Many of you have asked about how learning Spanish is going. Well, that’s hard to say (in Spanish or English) I really hoped I would be further along then I am (after 12 weeks of school). In the past when I heard people in Grade C (the 3rd level) of Spanish, they sounded like they were doing quite well with the language. However, now that I’ve finished Grade C, I don’t think I’m at the same level. But as Teri reminds me, I was comparing myself with other students that are high school and college age. And believe me….there IS a difference. My brain doesn’t absorb and produce like it used to, plus it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the classroom with homework and exams. In actuality, I’m told that I do sound OK, and even pretty good at times speaking the language. The problem is in comprehending what I’ve just heard. I’m really quite honestly frustrated with myself over this process. Teri and others tell me that I’m being too hard on myself. I’ve been told that some of the latest research for missionaries shows that it takes an average of 5 years to become truly fluent. And I guess if you sent an adult to take piano lessons for the first time, then the expectations would be pretty low in just 12 weeks. And just as a person's fingers and brain must learn the language of music, my tongue and brain must learn a new language as well. It’s really been much more involved and difficult than I ever imagined. It's been about 15 years since I've worked on and wanted something this badly with all my heart, yet it seems almost impossible to achieve. But my heart reminds me that all things are possible with God.
I’ve learned that I’m definitely not an auditory learner. For me, this means in order for me to learn something, I have to work with it (such as on flashcards or in a workbook format or similar) before I can hear and understand it. I cannot learn this language just by hearing and being around it. This is unfortunate but a reality. I also believe that I have some hearing loss in one ear, which of course only adds to the difficulty.
I’ve found that I really enjoy singing worship songs in Spanish. (No, the dogs are not howling as I sing!) I’ve got a DVD of a Christian singer who’s quite popular here. There are English subtitles, so I’ve been surprised that this is one way that I can learn Spanish. Teri tells me that I also need to watch TV and movies in Spanish and have English subtitles. I’ve got the local news on the TV as we speak, but there are no subtitles. And I have a number of movies, but they are in English with Spanish subtitles. This may help equally, but we’ll have to see. I’ve honestly been too busy to watch any movies. Plus, I think Teri may have some movies in Spanish with English subtitles. Additionally, I’ve become friends with a recording artist. She has promised to send me some additional music.
I originally planned for 12 weeks of school. I met my personal goal of completing grade C by the end of week 12, which is the average rate of speed for most students. And up until the last week or school, I had seriously considered returning to school in September (after the Expo was over). However, during that last week of school it became obvious to me that I was not ready to go to the next level. The very thought of returning at this point causes me considerable angst. Each level builds upon the next. And even though my exam grades were good, it doesn’t necessarily reflect my true understanding. I left Grade B feeling like I understood about 85-90% of the material. I left Grade C feeling like I knew about 80% of the material. To return to school and start Grade D at this point would cause great frustration and stress, and would honestly be a waste of time and money. So, I’ve decided to put off returning to school until I feel like I’ve got a little
Thursday, August 30, 2007
A change in focus
Shortly before finishing language school in early Aug. to return to the orphanage, I received an email from Teri Benner saying that she’d like to have me work full-time with her (at the book ministry center) in “the city” (Sal Salvador, the capitol of El Salvador) due to the upcoming Expo. Originally when I was here for 2 wks last Dec., it was thought that the clinic would be well under way at this time, and I’d have plenty to do (with writing policy/procedures, hiring people, creating forms and files, etc). However, it seems that due to a boat load of ever changing bureaucratic government red tape, the clinic is far from built. At this time only the septic tank hole has been dug, and a deep hole has been dug for a retaining wall between the clinic and a local brothel.
A friend recently reminded me of this fact: God knew all along that the clinic was not going to be ready at this time. Therefore this has certainly has not taken him by surprise and He has other plans for me here at this point. He has been faithful and has provided at every turn thus far, therefore I choose to believe He will continue to do so.
Knowing that the clinic may not be too far along, I figured the Benner’s would have various projects lined up for me at the orphanage. I never seriously anticipated the option of working with any other arm of this ministry, such as the book ministry. But I arrived here in at the orphanage late on Sunday night, the 12th of Aug., and Teri again reiterated that she could really use me at the book ministry, as they prepared to host the Expo. So she picked me up at 8:30am the next morning to go with her to work. That was the beginning of a wonderful opportunity and experience which I will talk about more in a different blog entry. In the 2 weeks leading up to the expo, I never returned home from a day of work in less than 12 hours, and one night I got home at 1:45am. Yes, there was really that much work to do.
Now we’re in the week following the expo and the last of guest speakers has just left to return to their home. This week we’ve gotten all of our stuff moved out of the fair grounds and back into the office, and now we’re trying to organize it and figure out what to do with it, and trying to get the office back to some form of normal.
Teri and I have had a couple of discussions this week about what’s next for me. It seems there are a couple of high priority projects, one at the orphanage and one at the book ministry. Please keep in mind that what I’m about to say is far from a sure thing. But Teri and I are leaning toward me continuing to work at the book ministry until I can pick up more Spanish and until the clinic is further developed. I think over the next few weeks I’ll look into a few other ministries that are operated out of this book ministry. One of them is the Sex, Lies, and the Truth program developed by Focus on the Family (James Dobson) which teaches abstinence and evangelism in public schools. As a nurse, I feel that I can contribute to this excellent program if I can speak the language well enough to contribute. Additionally, I’ll probably look into the Nehemiah Project. This works with adolescent males in trouble with the law. All are either on probation or released from jail specifically for these hours (every Saturday) so they can attend this program. I don’t know too much about this program, so I’ll have to brief you on it later. Additionally, there’s a project at the book ministry office that needs a detail oriented person who can analyze and assimilate data. The problem is that not many people here are given the kind of education that would allow them to learn these skills. Yet, they’re vital to run a business. So, if I can help with this, I will. All along, I’ll be forced to interact and use the language, which is absolutely necessary. I may also use one day a week to specifically study Spanish. Also, by working in the same building as Teri, we’ll be able to interact constantly re: the clinic as the process continues.
I’d appreciate your prayers during this time of transition that I may correctly understand what the Lord has for me. And additionally, that I would be able to understand and speak Spanish better.
A friend recently reminded me of this fact: God knew all along that the clinic was not going to be ready at this time. Therefore this has certainly has not taken him by surprise and He has other plans for me here at this point. He has been faithful and has provided at every turn thus far, therefore I choose to believe He will continue to do so.
