Moving Days

On Monday, with the help of two big trucks and four hombres plus Darren, we moved the contents of the Suchitoto house to the new PazSalud base house in San Salvador.  That was a lot of stuff!  Fourteen years of PazSalud, and beyond the tubs full of mission medications and equipment, we've accumulated a small mountain of kitchen equipment, books, bedding, etc.  Especially etcetera... mosquito nets, flashlights, a tub of red curry paste, a potato masher....

Then we got down to San Salvador and los hombres unloaded the lot, while I stood in line for Chory hotdogs for all.  These are a Salvadoran speciality, 80 cents the hotdog, and it was great fun to watch the cook do his elaborate dance - bun from the steamer, open, squirt ketchup and mayo, hotdog from the fryer, top with onions, curtido, and more ketchup and mayo, bag up, add napkins, take payment, wipe cart, next.  He worked so fast and so energetically, and I can imagine for what small earnings.  He made our 17 Chorydogs (three for each of the guys and two for me) in about 5 minutes; with six Cokes, the total was $18.30.

And now we're unpacking.  Fortunately the new house has more built-in storage than I have ever seen anywhere in El Salvador.  Or perhaps it's fortunate - Darren is a bit horrified at the sheer amount of stuff that is now occupying that storage.  I trust that in time the duplicates will find new homes and Darren will feel free to simplify the household.  Here's the kitchen in progress:

But for a more serene view, here's St. Francis presiding over one of the patios:

Along with all the moving, we've done a lot of official business. Darren is heading out to the airport to pick up Kathy Garcia, and we're beginning to get ready for the Open House on Saturday.

And then, on Monday morning early, I'll head for Seattle.  Hard to believe.  I think it's going to take me quite a while to catch up with myself.

- Susan Dewitt

Tumultuous Times

This past month has been absolutely wonderful and - at the same time - somewhat terrible. 

Wonderful: I spent an amazing four days seeing the best of Ireland with Sr. Andrea Nenzel.  Our hosts, Joy and Michael Moore, turned themselves inside out for us, and shared their family stories and histories as well as the sights with us. 

And wonderful: Ireland was followed by our Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Contemplative Retreat in Loughborough, England - the last of the three Contemplative Retreats, and an amazing experience of gathering ourselves as a community to take what our facilitator, Sr. Nancy Sylvester, calls "a long, loving look at the real.-

And wonderful: I got to spend time at St. Mary-on-the Lake in Bellevue on either end of those travels - time to visit with the Sisters and with my sister, time to pack up for my July move to a community house in Seattle.

And wonderful: while all this was going on, Darren had located the perfect base house in San Salvador, with plenty of space for all our tubs and equipment, and even for a few guests.

And wonderful: Darren flew north for meetings with PeaceHealth and we had an excellent meeting with our El Salvador Advisory Group, got many details straightened out, and continued what's been a great experience of transitioning from me to Darren as our in-country Coordinator.

But somewhat terrible: I came back to the northwest in early May barely breathing.  Seemed that my bronchial stent had become completely plugged.  Fixing that required two rigid bronchoscopies (full anesthesia), the first followed by a night in the hospital.  Breathing got better, then worse again, and not long after my return from England I ended up in another hospital with a pneumonia diagnosis. 

Now, thanks be to God, things seem to be mending.  I'm breathing well, I'm headed back to El Salvador on the red-eye tonight.  For the next four weeks, we'll be busy moving to the new San Salvador house - and I'll be connecting with as many friends as possible.  It's another whirlwind, and there's even a few days in Cartagena, Colombia tucked into the mix (a visit with my niece Carol and her husband Gus Aponte)....  It should be wonderful, but I imagine quite a few tears may also be shed.

-  Susan