The past few days I have been overjoyed watching the interactions between the AACS community and the people here in Colombia. The guys on the trip have been a complete blessing to me the way they interact with and show love to the children. It brings a smile to my face every time the McCollum sisters see an old friend here in Colombia and light up. The way that the Kuehnes do not speak fluent Spanish but still portray the hands and feet of Jesus by their actions towards others. I felt overjoyed watching all this happen around me, but I did not yet feel like a part of it. I knew it would happen, and last night I was encouraged by Brooke and Mrs. Woody telling me that "God works in mysterious ways" and "He gives you a great moment when you least expect it." I knew this was true so I was not disheartened even though I had not yet had my "moment".

Today started out with breakfast and celebrating Melissa's quincenera (her 15th birthday). We sang happy birthday, we had a card, two "Happy Birthday" banners, confetti poppers, and a pink button with ribbon that said "Birthday Girl" on it. It was a fun morning for all and it was awesome to share this experience with the others on the trip.

Soon after, we loaded onto the bus and headed to Hogar de Paz, a ministry that works with young children (mostly elementary school kids). Once there, we had rotations that had to do with the parable of the lost sheep. We told them the lesson, made a craft, a snack, had games. I was having a pretty good time. Afterwards, we had lots of time to kill so we took the kids across the street to the playground and hung out with them there. This is when I had the "moment" I had been looking for.

Earlier, while we were doing the rotations, I had a girl in my group named Laura. She was 11 years old and super sweet. I liked her immediately because she obeyed the rules and did what she was told. What's not to love about that, right? But once we went to the playground her and I bonded. We all stayed at the playground for over an hour and during that time Laura and I jumped rope, had sack races, played on the jungle gym, talked about life, took selfies, and I even taught her some English. It meant so much to me to be with her and talk with her. Even though I was the one teaching her English, I feel like she helped me to improve my Spanish. Obviously I did not understand every single word she said, but I understood a lot. And even when I didn't, the smile on her face would say it all. She was having a great time - and so was I! It was truly fantastic to have the Spirit moving that quick. Less than 24 hours before, I was slightly disheartened because I had not had my "moment," and just like that He gave it to me.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So the AACS kids went back into Hogar de Paz and had lunch. Laura had not yet been picked up, but a few minutes into eating she was getting ready to leave so I stood up and gave her a hug. I thought that she had left, but once I sat down, she ran and gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. That definitely made my day.

After lunch we went to a different Hogar de Paz. From what I understand, "Hogar de Paz" is a common name for ministries here. We did a very similar thing here, which consisted of games, crafts, and a story. However, we only stayed for an hour and a half or so at this ministry.

Once we left the second Hogar de Paz, we travelled to "Catedral de Sal," which translates to "the Salt Cathedral." This place is exactly what it sounds like; it is an underground salt mine that has been carved to be a Cathedral. It has over a dozen crosses cut out of the rocks, each one representing a station of the cross from Catholic tradition. It was somewhat like Lurray Caverns, except salt. Plus, we were allowed to lick the walls if we wanted!

Aside from Catedral de Sal, the final thing to end this lovely Tuesday was to go out to dinner for Melissa's birthday. We went to Crepes and Waffles to celebrate. Here we had great food and team bonding, just getting a chance to relax and talk about the day. Today was truly a great day and tomorrow we get to see the children from the first Hogar de Paz again. I hope to see Laura tomorrow and I can't wait to see what the Lord continues to do with this group of AACS students throughout the week.

~ Shannon Baden

June 20, 2016-- El Camino Academy and Host Dinner

In all honesty I was completely unsure of how this trip would pan out. Whether we would be staying in a stranger's home or if I would get lost in Bogotá, I had no idea. My biggest expectation (and something of a prejudice) was that all of the ministries would be impoverished and dangerous, although what I have seen so far have been a testament to how incredibly blessed I am at home. Regardless, the welcoming environment that I've experienced here has developed a foundation into the way I'll view the world from hence on.

Today was spent at El Camino Academy (ECA), where our group had some familiarity thanks to the McCollum's. Although I never found an issue with interacting with children, I felt today there was a special connection I had with them, which I believe can be accredited to God and prayer. Anyways, there were two specific girls today, Karen and Sharon, who were probably the sweetest Kindergarteners I've met. And the best part was that we didn't even speak the same language, which probably furthered our relationship. 

When I say that these girls were attached at my hips, that's far from a figure of speech. Their excitement in playing House with me and constructively criticizing my Spanish was such an encouraging moment for me and something I think will be a cornerstone in the way I view the rest of this trip. It broke my heart when I saw them crying outside my bus window, waving as we slowly became only a cloud of dust down the road. 

