This is Bogota, Colombia!

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I love living in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. A truly international city, it feels quite different than Greenville, SC - mainly due to the estimated nine million residents. I live in a house in the north of the city, which is the safest part of Bogota. It is also close to ECA and near most of the school’s faculty. Everyday I leave my comfortable home and as soon as I close the door behind me, I brace myself for the noise of cars, buses, transmilenios, crowded streets, people asking me to buy things every ten steps,beggars asking for money, people shouting for me to get on their bus,and the mad rush of the city at 6:15am. I pass many street vendors selling fresh bread, arepas, or black coffee. I dodge trash and breathe in tons of bus fumes. I hold my purse and book bag tight and try to look like I have lived here for years. I reach my street where I wait for the teacher van to pick me up (or sometimes find it waiting on me) then we zoom in and out of traffic until we reach ECA all before 7:00am.

Today is my favorite day of the week. Everyday the staff has a meeting that starts at 7:15. This is nice, because at the end of the day all you have to do is finish your work and leave school. Wednesdays we worship. No one mentions paperwork that is due or tomorrow's modified schedule, we just stop and worship for thirty minutes before we start our day. We sing in Spanish and English. Our staff has amazing musicians, so we have a full band and we sing loud enough for everyone entering school grounds to hear. Some of the high school students join us and you can hear the elementary kids laughing and playing outside the auditorium between songs. It definately sets a different tone for the day and I am always reminded of my purpose at ECA and for living in Bogota. We stop worshipping right before the bell rings and all the teachers rush back to their classrooms, weaving in and out of loud, laughing students. The bell rings and 23 beautiful children enter my room. I get a hug and kiss from each one and a "Good Morning, Miss. Parrish I have missing you or I love you." Sometimes their English mistakes are so cute I can't correct them. After the sweet greetings I start rushing them to unpack and get in their seats so we can start our day. We pray, we sing, we learn, we eat, we play for 7 hours. Then I gladly send them on their way home, because 23 kindergartners wear me out. The best part is that each day I get to share truth, talk about how Great our God is, and shape their character. I quicly go to my spanish class, finish up work in my classroom, and then get on the same teacher van to go home.

I had a very different picture in mind of what I would be doing when I first moved here. I thought I would be working with poor kids, street kids, kids who hadn't heard the gospel before. I was wrong. I get to do that some on our ministry outreaches, but with most of my time I work with students from very wealthy families, many of the families in full-time ministry. After the first quarter, when I had all my parent teacher conferences, I was blown away at the amazing ministries that they are involved in. I have one mom who grew up here as a missionary kid. Her dad was kidnapped by the FARC when she was very young. After he was released he started Christ for Colombia, a huge ministry that reaches out to thousands and thousands. She married a Colombian man who works for Voice of the Martyrs here in Bogota. One couple has a children's ministry with over three thousand children and young adults. They take their students on mission trips to the US every year to reach the Latino community. Pastors, couples planting churches in small cities outside of Bogota, couples reaching the poorest parts of the city. My parents are amazing. Over and over they thanked me for coming here and investing in their children's lives. They invite me to be a part of what they are doing and spend time with their families. Even though it isn't what I imagined, I think it is better, because I get to be another person in their child's life that is teaching them what it means to live for Christ and be aware of world around them. I get to partner with their parents to prepare them to reach the poor, the people living on the streets, and the people who have never heard truth before. Discipleship.

Our school has stopped ministry outreaches for the month of December to give students a break and the people who spend so much time planning all our outreaches. Each grade is collecting items that their ministry is in need of and those will be delivered before Christmas. Before our break started, many outreaches occured. The past trips to the Teenage Pregnancy home were wonderful. One time we did a beauty/spa day and gave manicures/pedicures and did make-up to give the moms a treat. Another time we just shared testimonies that were so encouraging to me, God can change people so much. I love to watch the middle school and high school girls in action there. They beleive the young moms are heros for not having abortions and that is exactly how they treat them. There is no judgement, only love, and it is neat to watch their relationships develop and deepen with girls that they dont have much in common with. God has surprised me with giving me a desire to spend more time with the high school students. This is odd because I usually find high schoolers extremely annoying and self-centered (which reminds me of exactly who I was in highschool, but worse... it wasn't pretty). There are three girls (one of them I disciple) that I have been very intentional about spending time with and trying to plan things outside of school to get to know them better. All of the high school students amaze me though. Last week they ate on less than a dollar a day for World Hunger Week. They waited to eat breakfast at school and at lunch they cooked very cheap meals together. They went home with a snack for dinner, very different from their usual meals. They did it with barely any complaining and grew so much. I don't know if God is changing my heart or these high school students somehow escaped that annoying stage that all teenagers seem to experiance, but I look forward to seeing how God will use this new interest in my life down the road.

