a midnight hug

photo taken by: Manuel Acosta (Photography Student)

A sea of burnt paper whisped around like waves on the ground and through the haze of smoke, the town celebrated with continous fireworks and hugs. This Christmas was different. There was chicken sandwiches instead of ham and I wore a sundress instead of a thick, cozy sweater. This year Christmas was joyful and loud and expressive.

I spent almost two months back in the states and it was bittersweet. It was just enough time to appreciate the cold and then dream of being warm again. There were a few late nights, lot's of deep, meaningful conversations, and plenty of greasy, American food. Those weeks gave me plenty of time to regain inspiration and sense of passion for the work I'm doing down here in El Salvador.

Someone asked me, "Do you think you are making a difference?" I didn't know how to answer this because if the Lord has taught me anything, it's that immediate gratification is not part of the sanctifaction process. 2021 was hard and just when I thought it couldn't get harder, it did. My continous prayer of telling the Lord I was ready to surrender could not have prepared me for any part of the journey. Moving to El Salvador, contrary to what the photos looked like, was anything but a vacation or study abroad trip. For almost a year, behind the scenes, I gave up my language and stumbled my way through a new one. I sweated, itched, cried, and then did it all again. All of the problems I had back in the States followed me here and in the moments of soladarity, I had to face them. In the end, I was left tired and in desperate need for a closer relationship with God. I couldn't do it alone.

All of this to say, through the literal sweat and tears, deportation, and mosquitos, 2022 is a fresh slate. I don't know if I am making a difference, but the Lord sure is. I am not a teacher, but here I am teaching. I will continue taking photos, making videos, and eating a bunch of mangos in the meantime. My little hot, sunny part of the world still brings me a great deal of peace even in the midst of chaos.

Happy New Year & All of the Blessings to it being the best one yet!

Love,

Claire

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1. Mauricio and I took a trip to Cinquera which is like a state park here. There's lot's of hiking and an area to swim. We made a fire and cooked garlic shrimp, sausage, and made a salad

2. A popular food here is fish, and is oftentimes served like this--eyeball and all.

3. The birds at my house had babies and they're growing so fast!!

4. This is a chicken sandwich--the popular food to eat for Christmas and New Years.