Friday, September 24, 2010

Day 8 Photos: Can we stay here?

Friday, September 17, 2010



Recycling bins at a school on the outskirts of Berlin


These two boys wanted their pictures taken


Eating a tasty rice with warm milk snack. It is delicious!


Waving goodbye to us


Jose (73) lives here with his wife Geranade (70)


Jasefina (33) lives here with her husband Amilcar (32) and three children. Ivania (11), the girl in the white shirt, is a member of the youth group who I met in the spring


These two children, Alejandra (11) and Jerson (5) live here with their mother and another brother


Kathy's mobile office


Leticia (20) lives here with her husband Wilber (23) and their 2 year old daughter


Roxana (25) lives here with her mother Paz (46), her father Manuel (48) and her brother


Sitting on an old water filter. A few of the ones that were first installed did not work and had to be replaced. This one now serves as a bench


Maria (35) lives here with her husband Enrique (21) and three children


A solar panel on one of the houses in San Francisco!


Josefa (62) lives here with her husband Jose (68) and two grandchildren. Amanda (13), the girl in the blue shirt, is a member of the youth group who I met in the spring. She ran up and gave me a huge hug when I walked to the house. It was a wonderful surprise!!!

A little boy playing on a swing


Maria (88) lives here with her son Jose (65). I LOVED these two! They are so cute! Daniel opened their care package and explained everything that was inside.


A giant moth with eyes on it's wings - very cool


Jose (55) lives by himself. I often wonder how men are able to survive on their own. Most men do NOT cook (or know how to cook) or do laundry, etc. It's something to investigate.


**NOTE: The last six gift packages were given away at the church to people who live in the caserio of Santa Rita. Unfortunately, because of delays the first day, we weren't able to walk to Santa Rita.



Carmen (29) lives with her husband Jose (36) and five children


Cristabel (35) lives with her husband Juan (36) and five children. She walked 40 minutes with a sick child to get her package. The children's medicine came in handy right away.


Jose (75) lives with his wife Maria (72) and two children and one grandchild. He walked 40 minutes, barefooted, to the church to get his gift package.


Jose (62) lives with his nephew Adalberto (41) in Santa Rita. Jose accompanied us every day we did the census.


A butterfly on the ground near the church


The new church in San Francisco!

Inside the new church


Daniel played guitar for us while we ate lunch


The rear of the church which will probably need a retaining wall sometime in the future


A bathroom near the church in San Francisco


A water collection tank by the church in San Francisco


The new retaining wall as seen from above


The new retaining wall as seen from the road


Meeting with the Directiva (community board). At the left is Miguel, who is a member of the Pastoral Team and the liason between San Francisco and the Pastoral Team. In the middle is Jose Santiago, who is an alternate. On the right is Jose Deonicio, the treasurer.


More of the Directiva: On the left is Mirna, the secretary. In the middle is Migdalia, another alternate.


A little girl holding her family's gift package


Myself with two members of the youth group, Erica and Veronica. I love these girls!!


Veronica speaking during the celebration


Miguel led much of the celebration


The musicians


The choir


Our friend Maria and her daughter


Maria's little neighbors who walked with her to the celebration


Maria's little girl, Maria, wasn't too happy to be without mom


Maria's children: Cristian (4), Noel (6), and Maria (6 months)


A chicken tied up in the yard of the Pastoral House. She was going home with Cecilia. I asked Kathy if she was going to be food. Kathy said she saw Cecilia feeding her corn instead of only letting her peck in the grass; not a good sign for the chicken.


Uh-oh!!! Now Lynn did something bad and got the devil horns.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Day 7 Photos: Census 2010

Thursday, 9-16-2010


Day two of the census. This time with no rain.

Lynn being helped by another gentleman, Jose. Though Tito is still accompanying her.


Duck friends!


Making our way to the first house of the day


Not sure who is helping who


**NOTE about the census: There were several things that really stood out today when taking the census. For example, at most places the whole family was not at the house. Most of the time at least one person was out in the fields working. Some of the children were at school and others just weren’t there. I also saw a lot of young moms and moms who had given birth at a young age. Something else that was interesting, and I personally think a little weird, were the old men who have young wives. In total, we visited 55 families on this day.


Digna (29) and her son (15)
Yes, her son. She was 14 when she gave birth


Kathy and her good friend, Chicho


Chicho is quite handsome


Maria (39) lives here with her husband Jose (48) and 3 children (and Chicho too!)


Taking a rest at Daniel's house


Daniel (51) and his wife Francisca (52) live here with 5 children. Daniel is a Delegate of the Word in San Francisco. Erika (in yellow) is a member of the youth group who I met in the spring.