Knowing that the clinic may not be too far along, I figured the Benner’s would have various projects lined up for me at the orphanage. I never seriously anticipated the option of working with any other arm of this ministry, such as the book ministry. But I arrived here in at the orphanage late on Sunday night, the 12th of Aug., and Teri again reiterated that she could really use me at the book ministry, as they prepared to host the Expo. So she picked me up at 8:30am the next morning to go with her to work. That was the beginning of a wonderful opportunity and experience which I will talk about more in a different blog entry. In the 2 weeks leading up to the expo, I never returned home from a day of work in less than 12 hours, and one night I got home at 1:45am. Yes, there was really that much work to do.
Now we’re in the week following the expo and the last of guest speakers has just left to return to their home. This week we’ve gotten all of our stuff moved out of the fair grounds and back into the office, and now we’re trying to organize it and figure out what to do with it, and trying to get the office back to some form of normal.
Teri and I have had a couple of discussions this week about what’s next for me. It seems there are a couple of high priority projects, one at the orphanage and one at the book ministry. Please keep in mind that what I’m about to say is far from a sure thing. But Teri and I are leaning toward me continuing to work at the book ministry until I can pick up more Spanish and until the clinic is further developed. I think over the next few weeks I’ll look into a few other ministries that are operated out of this book ministry. One of them is the Sex, Lies, and the Truth program developed by Focus on the Family (James Dobson) which teaches abstinence and evangelism in public schools. As a nurse, I feel that I can contribute to this excellent program if I can speak the language well enough to contribute. Additionally, I’ll probably look into the Nehemiah Project. This works with adolescent males in trouble with the law. All are either on probation or released from jail specifically for these hours (every Saturday) so they can attend this program. I don’t know too much about this program, so I’ll have to brief you on it later. Additionally, there’s a project at the book ministry office that needs a detail oriented person who can analyze and assimilate data. The problem is that not many people here are given the kind of education that would allow them to learn these skills. Yet, they’re vital to run a business. So, if I can help with this, I will. All along, I’ll be forced to interact and use the language, which is absolutely necessary. I may also use one day a week to specifically study Spanish. Also, by working in the same building as Teri, we’ll be able to interact constantly re: the clinic as the process continues.
I’d appreciate your prayers during this time of transition that I may correctly understand what the Lord has for me. And additionally, that I would be able to understand and speak Spanish better.
My new apartment
Thank you so much for your prayers as I traveled on bus from Guatemala City to San Salvador on Sunday Aug 12th. All went smoothly. I was quite relieved and thankful when I got the "OK" nod from the guards at both borders (due to all the previous hoops I jumped thru to get my passport/visa extended). I didn't get in until pretty late at night and it was raining, so I really couldn't even see my new home. But now that I've been living in my new pad for a few days, I'd like to take you on a tour.
OK, let me give you the general lay-out. The HIS campus is kind of rectangular and is surrounded by a wall for security. We have 24hr/day armed guard at the one and only gate in the wall. My apartment is in a quiet corner of the campus, kind of away from the general hub-bub, and down a short, part dirt, part concrete path, and it ultimately sits behind the cafeteria. In reality, the back wall of my apartment is literally part of the security wall. I'd originally hoped for the top apartment, but it's not ready. And to be honest, I'm now glad I'm in the bottom one. It's really an extremely nice apartment (and ready for visitors!)
OK, ready to have a peek inside? I have 2 knotty pine entrance/exit doors (however, we can only find the key to one of the doors. This doesn’t surprise you, does it?). Besides, the rain runs off the roof in such a way as to cause a significant waterfall directly in front of the "key-less" door, and it causes the door to swell so much that the door becomes non-functional. So, it doesn’t really matter that I don’t have a key for now. When I enter in thru the other door, I enter directly into a large and strangely shaped room (with 11 walls!) that's half living room and an eat-in kitchen. We enter directly into the living room complete with a nice new 2-seater couch, 2 other nice matching chairs, a computer desk, a TV and a new large (non-matching) armoire in my living room. One of the quirks about homes in Latin America is the lack of closet and other storage spaces. Armoires are used instead of closets. In my case, the armoire is large, doesn't fit well in my strange shaped bedroom, and without it my living room would look kind of empty. So, yes, I go into my living room to get dressed most days. The walls are taupe colored. My kitchen has a small inexpensive table and chairs, a 2nd hand stove/oven, new frig, and new kitchen cabinets. Except for the fake cherry armoire, the rest of the kitchen and living room furniture is a light colored fake wood. The walls of the kitchen are mustard/gold colored. There is 1 window in the living room and 1 in the kitchen with a fairly nice view. This particular wall of windows is actually part of the security wall mentioned above. And since my apartment is built into a slope, the windows are actually about 2 stories high. Therefore, I feel safe in keeping these windows open at night. Directly off the living room is my bedroom, however, my white bedroom door has neither a door knob nor a hole for a door knob. The bedroom is an OK size, and has 5 tan/khaki colored walls. I have a firm (because it sits directly on the frame, no box springs) new double bed, new matching dresser, and matching night stand. My small bathroom attaches onto my bedroom. It's done in a nice blue, has a small white porcelain stand alone sink, shower (almost never will you find a tub), and a burgundy colored toilet. Why a burgundy toilet in a nice blue bathroom? Don't ask me! On the other end of my apartment, off my kitchen, is a guest bedroom that has a large fake cherry colored double armoire and a set of bunk beds painted red and blue. An add’l double bed happens to be also still be in the guest bedroom due to a team that needed to use my apartment when I was at school. But this just means that I have room for several of you if you’d like to come! The above mentioned non-functional door departs to the outside from this guest bedroom. There is another bathroom, very much like the 1st one, off the guest bedroom. And yes, it is also decorated in blue except for the burg any toilet. So basically I have 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, and kitchen. I really like it, and I finally finished unpacking yesterday. The flooring through out is tile...which seems strange, but it is what is found standarly all over this part of the world. I think it’s actually less expensive than other alternatives here. Plus it’s bound to last longer than linoleum/vinyl considering the rainy season. All my windows had screen put on them back in July. And there are 4 ceiling fans in my apartment.
Just outside my functional door, under a substantial awning, is a new washer, 4th hand dryer that doesn’t work, and a new small hot water heater. Know what that means? I have hot water! YeeHaw! However, another quirk in this part of the world is that folks don’t have hot water going to their sink. Even Teri, the big cheese of this organization, doesn’t have hot water coming her sink. She say’s that it just becomes normal to not have hot water in the kitchen. She says that they don’t even think of connecting it to the kitchen even though they’ve got it connected to the bathroom shower and sink. My first week here I routinely went to the bathroom sink (which is directly on the opposite side of the wall from the kitchen sink) and fill a pot with hot water that I would take to the kitchen to do dishes. Then miracle of all miracles, one day I turned on the cold water spigot, and hot water came out. Turns out that I’ve had hot water all along, but I only tried the hot water spigot, and since it was only cold water, then I guess I used nothing but the left/hot water side. How about that, hot water at my kitchen sink! I just have to get used to using the hot water handle to get cold water to take my pills.
