First two days in Bogota

I am more than a week behind on blog posts about the first ever campaign in Bogota.  We were busy, with limited downtime, so I used my Internet access to post pictures (each afternoon and evening) on Facebook.  Now that we're back in El Salvador, I am taking time to blog about the week.  Today's post is about the first two days.

As my previous post indicated, we arrived after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evening so we didn't see anyone until Sunday morning breakfast.  There were teams from Valley Baptist in Bakersfield, CA, and Cooper Springs Baptist in Fresno, CA.  There were five more from three other churches in Missouri and Louisiana.  

The team had orientation with Pastor Steve Kern from El Salvador and Pastor David Guadron from Colombia before the service on Sunday morning.  As you might imagine, it was unlike most of our orientations which focus on "how things work."  This orientation was more about how we don't know what "things will work" in Bogota because this was the first time for everything.  The schedule for the week included a little bit of everything:  family festivals, a one-night conference, a visit to a senior citizens' home, a visit to an orphanage and one-on-one sharing on the street.  

Pastor David (and family) and Pastor Alex (and family) arrived in Bogota at the beginning of September so the work is very new.  With more than twenty gringos and about eight of us from El Salvador, the service on Sunday morning was full.  

Because the weather is cooler in Bogota than in the other countries where we work, David and Alex decided to start the family festival at 4:00 and end before sunset, about 6:30.  They contracted with a company that specializes in children's parties for the music, inflatable, face painting and other games.   Most people live in high-rise apartments, which we do not have permission to enter, so we had to depend on the music and inflatable to attract the attention of the apartment dwellers.  The team spread out on the streets around the apartments and shared one-on-one with everyone they met.

Monday was a holiday in Colombia so we shared all morning in Simon Bolivar Park, which was full of families enjoying their day off.  The park was enormous and very beautiful.  Except for the sunburn gringos, the morning was huge success--people were very receptive.

Sunday evening, Pastor Steve preached an end-times message at the hotel.  We invited everyone we talked to on Sunday evening and Monday in the park.  Four visitors (two from the family festival and two from the park) attended the conference--Pastors Steve, David and Alex were amazed by God's faithfulness to bring people to hear the message.

Saturday trip to the airport

We left for the airport at 11:30 Saturday morning, earlier than usual because we were not able to check-in on line.  We were so glad we did!  About 25 minutes in to the 50 minute drive we came to a complete stop.  After about ten minutes, we called William Flores to see if he could find out what was going on.  He called back and said that there was a tractor trailer blocking the road, but that it wasn't an accident so it should be cleared fairly soon.  About 15 minutes later the cars in the left lane started moving very slowly.  Our lane (we were behind a big truck) wasn't moving at all.  

There was a slight break in the traffic so Stephen changed lanes and it was a great decision.  As we approached the truck we could see that it during a maneuver to make a very sharp right turn (almost in a jack-knife position) it was hit by an SUV.  The cars in the left lane were moving because the police began allowing cars to wind around in front of ithe truck.  Each vehicle had to start their turn and then back up to complete it.  Obviously, the space was much too small to allow anything larger than a pickup to pass, so all of the big trucks were stuck, as were any cars that were behind them.  

We finally "wormed" our way around it as they were dislodging the SUV from under the carriage of the trailer.  We lost more than 30 minutes of time, but managed to arrive at the Avianca counter just after the suggested two-hour check-time.  At the gate, we saw two people from IBVN San Salvador who were also on our flight.  Vilma Camino and her granddaughter (relatives of Pastor Alex and his wife, Norma,) were flying down to help translate.

Although our flight was delayed by 30 minutes, for some reason unknown to us, we were upgraded to first class, a very rare occurrence indeed.  We enjoyed a nice lunch on the 2.5 hour flight to Bogota!  We landed, walked down the steps to the tarmac and then boarded a bus for a 20 minute drive to the international terminal.  The immigration lines were substantial, but that was to be expected because the airport is enormous.  The greater Bogota area has more than ten million people!

