Escapades in El Salvador, Day Seis: Ever wanted to act out the airport scenes from 'Home Alone?'

Our trip to El Salvador had ended and we're on the way home now after a pretty long day. I originally wasn't planning on having anything to write, but our airport experiences changed all that. :) This morning was really fun though. I woke up pretty early and decided to get up and go for a walk and take some more pictures of the beautiful scenery rather than try to go back to sleep. I decided that I wanted to see the trail that we had walked on the prior evening to completion. While it was fun the night before, it was even better to be able to see everything in the daylight. There's a lot of rocky terrain sticking up out of the ocean so it was cool just to watch the water pounding against the rocks and flying into the air. After completing my mini hike, I headed back up to the pool area and grabbed my Bible so I could spend a little time with Jesus before our breakfast period at 8. For breakfast, I decided not to be too adventurous and just rolled with a simple order of eggs and bacon with a glass of orange juice. After that, I grabbed a shower and got my bag completely packed before heading to find a hammock. I ended up joining Kendell and Liz in the gazebo that they had picked out and had an awesome time just watching and listening to the ocean while drifting in and out of consciousness. It was definitely a great and relaxing way to end the trip. 

Much too soon, it was time to leave so we checked out of our rooms and headed towards the airport. Upon our arrival, we said goodbye to Walter, Valmori, Antonio, and Milena before heading inside to check-in. I found saying goodbye a little harder this time because I honestly don't know when I'll be back again since there was a two year lull in between trips last time. Our check-in process was slow as there were lots of people all checking in with Delta and heading to the States. Our group finally ended up breaking up into smaller groups and heading our own ways through customs. I paired up with Kendell, Madi, and Leah to head through. The customs line was really quite long but thankfully went quickly. After we made it through, we decided to truck it down to the other end of the terminal for Subway real quick since we knew food might be scarce the rest of the day. After getting our sandwiches and a quick bathroom break (where I seriously sliced open my finger turning on a sink), we headed for the terminal with our food in tow. Upon arrival, we had to throw away our beverages and get our bag checked thoroughly before we could board the plane. No big issues though and we headed towards ATL. Sadly, I didn't get an exit row seat and had the lady in front of me trying to push her chair back on me the entire time. I positioned my knees where she couldn't though and I actually got a dirty look from her husband for my efforts. The airplane reclining seats are one of my pet peeves so since I don't want to do that to people behind, I don't want those in front of me to do it either. 

We landed in ATL around 8:25 pm local time which was a little late due to flying around stormy conditions. We figured it was ok though since we originally had just under a two hour layover. Wrong! Our plane was unable to pull into our terminal for another 15 to 20 minutes after landing since a departing plane was running so late leaving. So after getting off the plane, it was time to act out the airplane scenes from Home Alone and sprint for customs. My customs experience was a bit different than normal since instead of waiting in long lines, people now check in a little kiosk and then take a slip of paper printed from that to the customs agents. No big issues there and then it was time to run to the baggage claims and get our bags so that we could get those moved through customs. We were actually at the wrong one first for five minutes before figuring it out. When we figured it out, Jason and I actually started circling the baggage claim grabbing every bag that belonged to our team. Of course, mine was last. LOL.  We drop them off at the bag check again and run for the TSA lines. 

One TSA employee directs us to the front of the line where we were turned away by another employee and told to go to the rear of the line. At this point, we're all standing around, looking at each other, and making plans for where we'll sleep in the airport since we're absolutely certain we'll miss our plane. When we reach the front of the line, TSA chooses that moment to open another security check. While we're running to that set of doors, the couple from in front of me on the plane begins to duck under the ropes and cut in line. At this point, a member of our team who will remain anonymous starts yelling at the TSA agents "Blue striped shirt, roller bag. You going to let them cut?". The TSA people immediately send that couple to the back of the line for cutting. I'm betting that they missed their flight. We made it through the line without any problems and luckily discovered that we were already in the correct terminal so we just had to run up the escalator and to the gate to board immediately and hit the skies. We're on the plane now and I can't wait to get home and be able to sleep in my own bed tonight. It was an awesome trip and I'm really happy that I got to go and even happier that I had such a great team with me to experience it with.

