Hello all,

I know that it has been forever since I have updated our blog, and I apologize for this. It seems like life has gotten so hectic around here that we have a hard time just keeping up.

As most of you know, it has been team season for the past few months here. We have had a number of teams come in from the US to serve with us over the summer. For the most part they have been a real blessing, but they have also been a handful as well. There are some teams that have been wonderful workers and have been good with the kids, and there have been others that have been terrible. It has been hard on Bobby and I because we do not get a free day when the teams are here. So this basically means that we haven't had a free day since June. We do get to go with the teams on their free day, but it isn't a true free day for us because we are still working (driving them around everyone, taking care of them, and we have to do whatever they want to do). The team that is here right now is from Ohio and they will be leaving on Saturday. We then get two weeks off until the next team comes on August 26th. Then, after that team leaves, we won't have anymore until December! YEAH!!

We are still running group here on Saturday night with the teens. As you know, our group was brought down to 7 back in April due to bad grades. We were unhappy with this at first, but we later found out that this small group of kids was perfect! We were able to form deeper bonds with the kids, and they were willing to open up and talk more because we had the smaller number. Just this past Saturday we had 2 more kids join our group (because their grades had improved). It was kind of weird having them their and it through the flow of the group off a bit. We kind of felt like we had started back from the beginning because the kids were being bad, but we know that it was just because these new people had joined us. We are still trying to figure this whole group thing out and we need lots of prayer with it.

My heart right now is a little broken because one of our teenage boys is leaving on Monday. Bobby and I had formed a very close relationship with William and he will be leaving on Monday to go and live with his brother. He got bad grades last year in school and so they pulled him out this year. He is going to school on Saturdays though in an adult GED type program. About 2 months ago they made him start working and paying room and board to live here (I agree with the work, but I don't know about the room and board). Anyway, he hasn't been getting along well with his house parent, so they have asked him to leave the home. I am really worried because I am afraid that he won't finish school. Also, his brother is not a great person and is a poor example for him. We are hoping to continue our friendship with him after he leaves so that we can help him in any way possible.

I also found out this morning that 2 of the other teenage boys were caught stealing stuff from the tool shed. Hma Roseanne told me that they are going to have the boys leave the home. One is 16 and the other only 13. They are both really good boys, they just have a lot of problems. I have really mixed feelings about this because I feel like they are just giving up on them.

Bobby and I don't know what to do because we feel like something just isn't right here (well we knew that from the beginning!), but these teenagers are just being thrown out left and right when they make a mistake. We have not seen a success story yet here. We don't have the answers, but we recognize that what they are doing is not working. Something else needs to happen! We need to pray a lot for these kids and that God would show us what to do.

Well, I think that I have written enough for now so I will go. I will try and post more frequently from now on.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support!

God Bless,
Britney

Hello all,

Life here has been so busy, it seems like so much has happened since my last blog entry! Bobby and I are keeping very busy with our work. Bobby has been working hard in the garden. He is starting to get some vegetables already. We have eaten green pepper, and onions, and the tomatoes are almost ready. He is so excited! This time of year is mango season, and they are everywhere! The home has several mango trees here, and the mangoes are ripe and are falling all over the ground everywhere. It's kind of a problem because when they fall on the ground they get squishy, stinky, yucky, and they attract flies. I am not sure why they don't pick the fruit and serve it to the kids with meals, but who am I to say anything, right? Bobby picked a whole bunch of the mangoes last week and gave them to the kids - they just love to eat tons of them! I also tried a new recipe...mango crisp. I made it Saturday afternoon with the help of one of the girls, and it turned out pretty good. Cooked mangoes taste a lot like peaches. I am going to try and make green mango pie later on this week, it is supposed to taste like apple pie, but we shall see!

Bobby and I are still having our youth night every Saturday evening. The high school kids all got their grades a couple of weeks ago and they were all pretty bad. The grading system here is a little different. The kids are given a number from 1-10, with a 10 being perfect. Many of the kids were receiving 2's and 3's in their classes! This is not good at all. They are all really smart kids, it is just that so many of them lack any type of motivation, and I think that a lot of them are depressed. The directors reviewed all of their grades and decided that the kids who were failing 2 or more classes were not able to come to the youth night on Saturdays. So, instead of our usual 17, we are down to 6! This has turned out to be okay though. We have found that 6 is a much easier number to handle, and that group is now more personal and the kids talk more. So, really, this has been a blessing in disguise.

