Here are photos of the unloading process. These show the first items taken from both trucks. The unloading went very well. The Mayor provided some great help and they did a great job. Large items were taken directly to where they were intended. Clothing was stored at the school, and other items were put in storage for distribution starting today.

We had a relaxed evening and are preparing for a long day of work today. We are all well and healthy.

The trucks are unloaded! They arrived ahead of time--and surprised us! We expected them at 12, and they were supposed to call when they were close. I happened to see one of them coming into town and flagged him down. We unloaded them in 2 hours and 15 minutes--it went very well. Will send photos later. By the way, it started raining about 20 minutes after we finished unloading. Things are well, God is good. Later, Ralph

Here is our group/team this morning after breakfast. We just got word that the trucks are rolling up the hill to us. It will be a long, great day with lots of work to do and much rejoicing! Later, God bless you, Ralph

Hi, we had a great trip to San Salvador and an 'interesting' afternoon. After eating pupusas and picking up Carmen, we then met Estela from the Customs office at a local restaurant and got the papers to release the containers. I had been thinking that when they were released, that meant everything was done. There were 14 signatures to finalize the release! Each time they have been 'released' in the past, they just moved on to another person for approval. Well, it is all done now. We took the papers to Customs, met with the General Director who asked forgiveness for the delay and said it had nothing to do with us but they were following procedures. When we inpected the containers, they had different seals on them than they had when they left Monett. That scared me, so we arranged for them to be opened while we watched. The contents appeared intact. Five workers showed up and did a cursory, token inspection of a few items inside, then loaded the stuff back in and left. We put our padlocks on the containers and arranged for them to leave the Customs compound at 8 am Wednesday and come directly to La Palma. We will be waiting for them and ready to unload.

We had an excellent dinner tonight at the La Palma hotel and are now headed for bed.
God bless you, Ralph

Johna is learning how to make pupusas!

Don't forget the La Palma reunion on September 26 at the Monett park. Hamburgers and hotdogs cooked fresh. Side dishes welcome.

Jewelya is designing "Doors Slammed Open" T-shirt and will be bringing them to the reunion. The cost will be about $10 or less. All Jewelya needs is your size and commitment to pay for it. Contact her directly with this info or contact me and I will forward it to her.

Please let Donnie or me know if you plan to be at the reunion so the correct amount of food can be obtained. We will have a great time!