Life has been busy and I have seen God moving a ton. I am so thankful to be here and I was reminded of that last week during Thanksgiving. I praised God for everyone who has encouraged me, supported me and prayed for me. For all the friends and family who stop to think about me and make it a point to keep in touch so I don't feel so homesick. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families and praising God for all your blessings. My first Thanksgiving away from home was a little bit sad, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I cooked a big meal that I think would have made my Grandma proud for my roomates and friends the weekend before. We didn't have turkey because it is too exspensive here, but other than that it was pretty authentic. On Thursday morning at 3am, I jumped in a jeep with another teacher from school and one of her friends named, Edgar, that I have never met before. They took me to the second largest city in Colombia, Medellin. It was warm and beautiful. It used to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world (during Pablo Escobar's reign in Colombia) but has changed a ton in the past twenty years. We still had to be careful, but we felt safe and had the best time. We drove most of the day on Thursday and when we got to our apartment Edgar bought us turkey sandwhich meat and we had a little celebration. I love any chance to get out of Bogota to see how beautiful this country is. We explored and it was fun to get to know Giselle better and make a new friend. Edgar is amazing because he started his own ministry in the south part of Bogota just a few years after he became a beleiver. It is for street kids and it is growing and growing. I am going to check it out soon.

To everyone who played a part in making my 27th birthday at the beginning of the month the best birthday ever, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! I celebrated all week long with my students, families from school and friends. I felt so loved and appreciated the emails, cards and presents that were sent that week. I can't wait to see everyone in 2 and 1/2 weeks to celebrate Christmas!

You have given me more than I could ever have wanted

Sorry this blog update has taken so long. I have been yelled at by many, many people. I will try to do better. I continue to be amazed all the blessings God has given me in Bogota. He is so good. We finished up our first quarter last Friday and are on to the 2nd! My students have grown so much in just 9 weeks of school. I am so proud of my class that I could burst and repeatedly tell them that they are the best kindergartners in the whole world. I think they really could be. Their English is taking off like crazy! I am actually very jealous of their tiny brains that can take in language so quickly. Amazing. We have so much fun each day and their behavior improves all the time. I have 23 parent conferences scheduled for Friday and Saturday and look forward to getting to know my parents more. I have only recieved parent hate mail one time (it was much deserved) and I think that conflict has been resolved. I accidently marked a student absent one day that was really present and when the school called the mom asking why her 5 year old son was not at school she freaked out and thought her son had been stolen off the school van. Whoops. So I am praying for clear communication, biblical truths presented, and strengthened relationships. Today we celebrated Mateo Ramirez's birthday, studied volume and weight with hard boiled eggs, did a play about elephants (it's E week),took a reading/writing test in English, and learned how the ten commandments cannot save us, but show us our sin and our need for Jesus. I am very thankful that I get to be a part of ECA this year. Everyday I walk around school and see God at work. Children from Hogar De Paz visiting for a party hosted by the 4th graders, high school students returning from a local women's prison ministry and telling all the awesome testimonies that were shared, middle schooler's leaving for an outreach trip to a special needs orphanage.... I can't even believe I get to be a part of it all. I am constantly giving God praise that He brought me here this year. Even though I know many of the students at ECA are not believer's yet, I feel like the school invites them into a better story where they are allowed to show compassion and have their eyes opened to the needs of their community and the world around them. The students love to serve and it is beautiful. My kindergartners went on their first ministry trip to visit a nursing home. We sang, hugged, loved, talked and colored with the abuelitos and you could tell that it was a huge blessing for them.

Last week was probably my hardest week since being here. Found out on Tuesday evening that one of my closest childhood friends had been killed in a car accident. She has two little girls and a wonderful husband. She was a beautiful friend, daughter, mother and wife. She was a second grade teacher. Her life had meaning and she loved so many. I have a hundred memories of growing up with her and our two older brothers. I spent a good chunk of my childhood with her family. Going on beach trips, playing softball, watching our big brothers play baseball, being mistaken for sisters, getting into trouble, a million sleepovers, and getting talked into going on a sled that was attached to a four wheeler( our older brothers were evil), only to end up crashing into a mailbox and having a huge dent in my leg for the rest of my life. I wanted to come back home so bad and attend the funeral with my brother, hug her family, cry with them, and spend time with people who loved her and knew how amazing she was. I didn't get to go home though and I am at peace with that. I heard it was a beautiful service. Her life was celebrated and God recieved much glory. While processing all of this, God showed me what a wonderful community He has placed around me. I went to work on Wednesday with swollen eyes and could not stop crying or get myself together all day. I would be fine and someone would look at me to ask if I was okay and I would just bust out crying again. Over and over, people stopped to pray with me, prayed for Lisa's family and to just hug me. There is one lady at school that I admire very much. Her name is Sol and she is the school nurse. We can't communicate a ton, but when we try I know she loves me and she knows I love her. She saw me and immediately pulled me into a staff bathroom. She asked me in her little bit of English, "what hurts?" In my little bit of Spanish, I tried to tell her my friend had passed away. She just held me and cried with me. Then she said, " I like pray." "Jesus help. Jesus, Your presence, we need, Holy Spirit help, Marianne's friend please help, her family needs you Jesus." Over and over she just called on Jesus in her broken English and it was probably the sweetest experiance I have had since I have been here. People here are so loving. Anytime I stop and question why I am here in Colombia, whether Im lost on the transmileno for an hour, annoyed that I can't communicate like I want to, or homesick, God shows me all the ways He has blessed me and I stop doubting my purpose here immediately. I want to become one of those people who stop and pray for people at anytime, it means so much when you are hurting. Please pray for Lisa's two little girls and her family if you think of it.