One of the things I miss is the lack of places to squirrel things away. For example….most folks don’t leave the broom and mop just out in the open. But there are NO closets here, and thus no place to hide such things. And even the sort of stuff that you normally keep in the bathroom closet and/or under the sink in the bathroom. Nope, just a stand alone sink, no built in storage at all. So, no inconspicuous place to put the TP and still get to it easily. And no good place to store/hide things like Pepto Bismol and Advil, hygiene supplies, etc.
My windows currently have towels taped over them. A couple of very nice ladies on a team here this summer made me curtains for all my window, but I haven’t yet figured out a way to put them up. All the walls here are concrete, and I’m told you have to use special concrete screws or nails or something unless I want large chunk of concrete to fall out of the wall when I try to tap a nail into it. This also means my walls are bare. Very narrow spring rods would be perfect, as would the type of curtain rod that is held in place magnetically (since my window frames are metal), but I can’t find any here yet.
My TV works and picks up a few local channels, all in Spanish of course. I have gotten to where I’ll watch the news at times in the morning. I figure if something really big is happening, then I might figure it out even in Spanish. I don’t yet have internet access in my apartment…but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. And I foresee a microwave in my near future, maybe a lamp so that I can read in bed and not have to get out of bed and go across the room to turn out the light.
Well, as you can tell. My apartment is really quite nice…better than most missionaries I’ve seen. Thanks for touring my home, and I hope you can come see it for yourself sometime. I’ll try to put photos of my apartment on the blog sometimes soon
OK, let me give you the general lay-out. The HIS campus is kind of rectangular and is surrounded by a wall for security. We have 24hr/day armed guard at the one and only gate in the wall. My apartment is in a quiet corner of the campus, kind of away from the general hub-bub, and down a short, part dirt, part concrete path, and it ultimately sits behind the cafeteria. In reality, the back wall of my apartment is literally part of the security wall. I'd originally hoped for the top apartment, but it's not ready. And to be honest, I'm now glad I'm in the bottom one. It's really an extremely nice apartment (and ready for visitors!)
OK, ready to have a peek inside? I have 2 knotty pine entrance/exit doors (however, we can only find the key to one of the doors. This doesn’t surprise you, does it?). Besides, the rain runs off the roof in such a way as to cause a significant waterfall directly in front of the "key-less" door, and it causes the door to swell so much that the door becomes non-functional. So, it doesn’t really matter that I don’t have a key for now. When I enter in thru the other door, I enter directly into a large and strangely shaped room (with 11 walls!) that's half living room and an eat-in kitchen. We enter directly into the living room complete with a nice new 2-seater couch, 2 other nice matching chairs, a computer desk, a TV and a new large (non-matching) armoire in my living room. One of the quirks about homes in Latin America is the lack of closet and other storage spaces. Armoires are used instead of closets. In my case, the armoire is large, doesn't fit well in my strange shaped bedroom, and without it my living room would look kind of empty. So, yes, I go into my living room to get dressed most days. The walls are taupe colored. My kitchen has a small inexpensive table and chairs, a 2nd hand stove/oven, new frig, and new kitchen cabinets. Except for the fake cherry armoire, the rest of the kitchen and living room furniture is a light colored fake wood. The walls of the kitchen are mustard/gold colored. There is 1 window in the living room and 1 in the kitchen with a fairly nice view. This particular wall of windows is actually part of the security wall mentioned above. And since my apartment is built into a slope, the windows are actually about 2 stories high. Therefore, I feel safe in keeping these windows open at night. Directly off the living room is my bedroom, however, my white bedroom door has neither a door knob nor a hole for a door knob. The bedroom is an OK size, and has 5 tan/khaki colored walls. I have a firm (because it sits directly on the frame, no box springs) new double bed, new matching dresser, and matching night stand. My small bathroom attaches onto my bedroom. It's done in a nice blue, has a small white porcelain stand alone sink, shower (almost never will you find a tub), and a burgundy colored toilet. Why a burgundy toilet in a nice blue bathroom? Don't ask me! On the other end of my apartment, off my kitchen, is a guest bedroom that has a large fake cherry colored double armoire and a set of bunk beds painted red and blue. An add’l double bed happens to be also still be in the guest bedroom due to a team that needed to use my apartment when I was at school. But this just means that I have room for several of you if you’d like to come! The above mentioned non-functional door departs to the outside from this guest bedroom. There is another bathroom, very much like the 1st one, off the guest bedroom. And yes, it is also decorated in blue except for the burg any toilet. So basically I have 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, and kitchen. I really like it, and I finally finished unpacking yesterday. The flooring through out is tile...which seems strange, but it is what is found standarly all over this part of the world. I think it’s actually less expensive than other alternatives here. Plus it’s bound to last longer than linoleum/vinyl considering the rainy season. All my windows had screen put on them back in July. And there are 4 ceiling fans in my apartment.
Just outside my functional door, under a substantial awning, is a new washer, 4th hand dryer that doesn’t work, and a new small hot water heater. Know what that means? I have hot water! YeeHaw! However, another quirk in this part of the world is that folks don’t have hot water going to their sink. Even Teri, the big cheese of this organization, doesn’t have hot water coming her sink. She say’s that it just becomes normal to not have hot water in the kitchen. She says that they don’t even think of connecting it to the kitchen even though they’ve got it connected to the bathroom shower and sink. My first week here I routinely went to the bathroom sink (which is directly on the opposite side of the wall from the kitchen sink) and fill a pot with hot water that I would take to the kitchen to do dishes. Then miracle of all miracles, one day I turned on the cold water spigot, and hot water came out. Turns out that I’ve had hot water all along, but I only tried the hot water spigot, and since it was only cold water, then I guess I used nothing but the left/hot water side. How about that, hot water at my kitchen sink! I just have to get used to using the hot water handle to get cold water to take my pills.
One of the things I miss is the lack of places to squirrel things away. For example….most folks don’t leave the broom and mop just out in the open. But there are NO closets here, and thus no place to hide such things. And even the sort of stuff that you normally keep in the bathroom closet and/or under the sink in the bathroom. Nope, just a stand alone sink, no built in storage at all. So, no inconspicuous place to put the TP and still get to it easily. And no good place to store/hide things like Pepto Bismol and Advil, hygiene supplies, etc.
My windows currently have towels taped over them. A couple of very nice ladies on a team here this summer made me curtains for all my window, but I haven’t yet figured out a way to put them up. All the walls here are concrete, and I’m told you have to use special concrete screws or nails or something unless I want large chunk of concrete to fall out of the wall when I try to tap a nail into it. This also means my walls are bare. Very narrow spring rods would be perfect, as would the type of curtain rod that is held in place magnetically (since my window frames are metal), but I can’t find any here yet.
