Perspectives of a Concerned Parent

…and a few recent happenings

Hi, friends 😊

I’m sorry I’m 2 weeks late. But if you read on, you’ll see that I have a good excuse 😉

I’m so thankful for each of you—friends here in El Salvador, friends and family in Canada, and friends around the globe. We can’t even put into words what it means to have the support and encouragement of all of you. Life here in El Salvador is so full…and so hot—haha! After a whirlwind trip to Canada in the last few weeks, I’ve realized even more how much it means to have great friends there and now here. More on my trip below…but first…

We spent two relaxing days in Punta Mango (3 hours to the east) with some friends a few weeks ago, enjoying spectacular sunrises and sunsets, boogie boarding, and surfing on a pristine beach. We woke up to this breath-taking view…

Punta Mango sunrise

On another recent trip we ventured up to a cute little mountain town called Berlin (named by a German) several weeks ago. The town has recently started a project to create a new Bitcoin circular economy that some of our friends are involved in getting off the ground. Exploring the town, we were surprised to see how many businesses have adopted Bitcoin already. It was refreshingly cooler in the evenings and mornings. The girls had a blast in the town square, riding around on peddle go-carts.

Town Center, Berlin

We got to meet my friendly Spanish instructor who lives up there. She and her boyfriend (who have spearheaded the Bitcoin project there) and a few other Bitcoiners joined us for dinner and then took us up to a viewpoint the next morning. It was pretty clouded in (as you can see below), but we chatted over coffee and snacks for a couple hours while enjoying nature. It was a great time away, exploring another part of the country.

Morning dew, Berlin

We’ve been doing more work at the property, including planting flowers, trees, and the coffee plants you can see below. We’re thankful the land is also at a higher elevation, where there’s less humidity and heat. It’s our hope to move up there in the near future. As for life near the beach, we really can’t complain about much besides the heat—haha! Most of our friends are here, so we get together quite often, and each time we do, we’re so thankful for our close-knit group.

Baby coffee trees

Our girls now have 2 bikes and a scooter between them, so they’re happy to bike/scoot over to their friends’ houses about 15 minutes away, just down the beach. I push our youngest along, but it’s rewarding to see how much she loves her bike—“I can almost do it ALL by myself now, Mommy!” We often join friends at the beach for an evening, watching the sunset and riding some waves on our boogie boards.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m late with this post and the main reason is I just spent almost 2 weeks away, back in Canada. I flew solo, which felt strange and also like I was back in my 20’s! 😉 It was the perfect time of year to visit Canada—fall leaves and beautiful colours everywhere, with a crispness in the air that I could sure appreciate after roasting in the tropics.

I was freezing cold for the first few days though, and needed wool socks and extra layers. I think it’s a real thing that your blood gets thin when you’re used to being in the heat.

Hudson Bay Mountain, Smithers, BC

My mission in Canada: to visit friends and family, and to sort and give away most of our “stuff.” After giving 20 boxes full to various friends, family, and charities, as well as filling 4 suitcases full of special things to bring back, my mission was accomplished…and I was exhausted. Coming back to El Salvador, bearing all sorts of treasures, the girls and Tom were able to forgive me for being away so long.

I feel so blessed to have the loving and supportive parents that I have. A big highlight of my trip was staying with them and having lots of quality time together. My dad even took a few days off to help me with my daunting task. He packed many heavy boxes up from the basement where I was sorting our stuff. And my mom took me hiking up to one of my favourite viewpoints (see pic above) and cooked many delicious meals. I was so blessed to enjoy an amazing Thanksgiving turkey dinner (with ALL the fixings!) with my parents and my brother’s family. Autumn is so beautiful…

Amazing Autumn!

Tom’s parents also played a big role in my journey—picking me up in Vancouver, driving me 8 hours north to Prince George, where Tom’s sister and her husband live, and then back down to catch my flight back 9 days later.

Catching up with family and friends was such a gift. I was able to have a full day with my incredibly sweet friend who drove 4 hours to pick me up. We had a great time catching up, and the long drive to Smithers was over before we knew it.

I love my country. I love the majestic mountains, the winding rivers, the peaceful lakes, the amazing animals, and so many beautiful people there. But I saw a few things while in Canada that reminded me of why we left. Such as the fine print on this sign…

Why does this sign bother me and many others..? Because of the agenda it represents. When I was a kid we didn’t have signs like this. Or flags like that. And schools didn’t teach young kids about gender identity, critical race theory, etc. But things have sure changed.

Please stick with me for a minute. There is a young woman named Chloe Cole (whose story I’ll get into more later). She (like most of us) felt insecure in her body at the age of 12. Now, looking back, she says that she was told by adults she trusted that if she would just “change into the opposite gender,” she’d be happy. She believed them, so she took hormone blockers, testosterone, and then, (with her parents being told it was the right decision), let doctors mutilate her (yes, that’s a strong word, but that’s what they did). Now she considers what counsellors and doctors said and did to be ABUSE. Now, at 19, she has a deeper voice, a thick jaw, broad shoulders, multiple health issues, she will never be able to nurse a baby, and she wonders (through tears) if she’ll ever be able to get pregnant someday. That desire is something most 12-year-olds don’t even realize is in them. And she had no idea at age 12-15 what all those recommendations from adults she trusted would cost her future self. Her mission is now to warn youth and parents about the dangers of doing what she did.