Escapades in El Salvador, Day Cinco: From sunrise to beachside

This morning marked our last morning at the orphanage. I decided after being a little late yesterday to go out and watch the sunrise. Today, I was right on time and got to enjoy it from start to finish.  Getting up to watch the sunrise was a popular activity. Matt, Kalynn, Daniel, Leah, Liz, and myself all got up to enjoy the sunrise this morning. I was able to get some awesome pictures of the sunrise while I was out there. At one point, I decided I wanted to walk down to the courtyard area and snap some photos of the various buildings for posterity's sake. When I walked to the courtyard, the multiple dogs that inhabit the orphanage began growling at me and stalking near so therefore I took the hint and headed back up to the boys' house rather than get bit. After the sunrise, it was time to head inside to get ready for the day and get all of our belongings packed up. After packing, we headed to the kitchen for our breakfast. Happily enough, no dogs attempted mutilation of me this time. I'll count that as a victory. 

Before our team left, we all gathered inside the church with the kids. Miriam read a letter to our team with the help of Walter thanking us for everything that we had done. Following that, Milena had all of the kids sit down against the wall and called them up one at a time to hand out their new shoes. It was really fun to see just how happy and proud all of the kids were of their new zappatos (shoes). On this trip, I had brought an inexpensive pair of lime green sunglasses with the intention of leaving them with one of the kids so I was wearing them today. I decided that I wanted to give my shades to Harsen. It was fun to leave them with a kid that seemed to like me and that I had the opportunity to spend some time around. After that, it was time to get our luggage and pack up the trucks and say our final goodbyes to the kids before hitting the road and heading to La Libertad. That experience is always a little sad for me and I never like going through it.

Our trip to La Libertad took about two and a half hours to get there so we all enjoyed a pretty relaxed car ride with quite a few sleeping on the way. We headed straight to the Remar orphanage in La Libertad. I had been there once before but most of our team hadn't so it was fun to see them enjoying their time there, especially in the babies' house. It's hard to go to the La Libertad orphanage without ending up with a baby in your arms. Our team eventually worked our way up to a lunch area in the adjoining school where some of the staff had prepared us homemade pupusas. I was really excited for the pupasas since they're an El Salvadorian delicacy and I hadn't gotten to eat any on this trip. Following our lunch, Antonio, one of the staff members from the La Libertad orphanage showed us around the area. Antonio actually is twenty years old and had spent most of his life there. He was severely burned on his face as a child and spent extended time in the US having surgeries and rehabilitation. He actually is fluent in English as a result. It was fun to see the self-sufficiency of the the La Libertad orphanage and see their greenhouses, row crops, and livestock. Following our tour, we actually met two missionary couples who were serving on-site for the day and had a good time talking with them. Once we left the orphanage, our group headed to the La Libertad markets and got some ice cream before heading to Atami, the beach resort where we would spend the night.

The Atami eating area. The pool is just to the right.

Once arriving at Atami, we all headed for the beach to enjoy the great ocean waters. The tide had washed in some very sharp rocks but once we were able to swim past those into the deeper water, we had a great time. The sea was a little angry but no one drowned so it was a great afternoon. After leaving the beach, a lot of us headed for the pool at the center of the Atami complex and enjoyed the warm water. Following that, we all got cleaned up and headed to the eating area for dinner. While waiting for my order of coconut shrimp, I was taking the opportunity to watch ESPN in Spanish. The top story of the day, even ahead of the World Cup, was "El Rey vuelve a casa." Even in El Salvador, where LeBron is playing is a big deal. Following our dinner, a group of us consisting of Daniel, Leah, Kalynn, Madi, Valmori, and I decided to go exploring and go for a walk. We ended up finding this great trail that headed along the cliffs above the water which was lit only by the beautiful full moon. That was a really fun time of being able to bond with the younger members of our team and also take some fun group pictures!