We have also had a problem lately with the kids stealing. This has been somewhat of a problem from the beginning, but it has been gettng worse. Just last weekend, we seen one of the teenage boys wearing Bobby's clothes. Bobby and I were walking into the cafeteria, and there he was sitting on a bench wearing Bobby's shorts and t-shirt. When I questioned him about it, he just got this glazed look in his eyes and never really gave me a straight answer. Well, long story short, we found out that he had taken the clothes out of the clothes dryer behind out apartment. That dryer is really for use by teams when they come, but our dryer was broken, and it had been raining a lot, so I was using the team's dryer. Well, this boy found the clothes in the dryer and he thought that they were clothes that the team had left behind, so he took them. Little did he know that they were actually our clothes. He ended up having like 3 of Bobby's t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and one of my shirts. It is actually kind of funny, yet, really bad at the same time. It is funny because they were actually our clothes that he unknowingly stole, and he was quite embarrassed when he was busted. But, it is bad that he was stealing. Bobby and I have had CD's, videos, tools, and now clothes stolen from us here by the kids. Oh, my, they do need lots of prayer.

But, you know, through all the craziness, we still love the kids and we still love serving them. Yeah, we might want to wring their little El Salvadorean necks from time to time (or daily), but we still love them.

Well, I must go for now. Work is calling me. We love and miss you all.

Lots of love,
Britney

Hello all,

Well the team from New York left today, so life has been slowly getting back to normal here. The kids are a little somber, and some of them are pretty sad that the team left. The team was really good with the kids, so their presence was a definite blessing, but it is always hard for everyone to say goodbye.

Even though the team left today, it was still very busy. Bobby and I got up early as usual (although Bobby always gets up way earlier than me). I did my devotion first thing this morning and then afterwards became very busy helping the team prepare for their departure. I also managed to squeeze in about an hour of office time this morning as well before the team left. In addition to all of this, I was also getting last minute details covered for the arrival of Deb, a new missionary who came today. Finally, at about 9:30am, we had everyone and all of their luggage loaded up and we took them to the airport. I was very sad to see them leave, knowing that I may never seen some of them again. But, it was a real blessing to have met them and to share part of my El Salvador experience with them.

After we got back from dropping the team off at the airport I busied myself picking up their rooms. They did a great job of cleaning the rooms before they left, but several of them left sheets, blankets, and pillows behind as a donation for the kids. So, I needed to collect those items and get them washed before handing them out to the kids. Bobby and I then ate lunch (homemade pizzas that he prepared with fresh vegetable toppings from our garden) and then we left for the OASIS feeding program.

OASIS has become one of my favorite programs because I love working with the community, and especially with the poorest of the poor. Immediately after arriving to the OASIS location, me and several of the girls went around door to door to invite people to come. I love getting out into the community and going into the peoples homes. It makes me feel connected to them in some way. I chatted briefly with a lady I met in her home who recently had surgery. I told her that I was a nurse and that I would be happy to check up on her and help her if she needed. I plan on visiting her again and checking on her surgical wounds and possibly taking her some food. I told her that I would pray for her. We then continued on going door to door and we came across a little boy sitting on the street corner looking dirty and drabby as many of the kids there do. One of the girls from the orphanage that was with me gave him some cookies and then they began playing. There was a cement sewage drainage "slide" near his home and they began sliding down it. I told them that this was disgusting, but it was dried up right now so they didn't seem to care too much. It was funny though to see this little boy with cookies in his hand sliding down this cement sewage drain. He didn't care what it was, he just thought it was fun. We then returned back to the OASIS building and continued with the program as usual, which is singing and a basic Bible story. We then fed them a simple meal of beans, cheese, and tortillas.

After OASIS was over we came back to the home and by this time Deb had arrived. We greeted her and I then helped the girls wash the mound of dishes that they had from lunch and OASIS. After all of the dishes I was hot, sticky, and I smelled like beans. But, oh well. I then spent more time this afternoon getting Deb acquainted as well as doing more washing of the items that the team left behind. I also did my spanish homework and filled out some postcards that I need to send out to family.

Bobby and I then ate pupusas this evening for dinner. The cafeteria was serving chicken feet, and that is the one meal that I just can't stomach. So, we went to the little pupusarisa down the road and bought 6 bean and cheese pupusas for $2.10. After dinner I spent time with the older girls here at the home and now I am back in the office again working.

So, it has been a long, busy, but good day. I have been thinking of you all a lot lately and we miss you all a lot.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers.

