El Salvador has a long coast line on the Pacific. The beaches are beautiful and are largely undeveloped, but that is changing rapidly as hi-rise units are being built rather quickly.

Here, Cathy enjoys the waves during the short time we had there.

This is a video of Julio riding his Personal Energy Transport for the first time. He usually gets around by scooting his body and walking on his hands holding wooden blocks in them. Wheel chairs don't work for him because of the lack of sidewalks or adequate street surfaces.

Watch him put the wooden blocks in the platform of the unit as he climbs in.

Julio is 33 years old, and this gift changed his life!

Volunteers around the US build these machines and donate them to people like Julio who have no legs. This one was built in Mt Vernon, MO.

God bless you, Ralph

A father-son team travels up the street. They are able to ignore the high fuel prices. Fuel costs more in El Salvador than it does here.

Many celebrations take place in September in El Salvador. This one involved parades featuring young ladies, similar to homecoming parades that we have. The vehicles are different, but the crowds were very receptive and appreciative of the entries.

Do you sometimes think the street you live on is rough and poorly maintained? This is about a block west of the hotel we stay in in La Palma. It has mostly foot and horse traffic, but cars and pickups do come down that way occasionally--and slowly.

Some have asked how the people there store the toothbrushes and toothpaste that we give out. Enlarge this photo--click on it -- to see how one household does that. Their water barrel is about 20 yards from the door. There is no plumbing indoors,

Melva, Marcy, and Lori 'hang out' in a doorway before the big parade. Later, Chris and Cathy 'hang out' in the same doorway. Can you tell that they are tourists?

Pollo (Chicken) Campero is a franchise in El Salvador that sells fried chicken that is as good or better than the Colonel sells here! It is really good. There is not an outlet for Pollo Campero in La Palma, but during the month of September they had a portable store set up in the park. It was a welcome break for us once in a while to get a taste of this delicious selection of fast food.

Many times on our return flight to Houston we have seen (and smelled) packages of this being brought to the US. We are told that they are opening some branches in Houston.

This young fellow is suspicious but curious about the lady holding the camera. We always wonder what the future holds for little guys like this--and how much we can and should help them.

God bless you,
Ralph

I've been unable to get the software to load photos this morning.

Please be praying for the group going to La Palma in December. There are about six going, primarily for evangelism.

God bless you,
Ralph

I grew up on a farm, and we raised hogs to butcher and sell. I have seen a lot of hogs of various breeds and sizes.

There are two hogs in the back of this pickup on the highway south of La Palma, and they are nearly--if not in reality--the largest hogs I have ever seen. Note: there is no attempt for the long, lean hogs that give us healthier pork. These are just big fat hogs!!

Lori and Carmen (mostly Carmen) are interviewed on Independence day by a radio station worker.

Hola! The recovery from my knee replacement surgery has not gone as well as we thought it would. Thanks to Lori for her many posts and stories (with detail) in my absence. I will be back at it soon.

God bless you, Ralph

Brother Irene

This is a photo of Irene (pronounced EE-RAY-NAY). He is the father of Franklin, Milagro, Luis, and Estella. He was baptized a year ago after we'd studied with him many times and he had put it off for quite a while. He then one day came and told us he was ready to make the committment. I always enjoy spending time with him and visiting with him. I also enjoy taking pictures of him--the lines on his face are full of stories. This is one of my favorites I've taken of him.
Dios le bendiga,
Lori

Improvised playground

This group of kids were having a great time on their homemade slide. This is a pile of dirt covered with a tarp and the kids would climb up it and slide down the front. They don't have a playground in their neighborhood so they make do with what they have. Looks kind of fun, doesn't it? (Some of you will recognize the little boy getting ready to slide as Virginia's son.) I had to have a picture of them as soon as I figured out what they were doing.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Be flexible!

Those who have gone on trips to La Palma know that my dad (Ralph) frequently reminds us of the need to be flexible while there because our plans often change without much notice and our schedule is rarely set in stone. In September, he gave out rubber bands to wear on our wrists to remind us of this need. Little did he know that Gladys had planned ahead and had a special shirt made to wear that week. She'd had one embroidered to say, "I'm Flexible." Monday morning she put it on but draped a towel across her so that she could surprise him and we could all see his reaction to the shirt. As we circled up for breakfast, she began to give him a sad story about how she didn't need her rubber band anymore. Drawn into her story, he asked why not and she revealed the shirt and we all enjoyed a good laugh. It's hard not to smile when Gladys is around.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Carseat laws

There are no seatbelt or carseat laws in El Salvador and Honduras. (None that are enforced, anyway.) We always see children riding in the backs of pickup trucks but this sight in Honduras was a first. This is Wilma, a member in Ocotepeque where Brother Jorge Rodriguez preaches. The night we were there, she and her husband arrived for services on their matching scooters. Their two older children rode on the backs of the scooters--one behind her and one behind him. The baby happily rode in the carrier attached to Wilma. This would never pass in the United States, but it works there and it's certainly faster than walking! :)

