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!