Lots of love,
Britney

Hello all!

Things are going well here. A team from New York arrived on Friday. There are 22 people and 15 of them are between the ages of 15 and 19. They are all very nice and very hard workers. They are also very gifted musically and have led worship for the kids a few times, which has been great.

One of the girls on the team actually lives here in El Salvador. Her father works for the US embassy, and they were stationed here in El Salvador back in October. The team that is here now is from her old church, so she is staying here this week with them so that she can spend some time with her old friends as well as serve here! Anyway, her family invited us all to their church today and then to their house afterwards for lunch. Bobby and I really liked the church alot. It was a great service, the pastor was super nice and down to earth, the people were all warm and friendly, and it was composed more of middle and lower class people (versus the upper class church that we normally have to attend on Sunday mornings). Bobby and I are really hoping that we will be able to attend the church again in the future.

The cookout that we went to was also really great today. The embassy worker's house is super nice, and their whole family is sooooo nice (the wife is from Guatemala, so her spanish and english are both perfect). They used to be missionaries to Hong Kong for 5 years, so they have a big heart for missionaries and they are super hospitable (they currently have 3 missionaries living with them from Honduras for a month). They told Bobby and I that if we ever just wanted to get away for a little while then we could come and stay at their house. They have a separate guest quarters within their house, so we really could "get away" while we are there. Plus, they are just so nice and friendly that they would be fun to hang out with too. They fixed us a wonderful "American" lunch today of hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill as well as potato salad and all the works. YUMMY!!

Well, I g2g for now! Bobby and I miss and love you all bunches. Thanks for the continued prayers!

Love,
Britney

Hello all,

Hope that everyone one back home in snowy Ohio is doing well. Things are good here. Bobby and I have been very busy preparing for the team that is arriving tomorrow. There are 22 team members, 15 of which are between the ages of 15 and 19. Initially, Bobby and I were pretty frustrated because we were told us yesterday by one of the founders that we were not allowed to have our youth night on any Saturdays that the teams are here. We were so upset because that basically meant no more youth night for the rest of the summer. Yeah, there would be a few weeks here and there, but not much. Then, today, I talked with another one of the founders and he said that he wanted us to have the youth night when the teams were here because most of the teams were teenagers. So, long story short, we are having the youth night now! Yeah!!

I know that this is going to come as a shock to you all, but Bobby and I are seriously contemplating going to language school in Guatemala this August. For those of you that know Bobby well, you know that this whole studying spanish thing is not his "thing." But, several weeks ago the Benner's suggested that we possibly go to language school in Antigua, Guatemala to study spanish. They have recently made it a requirement that all missionaries who are going to serve here for more than one year have to attend a language school for at least 3 months. They weren't going to make us, as we were kind of "grandfathered" into the rule (and the fact that we are the only missionaries here too, so if we left, they wouldn't have any help). Anyway, there was supposed to be a new missionary arriving here in 2 weeks but they are making her go to language school first instead. We thought that she would totally flip when they told her that she would have to go, and she did, but then she gave into the idea and has decided to go. After watching her reaction to the situation, we have seriously been thinking about it. It is the Christian Spanish Academy in Antigua and it actually sounds like a good school. You study spanish for 20 hours a week and you live with host families. Bobby and I have really enjoyed staying with families on past mission trips and we think that this might be a good experience for us. In addition to learning spanish, you are also given the opportunity to serve with some different organizations in the community.


So, as you might be guessing, the decision to go to language school is basically a decision to stay on the mission field longer than a year. Bobby and I have been strongly feeling like God is calling us into the mission field beyond a year, but we don't know what He wants us to do. We don't necessarily think that we are supposed to stay here, but we know that He wants us here right now. We think that he has some tough lessons for us that we need to learn first here before He sends us out further.

I am posting a picture of one of the teenage girls named Estella. She is 15 years old and she has an older brother named William who lives here as well. I love Estella because she is always happy and wearing a smile. Yesterday after dinner I was talking with her for a long time and she pulled a picture out of her back pocket of her and her brother, it was one of the few times that I have ever seen her sad. She says that she carries the picture with her always and that she is sad and worried because her brother only has one year left here at the Home before he leaves, and then she will be alone. What a scary thought, to be all alone in this world. Yeah, she is surrounded by people here, but we have all experienced what it is like to be surrounded by people yet feel alone. In the picture I have posted today she is with a team member from a team that came in January. She, like all of the kids here, needs a lot of prayer for God's protection and comfort in her life.

