Bogota, Colombia!!!

I arrived in Bogota, Colombia on March 12th. Before flying out of Quito I had 2 good byes. First with my English students (we went out for a walk and then pizza) and with the Ark and all my friends were invited. It was really fun... with my "sister" (the girl where I lived), my street church friends, some child workers (pre street kids), the kids at the orphanage, the volunteers at the Ark and a lady I had met in Quito. We ate pizza and had cake and made a bon fire.

I ended up going to Quito a day early because one of the volunteer's fathers was returning home and didn't want to go on the bus alone. He paid for my stay at this Christian guest house, which was very nice. I walked around a bunch and discovered a McCafe, which was super nice and had really good frappaccinos!

The flight was nice and short and someone from the YWAM base came and picked me up so that was great. The school has been going really good so far. There are 8 students from the US, Canada (me), Venezuela and Colombia. Monday to Thursday we have quiet time, then devotionals, classes, work duties, intercession, and small groups. Every 2 weeks we have to do a book report and every week we have to do a journal about what we learned, etc. It's the same as my DTS (Discipleship Training School) that I did in the Dominican except the classes are focused on children at risk and there's more ministry time.

On Fridays and Saturdays we have ministry. Today I went to one of the schools called Luz y Vida (Light and Life). I helped in the kitchen washing dishes and preparing vegetables. The school was designed for kids that have trouble in normal schools. Today for devotionals the teacher had asked which kids had tried smoking and drinking and even though they were all under 13 most of them had!

This week was really good. First, we found tons of examples in the Bible of at risk children. I had always wondered why there were such ugly stories in the Bible that concerned children that include murder, rape, slavery, hunger and child sacrifice. God put them there so children can identify with them and find comfort in Him.

Then we learned about the family and how traits are passed down through generations and how relationships with our family deeply affect our development and behaviour.

Last, we learned about child development. We watched some movies about children in Colombia and Mexico that were based on reality. It opened my eyes to what they encounter and have to go through. I had always heard about glue sniffing, but never really understood it. Now after the movie, the book I'm reading and what one of my classmates told me about her outreach, I'm realizing how common sniffing glue is for street children. I also learned about how kids should develop and how they'll behave if they grow up in a healthy family and how kids grow up and act differently when they grow up in a family at risk. It is really interesting to apply this to the kids I know in Riobamba, Ecuador that are forced to sell stuff. For example, I can see how the death of one of the kids' fathers forces the kid to take on the role of the father and start working to provide for his family (even though he's only 11).

Devil´s Nose, Sod and Guayaquil

Hey once again.

So I´m deciding to start 2 weeks ago when the 6 volunteers from the Ark and I went to the Nariz del Diablo (Devil´s Nose). It´s a few hour train ride from Riobamba that is apparently the most difficult track or rail because of the sharp switch backs. It was kind of boring, but the story behind the Devil´s Nose was kind of interesting. This railroad was very important because it connected the highlands to the coast. To make it 4,000 Jamaicans came over (apparently as workers and not slaves) to build it and 2,500 of them died in the construction of the track. The mountain is called the Devil´s Nose because they say the 2,500 souls are trapped inside. On the way back we stopped in a town called Alausi to walk around. We climbed up to a huge statue of Saint Peter, which had an amazing view of the city. They I bought some shoes in the market and a little lunch.

During last week I worked on sod everyday... meaning I ventured out of the orphanage to find random pieces of grass on the side of the road. Then I used a pick axe to cut out a square and haul it back to the Ark in a wheelbarrow. It was slow going, but there were some volunteers from Quito that decided to help which made it go a lot faster. We´re putting grass in this little courtyard for a play area for the toddlers so it´s not so windy and they can´t get into as much trouble! I also went to the hospital a few times to take some of the babies to get their treatment. A few had had pneumonia. On the way back we managed to fit 5 people with 5 babies in a taxi, not including the driver!

On Thursday, I went out with my English students for dinner... which ended up being at 9:00 (so typical). We met at 7 to go looking for a restaurant (meaning between 7 to 7:30). Then 2 girls got a phone call saying their niece or cousin was in the hospital so they told us to wait an hour. We walked around some more and ended up running into a few of my street church friends. Then at 8:30 we finally picked a restaurant and ordered pizza, limonade and a strawberries with whipped cream (yummy)! So we didn´t leave until like 10. I enjoyed though and will miss my students.

This last weekend I went to Guayaquil again (the coast) with 3 other volunteers. We walked around downtown again, went to Salinas (a beautiful beach with clear aqua blue water and waves), made some dinner for the people that lent us their living room to sleep in, and had a foosball competition one night by the water! After playing foosball for fun for a while we decided to let the winnners play until they lost. Well, me and one of the volunteers (Rebecca) ended up winning and winning and no one could beat us... so we ended up leaving undefeated!

Tomorrow is my going away party at the Ark because I´m leaving for Colombia on Friday! I still have to pack and get some stuff done before I go so I´m glad to have a little time to catch up.

