Life in El Salvador

Independence Day Weekend

Crossing Cultures, Family, History of El Salvador, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

I hate when the blog starts to fall behind, but it’s inevitable with crazy weeks like this past week’s party madness. So, I am finally getting around to an update about Independence Day weekend. Independence Day in El Salvador is on September 15th. On that day in 1821 El Salvador declared independence from Spain. Today it is celebrated through special events in schools, towns, and all kinds of public places. This year we had the added bonus of a three day weekend because the holiday fell on a Monday. Some Salvadoran friends invited us to their “rancho” on the beach in the eastern party of the country where we have never been before. El Salvador never falls to surprise and delight me and this weekend was no exception. The beaches are […]

Finally Legal!

Life in El Salvador, Transitions -

Last December we shared with you the news that we would be starting the process of making MTES an officially registered non-profit here in El Salvador, in addition to the non-profit status that we already have in the States. Today we are thrilled to share the news that we are finally legal! We have the paperwork in hand! It took us a few months to get things in order, and we submitted all of our paperwork in March. Our lawyer can’t believe how fast the process went, especially with an election happening in the middle of it all. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement…we are so excited to have this process behind us!

Names on a Wall – Our Visit to a Civil War Memorial

History of El Salvador, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

The summer has flown by so fast! Today our last intern is finishing her last day of work. Every year we hope that our interns can learn a little something about El Salvador while they are here, so we try to start the summer off with a short history lesson. Back in June on a rainy morning we took our kids and our interns to visit the memorial wall in Parque Cuscatlan before heading to the National Cathedral downtown. Our friend Cruz shared some history about the war with our interns. The wall was built to honor the more than 75,000 Salvadorans who were killed during the Salvadoran Civil War in the 80s and early 90s. The memorial is called “Monumento a la Memoria y la Verdad” which means the […]

Hiking the Santa Ana Volcano

Family, History of El Salvador, Life in El Salvador, Natural Disasters, Places to Visit in El Salvador -

This past weekend, we did some new, fun stuff in El Salvador. We went to see the national soccer team play (a first for the kids and I), and I will post more on that later. We also finally (finally!) took the time to hike the Santa Ana Volcano. In the native language, it is known as Illamatepec. Jon has done it before but the kids and I haven’t and I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. I wish I had taken more pictures on the climb up, because it was an absolutely spectacular day. However I got a few and you can see the flowers in full bloom. The flowers and trees slowly gave way to a desolate landscape. Santa Ana last erupted in 2005 so […]

Five Reasons Why We Love the World Cup

Family, Life in El Salvador -

For all of you who live under a rock, tomorrow is the World Cup final. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed watching all of the matches in this year’s tournament, and we are sad to see the whole thing come to an end tomorrow! So here are a few reasons why we love the World Cup… 1. We get to learn about countries all over the big, wide world that don’t normally come up in everyday conversation.  The kids filled albums with players from all the different countries participating, and they learned a little bit about each country in the process. Now they know where each country is located and what they call themselves in their native language. 2. Soccer is not only a great sport, but also a really, really […]

Rainy Season

Life in El Salvador, Thinking About God, Urban Ministry -

I sit in my car and wait, and as I sit I watch the rain come down. One of the first rains of the season. Drop after drop hits my parked car and I listen to each sound as it echoes on the roof. I sit there and I think. And my mind hears each splashing raindrop of the season we are in. A life is lost, violence rises, and friends buckle under the weight of crisis. Addiction wins, hope seems far, and the darkness hovers just outside the doorway. Icy raindrops hit my soul, and I shiver. The cold seeps in when it’s all falling down around my ears, and the sun has fled. Windy rains are sweeping through the city and dryness and warmth seem so far off. […]

Fun at the Immigration Office

Immigration, Life in El Salvador -

Yesterday morning we spent several hours at the immigration office renewing our visas for another year in El Salvador. It’s a necessary part of life here, and it’s always an experience trying to navigate the red tape while keeping our very bored kids under control while we all wait to get approved. This video in both Spanish and English is actually quite hilarious. This year things went really smoothly, but it always seems like there is a crazy amount of paperwork that needs to get done ahead of the yearly residence renewal!  

Spring Break

Family, Holidays, Life in El Salvador, Third Culture Kids -

We just arrived back in the city after two days at the beach. We are in the middle of Semana Santa, which means “Holy Week” and everyone has off of school and work. My mother-in-law is here so we are doing some fun touristy things and getting a moment to catch our breath. My favorite part of spring break is not the beach, or the special events, or even the change in the routine. My favorite part is that my kids are in the house all week. I love hanging out with them and I know that all too soon spring break will be time that they want to spend with their friends, or it will be a vacation that they get from the far away college where they attend. So […]

A Day at the Lake – Lago de Coatepeque

Family, Life in El Salvador, Places to Visit in El Salvador -

About an hour from San Salvador there is a beautiful crater lake that was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions many thousands of years ago. The lake is clean and sparkles emerald in some places. This weekend, our generous friends invited us to spend the day at their lake house. It was wonderful to soak in the sun, be in nature, and connect with friends and family. By the end of the day, I was reminded how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful place. The weather was perfect, and the views were spectacular. Jon proclaimed it the most relaxing day he has had in at least a year! Everyone enjoyed it, so if you are ever in El Salvador make sure to check out Lago de […]

Election Week?

History of El Salvador, Life in El Salvador -

In general, I don’t blog about politics, but this week has been quite interesting here in El Salvador. Sunday’s run-off election between the FMLN and ARENA political parties has stretched into a week-long process of protests, ballot recounts, and allegations of fraud. The week started with both sides declaring victory as tensions mounted. ARENA supporters took to the streets to demand a vote-by-vote accounting of Sunday’s run-off election. Early Thursday morning, the official count was concluded and FMLN candidate Salvador Sánchez Cerén was declared the winner with just over 6,000 votes separating the candidates. The ARENA party has responded with claims of evidence of fraud in the election, so it is a waiting game to see how and if those claims will affect the official results. In the meantime, the […]

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