El Salvador! Beautiful from the air. The country looks like a beautiful patchwork quilt with all the fields a different shade of green and brown. It's much flatter than Honduras. We arrived in San Salvador on Wednesday afternoon after a forty minute flight. Received a visa for ninety days for ten dollars. After going through customs, we met up with our guides that loaded us onto a bus to take us to our hotel. Not everyone stayed in the same place. Our hotel was Hotel Siesta. Very nice. I was thankful for the air conditioner, especially when it was time for bed.
After settling in, we were taken to the church for the evening service at 7:00. Those of us from HN all wore blue shirts that had been ordered for us. We looked good! There was close to 400 people there for the seminar, not counting the workers from the church. Of course, everything was in Spanish, but the one message that stood out for me was for us to remember the dream/vision that God gave us. That brought back the message that Pastor Vernon gave me when I went and talked to him about what I believed God wanted me to do. He told me that God had given me the vision, but it was up to me to keep it alive. I really didn't know how much I needed God to renew my spirit when I went to El Salvador. But I did, and He did. Thank you Lord. How much He loves and cares for His children and provides what we need when we need it. I wasn't too thrilled about going to a teacher conference, because most is the same thing all over again with maybe a different name than what I had learned. But this was a Christian missionary/teacher's conference. What a difference. The mornings were filled with messages from the different pastors/leaders over LACC. After lunch, there was time for two workshops, dinner and then another service. So we were there at the church from 8 AM to 8 PM or longer. They have a school there also that goes from preschool to twelfth grade. It's also bilingual, but so is El Salvador. The food they served was wonderful. The grounds of the church and school are beautiful. On Friday afternoon, we had about three hours to go on a tour. We had three or four choices. Becky and I chose the volcano. But it rained off and on all day and by time the bus got there, it was so foggy that we couldn't see anything. What a disappointment, but the restaurant that we went to offered us free tea or coffee. That helped, plus the restaurant itself was beautiful and peaceful. A time to relax. Then back to town and the last service.
Between dinner and the evening service, we had the opportunity to watch the high school band. What a band. They take part in competitions and have been number one in El Salvador for the last three years. I could see why. The formations they performed were absolutely marvelous. Every note and movement memorized. They have a great teacher. Every time they were finished, we would all want more, so they obliged and gave us a couple more performances. May God continue to bless them.
U.S money is used in El Salvador. The driving there is like Costa Rica and the U.S. The literacy rate is over 90% just like Costa Rica. The literacy rate here in HN is under 50%. So sad. So many people here do not believe that a formal education is important, much less reading. As a whole, Hondurans do not want to read, especially for enjoyment. I mentioned to one of the teacher's last year where I teach that the kids needed to read. She said something about the parents being afraid to let their kids read. I asked why and she said perhaps the parents were afraid of losing their children. I said, "Are you kidding? What do they think the internet and cell phones will do?" She said she didn't know. Fear-so much in this country. So much ignorance here due to the lack of a good education. I was talking to one of the teachers at the high school where I teach, and I mentioned Anne Frank, and she had never heard of her. I couldn't believe my ears. I thought everybody in the world had heard of Anne Frank. The teacher knew about Hitler, although I don't know to what extent, so therefore I thought for sure she knew of Anne Frank. Not so.
Well, this week is vacation for all the schools. I'm so glad. We all need a break. So this week I'm working on a small booklet of English vocabulary for the kids. The schools here are required to teach English, but most of the kids can not carry on a simple conversation. So that's why I'm making the booklet. I want my students to be able to converse, albeit very simple. I'm also trying my hand at writing very short stories for the kids to read using the vocabulary that they have learned. Will see how that works out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Blessings to all.
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