When we were in La Palma in early December, we met a man named John Wilson from Atlanta, GA, USA. He was staying at the hotel, and I asked him what his story was. He told of driving from Atlanta through Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala to El Salvador and of his plans to keep going south into South America. His blog is www.thebigmozey.com, but he writes for several websites. I invited him to go to Chuntrun with us (he has the real name of the village in his story), and he has since written about our activities that day. You can read them at:

http://www.examiner.com/world-travel-in-atlanta/la-palma-el-salvador-helping-others-through-giving

and

http://www.examiner.com/world-travel-in-atlanta/la-palma-el-salvador-helping-others-through-giving-part-2

and see photos at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mozey427/MissionTripFromLaPalmaToLocalVillage#

We are able to give out hundreds of these foam pads which can be used for padding or cover in cold weather. You can see why they are popular gifts when you see the typical bed.

These pack animals came by going up the trail from the Chuntrun school while we were there. I followed the trail later until it ended at a gate. From there I could see 2 homes. I later did a googleearth search and found a total of 4 back there. This is how they get supplies. The animals were not led--they just knew where they were to go.

The children in Ocotepeque now have a classroom--actually 2 of them! They were formerly crowded into hallways or corners.

For those who have been to the La Palma city park, you will enjoy these photos of it decorated with lights for Christmas eve. Lori took these photos last night, reporting that there were lots of people in town and lots of fireworks, especially at midnight.

This Toyota pickup took a BIG BUNCH of us up the hill after our visit to Chuntrun.
We could have walked it,but this really made it easier. The road is so rough that we traveled very slowly, but it was OK!

Blogs will be sporadic for a few days because of time with family. Pray for those in La Palma who have much less that we have in the way of possessions but have so much joy and love!

Oh, the things we take for granted! The kids at Chuntrun have a school, but there is no playground equipment! When they came to town to get their new shoes, the Lalli's entertained them for a while. When they found the playground, they loved it! Imagine growing up without a swing and slide! The three on the slide formed a non-ending circle of up and down--obviously enjoying every minute of it.

Ana needs this machine to be running so she can earn a living. It is a Minnesota M machine, probably 50 years old or more. If you have any ideas where we can get such an item, please let me know.

Lori reports an earthquake off the coast of ES that they felt in La Palma. No damage where they are.

To the right of the little boy and girl is the frame for a treadle sewing machine. Ana is a seamstress and school-trained sewing machine technician, but someone broke into their house and stole the actual sewing machine from the frame. Lori was able to give her this Minnesota M machine from our storeroom, but it has a worn part in it and does not do a really good job. I will try to find a replacement part, but in the meantime she hopes to get electricity to their house so she can use one of the good electric machines we can provide her.
If she get electricity, she can do a lot of sewing and earn money, but it will be expensive because electric bills are high there.
Still, Ana says she is 'blessed'!

Before we went to Ana'a house, Lori picked out some stuffed animals and toys for the little boy and his sisters. The boy immediately showed the toys to his puppy and started playing with them on the dirt floor. In conversation following his sister said that he had had no toys to play with! They proudly displayed their stuffed animals for us, then the little boy proudly showed it to his puppy. It is hard for us to imagine that so little can bring such joy!

Lori and Erin had visited Ana and her family before, so Lori was able to pick out some shoes that would fit Ana and the children. They were so gracious in receiving these gifts, and they fit perfectly. They repeated 'gracias' over and over.

Ever feel that your iron doesn't heat up fast enough? This is Ana, whose 7 year old son has leukemia and has to go to San Salvador on the bus a couple times a week for chemo treatment. Ana earns some money by ironing clothes for others. She and her 4 kids live in a 2 room adobe house on a steep hillside, accessible only by climbing down a switchback path from the road. Their bathroom is remote from the house, and they have to carry water to the house. There was no electricity in the house, so her iron is fired by wood scraps. I had never seen one of these used before, and was very impressed with her work ethic. Look closely in the lower photo and you can see smoke coming from the iron.

Her conversation repeatedly contained the term, "I am blessed".

I will have more to say about Ana in future posts.

A children's class in Ocotepeque in the new building. Before, they did not have enough space and many times sat on the floor.

A year ago this young man and his brother were playing with fireworks and were burned so badly that they were not expected to live. A benevolent group sent them to the Children's Burn Hospital in Boston, where they spent several weeks. This is Fernando with me. He and his brother, David are both doing well. Their parents have become Christians, giving God the credit for the recovery of the boys.

