Bogota, Colombia
Leaving the heat and humidity of Peru, we flew to the massive city of Bogota. The elevation is really high, and the drastic drop in temperature welcomed long sleeves back into our wardrobe as well as several colds among the team. I think the black smoke from the busses didn't help either--I held my breath a lot!
As much as the heat and primitive conditions challenged us in Peru, so the spiritually heavy atmosphere challenged us in Colombia as well. The lack of rest caught up with us as we finished our time in the jungle, leaving us in a state of total exhaustion, facing a full two week schedule of working with street kids nearly every day.
We continued to regain our energy little by little, so we could share our teachings, dramas, and testimonies with the kids and teachers.
One day we shared at the YMCA, and had some time with the mothers. After performing one of the dramas, Kate shared a little bit about her life, past struggles, and the hope that she has found in the Lord with them. The women we shared with are new believers, struggling to be or recently out of a life of prostitution.
Literally ALL of the rest of our time was with kids. Schools, community centers, drop in centers, foster homes, etc. The base hosts a school called Children at Risk, so they have a four step program that we helped out with.
We:
played games
taught them Bible stories
helped kids with homework
broke up fights
tried to speak Spanish
made lots of paper airplanes
performed our dramas
showed them that someone cares about them
One of the boys' fathers takes him with him on the street as he begs or deals drugs because he gets sympathy if he has his kid with him.
Two questions people ask upon hearing you've been to Colombia are, "Did you drink real Colombian coffee?" and, "Did you get mugged?" Our answer to both: YES.
My story involved both aspects. I was inside a cafe waiting to pay for my coffee with a bill in my hand. Suddenly someone roughly grabbed my hand. "NO!" I shouted my reaction loudly and whirled around. This grubby looking little man was standing there smiling impishly at me. He had a 2x4 in his hand. He set it down, got down on his knees, looked around on the floor and under the counter to see if he'd mananged to shake some money from me, said something Spanish in a gravely voice and left. Knowing I was fine, my hands still shook and heart beat fast. No one in the cafe said or did anything to him, they just waited for him to leave.
A couple days later, four others from the team were mugged by three guys. On the sidewalk of a busy street in the middle of the afternoon, three blocks from where we stayed, they stopped Daniel and Lauren on their way back from the internet. Pushed Daniel up against the wall, searched his bag and Lauren's pockets. They were smart and had only about $2 on them. So the guys gave them their money back. A little while later those guys found Kate and Christa on the same road. They stopped them, showed them a knife, and started to search their bags. Meanwhile, people are walking past on the sidewalk, seeing what is going on and choosing not to get involved. The girls were smart, discreetly hiding their bank cards, so as not to be hauled off themselves and forced to withdraw their money. The guys took their ipods and some cash.
Later that night, one of the girls was really struggling with what happened. She said she had never been afraid to go anywhere on her own before. She said at one point, "I no longer worried about what they'd take from us, I worried that they would take us." It stirred up a feeling of injustice, anger, helplessness...
To summerize:
We brought truth, teaching, hope, and practical help.
Kids climbed on us, asked us questions, peed and threw up on us, shared their fleas...
We drank Juan Valdez.
We prayed a lot.
That is the randomness of our Colombian experience.
Please remember to pray for those still held hostage by the FARC.
Thanks for all of your prayers, encouragement, and support, it's true that you helped make this endeavor possible.
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