An Aching Heart

Down feathers were everywhere. Kids were running around shrieking. We were looking for two missing jackets. A wrestling match broke out to my left. I shook my head and sighed.

What in the world is going ON? Why does this feel so chaotic?

About five of us from my graduating class got together yesterday and went to visit our beloved Recyclers' Ministry (their parents pick through garbage and find recyclable material to sell to factories and that's what they live off of). I was super excited. I had seen them last in May, but was really excited to go back with people from my class. We quickly put together a Bible story and a short application. We decided who was leading songs and then we headed over to the neighborhood.

When we reached their corner, three of the kids started sprinting toward us. I stopped my conversation in mid-sentence and ran out to meet them. Soon, I was overwhelmed with hugs and kisses. Ah, I love them so much.

We started playing some tag and then sang some silly songs with them. Then we began acting out the Jonah story. After one time, Natis and I figured we should do it again, in Opera style (thanks, Medeba!). After that we did it super slowly... and then super quickly. The kids LOVED it! And, having seen it four times, they remembered the story well =)

After story time we gave them a cup of milk and some bread for snack. They loved the milk and kept asking for more.

During snack time one six year old came up to us and asked if we had seen her jacket. We shook our heads, but Natis started looking for them. They were no where to be found. Since we weren't doing organized games anymore, the kids began running around. Two of them pulled out toy guns and started shooting everyone. I cringed at every gun shot. One little girl kept crying because she kept getting hit by the boys. I went to talk to one of the seven year old boys and had to take a step away when I saw him pull out a switchblade.

I felt my mouth go dry and I wasn't sure what to do.

Meanwhile, the other kids kept playing with a down pillow, by shaking it in a dog's face. The dog soon tore it apart and feathers were flying everywhere. The little boy with the blade kept coming toward us as if he were ready to hurt us.

My mind kept spinning and I felt nauseous.

Why were they so aggressive?

When I got home, I shut the door to my room, turned up the music and started crying. My heart ached... it still aches for these children. We started working with these kids four years ago... I know God has used our ministry to bring forth fruit in that neighborhood, but I felt extremely discouraged. I was sick knowing the kind of lives these kids were living... the adulthood they were walking into.

A Piece of Colombia

Incredible how fast three weeks can fly... and how much can happen in just twenty four days.

Carina and Deepika left on Saturday night after having spent just over three weeks in Colombia. I was so blessed by their company and loved every single day. Their visit provided me with joy and fun in the middle of an odd transition back into life in Colombia. Conversations with them were full of encouragement and I consistently was pointed back to Jesus. I enjoyed seeing Colombia through their eyes-- having wonder and awe sparked within me once again. I loved introducing them to my precious friends in Colombia, sharing with them a piece of me. And I loved having them get to know my parents, allowing them to understand me a bit more.

And quite honestly, I loved getting to know them better.

Because it would take an extremely long post to go over everything we did, I'll save you guys the novel and just give some snapshots instead.

Service

When we arrived in Colombia, the fourth grade teacher at ECA had to leave, so Carina and Deepika were able to help fill in some of the holes left behind. They put together Carina's education background and Deepika's math major and taught fourth grade math several times. Though ECA is definitely not a "needy" school, they were able to bless the teachers and administration by taking a couple classes off every one else's plate.

We were able to go to my dad's foundation (www.fimcol.org) on two different occasions. The first, we simply played with kids and then led them in a crafts project... making bookmarks. I think it'd be fair to say that the kids' favorite part was the stickers-- by far. They were thoroughly enjoying looking through stick er books and pasting them all over a 2in x 5in piece of paper. The second time we showed up unexpectedly because our plans for the day were rained on, but it turned out to be a big blessing to the foundation because they were overwhelmed and were struggling to keep the kids busy that day. We were able to play with them, teach a Bible lesson and get them ready for lunch.

In addition to this, we joined ECA high school students (grades 9 and 10) on some of

their service days. We went with the ninth graders to the Recycler's ministry (the one my class was involved with for three years) and helped at a drop in center. Though there weren't many kids there at first, it was a lot of fun just running around and playing tag. Later we were able to help kids with their homework. On the right you can see a picture of Deepika, me and

a six-year old named Claudia Camila. I've known her since she was three :)

The next day we went with the sophomores to a special needs orphanage in Bogota. I had never been to this one before, so I was quite excited. It took almost two hours to get there, but it was definitely worth the drive. The three of us worked upstairs with kids who had severe special needs and we simply fed them and held them. It was marvelous.

Later on in the trip we visited another special needs orphanage about an hour away from Bogota. The kids were older here and we worked with kids who were able to run around and talk, so they were less disabled than the previous orphanage. We played Jenga, Uno, Twister, Candyland and made crafts. Deepika had to fend off young boys who were begging her to be their girlfriend.

Trips

We took two main trips while Carina and Deepika were here in Colombia. The first was to Prado, a lake about five hours away from Bogota. Since its elevation is significantly lower than Bogota's, the weather is HOT. There we were able to read, talk, sleep, swim, ski and wakeboard. We were surrounded by beautiful scenery and amazed by God's majesty surrounding us. We had an adventure Saturday night (see previous post), but were able to see God's amazing peace working throughout the whole ordeal.

Our second trip was about two hours out of Bogota. We went to La Vega and Tobia. We spent some time at the Peñuelas finca and then we headed down to Tobia for some white-water rafting and zip-lining. Deepika was extremely scared, but was able to do it anyway. I think our rafting guide sensed her fear and tried to make her side of the boat rock more. Anyway, after lunch we zip-lined between two mountains... it was about 1200 meters long and 200 meters high, and we reached a speed of about 70 km/hour. Great stuff :) Below is a picture of our zip-lining group, minus Machi who was taking the picture :)

Tourism

I hate feeling like a tourist, but we did some of that anyway!

Firstly, we went to Chicaque, a natural park a little bit out of Bogota. This definitely isn't typical tourism... but I'll include it here anyway. We went hiking for about five hours in a cloud forest. It was definitely beautiful!! But by the end of the day, Deepika and I were about to die and Carina was just dancing up the mountains.

We went to Monserrate, a famous tourist destination in Bogota. We took a cable car up the mountain and then walked around this famous Catholic Cathedral. I'm always reminded of religion's power to enslave when I walk around Monserrate. I whispered a prayer, thanking Jesus for my freedom through his work on the cross. Monserrate is also a great place to go, because you can see the a HUGE part of Bogota from the top of a mountain. It's beautifulllllll :)

Ahh... I love it when friends visit Colombia. I love sharing this corner of the world with anyone who is willing to love it in return :)

Thanks for coming, my dear friends!