After our walk had ended, I headed back to the eating area to sit down and journal and figure out my highlights of this trip and the things that I learned.

• I wanted God to remove me from my comfort zone on this trip. I will always proclaim that it takes a lot to make me feel uncomfortable but God helped it happen. I'm grateful for all of my awkward experiences on this trip because it made me want to rely on God more through it all.
• I was hoping to be able to speak better Spanish on this trip. I feel like that goal was accomplished because I found it a little easier to pick up one word here or there with the kids and I could figure out what they were talking about. Also, I could communicate back a little which hopefully made the kids feel loved and appreciated.
• I wanted to build good relationships with the younger members of our team since I'd been working with Transform on Wednesday evenings. I feel like I was concerned when looking at our team initially that I was the odd man out and would struggle to fit in as the only Northland person. Despite that, I felt like I played a role on our team, got along with everyone well, and was able to have a leadership role on our team since I'd had experience in ES before.
• I gained further appreciation for just how big God is and how much He loves us. 

Escapades in El Salvador, Day Cuatro: The one where I met the cross-dresser...

Today made for a very interesting morning. Due to the heat in our room, myself and the other guys had three fans in the room oscillating through the night, including one that was precariously perched on a chair. During the 4:00 am hour, I was awoken with a jolt as the fan fell off the chair and on top of a suitcase where it continued to try to buzz. If that wasn't enough to wake me, Matt, who was sleeping on the bunk underneath me, woke up with a start and smacked his head on the bed. Always a funny way to start a morning. I laid in my bed and dozed until about dawn when I woke up and decided to go catch a sunrise. Matt had made a tradition out of doing so each morning and I was only the second to do the same. Unfortunately I was just a few minutes too late and missed the very beginning. It was definitely still really pretty to see and enjoy. After the sunrise was over, I attempted to go back to sleep but couldn't due to the throbbing pain in my knee. I realized that there was a lot of gravel stuck in the cut and I was going to have to scrub it all out. I went to the shower to do so and definitely wanted to yell in pain as that was an absolutely miserable experience. Fortunately by the end, the gravel was all out and the knee was clean and just a little bloody.

After the morning session of getting ready, it was time to head down for breakfast. I made it my normal protocol to eat at a table with the Blantons, Matt, Kendell, and Liz which always made for a really fun way to start our morning. After we finished eating, some of us headed outside for some more futbol action. After my embarrassing plays on Tuesday in soccer, I really wanted to play well today and more importantly, not bust my knee open again! I decided I wanted to play defense against Harsen again and played some good ball. I went down to my hand once trying to get the ball away but that was the only negative play for me for Thursday. After soccer, we split up into mixed groups of guys and gals to have a sit-down chat with the kids. Matt and I took the opportunity to share our testimonies with the kids which was a fun experience for me. In my other trips to ES, I had kind of fallen through the cracks and never actually shared my testimony through an interpreter. Something that was eye-opening about the experience was learning about the dream jobs of the kids. The answers that came out were pastor, doctor, veterinarian, and pilot. It was encouraging to see just how the kids had big dreams even after all that some of them have been through in their lives.

Following the small group sessions, our team loaded up and headed to San Miguel for lunch and a trip to the market. Our first stop was at the mall to do a little shopping and also grab lunch at Wendy's. Ironically, this was my first time to a Wendy's since my last ES trip in 2012. I ordered one of their chicken salads and promptly dropped it on the ground as soon as it was handed to me. Definitely another embarrassing experience to add to the check list but not the final one of the day. A cool thing about it is that it opened up a fun conversation at the lunch table. Christina asked me if she could share the story with Lupita, one of the older girls from the orphanage who was with us. I said sure and afterwards, Lupita asked me what ten things I would want to do if I knew I only had six months to live. That was fun experience even if it's incredibly difficult to come up with that many things. After lunch, a group of us headed to La Despensa de Don Juan, which is a grocery store owned by Walmart to buy some unique food items that aren't sold in the US. I purchased Nicole some coffee but have no idea when I'll actually give it to her.

