Gabriel, holding the trumpet, walks ahead of the percussion section of the La Palma Christian School. Gabriel is the father of Gabriela, one of the 'twirlers'. He spent many, many hours working with the children to develop their routines and formations. He also played the trumpet as needed.

The school needs two more trumpets and a multi-snare drum. Donations of these items would be greatly appreciated.

God bless you,

Ralph

Behind the La Palma Christian School banner was the 'twirler' section, only they had rings instead of batons. Their practiced routines were well coordinated to the percussion section behind them.

The La Palma Christian School approaches during the Independence Day parade through La Palma.

Here is a video clip of part of the La Palma Christian School band percussion section doing one of their six routines for us. This was after the big parade, and many of them did not come for this demo. We were very proud of them and thankful for their hard work.

An elderly man stands in front of a store--apparently not focused on anything. We love to watch the local people and imagine their lives. He probably can tell some very interesting stories about events that took place during the El Salvadoran civil war which lasted over 12 years --and La Palma was where a lot of action took place. He probably can tell real stories about growing up as a poor child, walking up hill to school, etc.
God bless you,
Ralph

This shows part of the 100 church people who came to the fellowship activity we hosted. They were not told that a meal would be served; they thought it was only for visiting and were pleasantly surprised.

This shows the ladies of the church who gathered for three nights of classes. They were a lively bunch and enjoyed being together and learning together.

Oops! The earlier photo of our group was taken while one of our team members was away. Here is the group after we all got together.

This was our September team after we were joined by Rigoberto (front and center) and Ruben (back row third from right). We were a very diverse group and everyone found work to do that was fun and challenging. The photo was taken as preparations were being made for a clothing giveaway; hence the clothes on the chairs.

God bless you,

Ralph

Mary smiles as she serves a large tray of pupusas to the fellowship gathering. Mary and Melvin are both grandparents and servants at heart. They were both very comfortable in any setting, and we loved having them with their humor and smiles. I think the children loved them even more than we did.

Melvin holds a baby during worship at Ocotepeque. The building was full and we were out near the street. The mother was content for Melvin to hold the young fellow for quite a long time. The baby enjoyed it and Grandpa Melvin REALLY enjoyed it. He did a good job too, as the baby was quiet during the entire time.

God bless you,

Ralph

It was celebration of Independence from Spain while we were there, and there was a lot of activity in the park every day. People gathered and visited and watched the various activities. Here two men discuss things that may range from politics to farming.

This young lady, Gabriela, has become very special to me over the past year or so. She is a real sweetheart, and her parents, sitting behind us are also very special. He works very hard to direct the band for La Palma Christian School. The photo was made at a fellowship activity the Sunday before we came home. God bless you, Ralph

Gladys entertained our team one night with a puppet show. Gladys has many talents; she is a translator, a teacher, an entertainer, and she knows the people and their culture. She did a terrific job.

Here is one of many photos taken of the La Palma Christian School as they prepare to march in the Independence Day parade Monday. LPCS was the very first unit in the long lineup of schools that marched. It now has a GREAT percussion section to march by. We were all quite proud to be there and watch them.

Home! I arrived home at midnight and believe that I am the last one to get home--unless Barbara did not catch her connecting flight in Houston. She had a short time to get through customs and security and get to her gate, but we did not hear from her.

It was a great trip. There is a lot to report.
God bless you,
Ralph

On Ground in Houston

We have landed safely in Houston! More updates later.

At San Salvador Airport

We are all at the San Salvador airport safely and early. We are all waiting for our plane to arrive to make the flight to Houston.

This photo is of Andrea and her brother in the swimming pool Saturday. She really enjoyed it and cried when we had to leave.

Yesterday we hosted a fellowship dinner for the church from 4 - 6pm. It was well attended and enjoyed, and they plan to have more of them in the future.

Today is parade day to celebrate the independence of most Central American countries from the rule of Spain.

The activities last all day, and most stores are closed. We are wrapping up our work here, with a wedding this afternoon and then packing for the trip home.

Continental says our flight will go as scheduled tomorrow, even though the Houston airport has been closed since Friday. We are well and healthy and getting anxious to return, though it will be sad to say goodbye to so many friends here.