Well, I must go for now, always work to do!

Love you and miss you all!
Britney

Hello all,

Greetings from Sunny El Salvador. I heard it was snowing in Ohio - Lo siento! Bobby and I had our very first youth night here at HIS. We held it Saturday evening. This is something very special that they have never had or allowed here at Shalom, so we are very thankful that they have allowed us to start up this program. It will be held every Saturday night and it is for all the teens over 14. Anyway, like I said, we had our first one this past Saturday. There were 17 kids there and 2 Hermanos (house parents). We set it up pretty much like a typical youth group meeting in the states. We have been given permission to hold the youth group in the team room. The team room is the big room/apartment where teams sleep when they come. It has a big central living room, 2 side bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. So, it is perfect for having youth group in. Of course, we will have to hold it somewhere else when the teams are here, but we will work it out. Anyway, we started out by just having some games that the kids could play when they came in and just having some hang out time. We had board games and a small video game (pacman) as well as music playing and snacks. Then, we played a group game (which they weren't really excited about)and then Bobby led a devotion. Since it was Easter weekend he centered the devotion around the movie "The Passion of the Christ," which we watched also. After the movie we talked about the impact of the film and Bobby actually had some of the kids nail sins written on pieces of paper onto a 9 ft cross that he made. We thought that, generally speaking, things went well. However, after all the kids left that evening and we were cleaning up, we noticed that a video that we have of Christian music was missing. We looked and looked for it everywhere, wanting to believe that one of the kids would not have taken it. But, after looking for a while, we never found it. So, Bobby went down to the teenage boys house and asked them if they knew what happened to our video and, sure enough, after a little looking, it was discovered that one of the boys had it in his CD case. He said he didn't know how it got in there and it must have been an accident. We would like to believe him, but we know that he is probably lying. Since we have been here Bobby has had a knife and several tools stolen from him. We have never had to deal with teenagers who lie and steal from us on a repeated basis, so this is tough for us. Especially when they do it immediately following a devotion that we worked so hard to put together for them! However, we also know that if the kids were "perfect" then we wouldn't be needed here. This evening I was spending some one-on-one time with one of the girls just talking about life in general and she told me she had a big problem. When I asked her what it was she told me that she was thinking about what we talked about on Saturday and that the needs to change her life. She said that she prayed to God to come into her heart and to change her heart, but she says that she always wants and does "bad things." So, she is thinking that it is just better for her to give nothing to God since she messes up all the time. We talked about how none of us is perfect, and that God loves us just the same. I don't want her to give up because she can't obtain perfection, because she never will. I hope that I was able to encourage her and show her that God loves her no matter what.

The kids here need a lot of prayer, so if you all could please just pray for them and pray for us also that we will be able to reach out to them, we would greatly appreciate it. We also ask that you could just pray for this ministry. Like any organization, there are many things here that need to change. The founders of the organization, The Benner's, have said that the ministry is suffering financially, and as a result, they fired a cook, and 2 house parents last week. This week they have informed us that they will be firing 2 of the construction guys. My heart just breaks for these people who are being fired. I know that most of them make less than $200 a month, so it doesn't seem like firing them would save a whole lot of money, but I don't know. It is also difficult for me because I see many other ways that money could be saved within this ministry instead of firing people, but, once again, who am I to say. Work is very hard to come by in this country, and most of the people who work here come from hours away and they have families to support. In addition, the 2 construction workers are the nicest, humblest, Christian men that I think I have ever meant. They work hard all day, and they spend their lunch time reading their Bibles and playing the guitar singing Christian songs. They are really good people, and they deserve to be treated well and fairly. They are among the few people who really walk the walk. I kept looking at them all day today, feeling guilty for knowing that in just a few short days they would be jobless in a country that has so few jobs and no social service system. I know that my opinion or thoughts regarding the matter are of little importance or influence, and I have to just trust that the organization is making the best decision. The whole thing is out of my hands and all I can do is pray about it and learn from it.

Thanks to everyone for all of your love and prayers.

