Waiting in the Mexico City airport
They have Domino's in Mexico City.
An amazing first view of the volcanoes of El Salvador
On the way to the apartments, we saw all kinds of things
El Salvador has beautiful trees alongside the roads...
In back, you'll see an El Salvadorian gas station; they have high prices too!
A little building we zoomed past on the way to the apartments
The room Doris, Mrs. Buck, and Michelle stayed in for the very first night until there was room in the other apartment. Doris on top, Michelle on the bottom and...
...Mrs. Buck slept on the floor the first night.
This is where we set up plastic chairs whenever it was mealtime, chatting time...whatever!
This is the church's sanctuary. In front is a little building where the worship team plays from and the pastor gives his message from. There is a fan above us hanging from the canopy...it doesn't work.
Waiting for the service to start.
We're at Pollo Campero...Chicken Ranch! The food is very Americanized.
Along the roads are amazing views of the volcanoes.
Here is a piece of land that the church purchased. Pray for them as they decide what they will build there
We visited the church's newly bought land on the prayer walk
There is currently a brick building there. We pray for God to use whatever they build on that land for his will
Looking down at a community called El Veintiocho De Enero (28th of January). It is a community of people that were escaping the war. We prayed for the community on the prayer walk. We did VBS there (Vacation Bible School) from Monday to Friday.
Taylor and Doris stack rocks at the church
Prying up the tiles from the church courtyard
The guys took turns swinging at the tree with an ax.
Tammy and Taylor wonder how they are going to get rid of this fountain
Some of the branches from a felled tree waiting to be chopped smaller and taken out
the tiles, now stacked neatly on the side
the plastic chairs that the congregation sits on for the church services
Nat gets a little tired during the work at the church...
Tammy takes a tree from the courtyard/santuary through the builing and outside to the garbage pile
Working on the cement and rock fountain.
Working on the cement and rock fountain
The guys finally break the stump off. We leave the Colorado team with the duty of removing its roots
Taking the big stump outside to garbage pile
Another tree must be chopped into smaller sections and thrown out
Taylor chips off the chunks of rock...she says it's therapeutic...we should make pointless fountains like this back in Wisconsin so she can tear them apart
Pastor gives a full tour of Yosemite.
Taylor loves her 60-cent bottle of Coca-Cola...1.25 liters.
At VBS (Vacation Bible School) in the community center of El Veintiocho De Enero
The kids watch the puppet show at VBS
Lolita: a parrot that lives on the second floor; right above the interns' apartment. She can sing, cry like a baby, immitate the tamale and quesadilla vendors, laugh like teenage girls...just about anything
Breakfast outside the AY room
Inside the AY room, grab your breakfast while it's hot: rice, beans, fried bananas!
Cody might not have slept well the night before this picture was taken
The Cathedral we visited on the history tour
The ceiling of the cathedral
The front of the cathedral
Fun at the cathedral
Funny moment at the cathedral
the ceiling mural
The colors that go all the way across the roof of the next church in an arc represent the sun's path in the sky
Stations of the cross at the church. Made of cement and strips of metal
the back wall of the church and the ceiling
this represents the sun as well...Shawn E. thought it looked like an all-seeing eye
The apartment the interns live in
A little boy at Tía Ana's. Tía Ana's is a sort of shelter for kids that need a place to stay
Playing with the kids at Tía Ana's
A boy and his dog, so classic, it's even found in El Salvador
Getting to know Tía Ana and the kids she cares for... James doesn't like his picture being taken
@ Tía Ana's
Tía Ana means "Aunt Ana". In Spanish speaking cultures, motherly figures in children's lives can be referred to as aunts.
Julia (right) and Raquel (left). Age 13 and 14. They live at Tía Ana's with the other kids. Two very artistic girls
Gabi and a little boy at Tía Ana's
Playing with bubbles at Tía Ana's
A view out Tía Ana's front door
Raquel makes a "corazón de papel": a paper heart. She's an expert paper folder
Nat shows kids how to blow bubbles
Little boy loves the bubbles! (How cute!)
Riding in the pickup truck
The pickup truck rides were the most memorable part of the trip
A kid at Tía Ana's looks his best for the camera
Back of the pickup again
Cody with a new friends from Tía Ana's
Natalie braids Rachel's (of the Colorado team) hair while Michelle practices the Jonah script for VBS
Shawn E. gives rides at Tía Ana's
Mike strikes at pose with his buddy at Tía Ana's
Nat and Christian with some kids (still at Tía Ana's)
Christian with his buddy
Taylor does a hand-clapping game with Julia
Taylor chats with Julia and Raquel
Nat and Christian washing dishes at Tía Ana's along with a little helper
Taylor is "really gonna miss these kids...and I don't even like kids"
Pastor gets in on the bubble fun
Chores at Tía Ana's
"Chocolate" hand clapping game
... lots of time in that pickup ...
Manuel Antonio "Tony" plays his guitar at VBS
Worship time at VBS
James and a little girl at VBS
The kids receive their Bibles from us
We had quite a lot of kids attending VBS
Worshiping in song at VBS
Handing out maracas to the kids
Nat, Doris and Michelle help lead worship
Tammy at VBS
Craft time
Mike with two little girls he met through VBS
Doris and Karen
Christian, Ximena and Doris
Games at VBS
Michelle with some kids at VBS
Natalie loved the kids!
Shawn and Arturo
a crowd of kids
Margarita is usually smiling...this is a rare picture
Arturo gets in on the picture-taking fun
Tammy with Margarita and her two daughters: Melyssa and Ximena
worship got better when the airport gave Shawn his guitar back
... always in the sun ...
... still in the sun ...
... sun ...
... almost there!
The bottom of La Puerta Del Diablo (The Door of the Devil)
Climbing up La Puerta Del Diablo
Mrs. Buck really wasn't this happy about climbing all those stairs...Michelle made her smile
At the top of La Puerta Del Diablo
We could see all of El Salvador from the top of La Puerta Del Diablo
Climbing up by way of "Death Trail" as Gabi calls it
The rock formation we hung out on
Group shot at "Puerta del Diablo"
A message by Pastor Kevin
The clouds cast giant shadows in the valleys and hills
The views from the top of La Puerta Del Diablo were absolutely fantastic
Shawn claims there were hundreds of thousands of biting ants in his shoe
this was the start to "Death Trail": a ladder that didn't even touch the ground...you need a boost to the 1st rung
Christian understands why dogs like to hang their heads out the window
Taylor was proud of her "dreads"
Natalie tries on an awesome sombrero from a little shop we visited
there are a whole bunch of these little tiendas all clustered together for tourists like us to buy from
a funny-looking fruit that no one can say the name of...
...it tastes okay
At the fanciest mall you've ever seen
Preparing for cultural readjustment at the mall in San Salvador
They even have pizza hut there!
Mrs. Buck is so tired...she refuses to smile
our fun day: at the pool...just a short walk down to the Pacific Ocean from here...black sand everywhere
at church...the day we leave to go home
Shawn plays guitar for Ximena
Shawn and Michelle present "Cristo Me Ama". Ximena loves it
Jen got the truck in a predicament
riding to the airport
Shawn takes a moment to enjoy the ride to its fullest...
Christian wants to know what would happen if he squirts water into the wind...
Michelle's sad attempt at a self portrait
Pastor advertises Purell
The Mexico airport...so tired
cool murals at the Mexico airport
Pastor is tired
Pastor is asleep...Shawn takes this as an opportunity to...
...poke Pastor
Encounter 2008 thanks you for your prayers and support!