God bless you,

Ralph

Good morning from La Palma. It is Sunday morning and we are preparing for worship with the local congregation and then a fellowship activity in the afternoon.

Yesterday was busy and we had no access to the internet; hence, no blog. Most of us went to El Rosario, La Paz southeast of San Salvador and attended the dedication of a a new church building. We were honored guests and helped in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We then went to the beach for about an hour before returning to La Palma. It was a long bus ride but a happy event for us.

We took little Andrea (5 year old with terminal heart defect) and her brother, cousin, mother, and grandmother with us-hoping to let Andrea see the ocean. She got into a swimming pool before we walked down to the beach, and she loved the pool so much that she did not want to get out and go see the ocean! She cried when it was time to leave and her mother took her out of the pool. she is a loving little girl and enjoyed the day with us. She has a sweet disposition and a beautiful smile. She knows that we love her.

Lori, Jim, Melva, and Doug stayed in La Palma to work with some ladies on Bible study. As a result, Marta became a Christian about 4pm yesterday.

We are all healthy and well and tired. We are staying abreast of the weather at home and aware of the heavy rain in our area of Missouri.

God bless you,
Ralph

Jim, Lori, and Melva are shown in a Bible study with two young ladies. I do not have an accurate count of the number of studies or the results. A truck is scheduled to take a group to the river this afternoon for the baptism of at least 2 and maybe three ladies.

We are still doing well. The clothing distribution yesterday was highly successful in a very poor area of the region. The people took everything available and were glad to get it.

Tonight we are to eat corn and other foods at Reina's house before going to VBS and Bible classes. Last night Marcy and other ladies served up a super meal of spaghetti. It was a welcome break from the usual meat, beans, and rice.

The hurricane closed Continental flights for a few days, so our entire group is going home Tuesday rather than some of them going on Saturday.

Later, Ralph

Here is a summary of our trip to date:

All arrived on time Saturday and all baggage arrived with us. We were through customs and immigration in record time—about 12:35. We had to wait on the bus which was scheduled for 1 pm.

The trip to La Palma was smooth – no rain or other problems. Arrived in La Palma at 4:45pm.

All slept well the first night after a long day.

Sunday we worshipped with the La Palma church in the morning. We were joined by Rueben from Houston and Rigoberto from Tegucigalpa. Chris preached and one lady responded asking for prayers and Bible study.

Sunday evening we worshipped with the Ocotepeque church. Chris preached again and 10 responded asking for prayers of rededication.

Monday we prepared clothing for a giveaway the next day. Lots of work was involved to sort and stack clothing by type. Rick worked on the video conference system for the preacher school. He had lots of work to do to get rid of viruses on the computers and set them up for use. After evening classes for the men, women, and youth separately, we had the church people come for clothing.

Central America is celebrating independence from Spain this month. An independence torch is being carried through the countries, and it came through La Palma about 11 o'clock. It was carried by some athletes and escorted by ambulances, military troops, and policemen.

Tuesday was a big day with about 200 New Testaments given out and thousands of clothing items distributed. There were as many as 200 people waiting outside as those inside 'shopped'. The lady who responded Sunday morning completed some Bible study lessons and was baptized in mid-morning. We distributed a Personal Energy Transport to Julio—a 32 year old man who has never been able to use his legs. He typically walks on his hands using blocks of wood. The million dollar smile on his face when he could move himself around made all of the container effort worthwhile.
Rigoberto preached to the church at night; then he and Rueben travelled to Honduras for a few days.

Ron, Doug, and I met with the school parents in 2 separate meetings to tell them how we appreciate their support and to let them tell us about any problems or concerns. The overwhelming opinion of the group was that they were pleased. One comment was shared about a problem. We had already been approached about it and are acting on it. Little Jorge came to visit us. We had not seen him at all in June and wondered what was up. He is not in school and does not want to be.

A lady from one of the pharmacies came and asked to talk to me. She simply wanted us to know how much they appreciate the good things we are doing. The mayor of San Ignacio stopped to talk to us when we were delivering the PET to Julio. He, too, said he wanted us to know that he is grateful for the good things going on.

