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!