Colombia

Well where as the time gone. I am sitting here in the internet cafe, the one I have come to many times, but know there is not a lot of time left. I have one more week of classes left before we go on outreach. We will be two weeks in a river village. Prayer will really be appreciated for this because it's a tough place to be and really challenging, also we already have two people on our team that have dengue and there are a lot of mosquito's so please please keep our team in your prayers. I am looking forward to it because I know its an experience of a life tome but I know it will be really challenging as well. After the river, we spend one more week in Iquitos, the spend some time in other cities in Peru such as Arequipa, Cuzco, Lima and Chiclayo and then off to a couple cities in Bolivia. I am soo excited for the outreach, so so so excited. The lecture phase has been awesome. There have been incredibly challenging parts about it and times that I just wanted to scream. B...

Man oh man time flies. I can’t believe that I have be gone for two months and that I am already over half done the lecture phase of my DTS. We have had such topics has personality and spiritual gifts, identity and destiny, inner healing, making choices that honor God and this past week communication and interpersonal relationships. I can’t even describe how much I have been learning and how much I have been challenged. Some weeks have been harder then others, but in a good way. I continue to make good memories and have tons of laughs. Last weekend we did a mini outreach to the jungle. Oh the experience. We left about 11am on Friday, boarded bus for a short 20 min ride to where our boat was and then about 1 hour and 45 min ride on a boat to the little village. The boat ride was awesome. Meeting families on the way that were coming to and from the city with their little wooden boat full of goods. I also have great respect for people who know their way around. Now we weren’...

Crazy game of what time is it Mr. Wolf, the kids were crazy fast. They are used to running away from snakes and leopards and stuff My lovely home. Two beautiful girls from the river village Sight from the boat on the way to the village

Two weeks in and I have already learned a lot and have had unique experiences. The First few days were orientation and going over the rule and the have not and what not’s. There are 30 students here, some from Peru, some from Colombia, the States, Holland, Germany and New Zealand. Getting used to sharing one room and 3 showers with 15 girls has been easier then I thought it would. It kind of forces quick, close friendships. Of course YWAM is all about team building and living in community so last Wednesday we did a mini Amazing race. It was pretty intense. We left the base at 10am and didn’t get back until 830pm. We were running around Iquitos, trying to find different monuments, trying to get a picture with the mayor, helping push a tricycle full of wood. There were so many moments of frustration with that race, but my team did pretty good in working together. We were asked in the mayors office if we were on the amazing race, I told them yes, but we just won’t be on TV. Of co...

It was soo good to be back in Colombia. It was soo good to see all my friends and it was also really encouraging to have peace that Colombia is where I am suppose to be. There was some hard news while I was there with some of the families that we have worked with or are working with and there is also just this darkness in the area we work in that is soo hard to describe. The one family of the two girls that I talked about in my last post. I found out that they are going to be kicked out if their house as it is being condemned. They are a family of soon to be 12 children has there mother is pregnant with another set of twins and there is nowhere for them to go. Also one little girl of 6 years old, who spends a lot of time in our 24 hour care program, her uncle was brutally murdered not to long ago. The two directors of Formando vidas, the agency I am with. Went with her to the funeral. Funerals for people who don’t know Jesus in Colombia, I guess can be a little rough. I ...

So here is a little glimps into my ticket fiasco. I got to the airport nice and early in Bogota for a flight that I was suppose to be on. I get to the counter and they said that I wasn’t on the flight and sent me to another counter. When I got to the counter this one lady (who wasn’t very nice), told me that expedia cancelled my flight. On my cell phone I am trying to call everyone I know, but they are all in a party. I get a hold of Mary, who isn’t at the party and she gets a hold of someone at the party as she doesn’t have internet access. They call me and it turns out that expedia cancelled the flight because they said LAN cancelled with them. While my friends were on hold with expedia, I was running around Amazing Race style, trying to find another flight. The earliest flight turned out to be for Thursday when my school starts on Monday. I was then trying to see if I could fly to the southern most part of Colombia and take a speedboat over. Alas expedia got me on the 11...

So it’s true I am writing from Colombia. I can’t believe how fast the time went and that I am sitting where I sat two years ago. I never thought the time would come but it did. Most of the time it felt like I never left but then other times, it feels surreal and that it was forever ago that I was here. It was a little hard to leave home, as no one really loves good byes. I blame leaving on my friends and family for being awesome. If you guys weren’t so awesome it wouldn’t have been soo hard to leave. So thank you sooooooo much for all your support, love and prayers and I definitely wouldn’t be back here if it wasn’t for you so thank you for playing your part in my journey. And keep the prayers coming because they are always, always needed. Thanks also to Lori who helped me pack. I was quiet overwhelmed when I looked at the disorganized mess of things to pack on my floor wondering how everything is going to fit… and it all did. There was a little rearranging of weight tha...