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!