We had three days off for Semana Santa. Even the government offices close. So the first day we went to the boqueron. The crater of the San Salvador volcano above the city. As you get close to the top the road get narrower and narrower. Plants, flowers and wild berries are sold. They have berries that look like tiny strawberries and some called mora that look a little like a raspberry, and still others that look like a blackberry.

On Friday we went to Sonsonate to see the religious procession. This is the procession of the cross. That late afternoon everyone changed into black robes and they had the procession of the tomb and the anda (box) they carried had Christ in the tomb. In this anda he is carrying his cross. It is quite an honor to carry the anda and takes many years of participating and training. They start as young children. The anda weighs 2 1.2 tons. Each of the 40 men carry 125 lbs. It is symbolic of the pain and "weight" Christ went through.
Every 2 1/2 hours a new group of men take over.

This is just one of the alfrombras being created in the street for the next procession. They are in the pathway of the procession symbolic of the palms laid in the street when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey during Passover.

The "carpets" are large and small, religious or not. They are made with mainly salt, either colored or spray painted. They may use a stencil or create a design by hand. We took many photos some alfombras were made with colored sawdust, shredded wet paper, flower petals, parts of trees, etc. It was an awesome experience.

This is photo of our construction site from the top of the building called the Pedregal. It is under construction and the contractor that is building our temple is also the contractor on this building. He was able to get permission for us to take photos a couple times month. This building is 18 stories right now and will be 24 when completed. Jim climbed to the top on the scaffolding stairs in the photo below.

The Pedregal building across the street from our construction site.

Jim in the storm drain box. Ready for the "rains" which are due in May. This box will collect the rain water and disperse it slowly into the city storm drains. They say this box will only hold 1 rainfall. When it rains it pours. It has only rained once since we arrived. So it's dry for 6 months and wet for 6 months. 2 seasons only in El Salvador. The fincas, or coffee plantations are "crying for rain". Within a week of the first rain they will burst into bloom. The air will be filled with a lovely floral scent.




This is some of the rebar that is used in our construction. It is really huge. It took three men to bend it into the form. The joke is a teaspoon is used to put concrete around the rebar. This rebar fabrication is necessary because of the earthquakes.

We've been here 4 months! It's gone fast. We are just now seeing some above ground changes in our construction project! They are digging the footings for the temple! They are huge. The hole looks like an archeology dig since the workers "sculpt" the footings into perfectly square boxes. The footings are really deep (because we live in earthquake country-we've had three since we've arrived!) and there are little wooden handmade ladders going into each of them. The past 3 months we've watched only preconstruction work. It's fasinating how much work goes on under the ground for a project like this! Holes open, then they disappear. Since there was an urgency to complete the storm drainage system before the rains come in May, much of the work has consisted of ditches, pipes, manholes, drain boxes, and cisterns.
The most amazing thing has been the manholes because they are made by hand. In the States we buy them already made out of concrete and plunk them down where ever they are needed. The "posos" here are started with large rocks and built up in a circle around the mason with adobes. They use a string hanging down from the top for the center and off of it is a piece of metal for distance. So they use that to measure the circumference. They lay adobes around them and go up. After they are done they are plastered three times on the inside. They take many days to complete but when they are finished it is a work of art!!
Jim's Spanish is really great! He has a little notepad and writes down words he wants to remember. He is on the site every day and sometimes he has a hard time switching back to English! They work 6 days a week and often Sundays we are "showing" the site to a visitor. I generally go in the afternoons to take photos or after everyone goes home for the day.
My Spanish is improving. Slowly, but I understand a lot if the person isn't from the campo and using "slang", or if they say the whole word and not drop part of it. So far, it hasn't clicked and although I can form sentances in my head, it takes a long time and the moment is gone by the time I figure it out!! So thank goodness for Jim!!!
Our office is completed as of yesterday afternoon when they hooked up water to the bathroom. Jim even got me a toilet seat! I feel like a princess with a toilet seat, a sink and even toilet paper!
Jim's been painting our tables the carpenters made. We have some used desks and new chairs, a computer, a white board, refrig, micro and bottled water. We are living the good life!! Oh, and air conditioning if needed! And so it begins...to actually be seeing the construction of a temple!

A manhole

The inside of a manhole. It's a beautiful creation when it's done!

And interesting sign on our site!

4 Months in El Salvador!

This is where we live. Fountaineblue. The building in the background is The World Trade Center and it is under construction. They are flying the flags from the political party ARENA. Who just lost the election for president last week.

A vegetable market we shop at. I love this black pottery made in El Salvador. You can bake in it, microwave it, put it on a burner, etc. It's all handmade. The vendor loves me because I am a missionary. She gives me great deals. I paid $9.00 for this large platter. It has imperfections because of how it is made but I think that is what charms me.

The same vegetable market. There is always a huge array of fresh fruit and vegetables. Mangos are in season right now. There are trees everywhere. Our favorite is one that is not quite ripe with salt! Yum.

These are our young friends. Gabriella y Jasenia. We are making pupusas!!
The aprons are from the cell company where one of the girls works.

We are three months into our mission and the locals say we are still in the "honeymoon" stage. They say the reality of living in a foriegn country hasn't hit yet! We feel like we're in a foriegn land but with the church we have had instant friends so we haven't felt too isolated. And with the Internet and Skype we are able to keep in touch with family and friends at home.
The construction project progresses slowly with pre-construction no one ever sees or thinks about! They are putting in sewer and storm drainage lines, digging huge holes for cisterns (water) and fuel tanks(generators), and rain water storage tanks (for the 70 inches of rain they get here a year). This is all underground to get ready to build above the ground! It's fascinating. Jim is on the site everyday walking around, looking at everything and visiting with the workers.
We have taken day trips for sightseeing and are grateful to be able to do this now. When construction starts on the three projects they work 6 days a week. Which means we will be working 6 days a week!
All is well. The worst this month? Mosquitos! The best this month? The abundance of fresh fruits and veggies!

3 months in El Salvador

The city of San Salvador from halfway up the volcano Quezaltepec. Our house is just above the trees in the middle of the picture next to a large building. That building is called "The World Trade Center". It is under construction. The joke is that if there is an earthquake we'll be under that building! Actually there has been a couple earthquakes since our arrival 3 months ago. One was last Sunday early morning, a 4.9 centered 50 miles out in the ocean. We never woke up!
This month we have taken some day trips to explore. Since the country is so small it easy to do this. One Saturday we went to the beach and the fish market. The next Saturday we went to a town called Nahuezalco which is known for it's furniture and baskets. We ate lunch at a coffee plantation called Santa Leticia.
The next week I went to a friend's moutain home on a coffee plantation with a group of American women who are "expats". Ladies who have married Salvadorenos or are living here with their families working. There about 13 women. It is a fun gathering with everyone from all different backgrounds and religons.

Jim at a Mercardo Artesnia. Everything is so colorful here.










The central plaza and church in Juayua.










The construction site. These are our offices. They take the place of trailers in the states. It's cheaper to build these temporary buildings then try to rent something here, since there isn't anything to rent!