After the mall, our ragtag little bunch headed to the market to do some more shopping and also so Milena, Lupita, and Christina could buy shoes for all of the kids which was one of our final big ministry projects. We split up into two groups to go shopping. My group consisted of the Millers, Leah, Valmori, and myself. One fun thing about walking with Valmori at the back of the group was that he kept sharing with me what all of the shop owners were saying to me. The common theme was that I was being called "Sweetheart" and was asked to "Check out the wares." After we all bought some souvenirs (I bought my dad a machete), we headed to the meeting area. This is where stuff got weird. We had seen a TV camera and reporter with a microphone walking around previously and didn't give much thought to it. While waiting for the rest of our group, I had the reporter and the cameraman come up to me. Also with them was a man wearing a blonde wig and red ladies pantsuit. I find myself standing in between the reporter and the cross-dressing man being posed a question in Espanol along the lines of how I feel about the president getting rid of fossil fuels and using milk instead. While I'm looking at the camera confused, the cross-dresser begins to stick his tongue out in a kissing manner and gets way too close to my face while putting his black scarf over my head. Thankfully, I didn't have to make out with an El Salvadorian cross-dresser but it was a little close for comfort. Right as this was happening, the remainder of our team showed up which made for interesting stories to tell. That may very well have been the most embarrassed I've ever been. After that, our team headed to Pollo Campero to have a soda while waiting for the women to finish shoe shopping.

After that, we headed back to Remar to prepare for our final night of VBS. The evening began with Selah giving her testimony. After the previous nights' lackluster lessons, we decided to deviate from the prepared lesson and instead do a skit based upon the parable of the ten virgins with the kids playing the virgins and Daniel playing the bridegroom. The lesson definitely kept the kids intrigued and engaged in what was happening. It probably helped that their peers were helping to tell the story. After the lesson, the girls led the activity of the kids playing with homemade Etch-a-Sketches made of Ziploc bags and paint. Following that, the kids played a modified version of Red Rover and Hot Potato until church was over. After church, we headed into the kitchen and were excited to see that it was Tilapia night. Tilapia is always one of the highlights of any ES trip as the fish is freshly cooked and even still had the head on. 

After dinner, our team played with the kids for a bit before heading back to the house. While waiting for the meeting, Kendell and I had a great conversation just talking about things we'd learned on the trip and just life in general. It was definitely good to be able to connect with someone and discuss the things that God was teaching me in depth. Tomorrow I'll write more about what all God taught me on this trip once I have a little more time for it all to marinate and sink in.

Escapades in El Salvador, Day Tres: Why don't Pinatas glow in the dark?

Wednesday seemed to fly by really fast. While it doesn't seem like we did a whole heaping ton, it was actually a relatively busy day. Our big project for the day was to knock out the painting of the church. After our good, as normal, breakfast, the painting crew headed towards the iglesia to finish our given task. The awesome part was that we had come up with a couple of additional rollers so more people could participate in the painting. I took up residence on the wall that I had been working on most of the day on Tuesday with the goal of getting it done quickly and efficiently. As we worked away, little Tania wandered in and began asking us for dulce (candy). We had given candy out to the kids the previous evening as part of the VBS and she knew that we still had the bags in there somewhere. I'm kind of a sucker when it comes to that so I happily gave her a few pieces. As soon as she left, we had more kids begin to wander inside and ask for candy. It was here that we learned one of the more difficult things you can do is say "No mas" to Spanish speaking kids begging for candy; especially when they're cute! Seriously, try it sometime. After a while, Rosita came in and was just hanging out. She was pretty interested in doing some painting so I gave her a roller and watched carefully for a bit as she began painting. It was definitely fun to see one of the kids taking ownership of the project alongside us and having fun in doing so.

