We don't have time for 1000 words, so here is some pictures

Fun in the casita (Claire attempting to dance off the biting ants)

Still in the casita without the gringos

Soccer practice with the Playing for Peace program

Spanish improving greatly, computer skills plummeting

This may or may not explain our newly developed stomachs

With our good friends and neighbors after learning to cook empanadas

Our good friend Kevin working in the artisans workshop

The casita is a big hit

These are the days in the library we are going to miss so much

Even the mom's come for fun in the library

Ana Ruth, her otra niña Clarita and our other good friend

Talking about life



These are just a small glimpse into our life in El Salvador, each picture has a story and we have many more pictures, we look forward to sharing them with you all upon our return. We wish we could share more right now but we just do not have the time. With less than ten days left we are trying to make the most of every minute but we have realized there is no avoiding the end. The other day we were talking with a friend about leaving and as we all saddened Claire and I tried to be positive by saying we still had a lot of time. Our friend responded "date paja". Which means "lie to yourself". Right now we are lying to ourselves because although we are excited to see our family and friends back home, we are not ready to leave our friends and family here.

It's been a long time

Wow, it has been some time since we have posted. We have been extremely busy and have not had the time nor energy to write a post.

But we want to let everyone know that things have been overall great! We are loving every moment in Las Delicias. Our relationships have grown quite strong and we have a pretty consistent fan club of little niños. We have been doing art classes every once in a while and have been working a lot with the cameras. The kids have loved being able to take videos and pictures. It is something that most kids have never done so they are taking full advantage of the opportunity. They are so excited to share their pictures with one another and with us. We will post some pictures next week.

We have been able to stay in the community a few different nights with a few different families. It has been wonderful to strengthen those relationships, get to know Las Delicias better and to have a change of scenery every once in a while. As wonderful as our time has been, it has been challenging. We are exhuasted and can't quite recharge for many reasons. Like Jake said, every day we find one more reason to stay and one more reason to go home. We are always sweating, we feel too big and clumsy and have eaten one too many tortillas.

But then there are so many reasons to stay. We have gotten to know a woman named Ana Ruth very well. She works in the library and we even spent the night at her home with her family. I met her last time I was here and got close with their family. We stayed at their home this week and had a beautiful night with their family. They graciously welcomed us into their home and even invited us to stay another night in a row. Today I was working on a puzzle with a 6 year old girl named Lupe. I was getting tired but enjoying being with so many wonderful people in the library. Ana Ruth came over and put her arm over my shoulders and simply said "mi otra niña" (my other girl\daughter). It was such a simple act of love but truly demonstrated how close we have gotten to the community. She is one of the 100 reasons that make us want to stay forever.