To end the day Taylor and I got to spend an evening with a local family with ECA alumni to have dinner. That was intimidating, especially since I had no idea whether or not I'd be making dinner conversation with someone who's language I hardly knew. I couldn't have been more wrong with that idea. The Gomez family was extremely welcoming and it probably didn't hurt that they were fluent in English either. We learned tons about Colombian culture, especially the emphasis on relationships.

I hope my path will cross with that of Karen and Sharon, or the Gomez's further down the road of this trip, but whether they do or not I speak with no hesitance when I say that today completely changed the way I not only view missions work, but the world itself. Thanks for reading my piece, and your continuous prayers help in magnificent ways.

-- Michael Dix

June 20, 2016 - Monday

We had an early start today, waking up at 6 for breakfast at 6:15. We all rushed to the kitchen, eager to eat the great food and hot chocolate that Berta (an amazing woman that cooks breakfast for us) had prepared for us. Afterwards, we all got everything together and headed out on the bus to ECA (El Camino Academy).

On the bus to ECA, we all played the game "Contact" and laughed our way all the way to the Academy. We were part of an English Immersion Day for the ECA Summer School/Camp, and we taught the kids all about Washington D.C. and Abraham Lincoln. There were about 30 kids there ranging from 1st grade to 8th. There were three separate stations for the kids to go to in rotations, an information session about D.C. and Lincoln, a crafts station where the kids were able to show a little creativity about D.C. and a game station where the kids could have a break from the rest of the stations and blow off a little steam.

For the information session, Shannon put on a tophat and a beard and pretended to be Abraham Lincoln. While being Abe, she educated the kids about the different monuments in Washington D.C. such as the Lincoln Monument, the Washington Monument and many more. Shannon also educated the kids about the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and how he fought for civil rights and equality through things like the Gettysburg Address.

For the crafts station, the kids sketched and cut out bald eagles for their own personal craft. They also made some tasty little cookies in the shape of presidential faces out of vanilla wafers and some icing. The kids had a great time and enjoyed eating their cookies, even though one kid said "Wait... So we have to eat the presidents??" The kids were great in the crafts station and had a lot of fun being creative.

In the game station, kids had a ton of fun playing with each other and trying to get each other out. For the groups of younger kids, we played Four Corners and Heads Up 7-Up. The kids enjoyed Heads Up 7-Up so much that when we asked them if they were bored of the game and if they wanted to play another, they all screamed "No! No! We like this game!" For the older kids, we started off playing Death Hack, which is an American game where kids stand in a circle and juggle a ball (usually a soccer ball) using anything but your hands, and if the ball is hit by two people without hitting the ground, the ball can be caught and thrown at people in the circle to get them out. The older kids loved that game, but after a while, they were getting a little bored so we decided to play Capture the Flag. The kids ran around, screaming with pleasure as they raced to get the flag back to their base without getting tagged by the other team.

We also worshipped with the kids, both before and after the stations. We taught them some different VBS (Vacation Bible School) songs with hand motions and some other songs that were a bit less energetic. The kids loved doing motions with us, especially when we all got up front and started doing the motions where all of them could see us.

After the day was over and the kids left, all of us leaders decided to have a little fun and play the game of "Toss Up." The goal of the game is to roll colored die until you get a hundred, cashing in and stopping when you want to or risking it all for more points. Stephanie got in 1st with 103 points, Sam got in 2nd with 102 points and I got in 3rd with exactly 100 points. After the game was over, we all cleaned up our separate areas, bid everyone goodbye and got on the bus.

We traveled to a location where our host families picked us up and took us to their homes. My group of me, Stephanie and Sarah walked around Colombia, going through the mall and over a bridge in order to get to our host family's home. At the home, we were served a dish of homemade spaghetti and we played "Bibleopoly." The game is basically Monopoly but with a Bible spin on it, the cities all being cities from the Bible. I ended up winning the game just in the nick of time before we left. In the car, Sarah, Stephanie and I had a little jam session and sang our hearts out until we got back to the guest house. All in all, it was a great day with lots of fun for everyone.

--Jeremy Solsman

Sunday, June 19-----Nuevo Nacimiento

After church and lunch on top of a mountain, we had originally planned to go to a ministry called JUCUM la calera.  However, this organization had to cancel last minute and we could not go to help them.  Instead, we felt as if God was guiding us to go to Nuevo Nacimiento, a ministry that helps young, single mothers in Bogotá.

The young women who the ministry helps are from ages 11-18 with children 3 and under.  In the poorer communities in the city, many young women even resort to prostitution in order to survive.  As a result, Nuevo Nacimiento hosts women who are preparing to have a child or already have young children who also do not have the financial means or emotional and mental strength to care for their children on their own.  Nuevo Nacimiento currently hosts about 40 women, and is planning to take on 20 more soon.  The organization gives the young girls support and community when they need help to be mothers.