I hope you’re up for something more serious from me. Remember how my writing started out because I wanted to speak honestly? Well, I want to continue to do that. So, I’m going to be really honest here, friends, at the risk of possibly offending some of you. I get it. You might be tempted to say, “Oh, please don’t talk about that—it’s such a touchy subject! And you don’t want to come across as judgmental or hateful…”

Yes, it is touchy, and I don’t like to bring up controversial issues. I’d rather everyone just got along, and we all loved and respected each other. And so, I’ve avoided talking about this for quite a long time…and so have many others who don’t agree with what’s happening. But why stay silent…?!

As I was about to board my flight in Vancouver, I saw this sign…and it reminded me of why we don’t want to raise our children in Canada. To me this speaks of so much irony and the blatant hypocrisy of our culture right now.

This stuff is being pushed all around us—it’s not going away. “We accept everyone,” they say…while adding, “We don’t tolerate those who oppose what we’re promoting..” And many of those on the opposing side are getting louder, often calling us “bigots,” “transphobes,” or “hateful” when that’s NOT what most of us are at all. In fact, everyone I know who shares our views doesn’t promote hate at all. We are just here to PROTECT our children and raise awareness on the WHOLE truth of the matter at hand. A topic being pushed at warp speed and from so many angles. And it’s directly impacting the health and futures of OUR kids!!!

Canada and many states in the US have made it the school system’s agenda to start telling kids from a VERY young age that gender identity is whatever you feel you are on the inside…and some kids are even identifying as cats or “furries.” This seems so empowering for many teachers, kids, and parents.

But where exactly do we draw the line?

• When boys and men are allowed into our girls’ washrooms and change rooms? Trans people are being given more “safe spaces” than girls in most schools

• When a teacher tells your child they can hide their secrets from you?

• When there are pornographic books in your child’s classroom and school library?

• When groomers posing as drag queens are reading stories (in little more than g-strings) to 5-year-olds?

• When sex-ed in elementary or middle school (usually run by Planned Parenthood) is promoting “ANYTHING goes sexually—for kids, anyone of any age—as long as it brings pleasure..?”

• When male rapists posing as women are allowed into women’s prisons?

Sadly, I could go on and on…

On September 20, just a few weeks ago, there were peaceful protests across Canada, in every major city and in many towns. A group of Muslim parents who’ve had enough of their kids being exposed to the “radical gender ideology” spear-headed the rallies. Parents held up signs that read, “Leave our kids alone!” “End the Silence,” and “Let kids be kids!”

The One Million March for Children

Politicians and counter-protesters called these protests “hate rallies” and said “We can’t tolerate this kind of discrimination against minorities and marginalized people.” But these protests weren’t about discriminating or hate. They were simply people coming together saying, “Back off on this huge push to expose our children to this gender stuff! Let them be kids! Let them live in the body they were given until they are at least 18!”

These protesters were mostly parents who just want to protect their young kids from being told things that are incredibly harmful. Protect them from being told that if they change their gender, everything will be great and their lives will be BETTER. And that changing your gender is “cool” and “normal.” This has become the narrative of our time in many countries…like Canada. But what is the WHOLE truth of the matter?

It’s time for us as parents to speak up. If you’re a parent (or anyone concerned about what’s going on), please, please read my next couple posts. I’ve done lots of reading on this topic, from many different sources. My goal is to present facts, not opinions.

We as parents MUST be a force for GOOD, protecting our kids from whatever could harm them, whatever that looks like. This will cost us. If we’re afraid of speaking out about this, we need to remember what Winston Churchill said…

For the sake of time and space, I need to make this 2-3 posts. I’m sorry if you wanted to read all about life in El Salvador today and I threw you a curve ball. I promise I will get back to our lives here. I just feel strongly compelled to write on this topic, when this agenda is directly impacting the lives of so many of my friends and family, and millions of kids’ lives are being negatively impacted.

I personally believe that God gave each human the biological sex they were intended to have. But there is so much pain and suffering in the world, and many people have experienced trauma or have unmet emotional needs (a study on that and gender dysphoria in my next post coming soon). My heart breaks for so many kids in this world right now—and adults too!

As I’ve said before, we’re thankful to be living in a country where our values are upheld. A place where we can raise our kids without confusion about who they are. Don’t get me wrong—we love Canada, and we miss so many things about our life there. But we are incredibly grateful for a country like El Salvador where many people, expats and foreigners alike, can speak and live freely🧡

Thanks for reading :)

If you choose to stick around, even after what I’ve said today, please pass this post along to anyone you think may enjoy reading it.

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¡Muchas gracias!

¡Nos vemos pronto!

See you soon!