Visiting Evangelical Friends in El Salvador, Dec. 31, 2001 - Jan. 9, 2002
Photos and notes from Michael Bischoff (michael@clarityfacilitation.com) and Betsy Proechel

Introduction | Pretty Places | Pretty Places 2 | Friends Yearly Meeting | San Ignacio 1 |  San Ignacio 2 || Metapon  |  Macarena, Candeleria, and La Reina |  Rio Chiquito and Los Aradas

Two weeks before Christmas, I (Michael) got a call from a friend in Minnesota.  He asked me if I would be able to go to El Salvador as a representative of Northern Yearly Meeting, a group that is made up of Quakers in the Upper Midwest.  In the last few years, Northern Yearly Meeting has begun to build a relationship with Quakers in El Salvador and in 2001, Northern Yearly Meeting started sending representatives to attend the annual meeting of Quakers in El Salvador.  After some quick discernment, I started packing for the trip.

The first evening I was in town we were hosted by Mauricio (center) and his family.  That evening was evening was New Year's Eve.  We learned how loud and smoky a city can be when 2 million people each shoot off their own firecrackers.  At midnight, we had some time of silent prayer with Mauricio's family, which was quite explosive because of the noise outside..  That evening, I also got some great guitar lessons from Mauricio's two sons.

The person on the right is Betsy Proechel, the other person from Minnesota who went to El Salvador on this trip. Betsy speaks fluent Spanish and used to live in El Salvador, so being with her was a great help to me.  On the left is Emma de Vichez, who coordinated much of our hospitality while we were visiting.  While we were there, Emma was also elected president of El Salvador Yearly Meeting for the next two years.

It was quite an active trip most of the time.  But I did get to know some nice hammocks.

This is Green. a dog that lives with Emma's family.  Everywhere we went, Green seem to be there too.

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