You go through moments where you question, and then moments that are the answer. I wish that when you had the question you could remember that an answer was on its way, and when you had the answer you could hold it in your pocket for the next time you needed it. This lack of memory is a constant for me. One minute from the next is enough to make me get caught up in the very thought process that I Had denied two minutes before.

Although this week was fine, it made me wonder the validity of our being here. Why were we sent to a place that appears to have no needs? It’s easy to run with this train around numerous bends with no destination in sight. Today has not been the answer, per se, but it has reminded me that needy people exist in non-needy places and that following a drought is usually a rainstorm. Granted, the rain can be long in coming, but it will come.

We had the residents of Six Plex over for a potluck of sorts. Due to the language barrier, I didn’t realize it would be a potluck, but the unknown can sometimes be better than what you expect. More people met. More Spanish used. Jose is our accountant. He is unmarried at thirty-two, telling you just a smidgen about his personality. From the knowing glances of Maria and Ingrid, I gather that Jose may not be finding a wife here at the Hogar. He’s a friendly chap but has a penchant for being right. Maestra Myrna got her title from being a preschool teacher here. But the past few years have brought her early mornings at the Panederia, not harried midmornings with five-year-olds. Her pastries are works of art. Smelling them every morning is a lesson in self-control. Maria is our secretary/receptionist. A motivated, hardworking young woman, she works all day and attends university on Sundays. She wants to be a teacher. She also wants to learn English. When she talks, her frequent insertions of English words make it even harder to understand her excited ramble. Ingrid, a beautiful girl I met today for the first time, lives with the Maestra, an adopted daughter of sorts. She’s also attending University, no simple task since it requires one to get up at 4 am and catch an overcrowded bus to San Salvador. In a car the trip would take a good hour, on a bus considerably longer. Ingrid must have grown up here. Her three sisters live in Casa 1.

Adam and I plan to have more of these get togethers. They are good for food, good for Spanish practice and just good for feeling a part of a community. In fact Adam suggested we start our own futbol team. What a team we would make!

*Names changed to protect the innocent.