Wednesday in Bogota

Wednesday morning we returned to downtown Bogota and continued sharing one-on-one on "Seventh" street.  David told everyone that, if they wanted to get souvenirs, they should take advantage of the artisan markets that are along the street.  

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Wednesday night we drove to the south part of the town to set up the family festival in the area called "Kennedy."  As you can see the park is huge, there are apartment buildings everywhere and people are walking everywhere.  This park and the surrounding area reminded everyone of El Salvador.  There were so many kids, we ran out of popcorn and balloons.  It was an amazing evening with so many great conversations and so many professions of faith!  

Tuesday in Bogota

Tuesday morning Pastor Steve Kern gave devotions at 9:15 and we began sharing one-on-one along the street outside the hotel at 10:00 a.m.  

In the evening we visited the Hayuelos neighborhoos and set up the family festival.  There were lots of children so we sang some songs with them.  

After the preaching, there were several groups of adults that were available to talk with.  It was a great night.

Monday in Bogota

Monday morning the group had devotions with Pastor Steve and then boarded our little bus to share one-on-one along the main street near downtown Bogota.  For the most part the street is blocked off to cars, so we were able to walk freely.  Many of the people were in a hurry, so sometimes we were only able to get a tract in their hands, but other times they stopped to talk and we were able to present the gospel.  

In the evening we returned to a neighborhood close to Pastor David and Alex's apartment.  It was quite cold, so we didn't find as many people out and about and we are not allowed to enter the apartment buildings.  Nevertheless, at the end of the evening we saw hands raised around the crowd and had new Christian brothers and sisters.

Sunday in Bogota

The rest of the team arrived in Bogota after 10:00 p.m. Sunday evening, so we didn't wait up for them.  Instead we saw them at breakfast and then at orientation on Sunday morning.  It was great to see five people from Abundant Life, our home church.  They brought down two suitcases full of fabric, t-shirts and other things for the ministry in El Salvador.  Pastor David Guadron told everyone about the work in Bogota, handed out the schedule for the week and answered lots of questions.

The service started at 10:15 and, as usual, it's great to worship together.  Pastor David translated the message by Perry Safron, from Richland Creek Church in North Carolina.  (It's always a treat for us to hear a sermon in English.)

After church everyone had a quick lunch because the bus picked us up at 2:00 p.m.  One of the families in the church opened their home and set up their pool for baptism.  The weather was chilly and the water was fairly cool, but David and five others were obedient to follow Christ in baptism.

The family festival was hold in a park in the same neighborhood so we went straight from the baptism to knocking on doors.  We had a trampoline, popcorn and a dog show like last night.  There were 25 professions of faith with several whole families coming to Jesus.