Today was our last day of the trip, but I believe that it was one of the most impactful for everyone on the team.  Due to a very busy week, we all were very tired at the beginning of the day, but no one let that affect the way they acted today.

We started out the day at a special needs orphanage that was founded by a woman who still at the foundation with her adopted, blind daughter. During our time at the orphanage we visited three different rooms with all different age groups of children with different disabilities.  In the first room we were able to interact with children that had mental and developmental disabilities.  This room impacted all of us deeply due to the severity of the disabilities and even brought some of us to tears.  In the second room we were able to look at babies, but due to the lack of sanitation we were only able to look at them through glass.  Although we were unable to interact with them, this room impacted us due to how young and helpless the babies seemed.  As we were leaving this room, Sophie commented that the babies were very peaceful.  This comment really impacted me by reminding me that although they may have been suffering from disabilities, they were being very well cared for in this facility. In the third room, there were children of many ages and with a variety of disabilities and I believe that this room had the greatest impact on everyone in the group.  During the entirety of the time we were in this room I felt the Lord continually reminding me that all of these children were created in His image and were absolutely perfect in His sight. This ended up being my greatest take-away from the orphanage: the children were created in the image of God and because of this they deserve to be loved despite their disabilities.

We continued the day at a children's ministry called La Buena Semilla (The Good Seed).  This ministry is located in a very poor neighborhood but is respected and protected by the members of the neighborhood due to the impact it has on their children. Due to the lack of discipline, these children are usually quite difficult to work with, as we experienced on last year's trip, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the children were a lot more well-behaved than last year.  I was also delighted to see a few kids who were also there last year.  One boy in particular was the most misbehaved last year but it was amazing to see that this boy was very respectful this year.  This drastic change in character says a lot about the impact the ministry has on the children and the neighborhood.

After doing sessions with two groups of kids at La Buena Semilla, we went to La Plaza Bolivar and to a market to finish off our pesos.  To end our day, we went to Tramonti, a very nice restaurant, for dinner.  While at dinner we were all able to share our personal reflections of the trip and share thanks to all of those who have helped us during the course of our trip.  This time resulted in many joyful tears shed and a lot of beautiful encouragements given, which I think was an amazing way to end a great week. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time this past week, whether I was engaging with the Colombian people or getting to know my team better. As a result of this trip, I am coming home with new and stronger relationships and amazing life experiences that I wouldn't trade for the world.

- Brooke Wadsworth

     June 24

                  Today our team went to a special needs orphanage.  We met and comforted children and others who were into their 20s and even older.  The people there had a large variety of disabilities.  When we first walked into one of the rooms,  I was a bit shocked at how drastic some of the disabilities were.  We had the amazing opportunity of talking to some of these people, and just comforting others.  I realized when I saw these children and older people that I sometimes forget about the lives that disabled people live.  Most of these people are stuck 24/7 at that care center, constantly needing medical attention.  I realized how important it is to minister to those people.  They are not able to constantly interact with others.  Most of them are able to do very little outside of their home at the care center.  Going back to the U.S., I have a better heart for the disabled.  Now I strive to seek them out more and care for them.

     The second ministry that we went to was called Buena Semilla, or "The Good Seed".  It was in a poor neighborhood highly influenced by gangs.  It is a place for kids to go when they are not in school.  They can go there when there parents cannot watch over them or when they need a meal.  This place allows kids to do things like PE and Art, and most importantly the kids learn about God and His Word.  The goal of this ministry is to spread God's Word through the surrounding neighborhood, and to help the kids be in Jesus and live godly lives, even though they have grown up with evil surrounding them.  Some of the kids have seen one of their parents get killed by gangs.  Others have seen their parents kill people.  Many of the kids have parents that are alcoholics and drug-addicts.  When I went to this ministry, I was amazed that God's Word was shining right in the middle of a dark place of violence and gangs.  God can work in awesome ways, right in the middle of  darkness.  There were many awesome people at this ministry who are bringing God to these kids who live in corrupted situations.  It was awesome to see that these kids respond to God's Word at this ministry.  Even though they live in a bad area, this place gives them hope.

-Cal Anderson

Tuesday, June 23

     Today was yet another beautiful day in Bogota, where you always have a full view of the mountains and sky, no matter where you stand(trust me, it never gets old). We had a later start this morning, with breakfast at 7:30, which was fine by me. We have the most amazing chef cooking for us here in the guest house(honestly, thank God for her and her culinary skills. Don't worry, parents, we're not starving down here!). This morning, she came in with her daughter and granddaughter, which was pretty cool. But I digress.

     So, today, the missions group served at La Fundacion la Luz del Mundo, a ministry in a nearby neighborhood. To be completely honest with you, I wasn't exactly ecstatic to be working with a group of kids yet again (I know, I know, shame on me). The previous day hadn't been...how do I say it... easy.

