Sightseeing in El Salvador

An Outdoor Wednesday Post
hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
Thank you, Susan!


This time last week Mom and Mikey had a day to
explore some ruins of a volcano. Such tragedy
preserved so perfectly. The heat of the lava
baked the clay of the buildings as if in a kiln.






The gift shop...









Mom poses near this pretty tree.
I don't know what kind this was
but it looks pretty to me.







Due to his interest in horticulture
Mikey took many, many photos of the
plants and trees.



Some of these will end up in his
plant portfolio. I am thrilled to
see the variety he captured.









The more I hear about this trip the more I rejoice that
I didn't know the dangers and adventures Mom and Mikey
were facing. While El Salvador is a country with great
beauty and wonderful people, it is a very troubled country
with a huge disparity between the rich and the poor.
Gangs are a security risk in San Salvador.
The crime rate is very high.

It is a relief to find that the people to whom
this team ministered were so thankful and loving.
It is a very good work that Omega Medical Missions
does, here in El Salvador and in Honduras.

You Are the Best!

It was such a comfort to get
your messages about our Kimmy.

Poor Chloe is looking everywhere
for her. I don't know how she
will adjust to being the only dog.
Hopefully she loves getting all of
the attention and settles into the
Princess role. It is not far off
from how she expects to be treated
already.

So....Mikey said I can share more of
his pictures...it was his first time
to fly. He LOVED it!



He took many pictures out the
window. So pretty!









Met in San Salvador by the security team.







The soccer ball that found a new home.


With these guys...





They were soooo happy!



Mom at one of the clinics...

She is the one in the back on the right...
smiling really big.

This little guy stole my heart
when I saw this picture.
It was a very hot day and he just
decided to flop down on the ground.
Look at that funny and sweet face.
I see why Mikey fell in love with the
children here. He wanted to bring them,
and the little old ladies, home with him.

Don't worry he is perfectly fine.
Just laying down for a bit.

Well, there are so many pictures.
But I won't bore you with all of
them now. I am glad that Mikey and
Mom are letting me share some.

I must say thank you, again, for all of the
sweet and kind words you shared
with us on the last post.

Blog friends are real friends.

A Very Hard Day...

This morning I will take my
Kimmy to the vet for the last
time. She has always had a
very bad disposition toward
certain people and has been
untrustworthy around young
children.

On the other hand she is so
very loyal and loving to me.

The night before Mikey left
for his mission trip she bit
him.

It was the last straw...

but it is so hard to actually
bring myself to bring her life to
an end, as is evidenced by the fact that
I didn't do this last week while he
was gone.

She has health issues that help
me to make this decision, as well.
The poor dog suffers from allergies
to an extreme degree and it is hard
to watch her be in such discomfort.
I have tried everything to reduce her
itchiness and while things help,
nothing makes it tolerable.

None of this takes away the horrible
sadness I feel as this time comes.

It is time to go and say goodbye.
I will miss her greatly!



Updated: Mom went with me...Kimmy passed very peacefully looking into my eyes. For such an unpredictable dog she always, always, always wanted to please me.
I loved her!
Thanks for your kind words.

Blues From El Salvador

This is a crater formed by a volcano that
is now filled with water. I thought the
blues were stunningly soft and gorgeous.

Yesterday was an emotional day as
Mom and Mikey recounted their many
experiences in a week of medical
mission in the Jungle Villages
surrounding San Salvadore.

Mikey did so much more than I
could have ever imagined him
doing. Cleaning out wounds and
finding solutions to problems
brought about by lack of supplies.
Mom said some lifelong missionaries
commented positively about his
ability to see what needed to be
done and then do it. They were
quite impressed with him.

I think that Mikey's work at Agway,
since he was fourteen, and then his
Summer internship helped him a lot
when it came to his preparedness for
this trip. We are so thankful for
these opportunities in Mikey's life.

It is fun to see the carryover from
Longwood Gardens as he
took many photos of the native plant
life and will add those to his portfolio.
He was so excited to see these plants
in their natural environment after
learning about them in the classroom
over the summer.



Mom did well too. She worked so hard
in gathering together the medications
prescribed by the medical staff and marking
the appropriate dosages.
She would then hand them off to an RN for
a double check before they were given to
each patient. A woman who spoke fluent
Spanish was then charged with explaining
everything to the patient.
Quite a process,
but an efficient and thorough one.