Te quiero mucho,
Britney

Hey everyone,

Greetings from sunny El Salvador! It was soooo good to go home last week and see everyone. Things have been extraordinarily difficult here, and it was so good to go home and get refreshed. It was also great because we were able to see how wonderfully the senior high youth group is doing at GNG. We were so happy to see that everyone and everything is going well, and we are especially proud of our Bible study group. When we left back in January there weren't any adults to take over the Bible study group because the other youth leaders were just too overwhelmed with everything else. The teens in that group decided that they wanted the group to continue and they were going to run it themselves. To think that a group of teenagers was going to organize and meet every other Wednesday to study the Bible without any help or anyone telling them to was a big thing to wrap our brains around, but, we knew that if anyone could do it, then that group of teens could. And, they have. They have a deep committment to that group, and they said that they knew after we left that it was completely up to them to make that group a success and to keep it running smoothly, and they have done just that. Many of them have stepped up to leadership positions and they all have taken ownership in the group. So, Bobby and I were especially proud of them when they just randomly got up on Sunday morning in front of the senior high class and told the other students about the group and invited them to come and join them. They were reaching out to the other students, and that is a great thing to see. Bobby and I felt like parents whose children have moved out of the house on their own for the first time. You know that you have done all that you can to train and equip them for life on their own, yet you still worry that they will stumble and fall. And, then when you let those children go and you see them prospering, it is such a good feeling. I honestly feel that if Bobby and I were to return to GNG now and return back to that group, then we would actually be a hinderance. I feel like we would be prohibiting their growth. Just like a parent has to cut the apron strings and let their child discover the world on their own in order for them to fully mature, we know that this was the right thing for our group as well. We know that they may stumble a bit, or even fall, that is just the nature of life, but we strongly believe that they are connected enough and strong enough in their fath to pick back up again and keep going. We are proud of you guys!!

Well, on another note, things are going well here. Things are actually going surprisingly well. It has to be a miracle from God. Now, don't get me wrong, things certainly aren't perfect, but they are better than what they were. The kids have all been out of school this week for Holy Week, so they have been more lax on the many rules around here. And, yesterday, many of the kids went home for 3 days to stay with family members. Even though this is an orphanage, many of the children do have some sort of surviving family member, whether it be a sibling, grandmother, or at times, even a parent (although obviously not a fit one). Bobby and I are really glad that the kids got to go home and visit their families because we know that it means so much to the kids, plus we feel like it will be good for the kids to get out and see just how hard it is for people to live here in El Salvador and how lucky they have it here. When they see how poorly most people live and eat here in this country, we hope that they will have a deeper appreciation for what they have here. I don't know, maybe they will, maybe they won't. We shall see!

For all of those kids who don't have family members that they can return home to for a visit, we took them all to the park today. It wasn't our idea, it was Julio's (the director of the home), but we think it was a wonderful idea. We left at like 10:30 this morning and the kids played and played all day at this really huge park that we went to. At lunch time the cooks from the home came and brought he kids' lunches. Because their aren't that many older girls here now (only 3) I was able to spend alot of intimate time with them today and see a little more of their hearts. Their hearts are of course broken because this week is just another reminder to them that they don't have any family. The 3 older girls here are Linda, Veronica, and Karina. Linda has no surviving family at all (not even siblings) and never knew or never met her parents. Karina has 2 brothers and a set of grandparents, but her parents are dead. Her dad hung himself and her mom died of AIDS. And, I am not sure what Veronica's story is. I love them all dearly, and I hope that I can make an eternal impact on their lives. I have posted a picture of Linda on my blog today.

Well, I am going to go for now. I have been writing for too long. Tomorrow Bobby and I are having our first youth night here at the home so I will tell you more about that tomorrow.

We love and miss you all a lot and we thank you for all of your prayers and we ask that you keep them coming.

Lots of love,
Britney

Hello all,
I know that I am kind of behind, but I wanted to put some pictures on the site today of our outing a few weeks ago. At the end of February, the Board of Directors for the organization was down for the semi-annual board meeting. While they were here they took everyone to Mundo Feliz and Pizza Hut. Mundo Feliz (translation: Happy World!)is kind of like a mix of Dave and Buster's and Chucky Cheese. It was a great outing for everyone and the kids really had LOTS of fun. It was so funny to see all 80 kids go running around the place like crazy people. The funniest thing was that they had this little ride that was kind of like bumper cars (only they were motorcycles) for little kids. Well, all of the little kids wanted to ride this ride, of course. So, instead of just letting a few kids on at a time, they let bunches and bunches of them on. All of these wild little kids were riding these motorcycle things around the circle, running into each other, tipping them over, running people over, ect ect. It was hilarious! The workers thought that the solution to the problem would be to just put more workers in the area, no, that didn't work either. Now there was just more targets for the kids to run over. I got the most enjoyment just laughing at them - the workers certainly earned their money that day! I have posted a picture on this site today of Tito, one of the teenage boys, sporting a balloon hat that was made for him by a clown at Pizza Hut. The kids really enjoy when the Board comes to visit because all of the Board members are truly nice people, and they always take the kids on some big outing like this. You can check out our phanfare website for more Mundo Feliz and Pizza Hut pictures!

