There are lots of opportunities to hold babies in the places we go!

Another photo of the home Bible study in the mountain village

On our September trip we will be privileged to attend the graduation ceremony for several prisoners who have completed the Bible correspondence course titled "What Does the Bible Say?"

We had several young people in our June team, and they enjoyed getting acquainted with the young folks from Ocotepeque. What we would have called pen pals in my day are now Facebook friends!

Our September team has 14 members - all mission trip veterans and all committed to giving God the glory for anything good that happens while we are there.

Men at the Ocotepeque prison listening to Jeremy talk about their relationship to God.

On July 16 we delivered 24 crates and pallets to Whiteman AFB for shipment to El Salvador. Through the USAID Denton program, the USAF will fly the crates to San Salvador on space available in training aircraft. The plan is for the crates to arrive at the San Salvador airport on Saturday July 21, and after clearing customs they will be released to Jose for transport up the hill to La Palma. Some of the crates will be donated to the women’s prison at Ilopongo where we have begun a prison ministry to the women who are pregnant or have small children with them in prison. Some of the crates contain school supplies and computers for the La Palma Christian School. Some of the crates will go to Ocotepeque, and most of the goods will be distributed in La Palma. Besides school supplies and computers, the crates contain cookware, sheets, blankets, clothing, shoes, and more. A lot of work went into packing the crates, getting the approvals and inspections, and transporting them to Whiteman. May God bless the effort expended and the distribution effort.

The beginning of a long line of street vendors.

Ocotepeque has lots of street vendors and a long line of markets that sell almost everything. It is interesting just to walk along the market place and see how the vendors act differently in their sales pitches.

Doing laundry at the Ocotepeque prison. It appears that they have plenty of water available. The women's prison at Ilopongo only has water 1 out of every 3 hours during the day and none from 6pm to 6 am.

Prisoners holding up their WBS lessons.

Over a dozen prisoners at the Ocotepeque prison are taking the World Bible School correspondence course. Jorge and Marcos go there each Monday to study with them.

Talking to and singing with the women prisoners at Ilopongo.

This is the one-room grade 1-6 school at Pie de la Cuestas. I hope and plan for us to visit the school and encourage the children to stay in school, believe in God, help others, obey their parents, and be good stewards of God's creation and gift to them.

Being crowded and not having enough chairs does not bother the children in La Antigua. They just love the attention they get and the opportunity to learn.

A terrific group of 12 is going to Ocotepue and La Palma Sep 1-8 to minister and encourage and help.

Soon after we land at San Salvador and clear immigration and customs, we go to Olacuilta, a famous pupuseria, to eat and begin to enter the culture. Pupusa is the favorite food of the country, although many cannot afford it. It starts like a tortilla but has other stuff put in it-often beans and cheese. They are fried on a hot flat grill, often turned by hand when no spatula is available. This stop is a tradition but depends on how soon we get away from the airport.

This is a strange photo. We were inside the small chapel in the Ocotepeque prison visiting with an inmate. These two fellows were in the prison courtyard looking in at us! Ocotepeque has a small chapel. The Ilopongo prison has a large chapel built by the catholic church but not used much apparently and not available to us on our visits. Prisoners at both places are felons charged with a range of crimes from drug dealing to murder and including extortion and theft.