No Regrets

I have been in Bogota for a little over a week now.  It feels like home. Everything feels PERFECT.  I have to admit, coming here I was very worried. I left everything and stepped out in faith that things would fall into place when I arrived.  My faith told me everything will be fine but the world told me have fear, and it was a constant battle the entire last week in the United States. 

The first few days I stayed in the club with the board of OHI and visited various institutions and schools. The first day I got to spend the morning with Vanessa.   When we arrived at Santa Maria, Shoby stepped off the bus telling me he saw a familiar face. As I stuck my head out of the bus, I see her dart from the window and down the stairs.  That initial embrace is unexplainable. The smile on her face and the embrace of her little arms were worth every sacrifice I made.  I wish I would have captured her smile when I told her I know live in Bogota and will see her weekly! This smile isn't even close:

The rest of the afternoon was a lunch and a meeting with Don Jose Vincente, my new boss and the director of Fundacion Por un Mundo Nuevo. It was very interesting to sit in on a meeting between the board and Don Vincente, especially when my opinion was asked and thought about. It made me feel more than a volunteer.  He has asked me to help teach the children of San Miguel and Casa Egresso English, while they of course help me with my Spanish!  Believe it or not my Spanish gets much better daily. My family here in Colombia says in about 2 months I will have no problem! That's DEFINITELY a refresher!  The next day we visited a place I never could have imagined. It is in the foothills of Bogota and called Altos de Cazuca. It was very humbling.  These people live in huts, literally tin huts.  The size of these huts made my 600 sq ft apartment look like a mansion. It was heart breaking to see children and families have to live this way. We were able to pray with a young mother of two. She was forced to rent another home in fear that her home now would be victim to one of the many mudslides in this area. These mud slides level homes leaving nothing! She could barely afford the home she had, let alone another one. She said her average income for a month was aprox 50,000 pesos. To put this into better perspective, that's about $25 dollars per month. Lets just say God answered her prayers!

Shortly after viewing the School of CDA in Cazuca and viewing the city itself we arrived at the girls home of CDA. Now to my understanding, these girls were taken from there homes due to poor living conditions, such as abuse and things to this extent. This was a institution I have never visited but the girls were PRECIOUS! Actually, precious is an understatement!

This was my last day with OHI. The next morning, I arrived at the office of Don Vincente.  He took me to San Miguel and after lunch I started working. My first class was girls probably 13-16. There was about 50 and every one of them is eager to learn more English! At the end of each class they always ask when I will return. To visually see the impact I have on these children is a blessing! I often joke that its not fair to others that this is my job. But it is, I took the steps of faith and was rewarded for taking those steps. Everyone has often asked me when will I leave. Honestly, 2 or 3 years probably will not be enough. Colombia is becoming my new home and I may not return to the United States for good anytime soon. I have completely fallen in love with Gods children here in Colombia. The children nobody wanted, the children that were abused, and the children of these institutions are all my children and I love them dearly, ALL of them! Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of my classes. We have too much fun trading out English for Spanish it has slipped my mind!

God has placed me into a great Godly family here in Colombia.  I have been living with Nelda, a great woman of God. I already consider her my spiritual mother here in Colombia! Oscar, her nephew, has been taking care of me. He has been greatly helping with my Spanish and showing me the culture of Bogota. We all have a good time in the evening laughing and joking about the day. A lot of the jokes are based on my Spanish but it's all good fun!

I got to spend Halloween with ALL of the children of FMN at San Gabriel.  We had a giant festival for the children and they all had costumes! Some were pirates, butterflies, ladybugs, bees, and other various costumes. We had food, fun, entertainment, and most of all it was all focused on Christ! It was amazing to see the children happy, even based on there conditions. It was a blessing to know that these children look up to me and I am impacting their lives. As I walked through the crowds at the festival, all of the children wanted high fives and hugs and nearly all of them came and said "choa Chris!" Little things like this make this transition so easy. It was worth leaving everything and I would do it again, given the chance!

From His Front Lines,

Chris