Yo regreso! (I'm back!)

[kimana517]

Yep, I'm back. It was an exhausting and wonderful trip, and very different from last year (though last year was also exhausting and wonderful). I intend to write a real trip report later, but for now, here's a taste.

Our first morning in El Salvador.

Things I miss when I'm in El Salvador:
- air conditioning
- my family
- pizza
- air conditioning
- speaking the same language as 99% of the people around me
- normal cars (in E. S. we pile into the backs of pickup trucks. It's actually pretty fun, but takes some getting used to.)
- seeing healthy, loved dogs (it was so good to see Mandy yesterday - shiny coat, loved, no patches of fur missing, and you can't see her ribs)
- french fries
- air conditioning
- food variety - i.e., not rice, beans, rice, potatoes, rice, chicken, and rice
- my soft, padded bed
- air conditioning
- chocolate
- tank tops
- sleeping/cuddling with Isaac (they don't have enough rooms for married couples to sleep together)
- sleeping in
- my LJ friends
- air conditioning

Things I miss when I'm home:
- fresh fruit at every meal
- being with friends all the time
- sweet El Salvadoran people
- adorable kids everywhere
- gorgeous scenery (Y'all know I love Florida, but E.S. is pretty much perfect in the scenery department -- it has gorgeous mountains, but also beautiful white sand beaches with palm trees, and it's warm enough to enjoy them both year-round!)
- being immersed in ministry most of each day
- not forgetting my devos, 'cause we do them as a group each morning.
- plantain chips
- cooked plantains for breakfast - yum!
- brightening someone's day just by saying hi and smiling at them (and not having them think you're weird for doing so when you don't know them)
- rain pounding on a tin roof, putting me to sleep
- a visible reminder of why Isaac and I are going to adopt all our kids
- spending 90% of my waking hours with Isaac

Things that both have in common:
- both are democratic countries with a socialist/communist likely to be elected this year. Most of America will likely survive intact despite a socialist president, but it will wreak total havoc in a country like El Salvador.
- fire ants (I got 8 bites, 4 of them spread between two toes. Apparently Repel does not repel fire ants.)
- a great church to be a part of
- the people need a Savior. Here, material things and other beliefs get in the way, and there the pre-Reformation-like Catholic church has a cult vice grip on people, keeping them living in fear. That country desperately needs a Martin Luther to open its eyes.
- they feel like home to me.

Comments

[dramaticsuzy.livejournal.com]

I missed you!!!

I miss those same things about Costa Rica. Well, except spending all of that time with Isaac. That was a total drag. ;) The fresh fruit and fresh-squeezed mango orange juice with a sweet cheese and crunchy bread every morning. To die for. And the people are sooo amazing!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

I missed you too!

Haha, I actually get sick of the beans and rice, although I didn't get as sick of them this year as last. But yeah, when I'm there I have twinges of missing here, and when I'm here I miss there. *sigh*

[pansyprincess.livejournal.com]

I missed you!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

I missed you too!

[joyfulmelody.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[hominygrits.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful entry about your trip! Can't wait to see more of your pics! :-)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have 'em all on Facebook - I'll post the links in an LJ entry later, or you can go look at 'em there now. =o)

[daughterofziyon.livejournal.com]

Welcome back!!!!!!! :D

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[potterswheel.livejournal.com]

Your post gives a good taste of the experience you had.
I hope you like the Spanish Bible story book I am sending.
I wrote to my El Salvadoran boy Jose by using email this time instead of handwritten. I got to look at his part of the world when I googled the area he is from. I have to look at it again, but I think it is around the capital. Were you anywhere near there?

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Haha, and I didn't even cover half of it. =o)

I will! Definitely. I was reading online children's books and playing online children's games all in Spanish before we left, and it was cool.

We are near San Salvador (the capitol) somewhat. Closer to the airport (which is technically in San Salvador, but way on the outskirts). I actually found the La Esperanza compound on Google Maps, but it took a few minutes since no one really has an address down there. You should ask Jose if he knows how far he is from Zacatecoluca and/or San Pedro Masuhuat. Where we live there is between El Rosario and San Pedro Masuhuat, in the state (or whatever) of La Paz. We are about an hour (by car) west of Zacatecoluca.

