rockin' around the christmas tree

a happy thanksgiving

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

While the rest of El Salvador continued business as usual, we spent the day celebrating a traditional American Thanksgiving with our employees, neighbors and friends. The kitchen was alive with joy, love and laughter as we ate mounds of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, caramelized carrots, buttered rolls, cinnamon rolls and peanut butter fudge. And, funnily enough, I didn't realize how in-charge I was of the whole ordeal until yesterday morning.

For the past two months I had been telling everyone I was going to make cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving. The Stewart family celebrates all major holidays with homemade cinnamon rolls and I wanted to share this tradition with my Salvadoran family. I had Mom e-mail the recipe, bought real butter at the grocery store (we usually use margarine - yuck) and had two bags of brown sugar imported from the states.

Last week I planned the menu and e-mailed invites to our friends. Tuesday morning I typed (yes, typed) a list of who was going to cook what, when (since we had to make half the food on Wednesday and the other half Thursday morning) and passed it out to the chefs. Tuesday afternoon I shopped for Turkey Day ingredients, plus our usual weekly groceries. Wednesday I spent all afternoon, 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., preparing dough, waiting for it to rise and baking two batches of cinnamon rolls.

But it wasn't until yesterday morning when I was in the kitchen, apron on, peeling, chopping, stirring, cooking, baking, improvising, coordinating the dance that occurs when you have four cooks, seven dishes and one oven, that I realized that I was the one running the show. This is the first Thanksgiving that I have hosted, not to mention baked/cooked two dishes by myself, managed the kitchen, served the meal, and cleaned up the mess. And had a fabulous time doing it. Not because I was in-charge, but because I had so much fun with those that helped cook, eat and clean.

I taught Veronica how to use an electric beater so the mashed potatoes are more creamy, less lumpy. Kelly and I sang along to Chris Tomlin as we prepared green beans for the casserole. All the Americans and Veronica helped serve the food to smiling children and guests. Then, after we ate until we were ready to burst, Rachel, Eric and Jocelyn helped me wash and dry dishes. And even though washing dishes is one of my least favorite things to do (touching other people's wet, half-eaten food is disgusting), and even though it took us an hour and a half to clean up, I didn't mind at all! We talked, joked, laughed, flicked each other with towels, enjoying each other's company.

While I supervised the kitchen, Kelly orchestrated festive activities. We wanted the kids to understand the history and significance of this truly unique American holiday, so they were asked to complete an educational project to share with our guests.

The boys re-enacted the pilgrims' journey to Plymouth Rock, their friendship with the Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving.

The pilgrims sail to the New World

Squanto teaches the pilgrims how to plant corn

The pilgrims and Native Americans celebrate the first Thanksgiving

The older girls each created a Power Point depicting what they are thankful for.

I am thankful that I receive love from everyone

I give thanks because I have a roof that protects me

I give thanks for all this, but the most important thing is I receive from God
because I don't know where I would be, but thanks be to God I am HERE.

Both the drama and presentations were wonderful and helped make our celebration more meaningful, but the most touching moment of the day was when Kevin, 13, led us in prayer. When he started thanking God for his blessings, he suddenly and unexpectedly began crying. Undeterred, he continued praying through his tears, and by the end there was hardly a dry eye in the room. It was a beautiful moment of genuine gratitude and raw emotion that I will never forget.

This day filled my heart with joy. While I miss being with my family, I am so blessed to have a second family at Love & Hope and there's no doubt that this was one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had. (And as an added bonus: everyone really, REALLY  loved the cinnamon rolls and asked me to make them again soon.)

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

wilw: the hour & a half late edition

Happy Turkey Day! 
 Yesterday was a great day...

- I fed my soul through morning fellowship and prayer with some amazing women. Their candidness about the ups and downs of their walk with Jesus comforts me and helps me grow in my relationship with God.

- Although I agonized over this first solo attempt, my Thanksgiving cinnamon rolls turned out perfectly! Thanks for fielding my phone calls, Mom!

- I love that San Salvador is all dressed-up for Christmas.

- Eric taught me that scorpions glow under black light.

- And to top it all off, Rachel and I had a girls night out, just the two of us! We ate dinner and saw Abduction. (Spoiler alert: why is it called "abduction"? No one actually gets abducted...)

I love her and am thankful for her friendship.

Wishing you a Thanksgiving full of love, laughter, gratitude, family and food! 

christmas is coming...

What better gift to give than a 2012 Love & Hope Calendar?

Gorgeous color photos featuring all our children, the Platanillo community and life in El Salvador. Also includes all major U.S. holidays, select Salvadoran holidays and the kids' birthdays. Makes a great gift for family and friends!

Order here.

All proceeds benefit Love & Hope Children's Home.

(Yes, I have become a living, breathing commercial.)

fill in the blank friday 2.0

1.  A nervous habit I have is  crossing my arms over my chest. Perhaps this is more of my "I am uncomfortable" habit, but it fits because nervousness is uncomfortable. I think I also sometimes pull on my ear or play with my earrings when I am nervous.