I also want to thank everyone who has been emailing or writing us. We really enjoy hearing from you all. It truly makes us feel loved!

Miss you all bunches,
Britney

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Hello all,
I can't believe it, I am actually making a post to my blog 2 days in a row! Wow! I think that this is a first, or a near first at least! Well, today was a really good day here a the home. Bobby and I have met a group of Americans who are here working as teachers in a Christian school. They go to the same church that we do, which is where we met at. They have come out to the home the past 2 Sundays to hang out with the kids, which has been really great because they are super cool and it is nice to have fellow Americans to hang out with every now and then. We also had 2 teachers come out to visit today from Honduras. They are actually Americans also but they are working as teachers in Honduras. They were in El Salvador visiting for the weekend and decided to come out here and hang out with the kids also. All of the teachers were quite excited because when they came out today they learned how to make pupusas. Pupusas are a traditional El Salvadorean food that basically consists of a soft round rice flour or corn flour tortilla that is stuffed with either beans, cheese, pork, or a combination of all three. They are super cheap (like about 30 cents each) to buy and there are like a million (okay, maybe not a million, but close) little pupusarias (little pupusa restaurants) on every street. The teachers all went into the kitchen today and the girls taught them how to make the pupusas and they helped girls and the cooks make dinner. It was quite funny to see the kitchen stuffed full of so many gringas! Ha, ha. I have posted a couple of pictures of them hard at work in the kitchen today. The first picture is of the two American teachers visiting from Honduras (Jen and Joy) and the second photo is of the teachers who are working here in San Salvador. You can visit the phanfare website to see more pupusa photos and to see the very funny "how to make pupusas" instructional video that we made! Quite hilarious!

I also got to talk to some of our youth from GNG tonight! Yeah! How great it was to hear your voices. I didn't realize how much I missed you guys until after I talked to you on the phone. We can't wait to come home and visit. We love you all bunches!

Britney

Hello all,
Sorry for not doing too well updating the website and the blog, but we are having some computer problems which is making it difficult for me to upload pictures (or do anything on the computer for that matter). Things have been going okay here. Bobby has been busy making a garden. He is soooo excited because he gets to plant things here that he wouldn't be able to at home (like banana trees). He also made a small flower garden outside of our house where he planted some flowers, vegetables, and 3 small coffee plants. We went to an agricultural fair a couple of weeks ago and he bought the coffee plants there for 30 cents each. He was so excited about his new plants that when we came home that evening he went outside in the dark and planted them! LOL! He was like a kid at Christmas time! He wants to get the kids involved in working in the garden. Here in this country gardening isn't a pastime, it is an important life skill. Some of the kids here have been good with helping, and others have been more interested in making problems. But, hopefully it will work out okay. The plan is that I will teach the girls how to can once the vegetables from the garden are ready. This is a bigger project than we expected, but we are enjoying it. You can check out www.bobandbrit.phanfare.com for the latest garden photos. Well, I got to go for now. We love and miss you all bunches.
Britney

Hola everyone,
Hope that everyone is having a great week so far. Things have been going well here. The Board of Directors for the orphanage is meeting this week, so some of the Board members have started to arrive. Some of them like to come a few days early to spend time with the kids and kind of check things out. They all seem to be really nice.
Last Friday we took the all the kids who had a birthday in February to Pizza Hut. They had such a fun time playing and eating tons and tons of pizza. The Pizza Hut was located in a mall in the city and the little kids were amazed by the escalators in the mall. They were so funny! They would have just been happy if we would have let them ride the escalators all day! It was definitely a good birthday for them.
Bobby and I miss you all greatly. We can't wait to come home and visit. Last Sunday at church there was a missionary there from Africa. He was telling some of the stories of things they have had to deal with, like deadly Malaria, tribal rituals, and cannabalism! It sure put me in my place. I feel very lucky that God put me here! Well, got to go for now. I have some girls who are waiting on me to come to their rooms to say goodnight! Oh, if you all want to check out the birthday pictures and photos from last Friday, then visit www.bobandbrit.phanfare.com and click on February birthday party to see all the great photos!
Miss you all bunches,
Britney

Hola everyone!

