Click here to see photos from today.
(Below the blog are Thoughts from Remy and Reflections by Kane & Michael)
God is so good! Today we got the opportunity to go to a girls’ orphanage in Madrid. We weren’t quite sure what to expect because most of the girls have been abused in one way or another and were not easily trusting for that reason, but we were greeted with open arms. We sang for them, and they sang along in Spanish. We performed ‘The End of the Beginning’ while the missionaries explained what the words meant. After that Katelyn and Josh gave their testimonies. The girls responded well to all that we did, but the really awesome part was getting to interact with them afterward. We made animal balloons and gave out stickers. All the girls wanted their pictures taken with all of us, so no worries, we have plenty! Leaving the orphanage was the hardest part. We had so many girls asking us when we were coming back. I had one girl specifically who was crying and told me “I love you, and I’ll miss you. Thank you for teaching me friendship.” At that moment I couldn’t take it anymore and started crying along with her. I will never forget this experience and those girls will always have a special place in my heart.
The ride back to the camp was bumpy but it was worth it, because we stopped at a little Colombian bakery and had dessert before our lunch. They had a wide variety of tasty treats. From elephant ears, to strawberry shortcake, yuummmm! We were pretty full from our dessert, but we still managed to make room for lunch. For lunch we had flank steak and potato fries, which was as delicious as everything else. We had some down time before we went to Bible study.
We drove yet another bumpy ride to Tabio for Bible study. We went to a lady named Norma’s house. We worshiped with a few Spanish hymns, and then we taught them a few of our American songs. We performed ‘End of the Beginning’ and Josh and Katelyn gave their testimonies another time. Worship is so different down here but yet we all have that common bond of Jesus Christ.
The day’s almost over. We just had dinner which was spaghetti with meat sauce, once again, delicious. We are about to have our devotion time which tonight is 1 John 5.
Tomorrow is our last day. It flew by so fast for all of us, and we don’t want to leave. Tomorrow is our sightseeing day, so there will be updates about that. Please keep praying for us until the end. Gracias!
God has done so many amazing things this week, and I can’t believe we only have one day left. From visiting both a girls and boys orphanage, sitting through a Colombian church service and Bible study; to goofing off with each other at the camp, this will definitely be a week that none of us will forget. Not only has our bond as a group strengthened from serving together, but we have been able to learn so much from each other as well. Each person here has had their own moment to “shine” and I am so thankful that I am a part of this group.
One thing that stands out to me from this week is the openness of the Colombian people. No matter what their situation may have been, they always welcomed us with open arms and were open to everything that we had to say to them.
The boys at the orphanage were awesome and going there was my favorite part of the trip. Most of them had come from bad home lives, but they were so happy. I was so impressed with their knowledge of the Bible. Even when we performed “End of the Beginning” and gave out the salvation bracelets, they explained the meaning better than any of us could, even with the language barrier. After singing our songs, performing our skits, the missionary presenting the gospel, and playing with the boys for HOURS, it was finally time to leave. It was honestly one of the hardest things that I have ever done. There was one little boy named Anderson who literally latched onto my neck and would not let go. I wanted so much to be able to stay there, as I am sure many of the others did, but we knew we couldn’t. The ride back to the camp was the quietest I have ever heard our group be.
We have all left pieces of our hearts in Colombia and we will never forget the things that God has shown us here. We thank you for all of your prayers and continue to pray as we spend our last day sight seeing tomorrow…I heard there may be llama rides!
Mucho Amor
RemyJ
PS: If you are worried about the lack of pictures that have been posted…Don’t! Between everyone we literally have THOUSANDS! It will give you something to look forward to!
(Note: the photos that have been on facebook this week were taken with Audra’s phone and uploaded directly. Due to lack of internet access, the “THOUSANDS” of pictures that were taken this week with professional cameras will have to be uploaded once the group is back in the States.)
Reflections of the Week by Kane and Michael
Thursday: 
Kane: We traveled a bunch…rode some planes…sat in some airports…and somehow arrived in Colombia!
Michael: The plane ride was fun... first landing was rough but the second was alright…
Friday:
Kane: I never want to lacquer a piece of wood again! But needless to say we got to work at the camp and help make the buildings look nicer.
Michael: hmm the lacquer was fun, and I believe us guys made the building look better.
Saturday:
Kane: Saturday we visited a church right near the camp that had services in a little shack. We were able to double the size of that building and successfully raised its roof up a bit. We then spent the rest of the day finishing that lacquer job….and painting our cabin!
Michael: We made a good improvement on the church that we visited. Instead of 80 people in a small room, they have a decent area to worship the Lord. Plus they greeted us like we were family which was cool.
Sunday:
Kane: Sunday we were privileged enough to attend a church service at a local church. I didn’t understand much of what the pastor said but we performed a few songs and skits for them and the kids. After service the group went shopping in a tiny town near the camp. Didn’t find much there, but a guy in the town square was playing mean recorder-type instruments! Then we Audra came back to camp to do some laundry!
Michael: Sunday we got to go to a service with some people that the pastor knew. The service was fun but I wish I knew what the church pastor was saying. Our group sang a couple of songs and some of us did a skit which was cool. Then after church we went back ate lunch. Then we went shopping in a small town.
Monday:
Kane: Monday we took a bus about 45 min to a school where we performed for them and played. Then we went up to a boys home and interacted with the boys as well as their dogs…it was EXTREMELY hard to leave those kids after many hours of bonding.
Michael: Monday was the best day for me because we got go and perform in front of all the kids. Then we took a tour around the place and saw some of the stuff the kids do. Then we go to interact with the boys. The boys were so much fun to play with; I believe everybody REALLY bonded with the boys. It was so hard for us to leave and it brought tears to our eyes.
Tuesday:
Kane: Today we went to a girl’s orphanage with hundreds of girls…we were able to witness to about 50 of them while the rest were in class. Everyone then came back for lunch and headed to a Bible study at the house of a member of the church where we had worked! I felt like breaking out into mariachi music after singing their Spanish songs! It was awesome!
Michael: Today we went to a girl’s camp and witnessed to about 50 of them. It was touching because they were interacting with us while we sang our songs. They even wanted an encore to one of them. Then we made balloons and gave them stickers and candy. All in all it has been great so far J…
Note from Audra:
All is still good here. We venture into Bogota for site seeing tomorrow (Wednesday) which makes me a little nervous. Tomorrow is the Colombian Independence Day so we don't really know what to expect crowd-wise.
We leave camp at 4am Thursday morning to get to the airport. It will be a long day. Hoping they sleep some tomorrow night!
