Saleeby family in El Salvador/Guatemala--Thursday

We slept in and then packed our bags at home on Thursday while Joseph and his family did the same at the hotel.  We picked them up at 11:15 and then stopped at Subway for lunch. After lunch we drove to the church to pick up Francisco Moran who dropped the seven of us off at the "bus" station in the Sheraton Hotel.

The girls were pretty excited to see that the bus was a double decker--another first for them. The amazing views were pretty difficult to catch on camera, though.  The border crossing was relatively easy and painless.

We made it to Guatemala City in just over 5 1/2 hours and Nelson was at the Holiday Inn to pick us up within minutes of our arrival.  The traffic back to the Rivas home was heavy, but not impossible.  The girls really enjoyed the light dinner Rosemarie prepared for us.  

After discussing plans for our visit in Guatemala, we called it a night!

Friday in Bogota

Friday morning, our last day, we again went out on the streets near the hotel to share.  There are a tremendous number of people walking around in the area and you can almost always find someone who will stop and talk.

The bus picked us up at 3:30 p.m. and took us downtown so we could visit Monseratte, a mountain that dominates the city center of Bogotá. It rises to 10,341 ft above sea level, and there is a Catholic church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine.  The hill is a pilgrim destination, as well as a tourist attraction. In addition to the church, the summit contains restaurants, cafeteria, souvenir shops and many smaller tourist facilities.  All downtown Bogotá, south Bogotá and some sections of the north of the city are visible facing west. Monserrate can be accessed by an aerial tram, a funicular (cable railway) or by climbing, the preferred way of pilgrims.  

We took the cable railway up about 4:30 p.m. and there is an amazing view of the city.  After everyone had visited the sites, we all paused to pray for the people of Bogota, and, specifically those who made professions of faith during the week.  

We stayed to watch the sunset and see all the lights come out in the city and then rode down the mountain in the aerial tramway.  It was a great end to a wonderful week.  Now we wait to see how God moves in the hearts of the people and how he grows Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, Bogota.

Stevens Creek Walk

Since it's our last day in California, Daniel took a vacation day.   We left Shannon at home (much to her delight as she had things she needed to do) and the rest of us went on a walk/bike ride.  Beautiful weather and great trails make it easy to be active!

We were all so hungry after the 3 mile walk that we went to In-n-Out for lunch!

Friday in Pictures

 

 

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and last day in California, bittersweet, as always.  We've had a fun day playing with the kids.  

Wrapping up our time in Bend

Maleia, Jon, Daniel, Katherine, Brian and Patty hit the slopes on Friday to wrap up our last day in Bend.  As usual, we hung out at the house and played with Josiah and Aviah. They came home early and made a stop in the hot tub to warm up.   

The rest of the day included more lego time!