Colombia

Well guys this very well might be it, my very last blog, and quiet the journey it has been, maybe one day I will go back and read them all, or print them all off and just see and reflect and remind myself of all the things God has done and how He has been FAITHFUL and GOOD throughout all this journey, even in the seasons of doubt and unanswered prayers.   I have been back for almost five months now and even that has been a journey and quiet overwhelming at times.  It has been so good to reconnect with many of you, the coffee’s, the meals, the good heart to heart chats, the encouragements and yes, even the tears.   I did finally find a job, starting on September 4th, working with Catholic Social Services in a group home for at-risk-kids.  It’s a six month contract, not my first choice of a job, but I am thankful and hoping that with a foot in the door that it will be a start anyways.   It has been good to be back and for the most part that has been my answer...

Wow, who would of ever thought, like really.  I am sure each of you have your own story of how crazy things are in your part of the world.  Here things never cease to be crazy but in a different way.  I had planned to move back to Canada on April 18th, but with everything going on I was told that it would be best to come back as soon as possible.  So on Sunday the 15th I booked a ticket to leave on the 21st.  And oh man what my life just got crazy.  That week I had one on one's booked up to be able to say good bye to my peeps here but had to cancel them all and crazy pack my life for the last 10 years in two suit cases, sell the truck, get my house in order and all the paperwork I need to bring my dog back (yes for those of you who don't know I am bringing a dog back with me and leave).  While I know it's my time to leave Colombia, once that ticket was booked for Saturday, oh how I cried and cried.  Know that this was it, my time has come.  ...

Well just like that it’s over…all over, like really done. It’s a little unbelievable to tell you the truth, it doesn’t seem real.  It was a good way to end, four out of the seven girls that were invited came (well a wrong one was sent, apparently there are more than one Dana’s and somewhere along the line messages got crossed), but God knew, this Dana needed to come. We had a lot of fun playing more boardish type games, games that you can really only do with a small group.  We of course played gaga-ball (still an all-time favorite) and went one the zip line (another all-time favorite) and Friday we went out to Suesca (one of my all-time favorite places in Colombia) to go rock climbing (one of my all-time favorite things to do) and THEY LOVED IT, which made my heart happy, it challenged them, they were a little scared, but when they came down they were all smiles and super keen on talking about how it was for them and they couldn’t wait to try the other rou...

Once again it’s been too long and once again there is a lot to share. We had the boys 14-18 camp.  It was a little bit stressful leading up to it, once again I had staff cancel, some leaving early, some arriving late.  While this required some juggling around it all worked out because we only had a few boys sign up.  It went well over all.  They were well behaved (well for the most past but we do expect some misbehavior now and then).  And if I am being honest, with this group it’s hard to tell how much they are receiving and how attentive they are for the devotional times.  I just pray that what they learned and experienced here, not only through the devotionals, but also through the games and activities and interactions with the staff, that will take root and grow in their hearts once they leave camp and that the memories will stay with them.  I always like to remind myself that God brought them here for a reas...

I didn’t even realize until today that I haven’t even blogged about the mom’s camp and here I am, almost two weeks after the girls 11-13 camp, feeling bad that I haven’t blogged on that one yet. Yikes time really does get away from me. The mom’s camp was probably my favorite. Mostly because it was the least stressful.  I didn’t have to get after them for punching each other in the face or calling each other names, I just got to hang out with them.  I also think that they probably had the most fun.  It was a blessing to see some of their walls break down and seeing their faces light up when they hear about how much their Father in heaven loves them.  Just like the other kids that come to camp they’ve had years of being told they are worthless and will never amount to anything, years of deep heart wounds going unhealed and years of building up walls around their hearts.  With a lot of the families and children we work with, t...

This is long overdue I know…where does the time go.  I think that I was in an after camp coma, recovering and resting and getting caught up on life, and here we are, almost two weeks after the last camp.  Now just where to start… The first camp, boy 11-13, was probably the most difficult.  We were house bound a lot cause of the rain, and having 13 boys of that age group cooped up inside, they tend to go a little crazy.  Every time it stopped raining or when it was just raining a little bit we would run outside and do everything we could before it started to rain again.  In this camp we had the male staff share their testimonies for the devotional time.  I think this was really impactful for them because a lot of the staff come from similar backgrounds as these boys.  It was good for them to see that someone understands them and that they can make different choices, even when they have everything going against them.  Hearing some of these kids...