Although we had not originally planned to actually visit Nuevo Nacimiento, we had brought items to donate to the organization such as baby clothing and diapers.  We had not discussed the organization much, so all I really knew was that the women were roughly our age, and they were not used to respectful treatment from men.  In fact, the leaders even recommended that the boys play with the babies instead of talking to the young mothers.  As a 16-year-old boy, I was particularly apprehensive about visiting Nuevo Nacimiento because of this fact.  When we arrived, I was extremely uncomfortable and I felt very unwelcome to be there.  I felt as if the mothers would not want to talk to a boy or have a boy hold their child.  We had barely been there ten minutes, and I already wanted to leave.

As I awkwardly stood in a corner, unsure how to approach the situation, Mrs. Woody walked up and handed me a two-month-old baby named Lisa.  As a brother of 3 younger sisters, holding young babies was familiar territory for me.  Immediately, all of my nervousness and apprehensive feelings subconsciously vanished.  I did not try to suppress these feelings; they passively left me.  I completely forgot that I was even uncomfortable in the first place.  All I could think about was caring for this child and giving her mother a break to relax.  I held Lisa the entirety of our time at Nuevo Nacimiento.  Also, because I was so focused on the baby, I did not even know who her mother was until she retrieved her child from me when we were preparing to leave.

This experience at Nuevo Nacimiento showed me that when we step out of our comfort zone and put others first, God able to truly work through us.  It was his plan for us to visit these mothers, even if it was not our plan or if it was uncomfortable for us.  When we put our own desires aside, we can then see His plans for us.  When I put Lisa and her mother's needs before my own, I was truly serving.  I hope that shining our lights witnessed to these mothers, showing that they do not have to truly raise their children alone, as God is always with them.

---Taylor Thiessen

Saturday ---- June 18, 2016/Getting Underway to Bogota

"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And, behold I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28: 18-20

It's the long awaited day ...... 13 awesome students and three adults .....disciples making disciples and discipling each other on this AWESOME mission trip to Bogota, Colombia!!

Pre-Departure ....
~ EXCITEMENT!
~ Undeasiness
~ Sleepy
~ Suitcases galore
~ Checking and double-checking - does everyone have everything????
~ REASSURANCE  and p[eace from Mr. Solsman's send-of prayer --- we're ready!!!

Departure ...
~ WAITING (patiently) for the school bus (The Cheese) --- it wouldn't start and needed fuel!
~ Bus finally arrived
~ HEAVY suitcases to load through the HIGH back window since only a few would fit in the compartments under the bus.
~ Elena and Juliana (Woody) accompanied by Mrs. Baden ran alongside the bus --- almost beat us out to Burns Crossing Road.
~ Great bus driver (Ms. Marga) worried that we might be late to Dulles.
~ Lunch and snacks (along with delicious and HEALTY muffins from Mrs. Solsman)
~ Smooth sailing until 495 in Virginia ...bumper to bumper due to accident ahead.
~ TWO HOUR bus ride, but arrived safely ....THEN unloading all those suitcases..... ugh!
~ AVIANCA check-in ...long lines.
~ TSA check-in even longer lines ...but, we managed to stay together!
~ Arrived at Gate B48 with 15 minutes to spare ..... time for Chipotle carry-out for some.

Flight ...
~ AVIANCA 247
~ FULL FLIGHT, but we are pretty much all in the same area.
~ Taylor made sure Sam didn't have to sit next to the flight Attendant in the back of the plane.
~ Great flight ..... 5 hours of movies, sleep, eating.
~ Flew over Cuba ..... Jeremy said, "I hope we don't get shot down!"

Arrival ...
~  No problems in Colombian Immigration
~  Long wait for ALL the luggage.
~  ECA rep met us and we were loaded onto one bus and luggage on the other.
~  Arrived at the Guest House around midnight.
~  Settled into rooms and got familiar with all the nuances..... light switches, toilets, water.
~  Lights out around 1 AM .......

We're on our way to proclaim the Gospel and although we won't be baptizing anyone, we TRUST and PRAY that the GLORY and LOVE of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST will be reflected in (and from) what we do on this mission trip!!!

Greetings AACS Family & Friends!  We have set up this blog so we can keep you all in the loop about God's work through us in Bogotá this next week.  The students have been working hard to prepare for the week ahead, and in just over 24 hours, we will be on our way.  Thanks to each of you who has contributed time and items to our mission, and thank you for praying for us.  We feel the prayers and ask that they would continue!

En servicio al Señor Jesucristo,

AACS Colombia Missions Team 2016