I didn't know, before they left,
that Americans are such a target in
this country. Apparently it was very
necessary for their group to have armed
security with them. So they had three
uniformed police with them as they
went on their daily missions.

At one point Mom ventured through a tiny
bit of the jungle to capture a photo of
some school children. As she turned around
she was face to face with one of these policemen.
She was startled and realized that she wasn't
supposed to have gone there...she apologized.
He smiled and said, "I protect You!".
Mom patted his shoulder and thanked him.

Makes me laugh to imagine this scenario.



These are some happy blues they brought
back for me. Aren't they great?
I love the peachy and blue color combination
in this bowl. So very pretty.



Mom and Mikey will be sharing their stories and
pictures during the Sunday School time on Sunday
at our church. If you are in the area we would
love to have you come. It begins at 9:30 am.

After that I may be able to share more pictures.
Mikey is pretty protective of these stories and
photos as he doesn't want our friends from church
to get bored hearing them again after
reading about them here.
I respect this.
It was his trip after all.

I hope you will stop by and visit
Sally and Friends at Blue Monday.
It is a very fun way to visit
new (to you) blogs.

They Are Home!

Mom and Mikey returned home at
12:30 am this morning. After a
quick glance through Mikey's
five hundred photos and seeing that
all was well we finally made it to
bed around 1:15am.

Prayers were answered as the Honduran
Borders were reopened yesterday just
in time for those missionaries to go back...
that is all that we know.
We continue to pray that
their journey was completed safely.

As for the stolen monies, everyone pulled
together and that was replaced as well.

God is good!

More later...but I have to get dressed
and off to church!

Just wanted you to know that all of our
birdies are now safely back in their nests.
Ahhh...that feels good!

Quiet Praise/Comfort...from Psalm 139

O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.



You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.



You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.



Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.



If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.



For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.



My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!




What a delight to know that not one day or one
event catches the Lord by surprise. While we
definitely face uncertainties in our lives we know that
God is fully aware and has everything in hand.
I needed this reminder about now.
If you did as well, hold on.
God is at work!
He has our best interests at heart...
and will bring glory to Himself too!

This passage is a sweet comfort.

Beautiful Life Friday...

This is a Beautiful Life Post.
Finding the beauty in our everyday
lives...it is there!
Some weeks we look a little
harder than others...but we
can always find it!

Visit Melissa today and make
the struggles of a frustrating
internet connection worth her while.
Thanks Melissa for all of your efforts
on our behalf!





I do live a charmed life.
We aren't anything special...
just God fearing Americans
who work hard every day.

But as I look at the beauty
around me and the family I am
blessed with I know how good
it is.

With Mom and Mikey in El Salvador
I have been walking her dog, Bear,
in the mornings. One morning the
corn I was passing looked so neat.
At that time it was draped in fog.
But later in the day when I had time
to wander and take a few pictures
the fog had lifted and it was framed
against a blue sky.











Chelsea asked where I was going as I
left the house. When I replied that
I was going to take photos of the corn
she thought I had finally gone past the
bend...that one in your mind that you
should never go around...you know?

But look how artistic corn can be.





Apparently the squirrel that
was moving this ear of corn
was disrupted on his way...

It was just lying in Georgia's
green, green grass.





That was the same day I found the monarchs
happily on the Butterfly bush...and these...







Orange fungi in my neighbor's yard.
I wonder if she saw me taking these pictures?

Life is good!

Georgia has returned home from three weeks on
the road. She has many stories to tell and
we enjoyed just the beginning last evening
over dinner.

There are a couple of serious prayer requests
coming in from El Salvador...some of the members
of the Mission Group live in Honduras. With the
recent return of the exiled President the borders
have been closed. They are uncertain as to when
they will be able to return and on top of that
a large amount of money was stolen from them and
this leaves them in a tough spot. So, I am requesting
prayer that God would work in a very obvious and
faith building way.
To open doors (borders) and move in hearts
so that this situation would be resolved.

Mom and Mikey are well.
A bit homesick from the sounds of
things. We will be so happy to see
them!! They say they have many stories
to tell but are afraid those stories will
end up here and they wouldn't get to be the
first to tell them to many friends.
I said I wouldn't...but...
their lips are sealed.
I guess we all have to wait.
At least then I will have pictures
if I am allowed to share.

Happy Beautiful Friday to you.

Your Friend,