Well, life here has been bittersweet. The past two days have been really great, but also sad because Robin, the other missionary serving here left to go home early yesterday morning. I miss her like crazy because she was the sweetest person and was a great friend. Robin had never been baptized, so on Sunday we had a baptismal celebration for her and she was baptized. Yeah! I haven't figured out yet how to stream video onto this blog, so you all will have to go to www.bobandbrit.phanfare.com and click on Robin's baptism to see the video. Miss you all very much!

Con Mucho Amor,

Britney

Hola everyone,

Hope that everyone is doing well in the great state of OHIO! Today was a challenging spanish day. Both Bobby and I are tired of the long spanish classes, and we are both very confused right now. We know, however, that this is something that many missionaries go through. We know that learning a foreign language is very challenging, and this is just one of the many challenges that we will go through while we are here. Today was one of the girl's birthdays, so we had a little birthday party for her and the other girls in her room. I put a photo on this site of the birthday girl. Miss you all bunches!

Lots of love,

Britney

Hola everyone,

Well, today was another great day here in sunny El Salvador! Today was our free day and we really had a good day. We went up to the top of one of the mountains and ate lunch at a great little restaurant. We had lunch with The Benner's, who are the directors of the orphanage, and their daughter, Terri, who lives here in El Salvador and works with the ministry. We also had lunch with a couple named Suzi and Buzz (I forget their last names). Anyhoo, they are missionaries to Mexico. Suzi grew up here in El Salvador as her parents were missionaries here when she was a child. Her and her husband live in southern California, and she works for Saddleback church. They run a ministry in northern Mexico, which is 2 1/2 hours away from their home where they work with street children and local churches. They were a very nice and interesting couple to talk to. They came to the home this evening and led a devotion for all the kids, and they really did a great job. You can tell that God has really blessed them with the ability to reach out to children. I am putting a few pictures on the website today, one of all of us at lunch, one of the view from the restaurant we ate at today (it was beautiful), and one of me and Robin today. Also, if you all remember, I wrote about a team that came here a few weeks ago from Colorado, well they have put together a WONDERFUL video of their trip here. I strongly encourage you all to visit their website at www.agapelife.org and check it out. If you go to their website and click on "ministries" then click on "womens ministry" then you will be able to see the video. I believe that they really captured their trip here very well. Well, hope you all had a great day. Miss you all bunches!

Lots of love,

Britney

Hola everyone,

Well, today was actually a kind of boring day. I had nothing to do, because they haven't really figured out what they want me to do yet from a nursing perspective, so I just kind of loafed today and hung out with the kids. Bobby went to OASIS this morning (the place where we do the feeding program) and poured a new walkway entrance into the building. The current entrance was a piece of a cement block that you would step on as you hopped over draining sewage. YUCK! The new walkway entrance is a concrete slab that will still allow the sewage to drain down the street (as it usually does here in El Salvador) but will give us a more stable entrance into the "building." I use that term loosely because it is just a few pieces of metal and some plastic put together (there is a tile floor, however). I have put a few pictures on the website today of the birthday celebration we had for the kids last Friday. Bobby baked cupcakes for the birthday kids with lots and lots of icing. The little boys were sooooo excited to be eating these cupcakes, but they just couldn't figure out how to go about it with all of that icing. They eventually decided to just lick it for a really long time, and they ended up with icing all over their faces, and in their hair, and on their clothes. LOL! Oh well, it was lots of fun watching them have fun. We hope and pray that everyone at home is doing well. We miss you all bunches.

Lots of love,

Britney

Hello all,

I know that it has been a while since I have updated the blog, and I am sorry. We have been busy lately with getting settled into our roles here at the home. Our main roles are to be working with the teens here. They are a great group of teenagers, but they have a lot of problems. There has been many evenings that I just wonder why in the world God called us here to work with these youth. I was expecting difficulty in the mission field to come from the weather, sickness, or bad living conditions. I did not expect it to come from the teenagers. But, Bobby and I know without a doubt that we were called here for a reason, so we will just continue to seek Him and His guidance. I am putting a few pictures on my posting today of some of the teens. Bobby, Robin, and I took some of them out last Friday to Pizza Hut for their birthday. They were so excited and they ate a lot of pizza! It's funny, I thought that being in the mission field would bring me so close to God, like I would be on a constant spiritual high, but I have been kind of down in a way. I know that it is because Satan does not want us here. I am also feeling kind of confused about what we are supposed to do after our year here is over. One of the teen girls asked me yesterday about leaving. She said "so what are you going to do after a year, just leave?" Tough question...it made me feel like crap. It was kind of like, "why should I love you and invest myself in you when you are just going to up and leave me in 11 months?" I can understand what she was thinking. These kids have been abandoned by everyone in their lives, everyone always leaves, how are we really any different? We watched a movie on Saturday, and that same question was asked by one of the characters. The answer was, that everyone who comes into your life, no matter for how little time, shapes and molds you into the person that you are...good or bad. Can I make a lifelong impact on her life in less than a year and then leave? I am trusting in God's plan.

