A Charla in the Finca

     On November 28, 2003, an interesting event regarding the Bahá'í Faith occurred in a little humble finca near the town of Zaragosa, El Salvador. As many people may know by now, Gloria has been building a small "country house" on some property we bought. For about a year and a half now she has been holding classes in it to teach the children in the nearby sector, mostly simple, but vital, things like virtues and prayers. Even some reading and writing are included. The kids of course just love it. For some of them it's the only schooling they receive.

     So Gloria decided it was about time that the parents should hear about the faith that was the foundation of all this wonderful activity. She invited a Bahá'í friend of ours from San Salvador, Mario Lemus, to give a little "charla", or "informal talk" to introduce those parents to some of the basic beliefs of the Bahá'í Faith.

     Other members of our "troop" were Marina Alas and Claudia Alas, her daughter-in-law, other Bahá'ís from San Salvador. Alex, Oscar, and I (su servidor) also accompanied them, Oscar of course driving us in my van.

We all arrived well before the scheduled time of 2 p.m. And no one was more happy than I. Not wasting a minute, I began an impromptu math class with some inquisitive minds. I got out two calculators that are always with me, and started teaching how to add with this little "magic box". Needless to say, I got an enthusiastic reception. Click on the photo to enlarge it:

     Soon Mario began his talk, doing a great job, by the way. See these photos.

     

     During the talk, some people asked a few questions. Occasionally I made a few comments, as did Claudia. Here she is as she responded to some topic. When things were nearly finished, several children got up in front of everybody and recited some prayers from memory.

          

     After the talk, refreshments were served to all present. Here we see Mario and Claudio enjoying some traditional tamales. And a little boy holding his package of cookies. The third photo shows Isabel, Gloria's mother; she's talking on a celular phone to Kevin (who is in California!)

          

     But my favorite photograph of all has to be this one. Twenty-two little curious minds crowded around me. Wow! What a time that was!

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To see more photos of these beautiful children, go to A Trip to the Museo Tin Marín.