Another photo of children learning to pray. These children are at Chuntrun, miles from the nearest store or electricity. They are still thankful for what they have.

Marcy took this photo, and it explains why we keep going to La Palma better than many, many words that we might try to put together.

Our team arrived at Monett at midnight!

Houston...

Got a text message from Ralph that the group was enjoying dinner at Chili's in the airport in Houston. Will then fly to Tulsa this evening and then a bus trip back to southwest Missouri.

We are at the airport in San Salvador waiting for our flight to Houston.


We will return to very, very cold weather in Tulsa tonight.

Monte preached at the San Ignacio church meeting last night to an overflow crowd.

Overdue photo of Lori teaching at Saturday's ladies' day event. I am told it was well received.

I took a walk this morning and met these cute kids! What sweet smiles!

Weather is always a topic! Saturday through Tuesday it was cool here and VERY windy, which caused it to be uncomfortable in the early mornings. The temps were around 58 F at 6:30 with winds estimated over 20mph--wind chill! Wednesday it was calm and beautiful. Probably same temperatures but comfortable. I hear wind outside this morning, so we will see how it goes.

We have seen the forecast for 0 degrees and windy at Tulsa when we arrive back there Saturday night! Not that is COLD!

The school graduation took place this morning. The 9 am starting time was missed by quite a bit, but it was a great program! Congratulations to the students who moved up a grade.

The program was dedicated to Lori Y Monte.

New project plan! The children of Chuntrun, a village only accessible by foot or horseback on the side of a mountain need shoes for school, which starts in about a month. We can buy them here in large quantities and get 35 pairs for $16 per pair. If we collect more we can take them to children in another village. Please let me know how much you will contribute toward this project!

This little guy is about as cute as they come!

We had a productive day and accomplished much. This morning was the children's program, which is always a great time.

Tonight we will have an English worship period and fellowship.

We had a tremendous day on our trip to Chuntrun. We were joined by John from Atlanta, a fellow driving toward South America and seeing the sights along the way. He takes photos and writes stories as he goes. The photo shows him taking pictures of the children as they sang along with Jesus.

There are many stories to write in the future about Chuntrun--pronounced 'chooon trooon'.

When we returned to San Ignacio, the ladies from the church there had prepared a special lunch for us.

We are well and healthy and busy.

We had a wonderful day in many places--La Palma, San Ignacio, and Ocotepeque. Here is the new building in Ocotepeque painted up and ready for the inauguration tonight.

Tomorrow (Monday) will be another awesome day --Chuntrun and San Ignacio and back to La Palma.

We are all well and busy.

Chuntrun is a very remote village to the northwest of La Palma. I doubt that it is on Google Earth, but would be glad if someone finds it there. Only accessible by foot path.

One of the real blessings of being here is being able to help those in need. Rolando wears out wheelchairs rapidly in the rough terrain here. He makes his living selling some sort of herb. We were able to provide him some clothing and a newer wheelchair and some vitamins. The photo shows Monte and Erin presenting it to him. He is a truly appreciative person.

Today we will be worshipping and teaching in La Palma, San Ignacio, and Ocotepeque. We look forward to a great day. We had pupusas at Reina's house last night and she is making fresh quesadilla or us this morning! We are blessed.

Here is a photo of our team at dinner last night--joined by some local folks. From Left to right: Lori, Marcy, Teresa, Norma, Jose, Trey, Donnie, Steve, Pat, Erin, Ralph, Nathan, Monte.

We are all well and healthy and have a big week planned ahead of us.

We are in La Palma! It was a nice trip. I was the only one selected for the new 'pat down' search by TSA--thanks to me metal knee. It was not a problem except for Steve watching with a smirk on his face.

Very smooth flight from Houston to San Salvador. We had very cheap upgrades to 1st class and that made it even better.

The bus was late to pick us up at the airport-still arrived in La Palma before 5pm.

Tomorrow is a big day for the church ladies. They expect 150 ladies from churches in the region. Us guys will do business stuff and visit.

Will try to post photos tomorrow.

On ground...

Just got word that the team has landed safely and is on the ground in San Sal.

-Lori

Our team leaves early tomorrow for our trip. Marcy, Pat, Steve, Trey, Donnie, Ralph, and Gladys!

Yes, Gladys has joined our team!

We are excited for the adventure and opportunities ahead of us. Pray for us.

Two days from now our group of seven travels to El Salvador.