Thursday in Colombia

We boarded the bus at 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning loaded with candy and soccer balls.  We picked up Pastor David and his family and then Pastor Alex and his family and started what ended up being a three-hour journey.  It was only about 20 kilometers; even though we started early, the Bogota traffic was a nightmare.

Our first stop was at the office of the office of the foundation, "Hogar Integral," where we met the director.  She explained that they have multiple child development centers throughout the greater Bogota area and that we would be visiting the center in Soacha.  She also tried to prepare us for the reality of the neighborhood we would see and the children's living conditions.  All of the children are between 2 and 6 years old and are from homes in crises (extreme poverty, parents with drug problems, family violence, child abuse and more.)  They are at the center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. where they receive breakfast, two snacks and lunch.  They also provide them pre-school education and work with their parents to resolve family issues.  We spent a short 15 minutes at the office and then continued the trip to the center.  As she mentioned, it was not long until we noticed that the buildings and homes changed dramatically.  

The director also mentioned that the center was a like a "castle of safety" for the kids and we could see that as soon as we entered.  There were 120 little kids (most seemed between 2 and 4) sitting at tables and the teachers were leading them in songs.  We got a short tour of the facilities.  

Some of our translators lead them in some action songs and then it was time to serve lunch. I don't have enough space to put in all their beautiful faces, so I'll choose just a few.  

The kids had a program away from the center after lunch so we gave them the cookies, juice and candy we brought as a snack to take with them.  There were lots of hugs and big smiles when they left.  Several of the team members brought new soccer balls with them which they presented to the staff.  I know the kids will have fun with them, because the teachers really enjoyed them!

We were so happy that the center was there to help the kids, but understood that it is still a struggle.  Each afternoon the kids are sent back to their homes--the center was not designed to be an orphanage and the kids are not adoptable because the are living with their parents.  Nevertheless, the needs are great--this is one of 5 centers that serve more than 900 pre-school students.  The organization is funded through charitable donations and offers "sponsorships" to help meet the food cost and education costs for the children.  Here's the link to their site if you'd like to learn more about it:  Fundacion Hogar Integral

Happy Feet Wrap Up

I've decided to do one more Happy Feet post and wrap up the week.  As I mentioned in the last post, the road to our scheduled location on Wednesday was blocked by a half mile landslide which made it impossible for us to get there.  Pastor Francisco called his sister who teaches at a school in another neighborhood and she opened her classroom to us.  I don't know how he did it, but by the time we arrived at the school around 9:30 in the morning, there were more than 150 kids waiting in line.

One of the difficult things for the Happy Feet team is trying to decide how many of each size shoes to bring.  They hate running out of a size because sometimes it means that a child won't get a new pair.  By Wednesday we were out of the smallest size, but had a good supply of most of the rest of the sizes.  For some reason, there were more older kids than usual and we almost emptied the size 4 bag before the day was out.  On Thursday, it was just the opposite, we didn't run out of size 4 shoes, instead the oldest kids needed size 3.  It was amazing to see how God worked out all of the details.

On Monday I had the privilege to translate for Emily; on Tuesday, instead of translating I was able to work by myself, washing feet, giving new shoes and sharing the gospel in Spanish.  It is so much easier to share in Spanish than it is to translate English to Spanish!  On Wednesday morning Emily and I worked together again and then on Thursday, Stephen and I were able to work together.  

Thursday was our final day and it was our smallest group of the week.  We finished with the 115 kids just after lunch.  We left all of the remaining shoes with Pastor Francisco who said he would try to get them to the children of the town we were scheduled to visit on Wednesday.  

We headed back to Chimaltenango and had an opportunity to tour the Don José León coffee roastery.  The owner, Gustavo Perez, is a member of Vida Nueva Guatemala, and he kindly demonstrated the whole process for the team and served up freshly roasted coffee. 

Each night after dinner, we had a testimony time which helped the team to get to know one another better.  Our final evening at the hotel was very special as we heard from each of the translators.  It was special to listen to several of the younger girls sharing how great it was for them to share the gospel with kids their age.  

Friday morning after breakfast and clean up we checked out of the hotel and drove to Antigua.  While everyone shopped, Stephen and I visited with our teacher, Corina, and her family.  We always make it a priority to spend time with them.  Stephen played cards with the four girls while I visited with Corina and her mother-in-law.  

Happy Feet--Day 1

I'm so sorry I was unable to blog or post pictures during the week long Happy Feet campaign, but I will do my best to bring the blog up-to-date over the next couple of days.  

We finished all the shopping on Sunday afternoon and started packing on Sunday night.  In order to save space in the vans for shoes, luggage and people, we decided to put all of the food/drinks/ supplies/dishes/appliances and everything else we needed for the week in the back of our truck.  Stephen brought a tarp and his straps so we loaded the bed to the roof. The back seat was also filled to the top!

About 8:00 a.m. Monday morning the caravan of two trucks and four 15-passenger made its way from Nelson and Rosemarie's house to pick up the team at the Biltmore.  One van was filled with luggage, 15+ duffles of shoes/socks and the rest of the supplies (soap, powder, towels, gospel bracelets.)  The turnaround time was quick and we were on the road to our hotel in Chimaltenango about an hour and a half out of Guatemala City.  We were able to get checked in and drop off all of the food (except for Monday's lunch cooler) and begin our journey up the mountain.  

On Sunday evening, we had heard that several groups of workers were going to be staging protests and the protests would block traffic.  After about an hour of driving we came upon a long line of traffic which was unable to move past the protesters.  Everyone was out of their vehicles and a few of the gringos shared the gospel with the people on one of the stopped buses.  After about an hour, we decided to take our lunch break so we set up the cooler behind one of the vans.  

We had plenty of time to eat, clean up and visit because the protest was expected to continue until 1:00 at the earliest and 3:00 at the latest.  The local pastor we were working with told us that the the people in the town where we were planning to go began gathering at 10:00 am and would wait until we arrived (at whatever time.)  About 1:30, we were informed there was a "short-cut"around the mountain and the four vans began following Pastor Francisco.  We were stopped yet again, but finally arrived at the church about 3:00 p.m.  It was completely full!

We quickly organized the shoes, feet-washing stations and began the process of sharing with the kids.  Oh my goodness, what a blessing to see their precious faces!  I was fortunate to translate for Emily and she was so patient with me.  Most of the children who are under 6 years old (not yet in school) only speak and understand Kaqchikel (their specific indigenous dialect) so there were times when we were translating English to Spanish and Spanish to Kaqchikel.  The school-aged children learn Spanish and, even though it is their second language, they were able to understand us.

Since we arrived so late, we had to work quickly through the 150+ children in order to make our way back down the mountain roads before it was dark.  The process includes measuring each child's feet before taking them to a place in front of a gringo and translator.  The gringos washed their feet, covered them with talcum power, put on a new pair of socks and gave them a new pair of "Crock" style shoes.  After receiving their shoes, they were given a beaded bracelet through which the gringo was able to present the gospel.  Even though the benches were hard and our backs were hurting, we continued working until every child had a new pair of shoes/socks and had heard the gospel.  While we were sharing with the kids, two other team members shared with the moms.  Wow--what a privilege to be a part of this ministry.  

There's more to come, but that will have to wait for another day.