The following notes have been edited to correct errors and to add explanations and updates. Parenthetical notes and remarks from the original are enclosed in parentheses. Present day [2022] updates are italicized and enclosed in square brackets.
Sunday, 13 October 1991 – Evening in the Guest House
As I write this, there is a frisbee game going on in the living room of the guest house. Sally is playing with Felicita's two younger children, with Gregg and Wanda looking on.
We have had a bit of a chance to meet the other delegation. They are Presbyterians from Alberta, Canada, near Calgary. There are eight of them, I think, with a female pastor as leader. It appears to be a senior citizens group, with one younger woman among them.
Nancy has arranged a craft fair for us at the guest house. The Canadian delegation did their shopping while we were at Exodus 29 October, and now it is our turn. There are representatives from several different craft organizations, including 22nd of April. We gather first in the living room to hear introductions, including a request from Project Salvador to carry crafts back with us when we return to the states, and an opportunity to subscribe to an English language edition of Letters to the Churches, the periodical from which the stories in the Springs book were drawn. I agree to the first and take advantage of the second. Then we scatter to the tables to look over the wares of the gathered artisans. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to shop at our leisure, and for the artisan groups who depend on international delegations for the bulk of their sales to have our undivided attention.
Out again we go for supper, to Toto's for pizza and then a stop at POPS for ice cream to take back to the house. We have a lengthy reflection, during which the lights flicker several times, then finally go out altogether during our final prayer. Because there is a severe rain storm, we are not sure if the outage is because of the storm, the electricity rationing, or rebel sabotage. It is only after we return home that we learn from El Salvador On Line that the whole capital was blacked out that night when urban commandos attacked the San Antonio Abad neighborhood's CEL sub-station with RPG-14 rocket-propelled grenades.
Felicita brings out lighted candles from the kitchen, and we eat ice cream by candlelight. Mary gets the guitar from her room and sings several ballads and art songs. The only one I know is "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word," but another is a charming melody over which I improvise high harmony. It is a quiet, gentle ending to our first full day in El Salvador. With the lights still not on, we each take candles and make our way to our rooms and to bed, just a bit after 10:00 PM.
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