After we completed our first coat of paint, we headed to the kitchen for our lunch. Before we had come, the orphanage had been feeding a pig on site. They butchered the pig prior to our arrival so there was plenty of fresh pork around. Therefore, Milena made some awesome pork ribs for lunch. They were definitely very tender and seasoned well. Just when we thought our meal was completed, Milena delivered a banana split to each of us for dessert. It was definitely a great surprise and much appreciated due to the heat of the day.  One of the highlights of the lunch hour had to be the pepper eating contest between Leah and Daniel. There are these crazy, hot peppers that are on the table for each meal. The juice from them is pretty much only used to spice up food a little and they are rarely consumed. Entertainingly enough, the two of them decided to see who could eat the peppers and go the longest without water. Leah swallowed hers right away after eating while Daniel continued chewing on it. Unfortunately the peppers get hotter the more that you chew so it was entertaining to watch his desperate attempts to drink enough water to get the heat out of his mouth!

After we completed our lunch, we played with the kids for a couple of minutes before our painting crew headed back into the church to put on a second coat of paint. I had another embarrassing moment here when I stepped outside to fill my paint tray. I didn't realize that there was wet paint on the newspaper that we had been pouring on. Therefore, when I poured and walked back in the church, I noticed that yellow paint droplets had fallen from the bottom of my tray onto the white tile floor. I really didn't want to be "that guy" who makes the mess. It was easily fixed with a little bit of water, a hard brush, and a little scrubbing though so no worries. For another mission project, we had donated the money for a sidewalk to be built from the boys' house down the hill to where the other buildings were located. Remar workers began pouring the sidewalk today so it's always fun to watch the process of mixing up fresh cement for the sidewalk. It definitely makes a person appreciate the novelty of Quikrete in the States.

After completing painting, it was time for our team to prepare for church services and VBS. This evening, Daniel shared the parable of the Prodigal Son with the kids. The kids seemed to still be having trouble paying attention so we will need to rework things for Thursday evening potentially. Kalynn and Perri shared their testimonies with the group as well and Valmori led the kids in music. After that, we had the kids make their own friendship bracelets using beads. After the kids finished their bracelets, Daniel was going to hand them out candy. When the kids saw him get the bag out, they swarmed all around him and seemingly began to maul him as Daniel screamed "one at a time." The bag finally exploded everywhere and kids started grabbing all of the candy that they could find. All that was left when it was done was a laughing Daniel with an empty bag of candy.

After church, we went to the kitchen for our dinner. Tonight, we got quesadillas and french fries. I really feel spoiled by the great food that we're getting just because I know that food like this normally isn't prepared at the orphanage. As we ate, Matt began looking through pictures from his past trips to El Salvador. He found a picture from the first ever Northland trip to El Salvador and shared it with Antonio. The picture was of them all standing on the undeveloped ground where the orphanage now sits. Antonio began reminiscing about how Milena had told him that he shouldn't share his dream for the orphanage with the original team because they would think he was crazy. It's interesting to see how Antonio's vision came to pass despite the obstacles that were there. It's definitely a God thing.

After dinner, we changed into play clothes and came back out to play with the kids. We had brought glow sticks for the kids to enjoy in the dark. After the kids tired of pretend lightsaber battles, we split off into pairs consisting of an American and one of the kids at played hide-and-seek. I split off with Elias and Waltercito and was having fun. At one point, I was hiding next to a school bus and heard the seekers getting close and decided I needed to take better cover so began to run. I  hit a loose piece of gravel and went down onto my cut knee from yesterday. As I looked down at it, I  saw that it was bleeding again. After immediately being found, I went to sit down in the courtyard so I could look at it under the lights. I  had little Tania come up to me, point to my knee, and say "Oopsie Daisy." Truer words have  never been spoken.  ;)

Thanks to Kendell for being brave enough to snap a photo of the knee wound. 