My TV works and picks up a few local channels, all in Spanish of course. I have gotten to where I’ll watch the news at times in the morning. I figure if something really big is happening, then I might figure it out even in Spanish. I don’t yet have internet access in my apartment…but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. And I foresee a microwave in my near future, maybe a lamp so that I can read in bed and not have to get out of bed and go across the room to turn out the light.
Well, as you can tell. My apartment is really quite nice…better than most missionaries I’ve seen. Thanks for touring my home, and I hope you can come see it for yourself sometime. I’ll try to put photos of my apartment on the blog sometimes soon
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Last day of school!
Friday Aug. 10th, finally!
Working on very little sleep, I headed off for my 8am class/exam. I'd decided to take my final exam as soon as possible so I could get it over with. I'd allowed myself to get worked up over this exam for some reason, and just about burst into tears when I found a small bouquet of fresh flowers from one of my previous teachers on my desk.
I took the written and oral test, and did pretty well (got an A). Luckily I'm one of those people who generally test fairly well. But I know that there's a lot of material that I didn't know and wasn't tested on. And I know that I'm far from where I wanted to be at this point and very far from fluent. But I'll talk about that some other time. In the meanwhile I gladly accepted my Grade C diploma.
Earlier in the week, my S. Korean pastor/missionary friend planned a party for the two of us to celebrate finishing school and to express our thanks to our teachers who put up with us. So, after class we went to the restaurant called "If"...Korean of course. I was a little worried if I would have enough money. And was completely surprised when he wouldn't allow any of us to pay towards the meal. He said it was his gift to show his thanks, and it is typical in his culture. OK. What else can you do but say thanks?
As I walked home that afternoon I was rather melancholic and sobered by the love I'd developed for this neat little town of Antigua. And I was even more touched as I continued my walk when I was stopped by one little shop owner after another because they wanted to say good-bye and wish me well. I hadn't even realized how many people I'd gotten to know. I guess that's what happened when I walk the same route to and from school essentially the same day. Louis nearly went into tears when I stopped to sit beside him and tell him I was leaving in 2 days. Louis is maybe 30 years old, is poor, sits in a park all day and tries to make enough money shining shoes to buy a bus ticket home and food for the day. He and I had become friends from almost day one. He's not the brightest crayon in the box...but then again neither am I. But his frequent and worsening seizures are probably directly related to his slow capacity. He can't afford a MD nor the medicine for seizures, which are hard to control and stay on top of in even the best of circumstances in the USA. As best as I could understand, his last seizure, (early in Aug), caused him to stumble into a moving bus on the street in front of him. That explained why he had more stitches than usual and in more than one place, and more than the normal amount of scrapes on his face and the rest of his body. Knowing Louis has (and still does) give me a reason to think a lot about life.
Friday evening, An-Hui escorted me to her boyfriends apartment where he was making a dinner in my honor. I'd thought An-Hui was going to cook a traditional meal, but I guess her boyfriend (also from Taiwan)decided to do it. He invited a few other friends that live in his same apartment complex. He and everyone else treated me like royalty. I wasn't allowed to help or hardly move a finger. I was seated at the head of the table, and was always served first and served the best of the food. It boggled my mind that a person who barely knows me...has really only seen me briefly twice...would go thru so much trouble to make a special dinner for me (especially when I know he really doesn't have the money for such an extravagance). The night was relaxed and slow, and we enjoyed ourselves well into the night. Quite a nice touch to end such a special day.
Working on very little sleep, I headed off for my 8am class/exam. I'd decided to take my final exam as soon as possible so I could get it over with. I'd allowed myself to get worked up over this exam for some reason, and just about burst into tears when I found a small bouquet of fresh flowers from one of my previous teachers on my desk.
I took the written and oral test, and did pretty well (got an A). Luckily I'm one of those people who generally test fairly well. But I know that there's a lot of material that I didn't know and wasn't tested on. And I know that I'm far from where I wanted to be at this point and very far from fluent. But I'll talk about that some other time. In the meanwhile I gladly accepted my Grade C diploma.
Earlier in the week, my S. Korean pastor/missionary friend planned a party for the two of us to celebrate finishing school and to express our thanks to our teachers who put up with us. So, after class we went to the restaurant called "If"...Korean of course. I was a little worried if I would have enough money. And was completely surprised when he wouldn't allow any of us to pay towards the meal. He said it was his gift to show his thanks, and it is typical in his culture. OK. What else can you do but say thanks?
As I walked home that afternoon I was rather melancholic and sobered by the love I'd developed for this neat little town of Antigua. And I was even more touched as I continued my walk when I was stopped by one little shop owner after another because they wanted to say good-bye and wish me well. I hadn't even realized how many people I'd gotten to know. I guess that's what happened when I walk the same route to and from school essentially the same day. Louis nearly went into tears when I stopped to sit beside him and tell him I was leaving in 2 days. Louis is maybe 30 years old, is poor, sits in a park all day and tries to make enough money shining shoes to buy a bus ticket home and food for the day. He and I had become friends from almost day one. He's not the brightest crayon in the box...but then again neither am I. But his frequent and worsening seizures are probably directly related to his slow capacity. He can't afford a MD nor the medicine for seizures, which are hard to control and stay on top of in even the best of circumstances in the USA. As best as I could understand, his last seizure, (early in Aug), caused him to stumble into a moving bus on the street in front of him. That explained why he had more stitches than usual and in more than one place, and more than the normal amount of scrapes on his face and the rest of his body. Knowing Louis has (and still does) give me a reason to think a lot about life.
Friday evening, An-Hui escorted me to her boyfriends apartment where he was making a dinner in my honor. I'd thought An-Hui was going to cook a traditional meal, but I guess her boyfriend (also from Taiwan)decided to do it. He invited a few other friends that live in his same apartment complex. He and everyone else treated me like royalty. I wasn't allowed to help or hardly move a finger. I was seated at the head of the table, and was always served first and served the best of the food. It boggled my mind that a person who barely knows me...has really only seen me briefly twice...would go thru so much trouble to make a special dinner for me (especially when I know he really doesn't have the money for such an extravagance). The night was relaxed and slow, and we enjoyed ourselves well into the night. Quite a nice touch to end such a special day.
I was trying to study!
This 3rd level of Spanish school, "Grade C", never seemed to quite make it all the way into my head. Maybe it's because during the first 1.5wk of this grade all my free time was consumed with trying to solve my passport/visa problems, and thus snowballed from there. Well, whatever the cause, I never completely "got" grade C. So, last Thursday, the eve of my Grade C exam, I made sure that nothing was scheduled for my afternoon or evening except studying. I was in school until 12:30. Lunch was from 1pm-2pm (it's culturally relevant to have a slow and prolonged meal time). So I hit the books by 2pm. Then I rec'd an email from An-Hui, my previous Guatemala house-mate who's from Taiwan. She said she was really upset and needed to talk...she'd be at my place by 4pm. OK...2 hours to study until she arrives.