More quick updates:

I have started teaching 3 English classes a week outside of school. I was a little bit worried it would be too much at first, but it has turned out to be only a blessing. I love my adult students! We laugh and laugh during our 2 hour classes. It is so much fun that I can't believe I get paid for it. I make them do crazy things like act out commercials or pretend to discuss art while walking through a museum. They get really into the lessons and it makes teaching so enjoyable. It is another great oppurtunity to build relationships with the beautiful people of Colombia. They teach me so much about the culture and language too.

The student that I am discipling, Jannett, is simply amazing. l love my time with her and feel like our relationship has grown a ton in the past few weeks. She tells me everything that is going on in her 10th grade world. I tell her I will beat up all the mean boys and she tells me thats not very Christlike. Highschool is tough, I had forgotten. We have had some neat times studying God's Word, praying together, talking and laughing. This is one of my favorite oppurtunities her. God has used so many women to pour into my life and disciple me over the past years. It is cool to be on the other side of the process of life change.

One of my fellow teachers turned into Santa Claus this past week and brought back two packages from the states for me. Two of my best friends and my sister compiled a whole suitcase of my favorite things. I asked Jamie and Caroline for a lint roller and dove chocolate. They sent me a ton of school supplies, 3 new outfits, stationary, organic products, ACV, 2 lint rollers, a big bag of chocolate and all sorts of things I didn't even know I wanted or needed. My sister sent my favorite coffee, more chocolates, and lots of other treats. Thank you, I felt so loved!

-I got to go on a wonderful weekend getaway to a town called San Gil with three other teachers. Colombia is gorgeous! We enjoyed God's creation and found our adventurous side through white water rafting and rappelling. We stayed in a cool hostel that was cheap and full of the most fun backpackers from around the world. We went exploring in a town called Barichara that was breathtaking and endured some crazy long bus rides. We gave God lots of praise for protection and such a refreshing trip. It made Bogota's rain and cold weather seem a little bit dreary upon returning, but only for a minute. I love this place.

-My prayer partner, Claire, was reunited with her biological family last week. She was adopted from Medellin, Colombia when she was 1 years old and brought the the states. She lived in California and Chicago her whole life. She came to teach here in Bogota this year and immediately started trying to find her birth mom in Medellin. After finding our her mom died 7 years ago (that was really hard), she found her Grandma, 2 Aunts, 2 brothers and 3 nieces!!! She had the best week eating huge plates of food her Grandmother cooked, hugging and crying with her family, and hearing stories about her mom. Huge praise! God is good!

Thanks for being a part of this journey with me and for keeping up with my life in Bogota. Thank you 100 times for your prayers and support. I come home in two months for Christmas and can't wait to see everyone!

