Fun and Travels Along the Coast

Hey everybody! So as you know, the last couple weeks have been pretty full for me (although they have been quite enjoyable, so I certainly can't complain!). It started with my friend from Moody joining me here for 10 days. We were able to visit Rosario, the white beaches (picture on left), as well as check out all the different events from the holiday week that was taking place at the same time.
As you can see from my picture on the right, when a lot of Colombians gather in one place, like at this parade, things get a little out of control. :) This little girl was just some random girl I met there that turned into my arch-enemy in a huge shaving-cream war. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm pretty sure she won.

Also, just yesterday I left with James and Sandra to check out some other coastal cities that aren't too far away. So we arrived in Barranquilla last night (where James and I promptly went to a local pizza place with 2 HD-TV's and caught the Eagles-Bears game....to all my Chicago friends out there....HAHA!).
This morning James and I woke up bright and early and took a taxi-van thing to Santa Marta, where I was able to check out Colegio Cristiano La Esperanza, the Christian school that the group from Hilltown was able to help build 10 years ago or so (and as my dad was part of that group, I was very excited about this). So James and I had the opportunity to talk with them and get a tour of the school. We were both very impressed with the school and it's curricullum (especially that there is an American girl there teaching English through another missions organization). We think it would be very cool if we could manage to partner with them in some way, but just have a lot of praying and waiting to do to see where God leads. Tomorrow I will have the chance to see a little bit more of Barranquilla in the morning before we hurry back in time for our Tuesday English classes in Cartagena. Well, that's all for now...I just wanted to update you guys on the exciting news of being able to visit the school and everything like that. I will post more in the upcoming weeks with my travels to Bogotá and possibly some pictures of Barranquilla. As always, thanks for your prayers and God bless!! I'll leave you with one last picture of the school (as I understand you Hilltowners helped build the 3rd floor).

One Last Month

Are you kidding me? Where has the time gone?! I can't believe I'm down to just one month remaining on this trip. I've got some exciting things to tell you guys though.
Now that James and I have had the opportunity to really start building a relationship with some of these kids, we have moved on from just teaching them English and training them in basketball. I now have the opportunity three times a week of sharing a devotional with them. It's been amazing. They've been so responsive. Yesterday I actually shared about laziness and how it is a major contributor to poverty (don't believe me, check out Proverbs). I was a little bit nervous as all these kids come from a very poor background, and I didn't want to come across as judgmental despite my still-somewhat-limited Spanish. It went so well though, as they totally opened up and talked about experiences they've seen in their own life about how laziness is so prevalent among the people they live with and even in their own lives. I've been slowly building up to the Gospel-presentation I have planned for this upcoming Saturday. So please be praying for that time!!

Another HUGE thing that is an answer to prayer is that God has [somewhat] revealed to me what He has for me in this next step in my life. I have decided after much prayer and talking to people close to me to come back down here full-time. I'm not exactly sure what the time-frames would look like, but I am kind of thinking I would head back down here around Jan 2011 and be here for around 5 years or so (and then see what happens from there, obviously). So thank you so much for your prayers in that area of my life, and continued prayers would be greatly appreciated as there is now a great deal of prep-work to be done for when I get back to Colombia.

Finally, let me give you a little peek at what's up for the final month that I'll be here. This next week is crazy in Cartagena as it is pretty much just a huge party week. All the schools have off and it's just one big ole fiesta that is finished off next weekend with the Miss Colombia pageant here! As fun as all that sounds, it is also a bit of a pain, because it adds insane amounts of traffic and it now takes about twice as long to get anywhere. But oh well, like I said, it's only a week long. One of my friends from Moody is visiting and while she is here we're taking the time on Wednesday to go to Las Playas Blancas de Rosario (aka....The White Beaches of Rosario). I'm excited because I hear it is just absolutely beautiful and a must-see/do while here in Cartagena. So it should be a nice 1-day vacation that I'm definitely looking forward to. Then during the third weekend in November (well...the 22nd-24th) James, Sandra, and I are headed to Baranquilla and Santa Marta to do some more ministry-scouting. On top of being able to check out some different schools in those cities (including the Christian school that the group from HBC helped build in Santa Marta a few years back), it will also be a good opportunity for me to just check out some other cities here in Colombia. Then that Thursday is Thanksgiving, so we plan on making it an All-American Day. Playing some American football in the morning, followed by a great turkey dinner, followed by watching football the rest of the day. :) Then, the following week (the first week in December), James and I are headed to Bogotá for a few days so I can check out the massive capital city, as well as see El Camino Academy (ECA), an English-speaking Christian school there. So I'm certainly excited about that. And then finally, the last week I'm here, we're planning on doing a fairly big camp as our last hurrah. So needless to say, this last month is going to just fly by!

Thanks again to all of you for your prayers, and hopefully this will help direct your prayers a little more. I love you all and am so excited for your willingness to partner with me in the saving of lives here in Colombia. May God be glorified in all we do!