Home at Last

                                                                               
 So I am finally back in Colombia.  At times it seemed like it was never going to happen, but alas I am here and it feels so good to be back.  The picture to the right is the view from the living room window.  Isn't Colombia beautiful.  After being in the desert of Peru for so long, it's so nice to be back in the beautiful green of Colombia.

After my DTS I spent some time in the town of Cengiella, which is just outside of Lima while I applied for my visa.  One of my friends and two families (one from Colombia and one from Holland) that I met while I was in Colombia last time, moved to Peru to start a ministry there.  Where the work is pretty cool.  They work in this invasion community called Estraillita (little star).  Which is a community of 5000 people, living in 3X3 little wooden houses, most with dirt floors.  This community started with some people who took over the land.  There is this law in Peru that once who have lived on land for 10 years you can
 apply to have that land as your own, so thats what these people are doing.  The land is filled with guards and little look out towers.  There is a make shift fence all around it and at the entrance, there are about five guards who control who comes in and
who doesn't.  It pretty much as its own government and if you don't follow the rules of the leaders you can get yourself kicked out.  There is no drinking and drugs in this community and if you come back drunk they won't let you in.  There is also no type of abuse against children or women allowed.
So the people I know work there 3 days a week and have a pre-shool for the kids there.  A lot of the kids are really behind.  They have a five year old who still does not know her shapes.  Two days a week they have an older group that comes after school to get help with homework.  There is a lot more they would like to do but have a shortage of people.  So if any of who wants to go work there let me know and I can give you the information.  The pictures of the kids are kids from their ministry.  They are also in the middle of building a new centre with cement floors.  It is going to be so nice and so much cleaner.

So as I was saying I am here in Colombia.  My first few weeks were spent up at the farm in the Kiwi house, which is a house of kids who are in 24hr care.  I am here helping out because one of the girls that lives and works here is on holidays.  They have four full time kids, from ages 15 to 3 years old and then on the weekend a 1 year old and another 3 year old come.  I like being at the farm because it is so pretty and peaceful, but being in 24 hour care is a lot of work and I have lots of respect for the single girls who work up here 24 hours a day.

I also know more or less what I will be doing while I am here and while I am super excited about it, I will be busy.  I will be mostly working with families.  Doing home visits, helping them with discipline and structure and meeting their basic needs.  A lot has happened with the kids since I left, some of them got taken into government care, one of their dads ended up in jail and some of them ended getting kicked out of their home.  I will also be helping with parent workshops that we have once a month and just taking the parents to different meetings or appointments they have to go to.  There is also a parent visit once a month for the kids that are in 24 hour care and I will be doing an activity there, that encourages interacting between the parents and the children.
I will also be working at the school I was at last time, doing different activities with the kids around team building and self-esteem and basic social school.  Once  a week I will also be working in Cazuca ( a dangerous, poor part of Bogota) with Mary, an Australian lady.  She has a kids club up their and is quite a fascinating person and I am sure there will be a lot of stories to come about the work up there.  Once a week I also hope to do a type of youth group in another part of Bogota and really focus on discipling the youth and get them active and involved in their community.
And as far as I know the last thing that I will be doing will be doing workshops with the kids that are in 24 hour care once a month, around sexuality and drugs and all those things that kids need to learn.
So their is a lot of work to do.  Most of it will be started after I come back from a quick trip to Haiti for my friends wedding, but most of it will be planning and organizing because the school year ends in December.
But there is a lot to pray for
1) I need to find an affordable apartment and get all the things one needs when
2) My Spanish to continue to grow at a miraculous rate
3) Wisdom as I work with these kids and families
4) For passion and love for these families and to see them through Gods eyes

Thanks again for your prayers,
Ingie

I will be making a news letter once I get back from Haiti.  If you are not on my blog update list and would like to receive the news letter email me at napoleanishot@gmail.com

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