For those of you wondering, I made it back ok. Not too much happened today worth talking about. My only casualty was that one of my digital camera cards became corrupted, so I can’t read some of the pictures. I’m going to try to take it to some kind of heavy duty data recovery specialist to see if any of it can be recovered. I lost about 80 pictures because of this.
I’m really tired and am going to bed soon.

I would feel dishonest using the hotel’s computers and then not paying. So I hang arond the computer lab and answer questions for members of our group. People feel as though I’m some kind of genius. I’m no genius. I just use common sense.
So we drove to Usulatan. On our way there we past a couple of pickup trucks full of people. John Thomas said he saw a small child’s coffin on the bed of the truck. He said the people were solemn faced. I mistakenly gave a wave to the crowd. I didn’t know any better. It was a good thing I didn’t take their picture.
We ate at a fast food chicken place in Usulutan. I asked for a can of Coke. When I got it, it had a dead fly on the side of it. It goes to show you that sanitation isn’t the same as in the US.
Jack warned us not to eat the lettuce, nor the fountain drinks. Terry accidentally knocked his fort on the floor and the waiter immediately gave him a new one.
I’m not sure what the local think of our cleanliness. We constantly ask for cokes with straws – which surprisingly they always have – even in the smallest podunk town.
After eating lunch we drove to Janet’s bakery in Usulutan. Since it was Good Friday she was gone.
In fact there were lots of people around the churches for Good Friday services.
Next we drove to the small town where our mission group went to last year – San Francisco. The rented church was small. Armando had the key. From what I understand the total membership here was small. It is amazing how their church facilities are pretty basic while we almost demand padded pews – these people get by on a dusty building with plastic yard chairs. Are we spending too much money on nice multi thousand dollar buildings? Probably it doesn’t take padded pews to worship God.
Next was on to San Agustin where a MJ group had gone right after the earthquake of 2001. There were several church members waiting for us at the building. We sang some songs with them. Afterwards, Jack, my dad, and David Shannon gave them words of encouragement. It was a very meaningful to know the MJ church had a hand in helping build this building. Making a difference. That’s what it is all about.
After saying our goodbyes to the church members we walked down to the city square – where we had setup a medical mission right after the earthquake of 2001. It had a shabby looking clock tower and basketball court. Our mission group slept in tents on the outdoor basketball court while solders guarded their stuff.
What was really funny was seeing a shabby looking video arcade on the square. Cows walked the streets in this town. There were remnants of the earthquake still lingering. The clock tower mentioned previously is still broken. I saw at least one house collapsed. Cracks in the buildings were prevalent.
I’ve seen plenty of adobe buildings. These are made out of dirt. Since it doesn’t rain much here, except for a few months of the year, these buildings weather decently. I’ve also seen shack made from tin metal and aluminum siding.
While driving in and around the countryside I’ve noticed that the country could easily be Tennessee or Kentucky in the summertime.
We had Pizza Hut pizza tonight. We took an airport shuttle to the airport and got our pizzas. I noticed there was a subway restaurant right beside it too.
There is a singing going on tonight, but I’m not going to it. I’m a bit tired and know that there’s a chance I’ll be there longer than I want to. I enjoying singing, but really only in certain circumstances – like church camp.
Speaking of church camp, this mission trip is like church camp – the only difference is that it is mostly all adults along. Instead of ministering to kids, we are ministering to the locals. I can understand why some people are hardcore about it, after all I’m probably hard core about church camp. I really don’t plan on coming EVERY year. We’ll see what happens when next year rolls around as to if I’ll plan on returning.
I don’t even want to think about packing. I’ve got some breakable stuff and need to take that into consideration. I felt bad about dropping almost $100 on souvenirs and then being asked to help with supporting our Latin American Missions. I hate feeling guilty.

So there’s a charge to use the hotel’s internet connections. Something like $1.25/fifteen minutes. I’m just glad I was able to use it for as long as I did. The last time I used it, the hotel receptionist stopped me as I was going out and told me about the charge. Luckily he didn’t charge me for my ignorance.
I’ve seen more Americans here at the hotel than what I saw the entire trip. Many of the hotel staff can speak good English. This morning I found out my Dad’s English skills are terribly lacking. He couldn’t even ask the hotel maid for a bottle of water.
So the TV shows TNT, CNN International (I had seen this version of CNN in Shanghai before)….and a few other English networks. Many were subtitled in Spanish.
It is easy to forget you’re in El Salvador while stayin in this hotel – this cultural bubble. But once you get outside of the hotel, it is easy to be reminded this aint Kansas anymore, Toto.
Breakfast we good. I had an omelet at the hotel’s break bar.
So I’m really wondering if I contributed to this trip. I haven’t done anything incredibly vital to the trip. If I hadn’t come along would the trip had been as good as what it was? I sorta stayed in the background. Maybe I was afraid to get close to the locals due to germs. Maybe there are just harder workers in the group. Phil said he was glad I came. I’m glad I came. I just wish I could have become more comfortable to be a vital part of the group. Buddy said take pictures and so I did. That was my job and I hop I did it well. My Spanish skills were terribly lacking so I couldn’t have a Bible study with anyone.
I do feel inadequate at times. So many more people are more vital to this trip than I am. I guess we’ll see how vital these pictures are once I get back. I’ll have some homework to do once I get back. Burning CDs for everyone.
Well its getting close to time to leave for Usulutan. See you later