Escapades in El Salvador, Day Dos: Blood, sweat, and painted faces

Our team from left to right: Top row - Kendell Hale, Matt Marrs, Daniel Miller, Perri Miller, me, Selah Tilden, Liz Tilden; Bottom row - Leah Booth, Madi Hale, Kalynn Marrs

The first complete day in El Salvador is now behind us and it was a solid day. I woke up around 6:30 and started my day with some quick time with Jesus while waiting for the bathroom. Our mixed sex team of ten were sharing a bathroom with two toilets, two sinks, and two showers so there was a bit of trepidation involved in who could use the bathroom and when. Definitely a knock first atmosphere. After getting ready, we headed to the kitchen for a nice, warm breakfast prepared by Milena and some of the older girls. I always enjoy getting my meal in the morning because it's a bit of a chance to practice my less-than-stellar Spanish and try to improve. The VBS team, which consisted of myself, Liz, Selah, Perri, Daniel, and Leah, met with our second translator, Valmori, to figure out the plan for the evening and otherwise enjoy our breakfast.

After our meal was over, we headed outside to play with the kids. One of the older boys, Harsen (pronounced kind of like Harrison, not to be confused with Fox) had laid down the challenge to us the previous evening for some futbol action between the Americanos and the El Salvadorians. Cool side note, the kids actually referred to it as soccer instead of football for the benefit of our team. During the course of the game, I decided that I wanted to try and play defense against Harsen. Just in case anyone was wondering, Harsen's soccer skills considerably dwarf my lack thereof. In fact, Harsen definitely realized that he could toy with me a bit. Still, I was determined to try my best and play stellar defense. As the game went on and I got beat time after time, I started to get sloppy and eventually had my feet slip out from under me. As I get up, I realize that my knee is bleeding everywhere. Good start to my soccer career. I take a quick break from the game to run up to the house to clean it out and when I come back the game had ended sadly. 

 Not a clear view, but gets the point across.

About this time, Matt, Kendall, Antonio, and Jason returned from a trip to town to get supplies so that we could paint the inside of the church for one of our mission projects. Ironically, this was the same church that I had assisted a bit on the building of two years prior. Milena had chosen a shade of yellow that was very similar to the Sprint color. Kendell led the painting crew which consisted of myself, Liz, Matt, Daniel, and Leah for today. By the end of our session, we would have about half of the inside painted.

Before circa 2012

Completed circa 2014

After our lunch break in the afternoon, Antonio rounded up our team to go down into the village area near the orphanage and go door-to-door to advertise for the revival service and VBS for tonight. We didn't really know what we were in for. We went to the first several homes without incident. We even saw a member of the MS-13 gang that just lives in the area. We asked Walter if that was a concern and he stated that they have no issue with Christians. After going to the first few homes, Antonio begins to lead us down heavily forested roads throughout the community to little country homes. None of us had really prepared for this as some of our team was already sporting their dress clothes for the evening and I was in a pair of shorts with no bug spray. I totally kept finding myself swatting mosquitoes and gnats off of my fresh knee wound. After what felt like two miles, we headed back to the truck and loaded up to head back to the orphanage and get ready for VBS.

The church service began at 4:30 pm with music services. It's always a really different atmosphere when you're in a worship service and you can't understand the words of the songs or recognize the music. After four songs, the VBS team headed into the church with the kids. Tonight, I was responsible for leading the lesson which was over the parable of the Lost Sheep. After leading the lesson, which I was kind of dismayed with since the kids weren't really focused, we began activities and games with the kids. The first activity involved face painting. At my station, a mother with her baby daughter sat down in a chair with me kneeling beside. The mother pointed to the flower design that she wanted painted on her daughter's arm and I began painting the design. As I was finishing up, the mother chose that moment to take out her boob and begin breast-feeding her daughter less than five inches from my face. Definitely an uncomfortable moment for me and one of those cultural differences that a person can experience on a mission trip. Luckily the remainder of my face-painting experience was uneventful except for creating the worst dog-face in the world. 

Not too pretty but at least he seems to be happy with it...