     You probably have already read about yesterday from the other bloggers, so I'll just quickly share my experience(it contributes to the message, I promise).Yesterday, we each were responsible for a single child of a ministry called Hogar de Paz. We visited several tourist sites with these kids, and as much as it was my first time seeing some of the sights Bogota had to offer, it was the majority of the Hogar de Paz kids' first time as well. Keeping this- as well as the fact that many of these kids don't have good, healthy examples in the home- in the front of my mind was probably one of the only things that kept me sane that day, and for good reason, too. I spent the day chasing this kid around a mountain, a garden, and a museum, as well as stopping him from launching himself down flights of stairs, looping my finger through his backpack strap so that he wouldn't roll down a mountain, pulling him from the edges of rooftops, and pulling him down from high places (please know that this wasn't fun for me, as I'm 5'3) after he performed an amazing feat of parkour with some of the other ministry kids(think, "My friend is offering me a boost with his hands in jumping up to this ledge where I most definitely should not be... I'm gonna do it, just because"). "Breathe," I kept telling myself as I'm sprinting after this child. "Breathe". Alas, at the very end of the day, when we had to say goodbye, Señora Woody encouraged my kid to give me a hug and say goodbye. At first, he kind of gave me a half hug and then sprinted off to look at something, but then he returned to give me a real hug. With his head. (Think battering ram splintering wooden doors). All jokes aside, we embraced(after he found the use of his arms) and said goodbye, looking at me with those George Clooney eyes(thanks, Señora Woody, for that reference). It was in this moment that the solid walls of my pride came crashing down, and I realized that all of this wasn't for my sake, but for his. The team was sent here, by God Himself, to serve, and not be served. To care, and not be cared for(though we most definitely are cared for, quite well). (Okay, that may have been a longer "summary" than originally planned, but I really think it needed to be heard, or at least the last few sentences.)

     Anyways, at the ministry today, I led a craft group with Sarah Nissly, in which we constructed sheep out of marshmallows and pretzels. As I mentioned before, I was less that mentally prepared to deal with another group of kids. But, boy, was I surprised. The kids that came through our group were absolutely amazing. To add to that, I was introduced by Señora Woody to a girl who shared my name. "Me gusta su nombre" ("I like your name"), I said with a smile, and the hug she gave me nearly brought tears to my eyes(not exactly sure why, but it was pretty great). As we went through the day, my overall mood got better and better. When one group was leaving our section in rotation, a little girl told me goodbye, and she held my hand, only letting go when her little arm could no longer stretch so that her hand met mine (again, waterworks). Also, one little boy asked to take a picture with me, with me(honestly, that had only been desired from other people like Michael or Taylor, but never me). As you all probably guessed, I was pretty darn exited to take one picture with one kid. I didn't cry that time, which was weird. My smile in that picture was probably overdone, but it was genuine. Believe that.

     For me, today was the absolute best day of this missions trip thus far(for obvious reasons, at least to me). I'm thankful to God for allowing me to serve in Colombia with these wonderful people, and I can't wait to see what the next few days have in store.

Much Love,
Stephanie Druid

p.s.: The picture is of my kid, the professional sprinter, at one of the tourist sites. He's okay, I promise. He's only posing.


   

   

Thursday, June 23 -- La Fundacion la Luz del Mundo

    Today was one of our more relaxed days. Breakfast was at 7:30, so of course we all woke up at 7:27. We left the guest house at 8:15 for "La Fundacion la Luz del Mundo" (The Light of the World Foundation). At the ministry, we divided around 50 kids into 6 groups, and rotated them through 6 stations (music, story, crafts, games, etc.). All of the stations had activities centered around the parable of the lost sheep. At this point in the week, after 3 days and countless hours spent with kids. I was less then excited to spend another 3 hours with more kids. I was exhausted after spending the whole day yesterday chasing a five year old who loved piggy-back rides around 3 tourist attractions, and who apparently got car-sick easily. But I was wrong, these kids were wonderful. It may be hard to believe, but they were obedient, attentive, and excited about the activities.
    I was the leader of one of the craft stations, where we made sheep out of marshmallows and pretzels.  When Sra. Woody first suggested that we change the Oreo, frosting, chocolate, and mini marshmallow craft to a jumbo marshmallow and some pretzels sticks, I was a little skeptical. I looked at the example picture (you can google it), and the first word that popped into my head wasn't "sheep" it was "creepy." But inexpensive and easy always trumps cute, and as alway's, Sra. Woody was right. The kids loved those creepy pretzel-headed sheep. They kept "accidentally" breaking the pretzel legs and heads, and then they would look at me and say "esta roto" (it's broken), and I would just smile and hand them another pretzel. I saw all kinds of sheep, we had double-headed, 5-legged, sideways, and I saw some kid just break all his pretzels and stick them into the marshmallow wherever he wanted. After they ate their "sheep," we had coloring pages to take up the remaining time before the rotation. The coloring pages we had for this lesson were sheep themed, but none of the kids took those ones, they all wanted the American themed coloring pages left over from our D.C. day at El Camino Academy. I really didn't understand how coloring the White House or Capitol building was more interesting then coloring shepherds and their sheep (who don't necessarily have to be white).
    I was really surprised at the level of maturity and kindness in these kids. They always shared without a thought. One time a little girl asked me if she could have another marshmallow, and I had to say no because I didn't know if their would be enough for the remaining groups. But the little boy next to her just handed over his half-chewed marshmallow, which was adorable but also kinda gross, and returned to coloring. Also, if they didn't want their pretzels they would always ask if anybody else wanted them before throwing them away. I got a whole new perspective on kids, and had a great time. I loved that we got the opportunity to love on these kids, and teach them more about God's word.