For An-Hui to open up to anyone is astounding. I've never seen her share with anyone before. By nature she's very quiet and shy. So, when she entered my house I was really surprised, delighted, and sad, (all at the same time), when she collapsed into my open arms and sobbed. I mean SOBBED! Fortunately, I discovered that nothing extremely tragic had happened. However, in her eyes, her world was falling apart, and she expressed feelings of worthlessness. (Who of us haven't been there at least a time or two?) We sat on my bed until 6:30pm crying, comforting, and talking. But here's the rest of the story. At some point during our conversation, I was alerted by a staff member in the HIS office that my bus reservations (I made to return to El Salvador) just cancelled my route. Thankfully An-Hui was understanding that I needed to tend to this issue immediately. Then, as I was awaiting a response from the bus company, a school friend (a missionary from S. Korea) sent me a Skype message that he needed to talk to me immediately. OK....get the picture? I've got a friend in tears on my bed, I've got a call saying that I need to make other transportation arrangements immediately, and another friend saying they need my assistance ASAP. Good grief! And some folks wonder why my hair stands straight up!
I ended up putting off the other problems so that I could focus on An-Hui, all the while knowing that my study time was dwindling. But also knowing that God calls us to relationships...and I've been working and praying about this particular relationship since the day I arrived in Guatemala. So, An-Hui left my house around 6:30pm with plans for me to meet her for dinner the next night. So then I went to dinner as per usual from 7pm-8pm. Then I returned to my room to try to solve the previous problems of the bus and my S. Korean friend. Around 9:30pm I got back to the books in earnest, knowing it was going to be a long night, and God would have to provide. Indeed, I hit the sack around 1:30AM knowing that I had done all I could, and set my alarm for 5:45AM per usual. And to think that I had my afternoon and evening completely freed up to study. Oh well, that's life.
For An-Hui to open up to anyone is astounding. I've never seen her share with anyone before. By nature she's very quiet and shy. So, when she entered my house I was really surprised, delighted, and sad, (all at the same time), when she collapsed into my open arms and sobbed. I mean SOBBED! Fortunately, I discovered that nothing extremely tragic had happened. However, in her eyes, her world was falling apart, and she expressed feelings of worthlessness. (Who of us haven't been there at least a time or two?) We sat on my bed until 6:30pm crying, comforting, and talking. But here's the rest of the story. At some point during our conversation, I was alerted by a staff member in the HIS office that my bus reservations (I made to return to El Salvador) just cancelled my route. Thankfully An-Hui was understanding that I needed to tend to this issue immediately. Then, as I was awaiting a response from the bus company, a school friend (a missionary from S. Korea) sent me a Skype message that he needed to talk to me immediately. OK....get the picture? I've got a friend in tears on my bed, I've got a call saying that I need to make other transportation arrangements immediately, and another friend saying they need my assistance ASAP. Good grief! And some folks wonder why my hair stands straight up!
I ended up putting off the other problems so that I could focus on An-Hui, all the while knowing that my study time was dwindling. But also knowing that God calls us to relationships...and I've been working and praying about this particular relationship since the day I arrived in Guatemala. So, An-Hui left my house around 6:30pm with plans for me to meet her for dinner the next night. So then I went to dinner as per usual from 7pm-8pm. Then I returned to my room to try to solve the previous problems of the bus and my S. Korean friend. Around 9:30pm I got back to the books in earnest, knowing it was going to be a long night, and God would have to provide. Indeed, I hit the sack around 1:30AM knowing that I had done all I could, and set my alarm for 5:45AM per usual. And to think that I had my afternoon and evening completely freed up to study. Oh well, that's life.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Did you catch the address change?
Make sure you look on the right side of the blog where is says "New Mailing Address". This is different than what you were told back in the spring. It still goes to Miami, Florida (but a different courier service) and it still only takes one regular stamp. The reason for the change is a long story and not worth going into. You're mail is so precious to me, and I don't want to miss any of it, so please use the address listed on the blog:
AMILAT 723
Debra Skalsky
PO BOX 2-5364
Miami, FL 331O2-5364
Thanks!
AMILAT 723
Debra Skalsky
PO BOX 2-5364
Miami, FL 331O2-5364
Thanks!
Hey, Look! The volcano is erupting!
Wed Aug 8, 2007
Volcano Fuego, about 1 hr from here, is always blowing smoke. Sometimes, when it's not covered by our normal nightly rain clouds, we can see a rim of fire on it's crater edge. But tonight was truly amazing. Fuego was erupting! I took tons of pictures, but they don't do it justice and it makes it look so small.
Think about this: this 13,000ft tall volcano (per history, the most active volcano is Central America), is about 1 hr away by car. Yet, we could clearly see it blowing a huge amount of fire into the sky, and presumably tons of lava down the mountain. My uneducated guess is that the fire itself is probably at least the width of 2-3 footballs field put end to end. And I can't even imagine how high the fire was being thrown into the sky. All I know is that I really wishes I could find a way to get closer to it (but not too close), and I know that it felt like I was watching National Geographic on the TV. Wouldn't it be something to be on Volcano Picaya (the volcano I climbed) right now since it sits right beside Fuego? According to some information I found on the internet about Volcano Fuego, the lava travels about 35mph down the mountain, and it can continue erupting for several hours or days. It's been erupting now for about 6-7 hours.
I was so excited about the spectacular light show I was watching, that I had to call someone. But since it was late, I opted for calling my parents. I guess hearing your daughter exclaim, "Dad, the volcano is erupting!" is not exactly what most parents want to here. But I guess by now my folks have gotten somewhat accustomed to me calling with true but outrageous stories. Due to our altitude of 500ft and our distance from the volcano, I assured dad and mom that I didn't think I was in any danger. But wow is it gorgeous and exciting!
Wk 12 & 15
I know this is weird, but I never really thought week 12, the last week of language school, would ever get here. When you think about "April" and "August" don't they sound like they're very far apart? So, I thought this week 12 would never arrive, and yet here it is. I'll have my Grade C exam on Friday...can't say I'm looking forward to or prepared for this. Sunday I'll leave here at 6am on a 1hr shuttle van to Guatemala City where I'll catch the 8:30am bus to take me to El Salvador. My guess is that we'll probably get to the boarder btw 9:30 and 10am. If you read my previous blog about my visa, then you'll understand why all prayers are welcome for that too. And before we get to the border, we cross through the section of the country that's renown for it's robberies and worse. We're schedule to arrive in San Salvador, El Salvador, at 12:45pm and Teri and Osvaldo are scheduled to pick me up. Oh, all these hours are in Latin American time...so add 2 hours to make them EST.