[lupinskitten.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you are home safe and had such a wondeful time (minus the fire ant bites). I'm sorry to hear that nation is so overwhelmed with ancient Catholicism that it cannot find the truth. That is exceptionally sad.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Catholicism there is so screwed up. They even discourage people from reading the Bible for themselves, exactly like in Martin Luther's day, and decorate and shade the graves so their loved ones won't be so hot in purgatory, and have no assurance because the church there teaches that if you mess up even after you're saved (which probably none of them are, because they really worship Mary and rely on her and works) you can undo it by sinning again. It's disgusting how they have perverted the Bible just as the church had in Europe before the Reformation. It makes me so MAD. And yeah, I know that is all different than 99% of Catholics in the USA.

[lupinskitten.livejournal.com]

That's not even pre-Reformation Catholicism, because nothing I have read about Catholicism during the middle ages sounds anything like that, as far as their quirks (sinning undoes previous sinning, shading graves, etc) go. That sounds like a brand new, perverted case of Catholicism. One has to wonder where all THAT started, since you know Pope Benedict would not be in favor of it at all. =P

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Well, the bullying done by the Catholic church down there is very similar to the giant pre-Reformation church, as is the discouraging people to study the Bible themselves and emphasizing priests as God's intercessors, etc. The other things are where mysticism and such has crept in. But as for works salvation and lack of assurance, isn't that what Luther objected to in the first place, being so moved by the verse "the just shall live by FAITH"? So that was around back then. Plus there were the Crusades and all (well before Luther, of course), which get blamed on all of Christianity, even we evangelicals today. I could definitely see some crusades happening in E.S., especially if the communists take over and make it an even less stable environment. But yes, these days the Catholic church in most of the world would be appalled by what is done in their name in this and other third world countries. But because of how people associate all Christians with Catholicism, I hope it doesn't come out, because I think in the end it would do more harm than good, what with people saying, "Oh, you know those Christians, always trying to bully governments and wring people dry of their money," etc. But I think the Pope would be appalled.

[lupinskitten.livejournal.com]

I said their quirks and/or superstitions are much different from the pre-Reformation Church, not that the overall emphasis on intermediaries is much different from the Church of the past. I'm sorry if I was not clear.

If I remember right, Luther first objected to the selling of indulgences, and that prompted him to form a list of where the church differed from scripture. And then it all kind of exploded in his face -- he never meant for it to go the way it did.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

*pounces* YAY! I'm glad you're back! I missed you!!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! Did you ever write about the rest of your trip to Australia? If so, I want to catch up on it!

[thatloopyqueen.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[istra-willow.livejournal.com]

Hey there! Glad you got back safely! It sounds like you had an absolutely amazing experience!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks! We did have a great time. It was too short!

I can't wait to see you in only 24 days!!

[istra-willow.livejournal.com]

Yeah for-spur-of-the-moment ticket buying! We're going to have a blast!

[dizzy-liz.livejournal.com]

Glad it was a great time! :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

Welcome home! I've missed you! *hugs*

By the way, did you get my voice mail about Hanson coming back in October????

I love you!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yep, I did. I finally sent you an email this morning.

I love you too! I'm excited at possibly seeing you soon! Actually, I forgot to say this in my email, but I will be coming to Hudson (Word of Life) around August 9th. Any chance you could venture up north a bit to have dinner or something? I don't know exact schedules yet, but I would love to see you!

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

Yay! I emailed you back. :-) We should totally plan on meeting up in a couple weeks! Would you like to meet somewhere in between Hudson and Tampa? I'm not familiar with the area, but I'm sure we can figure something out!

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

YAY! So glad you're back! :D

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to your update!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I still need to write that, don't I...

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

That's okay. I have all but a tiny bit of my little vacation written up--all I need to do is write a few more paragraphs, edit, and paste it to my journal. I still haven't done that either, so don't feel bad!