--Sarah Nissly

Today was another great day in Bogotá, though Colombia is currently behind 2-0 at the half of the Copa América semifinal game.  It has been so much fun for me to be back "home" at least for a week.  One of the things that I have missed the most about Colombia is service.  At El Camino Academy (ECA), the school that I used to go to here, there is a huge emphasis on service.  Each grade at the school has their own ministry for the school year that they work with throughout the year, building relationships with the people at that ministry.  That is why today was so special to me. Today, instead of spending an hour or two with the children at the ministries and then leaving probably never to see them again, we were able to build real relationships with the children from Hogar de Paz in Lijaca.  Spending the whole day riding the bus for hours and touring downtown Bogotá with the kids allowed us to spend a lot of time with them and really get to know them on a much deeper level.

I actually got to get to know two different kids today.  The first kid's name was Heiden, a feisty and energetic boy who wanted to run everywhere and have me spin him around.  While it was exhausting chasing a 7-year-old at 10,500 feet above sea level for an hour and a half, he was actually a very sweet kid who loved playing with slinkies in the shops at the top of the mountain.  It was also very cool because as we were walking up from the tram on the mountain, we passed the stations of the cross that are along the path to the top.  I asked if he knew the story of Jesus' crucifixion and he said no, so as we passed each of the stations I was able to share the gospel with him.  Later on in the day, Cal and I switched partners to give both of us a break, so I spent the rest of the day with a girl named Jessica.  We had a blast eating lunch, doing piggyback rides, and running through the garden at Simón Bolivar's house.  It was so much fun getting to spend time with her, but it made it extremely hard to say goodbye, especially because she came back 10 different times saying that this was the last hug and that we could leave now.

Getting to build relationships with these kids really reminded me of the importance of investing in service and ministry.  While short-term mission trips are good, I was really challenged to invest in a ministry long-term when I get home, just like we used to at ECA because investing in relationships is one of the most powerful ways to share God's love with someone.

- Kaitlyn McCollum

I'm writing this on my phone while on the bus, in traffic, on the way back from doing some shopping. There's a decent amount of traffic here everyday which seems like a bad thing at first, but, we've had some seriously fun games of Mafia, Contact and Ghost (you'll probably get an explanation of those at the end of the week). At the market we were just shopping at, I got some weird stretchy pants, this super awesome belt, and some magnets for my brothers. Things like that aren't super expensive here which has been really fun so far. 

Today we did some touristy things with the kids of Hogar de Paz- one of the ministries we worked with yesterday- like visiting Monserrat, the house of Simon Bolivar, and a gold museum. At the beginning of the day, we each picked a random kid from the ministry and it was our job to look out for them throughout the day. The little boy I was with was named Juan Camilo. On the bus ride he barely spoke and ended up falling asleep in my lap before we even got to the first site. I thought, "wow this is gonna be really easy", and "he's so peaceful and calm". I was so wrong. I think I ran like 7 miles today trying to keep up with this kid, whether he was running to get somewhere or just running to run from me. My patience was really tested. There were points when I got frustrated and wanted to either yell at him or just give him to Michael- because just about every kid here is in love with him. But every time I caught up to him, he would walk up to me, grab my hand and start walking again and it was impossible to be mad at him at all. 

At the end of the day when the kids were leaving, there weren't tears, but it was definitely a little sad. Taylor- who really bonded with the little girl he was with- said, "Wow this is what it must feel like to send a kid off to college." Even though that's probably not accurate at all, we can all agree that we had seriously grown to love these kids in the short time we were with them. 

I was not too optimistic when today started and by the end of it, it felt like I was sending a kid I met less than 24 hours ago off to college (sort of). God never ceases to amaze me in the ways he works through people, whether it's a high schooler on a missions trip or an 8 year old running around a mountain. I've grown closer to everyone from AACS on this trip so far and everyone we've met here and I can't wait to see what the next three days have in store :) 

-Sophie Thompson