40 hours

In about 40 hours I'll be home, assuming Saturday's travel all goes well. Right now I'm wrapping up 2 weeks of a program evaluation process as part of a team of three. The lead evaluator is a guy who lives in Nicaragua and worked with MCC there in some way shape or form for about 12 years; prior to that he went to our church in the US and we know his family well. The other man on our team is the local counterpart, a seasoned veteran of NGO work and of the armed conflicts in this country. Our task has been to give feedback to the new country directors of MCC Guatemala/El Salvador on a few keys points, as well as a general assessment of the health of the program and team here.

It's been an absolutely fascinating process - and exhausting - and I've learned a ton. It might have made more sense for Terry to be here than me, given his expertise in evaluation, but I think I was a better (more balancing) fit for this particular evaluation team. I'm definitely ready to be home, though. I miss my family and my team in Bogotá.

Terry has been bravely holding down the fort with help from his parents; there was a lot going on this week including submitting a thick file of paperwork as we apply for Valerie's admission to a new school (for next year), trips to the dentist, canceled field trips due to rain, etc. etc. I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to be glad to see me on Saturday!
 

2 days in El Salvador

This is a coffee farm owned by a church that partners with MCC. The idea is to resettle up to 200 families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Ida. It's a work in progress!

This clinic is part of an integrated development project that MCC partners with near the capital. 

 The guy on the left is our driver, Raul. He helps make the many hours in the MCC truck pass quickly!

We're now back in Guatemala City and have three more days before I get to go home to Bogotá and be with Terry and the kids again. It's been an incredible journey here, I wouldn't have missed it for anything. It occurs to me I never explained on the blog what I'm doing here - I think I'll save that for the next post!

I'm in Guatemala!