Dia de Amor y Amistad

Saturday was Colombia's equivalent to Valentine's Day, Dia de Amor y Amistad. We celebrated at school on Friday and it was so fun. I recieved lots and lots of roses from my sweet students and our staff played a secret friend game where we spent two weeks sending little candies and notes to our secret person. On Friday we had a party and presented our gifts. My person was Angela, one of my first friends in Colombia, who used to drive me to and from school when I was too scared to ride the public buses. Don't think I'm a wimp, I had to take a "surviving Bogota" course that tramautized me and made me believe I would be stabbed if I rode the bus when I first moved here. Im over that now and ride them daily, don't worry mom, it was all lies. Bogota is full of beautiful people who are always helping me. Just this week I bought a new prepaid card for rides on the transmilenio and a few minutes later someone was running to catch up with me and tapping me on my shoulder. Some nice man handed me my card and told me I had dropped it while putting my things away. Stuff like happens to me all the time. Speaking of love, I got to go to a really neat teenage mother home on Saturday where we talked about love and celebrated with the young moms. I was so thankful I got to go, because it was one of the ministries I was most excited about when I heard about all the ones ECA is involved in. I was able to spend some time in a home like this while I was in Peru. I loved it so much and it scared me to death because it is hard to understand how God lets some of the things that happens to those girls happen. It is also so hard to relate to them because I have such a different background. God is powerful though and I am learning He can work through any situation. One beautiful girl there was only 13 with a tiny baby. Her parents died when she was 12 and when she went to live with her aunt and was raped by her uncle. So hard to understand how God can redeem a situation like that and work through it. Not all the stories are that hard to hear, but some of them are really tough. I know it was intimidating for our middle and high school girls that came too, because they are so sheltered and protected. I worked with the girls to make these really cool beads, that next month we will turn into jewelry and sell to people. We are trying to work our a fair trade type business for them so they can make money while they are there. They are excited when ECA students come because they can never leave that house. When they have tried outings in the past, girls run away and abandon their babies for life back on the streets. So day in and day out they are there with 40 other girls and 40 loud babies. The best part of the day was when Lilia (she is in charge of all our ministry outreaches and was born to serve, the girl is amazing) and her husband shared their love story. She is American and he is Colombian. They have a neat story and I think it was so good for the girls to hear about how much Leo treasures her, respects her, values her, loves her and protects her. They used 1 Corinthians 13 to share what love looks like when it is lived out and asked the girls where they have seen real love like this. It is hard for them to identify because so many come from homes where love was never displayed like this or were not treated well by boyfriends. Of course they talked about experiancing God's perfect love and how there is nothing else like it. So it was a good way to spend my first Dia de Amor y Amistad in Colombia. If you want to buy some jewelry or donate scrapbook paper, string, beads, or glue let me know.

My students at school have been great. Most days they are great, some they are just crazy. We made apple pies while we studied the letter a this week and we also went on our first field trip which was hilarious. We are still studying living things and are learning about animals and how God provides for them so they can survive. So we went to this really cool restaurant down the street from our school that has horses, sheep, llamas and goats. They taught us all about what the animals need and how they take care of the them. When we were leaving the school there was no gaurd at the gate so we waited ten minutes before we could actually get going. There had been torrential downpoors the day before and the street we needed to walk on with no cars was flooded. So we made the kids hike through this tall grass and carried them over the water. All of us were covered in mud. Colombians do not think it is funny for your shoes to be dirty, so I was super stressed out that parents were going to be mad. The presentation was great and the animals were really fun, but on our way back we had to walk on a busy street and were locked out of school again. We will always plan our trips around the gaurds lunchbreaks for here on out. They were all really well behaved on this trip, despite the chaos so I was so proud of them. The pictures are up top even though I tried for twenty minutes to get them to post here.

I love the Bible curriculum I use with my students. We have been talking so much about the affects of sin and how through one man sin entered the world. This week we are talking all about sacrifices and why God required animal sacrifices in the old testament. We haven't even gotten to Jesus yet, but they are learning the affects of sin and how it seperates us from God. It is intense, I didn't learn some of this stuff until I was in my twenties after I was a Christian. I am a big fan of not dumbing down the Bible for kids though. I always thought it was so weird that God made the Israelites do that and never understood the meaning. Why not let 5 year olds get it? It is a John Piper curriculum and it is so good. Here is one of my students saying their Bible verse from this week:

I have started teaching English classes on Saturday to six adults, it is super cool. All my students are really fun and we have the best discussions. I also get paid for this and am saving up for a cool trip to take in October for our break. It is so refreshing to get to teach big people after a week with 23 little ones. I do have to miss out on some of the school's outreaches, but I am thankful for this oppurtunity. I take 3 free Spanish classes a week, two of them are 0ne-on-one with an amazing teacher named Jairo. He makes class so fun and I am learning a lot. I have also started discipling a beautiful 10th grader named Jannett. I love her so much and we have already had some really neat meetings. We are going through this book called, The Air I Breathe, by Loui Giglio and I have been learning a lot through it as well. More to come on her later.

Families have continued to bless me over and over. One mom took me home with her and my student, Isabel, last week. She took me grocery shopping and taught me to say all the fruits in vegetables in Spanish. She bought me a ton of fruits that I never tried before and then took me to her house and taught me to make some amazing dishes that I can't wait to try out on my family at Christmas. Another family took me to church with them two weekends ago and then outside of Bogota for a wonderful lunch and dessert in Sopo. The food was a amazing and the company even better. They only let me speak in Spanish and I tried lots of new foods. The best part was that I found out my student' grandparents (the pastors of the church I attended that day) were the first people to bring Campus Crusade for Christ to Colombia. They started it on college campuses in the three biggest cities in Colombia: Bogota, Medillin, and Cali. When I told them that I became a believer in college through CCC we all teared up a little bit. Josue's grandpa went to the same seminary as Bill Bright, has met him and his wife, and spoke to them on the phone many times. It was such a blessing to meet people here who are so passionate about that ministry and to hear about how God is using them in such big ways. Josue's dad is a pastor on one of the main college campuses here in Bogota and so is his Uncle. I have been attending a really neat small group with them on Tuesday nights for college students and young professionals. It is incredible and I have met some really neat people.

