Bogota Campaign, Part 4

Our third trip to Bogota was about three weeks ago, and we were busy from morning to night.  However, since our flight was not until late Saturday night, we had time to see some of the sights on Saturday.  Hayden, Stephen and I took a taxi from the hotel to Bayron and Teresa's apartment on Saturday morning.  From the apartment we took the bus to Usaquen, a residential/commerical area in the northern part of the city.  There are always street musicians, street artists, artisans peddling their wares and many, many excellent restaurants.  We had visited Usaquen in January, 2015, and were excited to have the opportunity to return.

We had lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant and then coffee and dessert at one of the many cafés in the area.  It was just starting to rain when we finished dessert, so we made a run for the bus stop to return to Bayron and Teresa's place.  It was mid-afternoon when we got back to the hotel.

All week we talked about returning to the senior citizens home to visit our two friends, but just couldn't fit it in.  Here's a bit of the history of why we wanted to return.  

The first campaign in Bogota was in January, 2015; we had the privilege to be there with a team from Valley Baptist, as well as a few others.  Besides sharing along the main street outside the hotel, the team also had the opportunity to visit a senior citizen's home which was walking distance from the hotel.  You can read more about that first visit here:  Senior Citizen Home.  It was during that trip that we first met and visited with Orlando Guerrero and Marta Cano.  

 

 We returned to Bogota for another campaign in December, 2015.  Although there wasn't a team visit to the home, Stephen and I walked over to see our friends.  We found Orlando walking in the garden and had a great time reconnecting with him.  Unfortunately, Marta was at a doctor's appointment so we didn't get to see her.

After we returned to the hotel, we realized we would have time to walk over to the home, visit and still be back in plenty of time to get to the airport.  As usual, we stopped at the gate to sign in, but when we said we were there to visit Orlando, we knew something was wrong.  The security person told us that, unfortunately, he had passed away during the past week.  We were so, so sad that we hadn't made it over to visit earlier in the week.  However, we talked with one of the nurses who said he was hospitalized the second week of July and died of respiratory failure on July 15, two days before we flew to Bogota. 

Marta was there and we had time to visit with her.  She was as feisty as before, and very glad to see us.  We told her about trying to visit in June, but she said no one told her we stopped by to see her.  This time, she let me pick a pair of earrings (she was selling them to make some extra money) to take with me.  We promised her we would be back to see her the next time we are in Bogota.  

We know time isn't guaranteed to anyone, not at age 86 or at age 8.  Still, we were surprised that Orlando wasn't there.  It was a clear reminder of how important it is to share the gospel so that people have an opportunity to have a personal relationship with Jesus.     

Tuesday in Bogota

Tuesday morning after devotions, we "worked the streets" near the hotel.  This area is called Salitre and is filled with banks and large office buildings.  

Starting on this day, we had one less translator as Bayron had to go back to work.  So, David asked me to step in and help.  I worked with Nick Hubbard, and we were able to share the gospel multiple times.

Jose prayed to receive Christ us.

Tuesday afternoon we went to Centro Protecion Bosque Popular, a government-run home for more than 130 formerly homeless or abandoned senior citizens.  The home was well-run, the location was beautiful and they all seemed happy.  We did learn that it is a transition home--most of them will be there less than 6 months as the government seeks to find a permanent placement in one of their other locations.  Some of the team members sang for them, Don Laity gave the gospel, we brought a snack and the team from Valley Baptist made a small gift for each of them.  

Stephen talked with Orlando, who spent 10 years working as a surveyor in Alaska.  His English was still very good.  We also met and talked with Marta, a very feisty 80-year old.  

 

 

It was wonderful to see some of these precious older people ask Jesus into their heart.  It was a great day in Bogota.