Yesterday we toured all around El Salvador. After paying our $30 fee, we loaded up on 3 buses and took off. From Santa Ana to Lake Coatepeque. Coatepeque is a lake made from the hole of a volcano. The view from there was tremendous.
While we drove through San Salvador, I saw many familiar sites from home….Burger King, Blockbuster Video, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut…. All seemed to have larger seating capacity…obviously to accommodate the wealthy American crowds which probably came through there looking for decent food. On the other hand, there is a local burger chain called “Biggest” which apparently is really big here. There was even a Biggest Burger in Usulutan. They have a unique way of delivering pizza and chicken around here. The drivers have motor bikes. We are talking off road motor bikes with little storage bins in the back. I’ve been trying to catch a picture of them, but they are way too fast and I’m slow with the camera.
Lunch was less to be desired. It was included in our $30 tour. Some kind of cheese and bean bread patties. Smelt funny. Someone said they thought it was made from goat cheese. The restaurant which served it, also had a bakery in it. The people in our group who tried the cakes said they needed more sweetness.
We went to several shops to buy souvenirs I got a couple of statues, some marindas, and a bunch of other junk. The first store we went to was a specialized art store. Then there was the store which supposedly sold authentic Indian artifacts. We did go to a pyramid, but unfortunately due to holy week, it was closed. But we did get to view it from the fence.
The bus ride was long and the roads were not in the best conditions. Phil helped everyone pass the time by singing hymns throughout much of the busride. I’m really glad I was able to see a unique country with a group of dedicated like-minded Christians. Everyone has been very positive. I’m glad I came.
Also along the way, we stopped at a Texaco station. I’ll call it an “Inconvenience Station” because it didn’t have much else but gas and Gatorade to sell. The inside of it was completely bare. We stopped to use the uni-sex bathroom (some of us peed in the woods nearby).
This initially entry might be deceptive. I have not had a chance to post my previous entries. This has not been all fun and games. We worked hard at the school in Usulutan. Sweated alot. Cold showers at night (but at least they had running water). I never thought I would crave a cold shower, but I did at that point. However something odd would happen as soon as you stepped out of the shower. You’d get dirty again. There was no escaping it.
In order not to burn up on re-entry, we’ve got to assimilate ourselves to American culture. Otherwise the shock to the system would be too great for our bodies. Hence the stay at this hotel. It’s pretty much a slice of America here in El Salvador. The hotel has pretty much everything a hotel in the US would have. Except you can’t drink the water. Close your eyes and don’t open your mouth in the shower. Use bottled water when brushing your teeth.
Tomorrow we are going to San Francisco, El Salvador (don’t confuse that with the California one). We’ll be seeing some of the congregations which we’ve done campaigns for in the past few years. We also might visit a hospital. We get to sleep in til 9 or so before we leave at 10 for the tour.
On Saturday we’ll be at the airport at 10AM. We need to get there 2 and a half hours before our departure, just in case something goes wrong.
Well I need to get some sleep and let someone else use this computer. There are only 2 computers available for us gringos. See y’all later.
By the way, here are some pictures from the trip. There is only one of me.

I’m in the Comfort Inn in San Salvador. These Spanish keyboards are awful. The characters aren’t where they are in the English keyboard.
Everything is going fine. A few people got sick while on the trip, but otherwise all is well. We are planning on visiting some ruins today, as soon as the bus gets here. My hotel room isn’t ready, so I’m killing time at the keyboard.
I hope you can see this entry. Send a comment if you can, because I am unable to see this on this computer I’m using.
I’m glad I came on this trip, although I’ll probably be a one timer simply because it is just so tiring and inconveinent. Germs are everywhere. We have to wash our hand constantly.
We did have about 21 baptisms which is cool. The Honduran preachers were all really gung-ho about spreading the Gospel. The El Salvadorian natives were all very friendly and would always smile when we said “Buenos Dias” to them. I’ve taken plenty of pictures, which I’ll post here when I get back.
Hope all is well.