Life in Bogota has gotten incredibly busy lately but I am loving it. Despite being homesick and missing all my friends and family sometimes, I am so thankful to be here. There is still lots of time for fun too. ECA took all the teachers on a retreat three hours away from Bogota last weekend. It was a gorgeous place. We did have lots of meetings but plenty of time for fun too. We did lots of swimming in the pool and river, enjoyed the lovely scenary and had a fun time growing relationships within all the ECA staff. This is the first time my aide, Gloria, and I have hung out outside of school. She taught me how to play this crazy ping pong game with about 15 people. You have to run around the table and each player hits the ball one time until someone misses up. It was like ping pong on crack but so fun.

Thank you for keeping in touch and for praying for me. I love you all!

Whatever is Lovely

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that He considered me faithful appointing me to His service." 1 Timothy 1:12

I have been in Colombia for over a month now!!! I can't believe it. Time is flying. I am so thankful that I am have the opportunity to serve in Bogota. School is going great. I have had three weeks with my students and am completely in love with them and working in the kindergarten classroom. I am learning a ton about English Language Learners and how to teach specifically to those types of students. It is frustrating at times because I don't always have someone there with me to translate. I basically have to act out everything I am saying all the time which I'm sure would be hilarious for someone to watch. My students are incredibly smart and loving. We talk about how big and good God is all the time. Their favorite song is, Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord, and they know all the hand motions to it. So cute. It is fun to worship with them. The next song I am going to teach them is, How Great is Our God. I used to love singing that one with my BRCA students. We learn a memory verse every week and a wonderful teacher at our school teaches us all the signs to go a long with it. That is a really good way for them to learn english words. We spent the week studying plants and living things. They were so excited to watch their seeds sprout and kept a daily journal of all the changes they saw. I love them because they are excited about learning and love for me to read books to them. They give me tons of hugs and kisses each day and make me laugh all the time. They also love to teach me words in Spanish and will correct me 30 times until I get the pronounciation right. "No Meez, no, like this..." Wow, I LOVE them. I need help with my pronounciation for real. Just as predicted, they are learning to speak English with a southern accent which everyone in the school thinks is hilarious. I have had a lot of fun getting to know the parents as well. So many of them are involved in awesome ministries in Bogota. It is an honor to get to serve the families by teaching their children so that they can do what God has called them to. Families of my students have been inviting me out with them on the weekends to see more of Bogota and some of the surrounding cities. I look forward to spending time with them, practicing my Spanish and learning more of the Colombian culture. Our school verse this year is, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

God has continued to bless me in many ways here. I found the church that I want to be a part of while I am here. Today was my second week visiting and it feels like home. Worship and teaching is wonderful and I always have someone to help with translation. Getting to sing is helpful because I learn a lot of Spanish and can hear correct pronounciation. They sing a lot of songs that I know from back home only in Spanish. People there are so welcoming and loving. One of my student's father is actually the pastor (he is my most difficult one, imagine that). They are passionate about serving the people of Bogota. Last week we sang:

Luz en estas tinieblas

Esperanz al perdido, paz para el intranquilo, eres tu

Mas grandes cosas aun vendran

y obras mas grandes Dios

nara con su pueblo

Which is from Chris Tomlin's song:

You're the God of this city

You're the King of these People

You're the Lord of this Nation

You are
There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

We believe

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

They are studying prayer right now and what can hinder our prayers from being recieved by God. We have talked alot about humbling ourselves and forgiving people we have conflict with. Letting go of selfishness and letting our blessings be for others and not just us. I loved today's sermon because they talked about how the church has been praying for reconcilation with Venesuala and strengthened relationshiops with Equador and Boliva so that Colombia can continue to experience peace. The pastor urged us to pray for the new president and leaders because Colombia has come so far, but still has so long to go before it can be considered a peaceful nation. They believe that God's presence is the only thing that can heal their country.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 There is so much for the church to do in Colombia because there aren't many social service programs for the homeless, the handicapped, people battling addictions, or orphans. One of the ways my school urges us to serve in the community is to encourage the leaders who already have ministries in place because they are burnt out, isolated and lonely. It is neat to see the church at work here, very encouraging.