Once the church service ended, we headed into the kitchen for our dinner. We were surprised to see that Milena and the kitchen staff had prepared hot dogs for our dinner.  After eating a great dinner, our team retired to the house for the evening just to relax and debrief. Kendell had a great idea to bond as a group by sharing our most embarrassing tales with each other which sounded difficult but was actually really fun. I decided to tell the story of my weirdest concussion which elicited a lot of laughter and also resulted in a lot of jokes of how closely everyone would have to monitor me for head injuries during our trip. **Sarcastically** I'm so glad that I've already gained that reputation. LOL.

Escapades in El Salvador, Day Uno: Gonna Fly Now

Ed. note...So I hadn't really determined 100% if I was going to blog/journal about my experiences in El Salvador this time but took my notebook with me as a just-in-case kind of thing. While there, I decided to start writing down experiences from each day just as a way in which to decompress and reflect on experiences for the day. So, with great trepidation, feel free to take a gander inside my experiences in El Salvador. There will be more pictures for days to follow than there are for Day 1. Be forewarned; the trip will start out fairly normal but experiences will get a little more bizarre and out of the ordinary as we travel on! Without further adieu, let's dig in!

Members of our team for future reference:

• Matt and Kalynn Marrs - Father/Daughter; Matt is the former pastor at Northland Baptist.
• Kendell and Madi Hall - Father/Daughter
• Liz and Selah Tilden - Mother/Daughter; Liz and Selah are former members at Northland who met up in ATL from their new home in Texas.
• Perri and Daniel Miller - siblings
• Leah Booth
• And Me

It's finally time for me to take my long-awaited third trip to El Salvador. This means that I have something more exciting and cool to write about than just the idiosyncrasies and mundane aspects of my life inside a fabric covered box. :) So, let's start!

To give you a solid gauge for what my level of excitement was for this trip, I really couldn't sleep at all the night before the trip. So with the attempt for bed beginning at 10:00 am followed by the inevitable wake-up call beginning at 3:30, there's not much excitement there. Even less excitement when you factor in me lazily crawling out of bed and heading towards the shower. So after all of the boring getting ready-type stuff, it was time to head for the airport at 4:00. I was actually the final one to arrive since I ended up being 15 minutes late. Bethany came in with me and said goodbye and everything which caught me a little grief all in fun for "us keeping the magic alive" instead of her just dumping me out on the curb. After checking our bags and all taking parts and pieces of the craft bag since it was overweight, we headed to the gates and had our tickets printed out by the workers there. I hit the jackpot and got an exit row seat for leg one of our flight.

A little under two hours later, we touched down in ATL and realized that we were five terminals away from where we needed to be. We hopped on the tram and immediately had our first weird moment of the trip as we met a mission team bound for Honduras. While making small talk with them, the "vocalist" of that team insisted upon doing pull-ups while explaining their trip. When that team exited the train, Matt began busting out his own pull-up workout and before Kendell began breaking out his own pole-related workout in mocking joy. That's all I'll say here. Once the tram arrived, the race was on as we ran to the gate in order to make our flight. We made it in time and boarded our flight with six of us getting to sit in the same exit row which made for a nice trip. I'm guessing that this means I'm going to get the shaft on seats for the trip home. So, after a long-term nap session aided by Garth Brooks with a short break for airplane food, we touched down in El Salvador.

Once landing and finding Liz's mistakenly claimed luggage, we went through customs and heading outside to meet our ride. I was really excited to get the opportunity to reunite with the Blantons, our interpreter Walter, and Antonio and Milena. We loaded up in the van and headed towards Remar with a short stop at Pollo Campreste in Usulutan for our first meal in El Salvador. After that, we headed toward San Miguel to Remar. Upon arriving, I was stoked to learn that a few of my favorite kids were still around the orphanage. After a funfilled afternoon of playing, we loaded them up and heading to Pizza Hut at the mall in San Miguel. Another awesome reunion would follow as I got to see Milton and Elena again. After a fun evening which included the staff singing to one of the kids, Elias, for his birthday, we headed back to Remar for a short debrief session and a nice sweaty bunk bed. Cool note that I neglected to mention. I got to see a scorpion today! And heard the women all scream their hearts out as a result of it. Tired now, must sleep.