I am tired of feeling dirty all the time. Give someone a hug and feel dirty all day. This country is full of dirt and dust.
I was asked 3 times by the locals for a bandana – Something I have never worn in El Salvador nor anywhere else. These people are persistent. I hate to turn them down because I’m sure they have nothing. But it is annoying after a while.
This morning I went out door knocking with Ever and someone else. The first house the family seemed receptive at first, but we later found they were Pentecostal. The older lady started chanting and pointing at me as if to put a curse on me. Then she knelt down and prayed and chanted. We left.
The 2nd house produced results. After an hour of studying the older lady (who seemed preoccupied the whole time) decided to be baptized.
We had to bring a truck to pick her up and drive her to the baptistery since she was old and in bad health.
These Latin American preachers definitely know what they’re talking about as far as the Bible is concerned. They don’t cut corners. They know their scripture. I had little idea what they were talking about during the Bible study, but they must have said it forceful enough to get the point across.
Phil, Jessila, Robert, Jason and Canaan and I went out door knocking in the marketplace today. We also had time to shop around. I tried getting a soccer jersey. The lady wanted $40. I tried to offer her $20, but she wouldn’t take it.
Tonight we had alot of people for worship tonight. I think another CoC in the area brought a bus. I guess everyone wanted to say goodbye to us. Tomorrow we leave at 7Am. Probably wake up at 5:30.
I’m tired of writing. More to come later.

I hung around the compound today. There were plenty of people who had not been door knocking, so I gave them the opportunity to do so.
I’ve made friends with some of the preachers kids – Manuel – 9, Diego – 6, and Amanda – 4. All very good kids. I did borrow Terry’s Spanish book to practice my poor pronunciation of Spanish on them.
I helped Jacob, Jeremy and Phil water the crowd. Basically we go outside of the gate with a 5 gallon water tank and 4 cups and give water to the people. We resue the cups multiple times while we’re out there.
We had hotdogs for lunch and spaghetti for supper. Food has been good. You’d be surprised what you can make – especially when you have 2 EL Salvadorian women helping you.
Speaking of help, we found help with Herson – who was able to speak English having lived in LA for 9 years. He helped tremendously with the gate – letting people in and out.
The gate is sorta hard to describe. Its a big metal door with a closeable window. All around people are lined up with very little room – pushing to get in the doors. Greg has been working the gate – only letting a certain amount in at a time. But he got sick today and was out of commission. The school principal has given out numbers to people wishing to get medical attention. So we take them when their number is up.
We make special exceptions for bad cases. For example someone came in with a bullet in his cheek. Obviously it had been there for a long time since the skin grew over it. So he is coming back tomorrow to get it removed.
I can’t wait until we get to the hotel on Thursday night. We are going sightseeing on Thursday instead of Friday as previously planned because of Good Friday holiday. Everyone goes to the beach on that holiday.
I gave Oscar Kevin’s Creative Graphics hat. Oscar started off as a cute kid, but I have mixed feelings about him. Perhaps he is just using us to get what he wants. Maybe poorer people are greedy because they have less. I don’t know. Oscar’s family bugged Phil for a bear that another child got after Bible class. Oscar got a puzzle, but apparently wasn’t satisfied with it. Oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers. And I mean that literally.
I’m tire of writing. More will come later on.

Today’s excitement was the marketplace. Gary Richards, Canaan, JM, Luis, Gissela, and I knocked on doors on the half mile walk to the marketplace. This was downtown Usulutan. Everything from soccer balls to live crabs were sold there. I wanted to buy a soccer uniform, but was persuaded to wait. The marketplace was similar to China, except the local paid less attention to us. It was as if they expected us or that we were an everyday occurrence.
We almost went into an air conditioned grocery store, but decided to head back. We met a lady from California. On the way back we met a couple of peace corp volunteers who had stayed 2 years in El Salvador.
Let’s talk about Oscar. Oscar is this 8 year old kid who seems to hand around all of us “young guys.” He started off as Phil’s shadow. But later on as Canaan and I waited outisde the gates, he started giving us bear hugs. A very clingy kid. Still I wonder what kind of future Oscar has. Such a cute kid – probably 10 years down the road, he’ll be a father himself with his own family. Stuck in the same place as before. Have we made a difference in Oscar’s life? I hope so. May he is very interested in Sunday school VBS that he’ll come to church services. But somehow I think it might just be the grengos around that keep him excited.
Phil has been leading evening singing. The past 2 nights it has bee pretty loud. You could hear it pretty clearly from where we are staying.
Some kid – about 10 years old – cut his hand and came to our clinic after closing time. We sedated him and gave him 12 stitches. Maybe he was playing with his machete.
There is some debate tonight about going back early. We’ve given out alot of medicine and are almost running out. We have enough left for 300 patients. There is talk about going to the hotel Wednesday night instead of Thursday night. It would mean an extra night in the hotel. I don’t care either way.
Well, I’ve run out of things to write. I really need to get out the video camera tomorrow.