Two people that I have loved watching are Beth and Rafa Afanador. The directors of El Camino Academy where I teach. Beth met Rafa when she was here on a mission trip in college. She later came here to teach and they got married shortly after. They are a blessing to be around and a blessing to everyone they meet. She is much more serious and organized while Rafa is completely crazy and out of control. He makes me laugh so hard. They both have huge hearts and love to serve. A match made in heaven. They put their faith into action in the most pratical ways and give their lives away everyday. I have been challenged by them already. They work with a ton of pastors in Colombia to bring in famous speakers to do big conferences here in Bogota. They work with goverment officials, embassy workers and business men. They serve the poorest of the poor, drug addicts, prostitutes and street kids. They run an after school program for street kids called, House of Peace. They line up medical mission trips to the jungle throughout the year. They find out people's strengths and use them in anyway possible. They dream huge dreams for Bogota and with God's help make them a reality. My pastor back home always says, "If Grace Church was bombed would Greenville, SC miss us? Who are we impacting, loving, serving? Who would notice if we were gone?" Bogota would definitely miss Beth and Rafa if they were to leave. In a city of nine million they make a huge difference. I plan on spending as much time with them as I can this year.

Friends and family, you have to come see Bogota!!! It is incredibly beautiful and there is so much to do. Last weekend I went to some really neat places downtown. There are tons of art museums to see that only cost about 1 American dollar. If you can come we will hop on the transmileno and see all there is to see. There is a neat place called monserrate where you can see all of Bogota, a beautiful Cathedral made of salt, amazing architecture everywhere you look. You must experience Colombia. Beth and Rafa will put you to work in one of their ministries as well.

Dios la bendiga!

Hillsong comes to Bogota!

This one time I told my dearest friend, Gladys, that I would go to church with her. I was excited to try a different church and looked forward to spending time with her and her family. When she picked me up at 8:30, she informed me that we were getting to church early for a special, special meeting. I asked if we were going to get to see baptisms or something cool like that and she said oh no, we are going to a special concert. I was thinking a Colombian worship band and was very excited. She kept saying, "I can't remember the name, big, big, big band, very, very big, I think they are from Australia." I gave her a crazy look and said, "you don't mean Hillsong do you?" She said, "Oh yes, Americans know Hillsong?" I began to squeal and jump around in the car and she just laughed and laughed. Needless to say it was a good day to be in Colombia!!! The concert was simply amazing, such a good time of worship. They sang in english, but the words were written in spanish on the screen so you could hear spanish and english during all the songs. My best friend Jamie and I refer to this as Velvet Elvis moments. Colombians know how to worship for real. I kept praising God for giving me such a sweet surprise. Gladys took me to lunch with her family, it was so yummy and fun. They were telling me this crazy story about their friend who is a doctor and was captured by the guriella army 3 years ago. They only kept him for a few months and gave him hamburgers from this special restaurant he requested. Not only that, they also gave him 5000 dollars for some medical work he did when they released him. These Guriella people are very intriging. So, I was getting a little nervous because they told me that the doctor lived in Bogota and that I would get to meet him soon. I kept thinking, he lives in Bogota...he was kidnapped...he lives in Bogota... and finally asked where he was when he was captured. There son, Alex, who is my age told me that the doctor lived in their neighborhood and was taken from his home. My eyes bulged out of my head and I dropped my fork. They all died laughing and were about to fall out of there chairs. He got me sooooo good. The doctor, who I can't wait to meet, was traveling many hours away in the rural mountains. Don't worry family, no one gets kidnapped in Bogota. They took me to a soccer game later on with a bunch of their friends. They are too good to me and have been one of my biggest blessings to me during my short time here. Just this past week they have stopped by on different occasions to bring me curtains, fresh bread, and a huge box of fruit. Praise God for the Alfonso's. Speaking of praises, I'll just list a few:

1.I can't get over how wonderful my first day of school was.

2.My mom and sister sent me a package through a friend coming to Bogota, full of school supplies and some things I wish I had packed.

3.My co-workers have the most beautiful hearts. They love to serve the families at ECA and are involved in the most awesome ministries.

4. The school librarian putt Rosetta Stone on my computer for free!

5.God provided my roomates and I with a gorgeous home. Missionaries from Germany had to go back home for a year and are letting us rent it for almost nothing. Completely furnished and has a full-time gaurd right outside our door 24 hrs a day.

6. I am learning to be a big city girl and can take buses, the transmileno, and hail taxis. God has taken care of so many fears I had about living here.

7. God is growing my love for Colombia everyday.

8. There are tons of oppurtunities to minister to our surrounding community and tons of passionate people to serve with.

Things that BLOW my mind about Colombia:

1. You don't have to refrigerate milk, eggs, or butter. You really don't have to refrigerate anything, or at least people choose not to.

2. The altitude not only makes you feel out of shape when doing any strenuous activity, it GREATLY affects your baking. ( I made two birthday cakes for my fellow teachers last week and it was an epic failure. My friends still ate them because they love me, but I wouldn't waste the calories).

3. It takes 3 days to line dry your clothes. I will never wash my hoodie again.

4. It can take 30 minutes to hail a taxi on national holidays.

5. Instead of snow days, Bogota has traffic days. We actually cancel school due to the amount of traffic sometimes.

6.Bus drivers like to take off with half your body hanging out the door.