This is also week 15 since I left home. This too is amazing to me.
I wanted to update you regarding Michael, the 3 yr old that's been abandoned in a hospital since birth. Britney, the other nurse at the orphanage has gone to meet Michael and his doctor. She feels comfortable with his care and doesn't think it will be as complex as originally feared. He currently has a cold, so the hospital won't let him leave yet. And we need a pulse oximeter (and thing that sits on our finger or toe nail that measures the amount of oxygen in your blood), which is proving to be a challenge.
I believe my apartment is finally ready for me, and I am so excited that I'll be able to finally unpack my stuff. Wow! I'll even have my own bathroom instead of a hall bath. You should see my apartment! I'll put pictures of it in a future blog. It's really nice. I have bunk beds in my guest bedroom, an attached bathroom, an eat-in kitchen, a living room, and a master bedroom with a bathroom. Anyone interested in coming to visit?
This week God provided a plane ticket home for Christmas! It seemed quite coincidental, but I don't believe in coincidences, as I happened to flip through the TACA airline website again. And believe it or not, the price had gone done from the previous week. TACA flies directly from San Salvador to Washington DC (Dulles) airport. Their reputation is much better than it used to be according to my director, Teri, who uses this airline quite a bit. Are you ready for this....the total cost of this non-stop flight is only ....are you sure you're ready?......$459! Is that outstanding and God-like or what?! I'll arrive home for Christmas on Dec 20th, just in time for my mom's birthday on Dec 21st! YEAH!
This is also week 15 since I left home. This too is amazing to me.
I wanted to update you regarding Michael, the 3 yr old that's been abandoned in a hospital since birth. Britney, the other nurse at the orphanage has gone to meet Michael and his doctor. She feels comfortable with his care and doesn't think it will be as complex as originally feared. He currently has a cold, so the hospital won't let him leave yet. And we need a pulse oximeter (and thing that sits on our finger or toe nail that measures the amount of oxygen in your blood), which is proving to be a challenge.
I believe my apartment is finally ready for me, and I am so excited that I'll be able to finally unpack my stuff. Wow! I'll even have my own bathroom instead of a hall bath. You should see my apartment! I'll put pictures of it in a future blog. It's really nice. I have bunk beds in my guest bedroom, an attached bathroom, an eat-in kitchen, a living room, and a master bedroom with a bathroom. Anyone interested in coming to visit?
This week God provided a plane ticket home for Christmas! It seemed quite coincidental, but I don't believe in coincidences, as I happened to flip through the TACA airline website again. And believe it or not, the price had gone done from the previous week. TACA flies directly from San Salvador to Washington DC (Dulles) airport. Their reputation is much better than it used to be according to my director, Teri, who uses this airline quite a bit. Are you ready for this....the total cost of this non-stop flight is only ....are you sure you're ready?......$459! Is that outstanding and God-like or what?! I'll arrive home for Christmas on Dec 20th, just in time for my mom's birthday on Dec 21st! YEAH!
Saying good-byes again
I hate saying good-byes. I guess we all do.
You may remember the names of my best friends in Guatemala, Ginni and Kevin, from my very early blog posts. They are missionaries. We all knew that the day would come where we'd have to part, but we tried to ignore the thought. Ginni and Kevin are new onto the mission field too. We arrived at language school at about the same time. Ginni and I became surprisingly close, surprisingly quick. We lived in the same house for the first few weeks, and shed many a tear on each others shoulders.
Anyhow, last weekend looked like it would be our last chance to see each other. So, they asked if I'd like to come with them for the weekend to see their ministry which is on the edge of Guatemala's largest dump/land fill. It's many many acres large. Their ministry is to the people who live on the edge (literally) of the dump under pieces of cardboard and scrap metal and work in the dump as they go through all the trash to find food to eat and left over things that they might be able to re-sell or recycle. It's probably one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Ginni and Kevin were quick to point out (again) that they have a nice, organized, well stocked clinic that's in serious need of a nurse since their previous nurse recently completed her commitment to the ministry. Of course, I too have made a commitment to the orphanage for a minimum of one year, and they understand that I need to keep my commitment unless God himself says differently. And I don't think that's going to happen. Anyhow, it was really nice to spend the weekend with Kevin & Ginni and to meet the other ministry workers. Really great folks.
Imagine this with me...a tire rim grill. Yep, you take the large tire rim of car or truck from the dump, then turn it so that it lays flat like a plate. Then you weld some re bar to the sides of it form a stand for the grill, and "Wah-lah!" you now have a grill. I'll try to put the picture on this blog. One night we had shishkabobs (how in the world is that word spelled?) on the grill...yummy! And at night Ginni, Kevin and I would watch a DVD movie on the computer (thanks to those of you who gave or loaned me your movies!) You know, it just felt so comfortable, and almost "normal".
So this week is probably my last week of school, and I'll need to say good-bye to my other friends, including my friend from Taiwan, An-Hui. An-Hui (AKA Amelia) is going to cook a meal for me on Saturday for my going away meal. She's so sweet. And I think another friend and I will take our teachers out for lunch on Friday after my exam. And I'll have to say good-bye to the wonderful climate/cool temperatures and bright colors of Antigua, and God's incredible volcanic mountains.
I had to say good-bye extra early to another new friend, John Nichols. He's a missionary to this town, and been living here for a few years. Such a nice guy! If you could look up "sold out for God" in a dictionary, it would list John's name. John said his last good-byes about 2.5 weeks ago. He died at the age of 49 from a heart attack, his 2nd.
Just to keep you in the loop, there's some discussoin of my actually coming back for more language school, possibly as soon as September for about a month or so. There's a big project that I need to assist with back in El Salvador that will end at the end of August. We'll see. Returning to school is the LAST thing I want right now...but ultimately it would probably be best for me down the road. One step at a time for now.
Langage School- Session 2
After my nice 3 week break in El Salvador at the orphanage, I returned on Sunday Aug 15th for my last 4 weeks of school, totaling 12 weeks all together. Oh, it's so much cooler here than El Salvador. Nearly always in the 70s. And there to greet me was "my" volcano. Although we're surrounded by volcanoes, the closest one, Volcano Agua, is my favorite. There's just something very reassuring about that volcano to me. It really reminds me of God. My heart is really drawn to huge magnificent mountains.
