Hello everyone! Sorry about the long absence from posting here. I guess I will start with some general updates. As for the well, we're so close, and yet still so far away. They finished digging the well and everything seemed good, then something happened and it was broken and they had to go back in and fix it and flush it out because there was dirt in it or something. I don't really understand. All I know is that it's still not connected. I think they may be finished fixing the problem, and now they have to install our water tank up on a hill and make the connections. So we'll see. In the meantime we have water delivered and it usually runs once or twice a day. So we have to be pretty conservative with it. It's worse for some of our neighbors above us on the hill, though, because the water pressure isn't good enough for the water to reach them. So I'm thankful we have just enough- kind of like manna in the desert. Speaking of desert, lately it feels like the desert here, it's been really hot. April and May are the hottest months here, I think. Then the rain comes. Right now, it almost never rains.

We had vacation during Holy Week. I went camping with some families from church and that was very relaxing, I was thankful for the opportunity to go. I missed seeing the processions and carpets that they do on Good Friday because I was really sick that day. I think it might have been food poisoning or something. I got better after one day, so that was good.

We had a really wonderful sunrise service on Resurrection Day. It was so good to see everyone get up early to come and praise the Lord. It was a really joyful time. We had some extra musicians with us that morning too- one guy played the congas and another played saxophone, and another played bass so it really added to the the joyful noise.

The week before Holy Week was a sad time at school because the father of a couple of our students was assassinated. He was a representative in the government and he was shot in the street when he came out of a meeting in the capital. Please pray for their family- the mother's name is Olimpia, and there are three children- Mariana, who is 21, Mario, who is in 9th grade, and Ronald, who is 7th grade. The boys returned to school after the vacation and seem to be doing well but I know they must be suffering inside. It is hard enough to lose your father, but knowing that he was murdered must make it very difficult for them.

Last night I went to a birthday party for Esther, one of my students. She likes to be called Teshi. This is a picture of her with her parents. They are really sweet people. I met her Dad for the first time- he works as a guard in the capital so he is away from home a lot.

Teshi asked all the girls to wear traditional dress to her party. We went to a nearby park and walked around. It was a fun time. I felt honored to be one of a few teachers that were invited to her party. She is a special student to me. I have been able to get to know her pretty well in the past year and encourage her in the Lord, and she has encouraged me also.

That is me on the far right in this picture, and the boy in the orange hat at my side is Mario, who I mentioned earlier in this post.


At right is a picture of my roomate Yanira (on the left) with a couple ladies from church. Please pray for Yanira's dad because he just had surgery for a hernia. Pray for Yani too because it is really difficult for her to be away from her father during a time like this. She has always been very close to her father and it's really a miracle that she lives so far away from him (he lives in El Salvador). But she knows that the Lord has called her to work here. She is a great teacher and an amazing woman. She ministers in so many ways to so many people- to children, to parents, to people in the community. She has a heart to serve others and she loves the Lord.

The other night a couple ladies from the intercessory prayer ministry came to visit Yani to pray for her father. It was a neat experience for me because as they were speaking words of encouragement, they told some stories about how the Lord has been faithful in their own lives and in the lives of others they have prayed for. One of the ladies, her name is Loida, talked about how when she was 13 or 14, she was left to raise her little brothers alone because her parents had gotten separated from them because of the turmoil during the war. The Lord provided a job for her but she had to walk far alone and she was always scared because people had been attacked there, but God protected her and he provided for their needs. She talked about how they all slept together on one tiny bed and she had to look around for firewood to try to heat water for their baths. Stories like that remind me of how much I have to be thankful for, and of God's faithfulness. I am so thankful to be able to learn more about people here and what they have been through. It really gives you a greater appreciation for what God has done in this place. It gives me a greater understanding of all the hardships that people have had to overcome.

As for upcoming news, we are going to have a church picnic and baptism in a couple weeks. I'm excited about that. Our church building is nearing completion- the windows and doors are in, but they don't have glass in them yet. Now we are able to leave our equipment in the church, which is a blessing. We were hauling everything back and forth before and after every service. Well, thanks again for all your prayers and support! I will try to post some photos of the baptism, promptly!