Feliz Domingo de El Salvador! Our first and only Sunday in the Southern hemisphere went fabulously and we really enjoyed getting to relax after several very busy days. We woke up this morning to weather that was disappointingly more hot and humid than Guatemala, but the adorable church we went to made that seem irrelevant. Bill drove us about 45 minutes outside the city to a small local church with a congregation that was very welcoming and passionate about Christ. Emily and Sidney shared their testamonies with the crowd and were a big hit. They were actually referenced in the sermon a little while later. That was one of the few parts of the service most of us had any clue as to what was going on because everything was in Spanish. After the service, we went to Bill´s house to have a snack before we went to the orphanage. He, his wife, and his children are some of the nicest people I´ve ever met, so every meal we eat over there is delightful. The orphanage he took us to is for children from birth up to seventeen years. Many of the older ones were gone because they were at church in the city, but the thirty or so younger kids that were there we really enjoyed. The kids loved all our toys, clothes, and goodies we brought with us, but were impressively unselfish and polite. They loved posing for all the pictures we all wanted to take with them and a couple enjoyed using our cameras to take pictures for us also. We headed to beach once we finished at the orphanage where many of us saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Let´s just say that it is NOTHING like Destin. First, the sand is black. Second, going more than knee deep in the water is like entering a war zone and one risks tearing a ligament. Third, there are sooooo many rocks. They're everywhere. All these factors made for a fun experience. Getting obliterated by waves occupied us for a good thirty minutes, but then we had to go remove all the little pebbles and black sand from our suites. Several of us petted the baboon after that and Laurel would like for it to be known that its baby´s name will be Laurel. The other event of the day was when I, Laura Lee, decided to get in one of the hammocks that were available in our cabannas. I sat down, turned, laid, and it split right in half and I hit the floor. It was rather hilarious to say the least. I escaped unscathed, Mom and Dad. Instead, my injury got transferred to Emily who got a small cut on her foot in one of the salt water pools. For anyone who hasn't seen them, they are rocks pools carved into the cliff faces that the waves fill up. Very cool. One of the rocks cut her foot, but she is tough and therefore fine. On our way up the Mount Everest like climb from the beach to the cabannas, we noticed a water slide. All of us, Coach Hatch and Wyatt, and Clint spent a while going down that in every position and combination we could imagine. The Train, as we named it, was the best. It consisted of me, Maison, Elizabeth, Olivia, Ann Walton, Coach Hatch, and Coach Wyatt all hanging onto one another and trying to not fly off the slide. We finally left the 'club' when it closed and headed back to our hotel and got ready to have dinner at the Maner's again. We had some great hot dogs and Emily and Sidney entertained us with an original rap about churros. The dorks in the group which are Ann Walton, Evans, and I along with Elizabeth had a theological discussion with Adam and Coach Wyatt over dinner. Parents, you would be proud. Now we are back at the hotel all safe and exhausted and are going to bed. Goodnight people.

Laura Lee