Please pray that God will continue to provide for me. After the Children at Risk school in Bogota you are supposed to commit a year of working with children at risk. I would love to stay here in Ecuador and work with street children, but I will be praying to see where God wants me to go after the school.

One of the first times I went to street church. This night we all shared what God was doing in our lives.








The first time I went to the Ranalli's and the first time I played Apples to Apples. Now I go see Jessica almost every week and spend the night.





























On the streets of Riobamba on New Year's Eve. We were burning our "año viejo" which was a Skater guy.

Me sprayed with foam in Otavalo during Carnaval... I started it, but it was a fun fight against some strangers... 3 against one... no fair!

Guayaquil

By the lighthouse. Mercedes was Amy's friend that met up with us.












Up to the Lighthouse that sits on a hill. We had to climb many steps to get there and it was pouring rain most of the way.











On an old street with Amy. On our way to the Lighthouse.













Me and Paris at the Malecon. He's Christian's friend and was our tour guide during our trip to Guayaquil.











Downtown with Amy.













One of the many iguanas at the Iguana Park in downtown Guayaquil.












Me at the Iguana park. There were tons of them and I even touched one!












At the beach near Guayaquil. On the left is Paris. He's a pastor and works with children. Amy is a volunteer from the Ark that met Christian (on the right) in Peru. He works for Habitat for Humanity and hosts teams from the States.









At a sea side restaurant at a beach 2 hours from Guayaquil. I was eating some patacones or tostones (deep fried plantains).

Part of the Bodega (storage room) where me and Zoe are always organizing and finding clothes, etc.












At the hot springs. This is the spout of freezing cold water that I went under after sitting in a hot tub!











At the Aguas Termales (hot springs) in Guayabamba... these are where you can catch fish with baskets.











The apartment we recently started renting for some guys that have no place to stay. On the left is Blas. His sister lives in Kelowna and he's really involved with Street Church, the Radio, evangelizing, visiting prisoners, etc. Isaac is in the middle. He's Ron and Glenda's (the missionaries that run the orphanage) son. On the right is Bienvenido. He's a new Christian and an ex-gang member.





An old Catholic church in Quito.


















Cable cars up the mountain.













Path up the mountain that you can hike up and go to 16,000 ft.












At the top of the mountain after enjoying a cable car ride to 13,000 ft.












Me and Amy at the Equator in Quito.


















At the Equator (Mitad del Mundo) with Amy and Christian.


















Eating lunch at a restaurant at the Equator.

Isaac and Naomi at the Radio. We talk about God and play Christian music.












Danilu, me and Paola at the Radio. Danilu is in charge of the interviews and we are really good friends.











The Radio station.













This is where we go to do the Radio program every weekend... it's from 6 to 8 on Saturday and Sunday.











This picture is for my mom... it's the new jacket she helped me buy here in Ecuador for the freezing cold nights.











Burning our "viejo" on New Year's Eve. It was a light bulb or "luz" symbolizing the end of the government turning off the power or "luz" in Spanish.










Me and Zoe finally done all the presents and stockings for Christmas.












Here's a picture from Christmas Eve. There were a ton of donated toys that were received too close to Christmas day to wrap... the rest were individually chosen for every kid (about 80 in all) and wrapped.










This is part of the journey to Macas going the scenic route. You have to drive through a few rivers, but it's very beautiful.

Quito Trip

Saturday morning, me and one of the volunteers (Amy) left on a bus to Quito (the capital). It was a 3.5 hour trip that cost $4... then we took a taxi to the airport (on the way back we took the trolley which only cost 25 cents!) At the airport we met a group from the States that had built a house near the coast. We knew the leader/translator and he had asked if it was okay to just tag along. First, we went to a nearby town called Otavalo. Almost everyone (including the men) has long hair because it is mostly an indigenous population. There's a huge market too, which was cool to see. In the market, I decided to play Carnaval by having a foam/water fight with some kids and then some other people. I ended up with foam all over my face and hair and I couldn't even open one of my eyes! Then we went back to Quito and they took us out to Pizza Hut! The next day we went to church, then to the Equator (La Mital del Mundo). We walked around looking at all the touristy kinds of things and taking pictures on the equator. After we went on these cable cars that bring you up to 13,000 ft. Me and Amy hiked a little, but didn't get very far because we ran out of time. Apparently, it takes about 3 hours to get to the top, which is at 16,000 ft. After we toured around the colonial part of Quito. When Amy and I were looking for pan de yuca (a type of bread) we entered this little store. Then I heard this little girl say to her brother "mojale" meaning "get her wet." Since it was Carnaval I knew exactly what that meant and sure enough I saw her brother with a bucket of water so I got out of that store fast! Good thing I know a little Spanish! The next day I went to Ambato to a music festival. A lot of the street church people like rock/heavy metal so they really liked it. I, on the other hand, just went for the cultural experience! haha. On the ride home I almost froze in the back of the truck. Riobamba is sure a cold place.