7. People are SOOOO generous.

8. My students are SOOOO cute.

9. People drink unreal amounts of coffee that is intensely strong.

10. The food is amazing. The land for carb-lovers.

11. The immense love for futbol!

12.How beautiful it is to pray/worship in spanish and english.

13. Children love their parents so much. Especially adult children, families are very close.

14. Earthquakes aren't even that scary. At least not the tremors we felt at school last week. (all the Colombians ran out of the buildings as the gringos watched everything on their desks shaking in bewilderment).

Prayer Needs:

1.That I will have a successful start to the school year, strong relationships with families and students.

2. That I will have a strong relationship with the high school student that I get to disciple and that I will have plenty of time to invest in her life.

3. That God will let me get involved and be a blessing to one of the many ministries that flows out of ECA. I am hoping to help with a teenage pregnancy home.

4. Safety and health.

5. Learning language and culture quickly.

6. That I will do well teaching an english institute for families of ECA.

7. My Colombian mom, Gladys, is having surgery on Wednesday.

Juan Manuel Santos takes oath as Colombia's new president

Juan Manuel Santos takes oath as Colombia's new president

Happy First Day of School, Happy Inauguration Day, & Batalla de Boyaca

Today was so much fun! Batalla de Boyaca is a national holiday in Colombia and is the day that ECA always starts school. I met all my sweet students and their families. We spent two hours in our classroom getting to know each other, singing, playing games and touring the room. My students are so cute and behaved very well today. They can't really understand what I am saying but they know how school works and did a great job. Mrs. Amado (my teacher's aide) translates most of everything and is a beautiful woman and one of my favorite friends in Colombia. I hugged and kissed them many, many times! We also made our first class book today and introduced ourselves. I went first and told them that most importantly I love Jesus, I love reading, teaching, cooking, my family and friends, and living in Bogota with the mountains everywhere I look. They used a microphone to share and thought that was the best. The parents were so friendly and welcoming. I look forward getting to know them and working with them to train up their children in the way that they should go. I am so excited about this school year!

Colombia has a new president as of today. We didn't know what to expect as far as riots or protests, but it seemed like a very peaceful day. One of the spanish teachers at ECA gave us a neat history lesson that prepared us for the upcoming inauguration last week. It went back all the way to the Spanish invasion and massacre, Simon Bolivar gaining independence, and the development of the gurriella army and paramilitary. It was very interesting and I can't wait to learn more. Colombia has had so much violence in the past and it still affects people today even though this country is changing for the better every year. Everyone has a family member that has been affected by FARC. Everyone has to deal with the poverty and crime that is still prominent. I have been so confused as to why people look so serious and tough out on the streets but are so warm and loving when you visit their home. Our Spanish teacher told us that Colombians are so proud of their country but have been born with a "no one is going to take anything from me" mentality. It put lots of things into perspective. Colombia's past president, Alvaro Uribe, did so much for this country. He fought against FARC and drug cartels and made huge progress. His successor, Juan Manuel Santos, will continue to do the same and help with the high unemployment rate. Santos studied during college in Kansas, Harvard and London. He was also the Minister of Defense during Uribe's presidency. Colombia has one of the highest populations of displaced people in the world and is still considered a third world country. It is a beautiful country full of hope and a need for peace and love. Thankful to be here.

Made it!

I have been in Bogota for 3 days now and have loved it so much. My sweet sister helped me stay up and pack all night on Saturday and took me to the airport in Charlotte at 2am. She is an amazing sister. We got there about at about 4am, my suitcases miraculously weighed exactly 50.5lbs and 49lbs. I just new I would have to start pulling things out for Amy to take back home. They were so heavy. Amy gave me the most beautiful scrapbook filled with pictures and notes from all the people I love. I have looked at it so many times. My flights were great and I arrived in Bogota at 12:30. Immigration took ten million years. I met Johnny Depp and Bill Clinton look-alikes and also the sweetest engaged couple from Charlotte. If you ever need a mountain or roadbike store in that area, look up Bike Source. Once it was my turn at the counter, I was asked no questions, just given my stamp and told to move on. My friends from Charlotte were asked all sorts of crazy things. I looked like a maniac trying to haul all my luggage through the airport by myself. There was nothing graceful about it. When I went through the gates, the red light went off which meant I was supposed to go have my bags looked through at a certain station. My stupid cart piled with my suitcases on top would only move in one direction though, so I just had to sneak past and pray I didn't get escorted out of there. A family from El Camino Academy was waiting for me outside of the airport with a sign. I was so happy to see them. Gladys y Jose, the two most generous, loving, nicest people in Colombia. They helped me with my bags and took me to there home. First thing they did was cook me a wonderful Colombian meal. I have tried so many delicious things already. My favorites are plantianos, arepas, and empanadas. Gladys always prepares fresh juice with each meal. Just throws some guavas or papayas in the blender and pours us a glass full. I have been watching everything she does in the kitchen. On Friday I get a full lesson on making her empanadas so I know what to do when I get to my apartment. I should be living with Gladys y Jose until Saturday when I move into an apartment with two other teachers. I have loved getting to know this family though. They have two sons and lots of friends who we go visit or come visit us each night. There is always loud talking, lots of food, music, and laughing. I can't keep up with everyone because my spanish is so poor, but I have the most fun just sitting around with everyone and taking it all in. Gladys and her sons speak english very well and have been helping me with my spanish. They live in a beautiful area of Bogota. Mountains everywhere you look and beautiful flowers. Traffic is loud and crazy. Lots of people in the streets selling random merchandise. It is very cool and we are at 9,000ft. above sea level. That took a little while to adjust too. At first I felt very dizzy and would get out of breath just walking up a few stairs. Now everything is fine. I like the weather and would be happy in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, but everyone bundles up here. I tried to leave the house last night in flip-flops and a short sleeve shirt and Gladys made me go back upstairs and put on different shoes and a coat. She is very motherly and very loving. Her husband, Jose is a evangelical pastor and travels a lot. They also own a furniture business and a computer supply business. They are very busy all the time.