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Jorge

Those who have been to La Palma on previous trips will remember little Jorge. We hadn't seen much of him the last time because he now lives outside of town but he showed up on Tuesday the week we were there in September. I didn't recognize him at first because his hair was combed and had been styled by his older brother. He gladly sat and enjoyed a Coke with us. The rest of the week his hair was disheveled and his clothing dirty but it was good to see that occasionally he is cared for by someone.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Emptiness

This is a picture of the mother of Magadalena and Deysi from yesterday's post. I snapped this picture without a flash while Jim and I were visiting with her. We had walked Magdalena home and she invited us in. The stark emptiness of the home that you see in this picture captures the emptiness we saw in her emotions. We can only imagine the difficulties she has had in her past based on the things we saw. We are hopeful that Magdalena and Deysi's examples will soften and open her heart. Please pray for their mother.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Magdalena and Deysi

This is a picture of Magdalena (striped shirt) and her younger sister, Deysi. These two beautiful sisters are now also sisters in Christ. In September, Magdalena was introduced to our group by Carlos, one of the students at the preaching school. Because of her past, she was not very comfortable around men and was more comfortable in a study with just women. She was baptized during the week and then brought her Deysi to study with us the next day. Later in the week Deysi was baptized.
During the course of the week we were also able to schedule a time for Magdalena to talk with Cathy and work through some of her problems in her past. Our group developed very strong bonds with Magdalena, Deysi, and their two younger sisters. They have no strong male figures in their life and developed a close and trusting relationship with Jim. The four sisters have a mother who is emotionally crippled and currently has no desire to be involved in church activities but we pray that she will see Christ at work in her daughters' lives and want to know more.
Several of the teens reached out and welcomed Magdalena and Deysi into their group at church and assured us they will keep them involved and help them in their daily walk with God. Please pray for them and their two sisters and mother.
Dios le bendiga,
Lori

This precious little boy is Julio, the son of Maria from yesterday's blog. He is a real sweetheart and captured the hearts of all of us in the group. One afternoon as he sat in the doorway of the hotel I snapped this picture of him. Now that his mom is a Christian and devoted to serving God, the outlook for his future has improved. We believe that he will one day be a faithful servant of God as well. Please remember Maria and her family in your prayers.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Maria's story

This picture is of one of the new sisters in La Palma. This post will be longer than the ones you are used to reading here, but her story is one worth telling. Those of you who know the story know that I am having to omit some details to get it to a manageable length here. I apologize, but I'm trying to hit the 'best parts' of it. If anyone reading wants more of the details, ask one of us who were there. :)

This is Maria, whose job was managing the day-to-day kitchen functions in the hotel where we stay in La Palma. (formerly Claudina's job) Partway through the week Jim, Melva, and I were honored to have her want to study the Bible with us. Not only did she sit to study, but she pulled two other employees in as well, saying that, "They need to hear this, too." After the study she said she knew she needed to be baptized but needed to do some thinking and praying about it. Two days later Maria decided she was ready to make the commitment to put on Christ in baptism. Her boss agreed to give her one hour to do so and preparations began.

Normally the baptisms occur in the hotel pool, but due to some previous bad experiences at the hotel pool, Maria said she couldn't go to that pool and needed to be baptized somewhere else and asked if we could go to the river. It was raining at the time and there was some lightning in the distance that was getting closer, but we agreed and she told us that her husband had a van and he would come and get us and take us. Those who would attend this baptism among our group were: Jim, Melva, Doug, Jesus (local minister), and myself. Maria had an urgency about her need for baptism and said that a local bus would be coming by soon and if it came first, we should take it and leave Jesus to come with her husband when he arrived. We, the gringos, were hopeful the husband would show up first because we don't like riding the local buses for safety reasons.

But...we soon heard the bus. We got on the bus and Maria insisted on paying the fare for all of us. We stood most of the way--no, the local men don't give up their seats for women. A few miles outside of town, Maria signaled the driver and he let us off alongside the highway in what seemed like the middle of nowhere with rain still falling and occasional lightning. Maria pointed the way and we headed toward a bridge the bus had just crossed. She took off in a run across the highway, still demonstrating her urgency. As we neared the bridge, Melva turned to me and asked, "Do you hear that?" The noise she referred to was soon audible to all of us as the sound of rushing water---REALLY rushing water, complete with a waterfall. This, however, did not deter Maria. She took off down a very small trail along the side of the mountain and we followed a short distance. As we got a better look at the water below it was obvious there would be no safe place here to baptize her--and really no safe way to even get down to the river. (it was nearing the end of the rainy season--other times of the year this was probably much more accessible) By this time, Jesus had arrived and informed us we needed to find another location.