Reyna (31) lives with her husband Jose (21) in Daniel's house (Daniel is Jose's father)


Gloria (66) lives here with two children and three grandchildren


Our entourage


Lynn being helped by yet another gentleman (her 3rd :-)


The stove in someone's house. This is the way most stoves look in the cantons.


Maria (71), on the left, lives here with her husband Catalino (74) and their two children


Someone pointed out that we had the same color eyes (blue)


Maria (34) lives here with her husband (35) and 4 children


Maria's cute little baby, Erick (2 months)


Sandra (30) lives here with her father (60), her two sisters, and her two children. Sandra accompanied us all three days we did the census.


These two girls walked with us quite a ways


Maria (24) lives here with her husband Andres (31) and three children


Walking to another house


Jose (45) lives here with his four children


Vicitacion (84) lives here with his nephew (36), niece, and his niece's children.
They are standing by two giant water collection tanks.


Angelia (39) lives here with her husband Ricardo (49) and their 9 children. Their youngest child is 23 who Angelia had when she was 16.


Kitty!


Reyna (36) lives here with her husband (35) and five children


Guillermo (87) and Maria (70) live here together



Cow friends!


Holding a tiny kitten!!


Lynn holding her friend's baby girl


Consuelo (26) lives here with her husband Guillermo (29) and three children


Making our way up the road


Holding Maria's little girl, Maria (6 months)


Maria (26) lives here with her husband Manuel (35) and their three children


Teresa (68) lives here with her daughter and two grandchildren. Teresa is Maria's (from the previous picture) mom


Walking up another hill


Oscar (39) lives here with his five children


A typical canton house


This cute little baby was afraid of the gringos


Lus (30) lives here with her husband Brijido (35) and five children


Maria (45) lives here with her two grandchildren


Brijido (72) lives here with his three grandchildren



Rosa (36) lives here with her husband Arnaldo (39) and three children



Juan (52) lives here by himself


Getting ready to meet the next family


Maria (42) lives here with four children


Walking to the next house


Mariana (74) lives here with three grandchildren


Cecilia (15) lives here with her husband Alberto (23), their son, and her husband's brother.
She is one of the youngest moms I met during this trip


Flor de Maria (32) lives here with her husband Isidro (34) and their four children and a 5th on the way


Juan (29) and Zulma (29) live here with their four children. The two youngest girls are twins. They are one of two sets of twins I know of in San Francisco.


Delmy (30) lives with her husband Wilfredo (32) and two children



Jan (87) lives with her husband Jesus (73) and grandchild


Some of the students at the school in San Francisco holding the stickers that the Presbyterian Women's Eve Circle collected and sent down


Maria (40) and her husband Alfredo (57) are new to the community of San Francisco


Maria (67) lives with her brother, her daughter, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild


Nuvia (34) lives here with her husband Francisco (35) and three children


Miguel (60) lives here with his wife Migdalia and 8 children


Bathroom in San Francisco


Mission co-worker at rest


Lynn put her rain poncho on to scare off the rain


Miguel (59) lives with his Ana (44)


Niwman (29) lives with his wife Maria (21) and their two children


Mercedes (27) lives with her husband Ruben (23) and two children


Dolores (41) lives with his wife Rina (36) and their two children


Miguel (33) lives with his wife Estela (25) and their three children


Miguel & Estela's youngest son, Jose (2)


Maria (44) lives with her husband Jose (46) and five children. The twin girls, Zulma and Veronica (18) are members of the youth group who I met in the spring. The older boy in back, William (23) is also a member of the youth group.


Maria (44) lives here with her husband Luis (43) and two children. Their son, Ernesto (21) is a member of the youth group who I met in the spring. Their daughter, Wendy (11) has Down's Syndrome.


Lynn holding another baby


Maria (49) lives with her husband Luis (48) and three children


Martha (18) lives with her husband Luis (18) and their two children (the little girl she's holding and the little girl holding the stuffed dog).


Juan (86) lives at home alone



Turkeys!! Gobble, gobble, gobble!


Maria (53) lives with her husband Fermin (54) and his son


Maria (53) lives with her husband Salvador (55) and two children


Jose (61) lives with his 93 year old mother, Jasinta


Kathy holding a cute little boy


Jose (73) lives with his wife (19) and their son.
Yes, his wife is 54 years younger than him.


Rigoberto (30) lives with his wife Maria (30) and two children


These three boys live with their parents, Doroteo (55) and Zoila (49)


Ana (24) lives with her husband Oscar (23) and their son


Claudia (26) lives with her husband Francisco (50) and their son


Maria (79) lives with her son and three grandchildren


Little kitten I wanted to take home


Tito and Lynn


Tito and me


My little thinking niche