I watched the school band practice yesterday. It was terrific to watch how seriously they are working on marching drills for Monday.

We now have requests for 4 children's wheelchairs. The latest request is for one for little Andrea as she is having trouble getting around the house.

Several people from the church and the community come asking for medical help. Barbara and Marcy stay busy. We learned that Claudia is improving with physical therapy. She spends time daily learning to walk.

Wednesday a team went to Ocotepeque and worked with the 50 program children there. Others conducted Bible studies and prepared for a clothing distribution in the mountain town of Granadillos on Thursday.

Reina's uncle died Wednesday evening after being extremely sick since we got here. Marcy had given him an IV – just to make the family feel better. Jim, Rueben, and Rigoberto had visited him and prayed with the family.

The photos show Mary handing out balloons and Melvin getting ready to hang a pinata for the children's party.

We are aware that Ike may change the travel plans for those planning to go home Saturday.

One of the great things we are able to do is help people who are crippled in some way. This is Emenilio in El Progresso, Honduras, who lost his legs in an accident. The PET, personal energy transport, is made by retired volunteers in Mt Vernon, MO. See www.PET.org. He now gets out of his home and goes up and down the street visiting people that he could not visit before.

We also delivered one to Julio in northern El Salvador. Photos of his big smile later.

God bless you,

Ralph

Hola again!

I still have not had time to get photos uploaded. We are well and healthy and had a great day yesterday packed with action and excitement.

We have requests for several wheelchairs now, and want to begin collecting them for the next shipment - especially children's wheelchairs.

Today we are split into several tasks. Six of us are in Ocotepeque to monitor the children's program. Others are having Bible studies and getting ready for a clothing distribution in the mountain town of Granadillos tomorrow.

I almost promise to get photos on this site for tomorrow.
God bless you,
Ralph

Hola!
It has been an extremely busy day and I´ve had no time for photo upload or other info. Several exciting things happened and will try to report later.

We are all well and healthy.

God bless you,
Ralph

Hello from La Palma!

We are well and healthy and busy. The photo shows our morning worship yesterday- at the hotel because the church would not have been big enough. We went to Honduras for their evening worship and their building overflowed also.

We are preparing for a clothing giveaway and doing teaching also. Our schedule is changing as needed. We have several requests for wheelchairs that we are unable to help with.

Lots of stuff is going on in town also as the independence celebration builds towards Monday.

Gotta get to another meeting!

God bless you,
Ralph

Here is our team yesterday when we stopped to eat on the way from the airport to La Palma. I am sorry that some of the team members are not visible. The bus driver took the photo and said he got everyone in it.
Today has been extremely busy and we will be late getting home from Honduras after worshiping with the Ocotepeque church tonight.
We are all well and healthy.
God bless you,
Ralph

We have arrived at La Palma, had dinner and are settling in our rooms. We are all well and healthy after an uneventful trip-arrived at 5 pm here.

God bless you,
Ralph

The team has arrived safely in San Salvador. Will soon be on buses to LaPalma.

Good morning! This will be my last posting from the USA for a while. Tomorrow morning 16 of us travel to La Palma. We are coming from many places. We all meet at Houston on flights from Tulsa, Little Rock, St. Louis, and Shreveport. The weather looks good for us to fly, although Tulsa could have rain.

As our travel progresses, I will send texts to Lana and have her post our travel. We will try to let you know when we arrive in San Salvador and when we get to La Palma. Sunday I will plan to do a full posting.

My sister and her husband, Linda and David Gregersen, arrived back in Zambia safely and are 'at home' for another year.

Please pray for us. God bless you.
Ralph

This little guy relaxes in his 'window on the world'. The son of one of the hotel workers, he spent every day that we were there in June at the hotel entertaining himself.

The La Palma Christian School spent June 20 on the main La Palma soccer field doing intramural games and having fun. Here they are preparing for one of the contests 0 a balloon race. Their athletic uniforms are really quite attractive.

We have a team of 16 traveling to La Palma this Saturday. As of now the weather looks good for our travels. We ask for your prayers for our safety, security, and success. God bless you, Ralph

This young lady has a sucker and can almost ignore anyone attempting to photograph her!