We all piled into the vans (her husband's friend brought one as well) and headed back into La Palma, not knowing where we were going to baptize her but knowing that time was running out for Maria's work break. On the outskirts of La Palma, our lead van broke down and Maria's husband pulled it off the road and coasted into a driveway. We looked up to find that the driveway was for a restaurant that had...guess what...a pool out in front! Jesus went and asked the manager if we could perform a baptism in the pool and he agreed. A few minutes later Maria confessed Jesus as God's son and was baptized.

The story doesn't end there, though. The following day, Maria was excited to tell us that she was quitting her job at the hotel and that day would be her last day! She told us her job required her to work 7 days a week for 14 hours a day and this didn't allow for her to be able to attend worship services or to be able to serve in the church. She had been the recipient of one of the sewing machines our group had taken in June and she said she would use that sewing machine to work at home and this would allow her to be able to serve God in the way she knew she should. Wow!

Maria turned her whole life over to God. I can hardly wait to talk to her again to find out about what she is doing to serve God. Her faith was an inspiration to me, and I just know He has exciting plans for her in His kingdom.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Faithful and True...

***imagine "Faithful & True" wedding recessional playing here***

This picture is right after the "church wedding" of this beautiful couple. He is the uncle of Erika, one of the La Palma sisters. When we visited with Erika in September she told us about her uncle. He lives up in the mountain and doesn't have money to come into town very much. He and his wife were married several years ago in a legal ceremony by the mayor's office but had always wanted to have a "church blessing ceremony." They wanted to know if we could help them with this. So, on Monday, September 15th, Ralph performed the desired ceremony with the help of Jim Avalos as translator. One of the sweetest parts of the ceremony was the kiss at the end. The groom was going to be very content with a peck on the cheek but the bride was not. She pulled him in for a straight-on kiss. They were both very happy and grateful for the help and we were happy to have been able to assist.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Sister Cristina

(This blog is also being written by Ralph's daughter, Lori.)

In September, Melva and I had the pleasure of teaching classes to the ladies on three different nights. One of the nights we had talked about the "fragrance of Christ" from 2 Corinthians 2:14-15. At the end of the lesson we gave the women each a handful of scented silk flower petals, some tulle, and some ribbon for them each to make a sachet to take home. We showed them how to put the petals in the middle of the tulle square, pull up the corners, and tie the ribbon. The women were far more creative, though. Several of them began arranging the petals into rosebuds, then wrapped the tulle at the bottom for a "stem" and tied the ribbon around it. Sweet Sister Cristina (shown here in the middle) was trying so hard to tie hers up like a rose but kept fumbling it. She kept laughing and was cracking herself up and I was able to snap this picture. She has such a beautiful spirit despite her very difficult life--what an encouragement for all of us!

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Patriotic Moment

Ralph had knee replacement surgery this morning and is recovering. The surgery went well and the doctor said he will be walking on it this afternoon. In the meantime, he has asked me (his daughter Lori) to make some daily posts and share some pictures of my recent experiences in La Palma.

This picture is one that I snapped quickly while in the park in La Palma. There was a large assembly going on by the Agriculture Department to celebrate the accomplishments of the local farmers and distribute seeds to them. As the national anthem played, the local men all placed their fists over their hearts. I glanced to my right and saw this group of men and the one on the middle pulled the young boy, whom I assumed was his son, and showed him how to place his fist over his heart. The people of El Salvador are very proud of their country. It was a touching moment for those of us who got to see it.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

One of the 2008 goals for the La Palma mission work was to establish a preacher school in La Palma to train men and women for preaching and teaching. That goal was achieved in June by renting a secure room and equipping it with computers, a special camera and monitor, and high speed internet service. Here they can come and attend teleconference classes in their native language, and the classes are at varying times to accomodate work schedules. During the classes, the students see the instructor and the instructor sees the students. Classes are live and interactive. They are taught from many locations within the Western Hemisphere. There are about 20 locations now involved this way.

In these photos you can see Jose taking notes during a class, Jose and Carlos watching and listening to Steve Austin teaching a class on "Heaven" from his office in Abilene, TX., and then Jose and Carlos discussing the class later.

Students are tested and graded. They are required to perform field service duty which can include class teaching or door knocking or other work to build and edify the church in La Palma. They will later begin church planting.

Jose is recruiting new students for the next bimester which starts later this month. We are thrilled to announce and display this new preacher school, named La Palma Bible Institute.

Those children in the La Palma Christian School who are not carrying banners or flags, not twirlers, and not in the percussion section, follow along attempting to march but generally looking around at the crowd and following along. They are really cute. Some of them are only 5 years old.

Another part of the percussion section walks by - since they are not in step with each other it can hardly be called marching. But they are trying!
God bless you, Ralph

The La Palma Christian School cymbals team marches by. Only 4 of the 6 are visible.

During one of the 'march in place' routines during the parade, both Josue and Gabriel play a trumpet duet. They were 'instrumental' in the training of the school for the parade!

God bless you, Ralph