Lots of love,

Britney

week 2

Hola everyone,

Well this week has been very busy so far. We went to the beach on Monday. It was so beautiful! The teams that come to serve here each get a free day and this last team chose to go to the beach on their free day, so we got to join them. We had such a great time. Bobby discovered many little sandollars in the ocean and was quite excited. We have started our spanish lessons this week. Bobby studies Spanish from 8am until 11am Mon., Wed., and Fri., and I study from 12:30 to 3:30 Mon., Wed., and Fri. Our tutor's name is Carmen, and she is the nicest and kindest lady. We know that we will learn a lot from her. Bobby and I have been working hard this week on some various projects as well. I have put some pictures of Bobby's toolshed on the site today for you all to see. There is also a photo of one of the older boys helping Bobby make new seats for the teeter totters at the playground.

Today we received 2 new kids here at the orphanage. I have their pictures here on this posting also. It is the one of the two little dirty kids setting on the bench. The little boy has his arm around his sister (although she doesn't look like a little girl because her hair is so short). Their father died and their mother abandon them so they were living on the street. When they came one of the directors told them that they were going to get some new clothes and some new shoes (the clothes they were wearing had holes all in them, and they weren't wearing any shoes), and the little girl looked up at her and said, "Yo no tengo zapatos" (I don't have any shoes). It was so sad. It took all I could to keep from crying. The little girl ran up to me and gave me a big hug. Despite all that they have been through, they are so happy.

Well, I must go for now. I have spanish to study!
Hasta luego,
Britney

Day 4 and 5

Hello all,

Well, for the past 2 days Bobby and I have been very busy painting. School is starting on Monday (the school year runs from January to November here), so all of the school staff have been preparing for next week. We painted the principal and secretary's offices, as well as one of the classrooms. The team that has been here working this week helped us to paint also.

Saturdays are fun days here at HIS. One of the local businesses came today and had a big party for all of the kids. They had a clown, a pinata, and snacks, cake, and juice as well as presents for each of the kids. It was so much fun to watch the kids smacking that pinata in the middle of the playground. Normally the kids all watch movies on Saturday nights, but tonight they all went to the playground after dinner and played games. It was good to hang out with everyone here and to get the chance to know the kids better.

We love you and miss you all.

Lots of love,
Britney

Day 3

Hello all,
Well, today was our actual first day of work. I have started the enormous task of working on all these projects I have been assigned, and Bobby put in a door today. It was funny to see him try and communicate with the other men when he needed certain tools and materials. He did learn how to say "chisel" and "wood" today, so he is coming along well - LOL! At lunch time we went with the kids to do the OASIS feeding program. OASIS is the name of the outreach feeding program here at HIS. The older kids go out 3 times a week to a close village and round up the local kids, sing songs with them, teach them a Bible story, and then serve them lunch. It was fun to see all of the little kids in there listening to the Bible story and then eagerly waiting on lunch. It is also good for the older kids here at the orphanage. It helps to teach them that even though they have it rough, there is always someone else out there who has it worse than you. It also teaches them the importance of serving. The lunch they served them was noodles and bread. By the time all of the little kids were done eating there were tons of sloppy noodles on the floor! The local dogs were hanging out at the door...so I guess it is a feeding program for them too! Ha, ha.

This afternoon we participated in a craft with the mission team that is currently down here serving. Every afternoon they have a craft with the kids, and this afternoon's craft was for the teenagers. They taught them how to make hemp necklaces. Bobby even participated in the craft and made a pink and purple necklace, I am so proud of him! I just hope he doesn't actually wear it!

Robin, the missionary we took to the hospital yesterday, returned back today. She has received a clean bill of health, but she does have a follow up appointment on Tuesday with the cardiologist, so if you all could continue to keep her in your prayers that would be great. Thanks to everyone for everything...we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. We also want to say a special hello to our senior high youth, we love you and miss you all mucho!

Lots of love,

Britney