Hey guys so camp went really well, like really well...The girls were so sweet and lovely and the had a great time.  At lunch on the last day they were banging the table saying “we don’t want to go” and even though I am exhausted it is hard to see them go.  I always tell them at the beginning of camp the we have 0 tolerance for bullying cause this is a safe place for everyone. And we really want to make this a safe place, a place where they feel loved and accepted and it’s hard to see them go cause 98% of them are going back to places that aren’t safe, places where they don’t feel loved and accepted and it’s a step of faith to let them go and trust that God has got them, to trust that what they learned her and what they felt here won’t be in vain and that they will carry it and feel it as they go back to not so idea situations, that somehow in the craziness of their lives they will keep their innocence.  But guys please keep them in your prayers, it seems like things are...

Brace yourselves this might be a long one, I guess that’s what happens when I don’t update you guys as often as I should.   I feel like there is a lot to update you guys on, a lot to pray for and just a lot of random thoughts that have been going on in me head.   But I guess I will just start writing and see where we end up. In March I had two lovely visitors, a grandma and her granddaughter, that came and worked and worked and worked.   They got so much done.   Cleaning and organizing and shelve and coat rack building, but I think the best part of it was the lovely company they were.   Between the lovely morning chats (before the granddaughter woke up) and the endless games of Rook… we won’t say who won most of them.   But it was awesome having them here. Just a few days after they left my mom and another friend came to visit.   It was also very lovely.   Showing them around Bogota and around Colombia, going to one of my favorite places...

Well I have been back for almost a month now and its been good being back and getting settled back in.   Two good friends of mine that met here and got married but left to live in England for the past 3 years are now back and going to be living and working on the farm (doing agriculture work), so I have been pretty excited about that.   Last week we had a week of orientation and staff bounding time, which was nice to see and connect with people again.   We had a couple come and speak to us and talk to us about God’s faithfulness and His goodness, even when the suffered the loss of a daughter to leukemia.   It was really powerful and a good reminder that even in the hardest circumstances that God is always good and always faithful.   I will have to keep reminding myself of this when things with life and camp get overwhelming. With some very lovely friends I have already gotten one shopping trip out of the way and will have a couple more to do and I have a lo...

Some of you know, from my many emails asking for prayer, that our last camp didn’t end how one would want/imagine/hope.  I won’t get into all the details because there are a lot and a lot of them have since been sorted out, but it would also make the blog long winded,  But on the last night of camp one of the boys got hurt.  A few boy jumped up and hung from the soccer net and it tipped over and fell on this kids face.  His bottom lip was ripped up really bad, like scary movie bad, and he lost several of his upper teeth and some of them got pushed up into his gums.  He was rushed to the hospital and has had two surgeries, but is now home and recovering.  There is still some figuring out to do and he will need implants, which insurance doesn’t cover, so we are seeing how we can help out with that and other additional costs that come along with this incident. Needless to say it wasn’t fun and I was struggling with the whole realm of emotions.  (I am...

I am sitting here in my nice cozy home drinking hot chocolate as it is pouring rain, I mean pouring rain.  I have never in my life been so thankful for the rain until I moved into a house that relied on rain water for everything… FOR EVERYTHING, and as the rain comes pouring down, I am reminded of Gods faithfulness.  I sometimes don’t know  what God is up to…Most of the time I don’t know what God is up to. In a season full of blessings, but also filled with stresses and questions and wonderings… God has always proved faithful. From bunk bed mishaps, to sitting on the side of the road in a broken down truck on moving day, to only having seven girls sign up for the last camp, to wondering where my full time team is, cause if I am being honest, its a little hard doing this journey alone… but God has always proved Himself faithful and has always provided just what I needed, when I needed it.  From money to pay what we needed to get the bunk beds done, from a tru...