Today I went with David Shannon and Cesar, a Honduran preacher to conduct 2 Bible studies. The first one was with 2 teenaged girls. Cesar conducted them. Even without knowing Spanish I know that he was a good preacher. Very knowledgeable in the scriptures – could rattle them off very quickly.
The first house had a refrigerator in it. I really wanted to ask if it would be okay to chill my water bottle during the study. It would have been cold by the end of the study. We really should rent a refrigerator. Pay someone a $100 for their refrigerator and have cold drinks throughout the week.
The second one was with an older woman who was baptized yesterday. We conducted it in the front door area of the house. As we were leaving David pointed out a small boy playing a gameboy inside the house. So I guess things aren’t alot different here.
We met Jeremy – a 38 year old father with 4 kids…one named Jeffrey. He knew a little English since he lived in LA for a couple of years 10 years ago.
It rained at services tonight. First it started sprinkling. But then it went to a downpour later on after we did the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper was slightly different. The “wine” was in packets. Remove the lid and you’re good to go. It was the Fruit of the Vine in a to go cup.
Speaking of To Go, my shower philosophy is like Chili’s slogan – “Get in. Get Out. Get on with your life.” Quite different from John Thomas. He stayed in the shower for 30 minutes.
They’ve setup a special set of showers right outside of our sleeping area. Got some shower heads and pipes at a hardware store. Cold showers aren’t that bad in this heat. You kinda look forward to it.
Phil, Robert, JM, Rachel, Canaan, Jason, and I and a translator went out to knock doors to invite people to services tonight. We met up with a man who was a member of the church of Christ and helped us knock doors. Our group was a bit big when David and Cesar met up with us. Someone asked “How would you feel if 20 Mexicans showed up at your door?”
In the kids class tonight Jeremy, Jacob, Ronnie, and Dennis dressed up like Noah and family. Rachel and Terry were the mockers. Terry did a hilarious laughter.
Dania is a sweet lady. She is 32 and is really good with English. She lived in St. Louis for a while, but is back living in Honduras.
Phil has a shadow. Oscar is a young kid who seems to follow him around like a puppy dog.
That’s pretty much what happened today. Expect more tomorrow.

We had 3 baptisms today. One was around lunchtime. The other 2 were tonight. All women. So that was a big uplift.
So the clinic opened today. Imagine a big line of El Salvadorians in hot weather. Later in the afternoon we managed to get a couple of canopies over them to keep the sun off of them. Phil and Gary were there to offer aqua to the crowd. The water was still warm but they took it anyways.
The clinic has multiple stations.
Registration where some local ladies decide if they are of needing it financially (i.e. we don’t want people who are rich to be getting free medical care).
Next they have nurses to check their blood pressure. Next PD checks for lice. Then they get to see a doctor to consult with them about their ailments. The most common ailment is digestive worms. Each child gets a free dose of worm medicine. Afterwards they get their pills and health aids (toothbrush, comb, toothpaste, shampoo, soap). Then they are able to see a dentist for extractions only. You should have heard some of the kids crying over fear of getting their teeth pulls. I kept kidding Donna Crisp that she was making them cry. The last stations is head scrubs. Carolyn Eakes did a good job working all day at that station. Carolyn is still a licensed beautician although she doesn’t practice (just uses it to get wholesale shampoo)
Canaan from San Antonio is cool. He’s got a good heart and mind toward evangelism. He says his Biblical name is a good tool to start Bible conversations with people.
David Shannon went with Cesar (Honduran preacher) to do Bible studies. Initially he conducted the study with Cesar translating. However Cesar was such a good evangelist, he took off on the study on his own. While they were studying a chicken ran through the house. Apparently this is common. The homeowner and Cesar didn’t pay any attention to the chicken. Pretty soon a rooster came into the house. David thought he was going to crow.
Tonight�s service was interesting. Phil led us in traditional songs. Then Cesar led us in Spanish songs. Some were the Spanish versions of our English songs. Some like “There’s Not a Friend like the lowly Jesus,” “Blessed Assurance,” “We Praise Thee O God.”
Then the service broke up. The kids went to the childrens’ class. Phil and a translator took the teens while the Spanish preachers taught the adults. The children’s class was filled. Phil had had about 20 or so kids in his class.
A couple of teenagers came along expecting to play soccer. When we tried to get them to go to class, they said they were not allowed to. We later found out they were Mormon. Jacob tells me that kids can get disowned if they attend a church service.
We are coping with the inconveniences. No good drinking water from the facet. Washing our hands constantly. We do have access to cold colas from a stand on campus. 40 cents. 25 cents for water.
Food has been good. Raviolli for lunch. Mac and cheese for supper. Better than what I expected.
So its a good day. I still don’t know what I’m a hard core Latin American missions person – one that comes year after year no matter what. Its a good trip, but there is alot of preparation involved. You know its good I have this extra time at night to write such a long entry. I didn’t do this when I was in China.