So I got settled in my new house, not the house I lived in for my first 8 weeks of school. I requested this new location for several reason: it has a good reputation and it had wireless internet access 24hr/day (when the electricity works) for $5 more per week. Little did I know just how important this would be with my Visa woes (per the last blog). Choosing this house has ended up being an excellent choice and a blessing. The food is good, the house is clean, my "parents" are bilingual and very smart and friendly, and my fellow student housemates are super. Most of them are students or are affiliated with Anderson University. And here's something a little different, my house only has student rooms in it on the 2nd floor, and only their young adult son lives on the first floor. There is no kitchen, no living room, just student rooms (4, with capacity to hold 6 people) and 2 hall bathrooms. We actually walk half a block away to the house where my "parents" live (and 2 other students) in order to have our meals at 7:15am, 1pm, and 7pm.
I got a new teacher too. Although I really liked my previous teacher, she didn't have a very good command of the English language, and as my studies became more difficult and complex, so did my questions. So I requested someone who could be able to really understand my questions in English and be able to explain the answers thoroughly in English. Teresa, my new teacher, fit the bill perfectly. Sometime I think she has wanted to strangle me, and likewise me to her, but all in all it's gone quite well with Teresa.
I live on the same street that I lived on before, just one block further, and sitting on a corner. The location is much more quiet, although the road directly in front of the house is heavily traveled. The small one-way street is quiet, although every time I see 2 cars parked hood to hood on the same side of street, it makes me wonder how this happens on a "one way" street!
It also seems that whomever is responsible for turning off the water to the entire city every night likes to do it earlier than the previous guy. The water now gets turned off every night (through-out all the city simultaneously) around 10:15pm instead of 11:30ish. I'm told it comes back on around 4:30am. Like my friends say, T.I. G. (This is Guatemala) and nothing needs to be logical or make sense. Doing so would really mess up their system.
So I got settled in my new house, not the house I lived in for my first 8 weeks of school. I requested this new location for several reason: it has a good reputation and it had wireless internet access 24hr/day (when the electricity works) for $5 more per week. Little did I know just how important this would be with my Visa woes (per the last blog). Choosing this house has ended up being an excellent choice and a blessing. The food is good, the house is clean, my "parents" are bilingual and very smart and friendly, and my fellow student housemates are super. Most of them are students or are affiliated with Anderson University. And here's something a little different, my house only has student rooms in it on the 2nd floor, and only their young adult son lives on the first floor. There is no kitchen, no living room, just student rooms (4, with capacity to hold 6 people) and 2 hall bathrooms. We actually walk half a block away to the house where my "parents" live (and 2 other students) in order to have our meals at 7:15am, 1pm, and 7pm.
I got a new teacher too. Although I really liked my previous teacher, she didn't have a very good command of the English language, and as my studies became more difficult and complex, so did my questions. So I requested someone who could be able to really understand my questions in English and be able to explain the answers thoroughly in English. Teresa, my new teacher, fit the bill perfectly. Sometime I think she has wanted to strangle me, and likewise me to her, but all in all it's gone quite well with Teresa.
I live on the same street that I lived on before, just one block further, and sitting on a corner. The location is much more quiet, although the road directly in front of the house is heavily traveled. The small one-way street is quiet, although every time I see 2 cars parked hood to hood on the same side of street, it makes me wonder how this happens on a "one way" street!
It also seems that whomever is responsible for turning off the water to the entire city every night likes to do it earlier than the previous guy. The water now gets turned off every night (through-out all the city simultaneously) around 10:15pm instead of 11:30ish. I'm told it comes back on around 4:30am. Like my friends say, T.I. G. (This is Guatemala) and nothing needs to be logical or make sense. Doing so would really mess up their system.
Details of my Visa Woes
When I arrived in El Salvador 1000 years ago (actually April 24th) I had to go thru immigration and customs at the airport, per usual. The less than happy faced immigration official put a stamp in my passport that would allow me to stay in El Salvador for 90 days. The next day I started the process to become a resident (NOT a citizen) of El Salvador. Being a resident (and having a resident ID card) would allow me to stay for a long time (a couple of years I think) without having to renew or extend my visa, and would keep me from having to go out of the country every 90 days. A residency card out-ranks/supersedes a Visa. By the grace of God, literally, I received my temporary residency card without having huge hassles like most people do. My temporary res. card would also expire in 90 days, but my permanent card would be ready before then, ...or so they said. So, I went off to Guatemala to start school (at the end of April) and then after 8 weeks (early July) I went back to El Salvador for a 3 week break since my school did not have room for me for 3 weeks. During that time I discovered that my permanent card would not be ready any time soon. The reason they're so far behind is that they now insist that an official has to interview each applicant eyeball to eyeball in your house or at your job before you can be approved. 2 days before I returned to school, the interview guy showed up (July 11th). He said my permanent card would be ready in 20-25 days.
Do you get the problem? I had a bus ticket to go back to school in Guatemala on July 15th, but my Visa would expire on July 24th and my residency card would expire on July 27th. That means I would be in Guatemala as an illegal alien once my dates expired, and I may not be able to get back into El Salvador after my residency card expired on July 27th. Yikes! Therefore, before I left El Salvador I and others made numerous phone calls and trips to immigration. We were assured that I would be fine in Guatemala, and that when school ended in early to mid August, I would be allowed back into El Salvador if I just showed them my temporary card and explained (in Spanish, none the less) what was going on. OK, so I crossed my fingers and got on the bus, and left El Salvador as I headed off for school in the neighboring country of Guatemala.
Guess what? The less than happy faced man with some sort of big military type of gun said that I would not be able to return to El Salvador after July 27th, (the date on my temp. res. card). I explained everything. Neither he nor his gun seemed to care. When I finally got into Guatemala, I immediately called my director, Teri, back at the orphanage. I was in a panic. She and others started to make phone calls. They kept being told the same thing....all will be fine when I returned in Aug (after the July 27th expiration date) if I just showed my card to he border guard and explained my situation. Yeah, right.
My entire 1st 1.5 weeks of class I was worthless. I spent nearly every extra min on the Internet or on the phone trying to figure out if I should leave school and get my rear end back into El Salvador before it was too late. Or did I need to go to the USA? Or do I stay and take my chances and hope I can get back into El Salvador? I could just see myself in "No man's land" which is a stretch of road about 200 yards long that sits between the border of Guatemala and El Salvador. Guatemala would definitely let me out of their country because I would be an illegal alien (after I paid a nice fee), but El Salvador may not let me in. So I could just see me sitting on my suitcase in No Mans Land with a cell phone that can't reach over the mountains to call for help. And then the official would decide to take me into the local jail to be held until they can figure out what to do with me. OK, I admit it, maybe I have an over-active imagination...or maybe not. But I was STRESSED OUT! I remember calling my mom and dad late one night, sometime after midnight. I'm not typically a person that goes running to their mommy and daddy with issues. But sometimes a kid (even an adult kid) just needs to hear that everything is going to be OK from their mommy and daddy. On that night my mom and dad could not have been better. They listed to me (most importantly), told me they loved me, assured me they and others would be praying for me, and helped me come up with a game plan. And yes, it did dawn on my just how fortunate I am to have my mommy and daddy that I can run too. So many don't have this option.