2.  Something that makes me sad is  several kids are leaving the Home to live with their families and I am not convinced it's in their best interest to do so.

3.  Today I am thankful for  food (hamburgers on the grill!) and fellowship at the Porters' house.

4.  My favorite room in my (parents') house is  the dining room. Full of love, fun laughter and food, it's where we have family dinners and play games.

5.  I can't stand  how Salvadoran processes, rules & procedures are too rigid, complicated and illogical. I also can't stand how Salvadorans spend too much time, energy and money on unnecessary celebrations and frivolities.

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would  treat the kids to a day at the beach and a Pizza Hut dinner.

7.  The last person I hung out with was  Rachel and Sarita. We were able to get through an episode and a half of Parks and Recreation before Rachel fell asleep.

passion for purity

I've recently made a friend who, alongside her mother, runs Passion for Purity, another ministry that also cares for kids. The difference between their ministry and ours is their kids live the kind of life our kids would be living had our kids not been lucky enough to come to Love & Hope.

The passion my friend has for Jesus, for her kids and her ministry runs deep. I admire her because, while I am also fighting a war on poverty and neglect, she is on the front line. The stories she tells about her kids and their families are both beautiful and heartbreaking. On her blog she writes:

I am overwhelmed with the need to do something to change their condition. I am overwhelmed with the desire to spread my passion to all around me so that everyone is filled with the passion to help these kids. There are nights that I cannot go to sleep because I think about these kids and their needs. But I remember that God is the provider. He cares for them infinitely more than I ever could and His heart is broken for them too. In His grace, He comforts me. And so I write, because it’s the only form I have to spread this restlessness I have to encourage others to be aware and take action.

I'd like to support my friend and her ministry by encouraging you to visit the Passion for Puirty website and by sharing one of her posts in its entirety. Moreover, if you have a passion to help others, to change the world, but can't fight on the front line, I challenge you to figure out how you can help those who do.

The things that seem. The things we'd never know

If you were to see the kids that come to the Academy everyday, those kids that are in the Hand in Hand program, you would have no idea what their worlds are really like.

They come so put together that you would not know that that is their only pair of shoes and that the soles of their shoes have been worn so thin that you can see their socks right through. They walk more than 2 miles to school and the Academy everyday and then back on the days we can’t give them a ride. So when they say in their savings plan short term savings goal that they want to buy a new pair of shoes, it isn’t because they want one to match their new outfit- It is because they don’t have another other than the pair on their feet.

When they come to the Academy for lunch everyday, you’d never know that that might be the first meal that they had had that day, or the last meal that they will have that day. You’d never know that their families have had to go to the store and ask for food to be put on a tab for them because they don’t have the money to pay for it and there is no food in the house. When they say there is no food to eat tonight, it isn’t because they have not had time to go grocery shopping or are too lazy to cook dinner, but because there is no more money left.

When we say goodbye at the end of the day, you’d never know that they go to a home that has tin sheets for walls and a tin sheet roof that has more holes than covering. A bed that has a thin cushion for a mattress that is moldy because it got wet from the rains coming in from the holes in the roof.

You’d never know these things because they’d never tell you. You’d never know these things because we’d never think to ask. Because if we asked, if we knew, we’d be burdened with the guilt of not doing something to help. But the reality is that they know because they live it. They are far too aware and familiar with what it is to go without.

people

One of the reasons I love living at Love & Hope is it provides weekly, and sometimes daily, opportunities to meet and make new friends. Hundreds of interesting and inspiring people walk through our door every year, sharing their gifts, talents, resources and hearts with us. Over the past several weeks alone I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know...

Augustus “Gus” Harper, an artist from L.A., visited for day, leading the kids through several drawing and painting projects. The older girls especially enjoyed learning to draw faces, as the younger kids did their best to paint not only their canvases, but the terrace floor, too.

The following weekend, Gus joined Kelly, Sam, Eric, the older boys and me, for a road trip up the coast and along La Ruta de Las Flores to Juayuá where we visited Reptilandia, ate pupusas and took a dip below the chorros (waterfalls).

Shaun V., a friend of a friend of Eric’s (did you follow that?) stayed with us two separate weekends, book-ending his travel throughout El Salvador before moving onto Nicaragua. A Montana native, Shaun decided to quit his job as a vet in Vancouver, Washington, sell everything he owned and spend a year traveling solo through Central America. And that’s exactly what he’s been doing for the past eleven months. I loved listening to stories about where he’s been, who he’s met and what he’s learned, and have to admit I am a little jealous. You can read about Shaun’s adventures on his blog (I adore the title).

Oh, and one weird thing...

Shaun looks a lot like Justin. It's creepy.

Alyssa C., my roommate for the past five weeks, is a counselor from California, specializing in child and adolescent psychology. She has a huge heart and a deep affection for our kids and underprivileged children of this country. During her stay, Alyssa worked with our psychologist and social worker, teaching techniques to help them better address the behavioral issues and psychological needs of our younger children. As an added bonus, she was a fun and easy-going roommate.

I immensely enjoyed Gus, Shaun and Alyssa, and hope we see them again soon!