not put their trust
in the noise of their own words,
even though they come wrapped in human wisdom.
What happened was that people were encouraged to listen to God in ways that were very natural to them and then they were given time to interact with God without disruption. I reminded them that God loved them deeply and that his death carried all the things that pain us. I had a vision of handing the weight of the crucified Christ to God and being handed back a pearl, much heavier than the weight of His crucifixion. And this was His message to us: Christ in you, the HOPE of GLORY. Spend time with me. Meet with me. Respond to me.
And it was beautiful. Marty and I brought simple art supplies. After worship, people gathered in small groups or individually. Afterwards, they hung their pieces on clotheslines in the back and we talked as a group about our experiences and what we felt God was doing in our midst. Art can be a voice for the voiceless and everyone was represented. As a whole they were greatly encouraged to see a ton of LOVE in their images, redemption, etc. And individually they connected in ways that were a bit overwhelming bc the experience was so intimate. I can't wait to see how this "group art" speaks to them in the months ahead. They are open to God and I believe He has good things in store for them as the family of God.
Check out their website and pray as you think of them: www.ruta316.com
Around here, "Ruta ___" is on every bus and sign. As a church, they wanted to establish themselves as a group traveling the way of John 3:16. It has been a blessing to be with them.
P.S: Fernando Llort's daughter, the first artist we wrote about, is an art therapist and apparently does art therapy at the same place we visited! We're going to check it out today.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Cabin Fever
Well, not really. Elvis, Sara, and Ashley did have actual fevers this weekend - and we did all go to a cabin together, but the ambience was absolute relaxation. Ashley and Elvis found this cabin for us in the middle of orange orchards, banana groves, and tropical gardens on a hillside just out of the city. The cabin was an old country farmhouse complete with wooden beams, clay oven, pilas (the most useful, multi-purpose wash basin ever invented: part bathtub, part kitchen sink, part rain-catcher, part washing machine), ceramic pots for decor, hamacas, and large porches - all meticulously cared for and modernized. In short, a haven of relaxation.
We ventured out on Saturday to climb a nearby cliff named Puerta del Diablo - the eery fog rolled through the gap in the mountains as we got there and dissipated as we ate hot corn cakes (riguas) filled with fresh homemade cheese. From the top, the view down into the valleys looked Tolkienesque with its patchwork of vibrant greens.
The rest of the weekend consisted in laying in hammocks, grilling amazing kabobs, watching movies as the rain pounded on the tin roof (another good reason for subtitles - by the way, a Mexican film named La Misma Luna or Under the Same Moon is a fantastically sentimental account of the struggles and people involved in immigration), drinking coffee and Salvadoran mint hot chocolate, and telling embarassing childhood stories on each other.
Completely relaxed.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Lake in a Volcano
Well, we took the day slow yesterday and enjoyed a break from the city and noise at this crater in a volcano! It's a beautiful lake surrounded by houses and restaurants. This part was pretty quiet, except for the harmonica and guitar music being played nearby. Elvis and I are starting to get colds so the water was nice, hopefully we'll be feeling better soon! It's great to be around my new sister and brother in-laws...
Jane, what do you think abou those flippers!?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Jose Luis & Sylvia's family
The whole family! Wow-ee! The little boy I'm sitting with was named after Marty. They call him Marty's middle name Dani (Daniel). Sylvia is teaching me to make pupusas. The ones Marty and I made were not nearly as good as hers. They set up a table for us outside, lit candles, made a toast with fruit juice and told us stories all night. It was a great time. Plus, they killed a goat for us. We had goat for lunch and it was very special. My first time :) The last picture is Nahum. He loves adults and went with us wherever his dad went.We're going to the lake with Ashley and Elvis today. It's their favorite place here, so we're looking forward to it! And if you haven't seen "Get Smart" in the theatre... sheck it out. It's really good, clean humor.
more art!
We didn't publish pics from Comosagua last week... so that's what you're seeing today. These women have been working on designs for greeting card projects (3,000 this month). 10,000 villages met with them a few weeks ago, so you may be able to find their work NEAR YOU! sometime soon. Do I sound like a saleswoman? Well, maybe I am. The women can stay home to work with their kids nearby and that is great for the family, especially because they are single moms. Life is hard here and every opportunity counts. Plus, the work is beautiful... check it out:
and a new initiative they've become a part of:
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