A friend of mine at school recommended that I talk to a local guy who knew just about everything and everyone in Antigua, his name is David. David put me in touch with Jose, a guy who I could pay to get an extension on my visa. It was definitely one of those things where you don't ask questions, you certainly don't ask if thing's are being done legally, and you just hope for the best. He made some calls and assured me that he could get Guatemala immigration to put an extension onto my El Salvador visa for about $60. However (you knew there was going to be a however, didn't you!) he had to have my drivers license, passport, temp res. card, and an active credit card to be left with him during this time. YIKES! But I proceeded, and the plan was that he would take my passport to immigration the next day (Friday- and Monday was the deadline)and get them to stamp an extension onto my visa. However, he ran into a snag, and we worked that snag out on Sat. So he returned on Monday to immigration. Again, another snag. I was in a panic. It was now the day (Monday) that my visa would expire, and the snag caused us to be delayed one more day. Jose told me he talked to his "inside person" who assured him that she could be able to "make something happen".
On July 24th (technically 91 days after April 24th...and yes, this does matter to immigration officials) my Visa was stamped with the "appropriate date" giving me another 90 days to breathe. Now all I have to do is wait for Aug 12th when I have to cross the borders of Guatemala and El Salvador and hope that both sets of guards recognize/accept Guatemala's extension onto my El Salvador Visa, which honestly shouldn't be a problem and truely is legal. But nevertheless I'll breath a sigh of relief and say another pray of thanks once I'm on the inside of the El Salvador border.
I'd be lying if I said I was never worried or scared. But to tell you the truth, after my late night talk with my folks, an uncanny peace came over me. And for the next few days after that late night phone call, I'd start to get anxious about something, and then something quirky would happen that would speak peace into my heart that God was in control, and He would take care of things, I just needed to have faith. I know that might sound weird to you. But it's true, and it's happened over and over again. Bottom line, God was, and still is faithful, even when my faith is wavering. And for those of you who were aware of the situation, and praying for me, then you should know that you really were standing in the gap for me and you really made a difference. Thank you!
Do you get the problem? I had a bus ticket to go back to school in Guatemala on July 15th, but my Visa would expire on July 24th and my residency card would expire on July 27th. That means I would be in Guatemala as an illegal alien once my dates expired, and I may not be able to get back into El Salvador after my residency card expired on July 27th. Yikes! Therefore, before I left El Salvador I and others made numerous phone calls and trips to immigration. We were assured that I would be fine in Guatemala, and that when school ended in early to mid August, I would be allowed back into El Salvador if I just showed them my temporary card and explained (in Spanish, none the less) what was going on. OK, so I crossed my fingers and got on the bus, and left El Salvador as I headed off for school in the neighboring country of Guatemala.
Guess what? The less than happy faced man with some sort of big military type of gun said that I would not be able to return to El Salvador after July 27th, (the date on my temp. res. card). I explained everything. Neither he nor his gun seemed to care. When I finally got into Guatemala, I immediately called my director, Teri, back at the orphanage. I was in a panic. She and others started to make phone calls. They kept being told the same thing....all will be fine when I returned in Aug (after the July 27th expiration date) if I just showed my card to he border guard and explained my situation. Yeah, right.
My entire 1st 1.5 weeks of class I was worthless. I spent nearly every extra min on the Internet or on the phone trying to figure out if I should leave school and get my rear end back into El Salvador before it was too late. Or did I need to go to the USA? Or do I stay and take my chances and hope I can get back into El Salvador? I could just see myself in "No man's land" which is a stretch of road about 200 yards long that sits between the border of Guatemala and El Salvador. Guatemala would definitely let me out of their country because I would be an illegal alien (after I paid a nice fee), but El Salvador may not let me in. So I could just see me sitting on my suitcase in No Mans Land with a cell phone that can't reach over the mountains to call for help. And then the official would decide to take me into the local jail to be held until they can figure out what to do with me. OK, I admit it, maybe I have an over-active imagination...or maybe not. But I was STRESSED OUT! I remember calling my mom and dad late one night, sometime after midnight. I'm not typically a person that goes running to their mommy and daddy with issues. But sometimes a kid (even an adult kid) just needs to hear that everything is going to be OK from their mommy and daddy. On that night my mom and dad could not have been better. They listed to me (most importantly), told me they loved me, assured me they and others would be praying for me, and helped me come up with a game plan. And yes, it did dawn on my just how fortunate I am to have my mommy and daddy that I can run too. So many don't have this option.
A friend of mine at school recommended that I talk to a local guy who knew just about everything and everyone in Antigua, his name is David. David put me in touch with Jose, a guy who I could pay to get an extension on my visa. It was definitely one of those things where you don't ask questions, you certainly don't ask if thing's are being done legally, and you just hope for the best. He made some calls and assured me that he could get Guatemala immigration to put an extension onto my El Salvador visa for about $60. However (you knew there was going to be a however, didn't you!) he had to have my drivers license, passport, temp res. card, and an active credit card to be left with him during this time. YIKES! But I proceeded, and the plan was that he would take my passport to immigration the next day (Friday- and Monday was the deadline)and get them to stamp an extension onto my visa. However, he ran into a snag, and we worked that snag out on Sat. So he returned on Monday to immigration. Again, another snag. I was in a panic. It was now the day (Monday) that my visa would expire, and the snag caused us to be delayed one more day. Jose told me he talked to his "inside person" who assured him that she could be able to "make something happen".
On July 24th (technically 91 days after April 24th...and yes, this does matter to immigration officials) my Visa was stamped with the "appropriate date" giving me another 90 days to breathe. Now all I have to do is wait for Aug 12th when I have to cross the borders of Guatemala and El Salvador and hope that both sets of guards recognize/accept Guatemala's extension onto my El Salvador Visa, which honestly shouldn't be a problem and truely is legal. But nevertheless I'll breath a sigh of relief and say another pray of thanks once I'm on the inside of the El Salvador border.
I'd be lying if I said I was never worried or scared. But to tell you the truth, after my late night talk with my folks, an uncanny peace came over me. And for the next few days after that late night phone call, I'd start to get anxious about something, and then something quirky would happen that would speak peace into my heart that God was in control, and He would take care of things, I just needed to have faith. I know that might sound weird to you. But it's true, and it's happened over and over again. Bottom line, God was, and still is faithful, even when my faith is wavering. And for those of you who were aware of the situation, and praying for me, then you should know that you really were standing in the gap for me and you really made a difference. Thank you!
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