Today was my first day at El Camino Academy. We were picked up at 7:15 and taken to school. This week is orientation for new teachers. When you arrive on campus you have a peaceful feeling and you can tell everyone loves the school very much. It is a beautiful campus. A very old section and then a huge new building that holds almost all the classrooms. My classroom was awesome, I can't wait to get in there and make it my own. Beth Afanador, the director of ECA, gave us a tour and went through the schools mission and vision with us. I love the heart of ECA. Their motto is "Training for Life" and there school verse is Deuteronomy 6:5-7. It is a multi-cultural and multi-denomenational school. Everyone agrees on certain core truths of The Bible, but there are many different beleifs on prosperity, salvation, and spiritual gifts. Colombian churches tend to me charismatic. I think this will be a very interesting setting to teach in and will cause me to grow in many ways. I loved getting to know the other teachers and hearing their stories. There are two other southerners, newlyweds from Tennessee. We spent the morning at school and the afternoon getting our cedulas. It is like an ID card that is very important in Colombia. Social Security card meets license meets birth certificate. You have to have it for everything apparently. Had to have my finger pricked so they could know what bloodtype I am. That was not enjoyable. I was constantly praising God that I get to be in full-time ministry again while serving at ECA. There are a great deal of ministries pouring out of the school. Each grade has two or three different projects they work on throughout the year and team up with missionaries out in the community. I can't wait to see all the good things that go on at that school and be a part of as much as I can. I look forward to getting to know the other teachers and staff more this week and preparing for my 22 kindergarteners in 2 weeks. I did feel very overwhelmed today while learning about how the school works and all the things needed to be done before the students arrive. I hope once I get in my classroom and start planning I will feel more at ease. I will write again soon and post some pictures of the school campus. Skype me whenever you can. I spoke with my sister and nephews tonight, my friend Natalie and my friend named Caroline. It was so fun and they all got to meet my Colombian family and friends. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and support. Buenos Noches!

 

"Couldn't wait to get going, but wasn't quite ready to leave"

8 days until my departure date!!! I am so excited to get to Bogota and begin to take it all in. I have been overwhelmed this summer by God's goodness and faithfulness.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

I have been in awe of God and his love for me, especially during the last few weeks. He has used my family and friends over and over again to make me feel encouraged, supported and worthy of going to Bogota. Through beautiful handwritten cards, conversations, and prayers prayed over me I have felt God's constant affirmation and truth poured out. He has provided a group of financial supporters that has given me more than enough to cover my living and travel expenses for the 2010-2011 school year. I have plane tickets and a visa. I have met some of the staff at El Camino Academy and was again overwhelmed that I would get to be surrounded by such amazing people and get to be a part of their work in Colombia. I have been able to spend quality time with all of my family and friends that I love so much. I witnessed my nephew's adoption be finalized and was overjoyed that I was able to be present during that unforgettable moment. I stood beside my best friend while she married her love. I have picked peaches with my grandpa. I was the guest of honor at the most charming, lovely, fun surprise party thrown by the greatest people in the world. I have spent the most relaxing, peaceful, fun week at Lake Hartwell with my sweet family. As soon as I start packing, I will be ready to go. I have no doubt that I will miss home so much sometimes that it will be almost unbearable. Pray for me about that and that I would be given passion and purpose while in Bogota! I am going to post pictures of my party, the lake vacation, and the adoption day soon. If anyone can help me figure out how to get an accent over the a in Bogota on my title, a song playlist on here, and how to make a picture collage I would love you forever and ever.