We waited a very long time on our luggage as, once unloaded, it had to make the 20 minute drive to the international terminal, as well.  Norma and her daughter, Paola, were there to meet us and show us to the Holiday Inn shuttle, and pick up her mother and niece.

The Holiday Inn Airport was a ten minute drive and the check-in procedure was easy.  We were in our room by 9:00 p.m.  We met a couple in the lobby who were looking for a place to eat so we joined them on a walk the McDonalds, which was a block or two away.

We've been really busy this week, with not too much free time in the room, so I'm really behind in posting what's been going on.  Much more later about how God is really working here in Bogota and how exciting it is to be part of His work!

Are you clinging?

We were privileged to hear Koky Lopez preach at the hotel last Sunday.  Koky is the campus pastor at Lourdes and usually he is called on to preach at that site.  However, this last weekend, he preached all four morning services in San Salvador and the afternoon service at our Apopa campus.  

It was our first Sunday back in El Salvaldor and, as always, after being gone for awhile, it takes a great deal of concentration to get our "Spanish" ears tuned back in.  Thankfully, the praise and worship time helps to get us ready for the preaching.  Koky's sermon was both timely and convicting, asking the question, "Were you satisfied with your personal relationship with Jesus in 2014?"  If not, what do you need to do to build a solid relationship with Jesus in 2015?  

His text was John 6:51-69, which is the point in Jesus' ministry that many of his "disciples" abandoned him because they found his teaching too "hard."  For the most part after this point, only the twelve stayed faithful.

Here are Koky's points (they all started with A's in Spanish, but that's lost in translation) for how to build a solid relationship with Jesus:

1)  Be nourished by the Word, John 6:39

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

2)  Cling to Jesus, John 6:67-68

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

3)  Affirm who Jesus is, John 6:69

Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

I loved the picture of the rock climber clinging to the side of the mountain that he used to illustrate the second point.  He challenged us to remember that Jesus is the rock, enormous, powerful and unmoving, and we need to cling to him in all our circumstances.  I needed to hear that and to remember that building a strong relationship with Jesus means I must cling to him like he's the only thing that's keeping me from falling down the side of the rock cliff--He is, after all, my Savior.  Only when I abandon all my own efforts to "climb" can I understand what it means to rest in Him and his marvelous promises.

I'm praying that this image and the following song will be my focus throughout 2015!  

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.

The Unexpected

Our "flying" day on Friday was long, long, long!  We left Daniel and Shannon's house at 6:00 a.m. and arrived at our apartment just before 11:00 p.m.  Our flight was delayed out of Houston--we didn't take off until almost 7:00 p.m. (original departure time was 5:40 p.m.)  Once we made it to El Salvador the immigration line was as long as we've ever seen it and we even had to wait on the luggage.  There was only one person working the customs line so that also took a long time.  The unexpected (for Stephen)-- Nelson and Rosemarie were there to pick us up and it's a good thing because with six pieces of luggage I don't think we could have fit in anything other than a van.

Yesterday, we slept in and tried to get back on Central Standard time.  We put away everything in the suitcases, including getting our new drapes (thanks, Daniel and Shannon) up in all three bedrooms.  We didn't leave the house yesterday--well, we did, but not in our truck.  The unexpected--we walked to La Pizzaria and had a great dinner.  .

This morning we had quite a few things to take with us to church, so we thought it best to drive.  The unexpected--our truck battery was completely dead.  Unexpected--the walk to the hotel was less than 15 minutes.  It was great to worship at Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva and have the privilege to hear Koky Lopez preach this morning.  (His sermon will be the subject of another blog post later in the week.)  

William and Gilma brought us and the jumper cables back to our apartment, and we were able to get the truck going.  The unexpected--evidently, the life expectancy of a battery here in El Salvador is about four years.  So you can imagine William and Gilma's surprise when we told them we've had the same battery since we bought the truck in July 2010.  Guess it shattered all the records.  

Our next stop was Pricesmart where the mechanic announced that our battery was operating at less than 38%.  We are now the proud owners of a new battery and will mark our calendars for January 2016, when, most likely, this new one will fail.  

At least we were able to do our PriceSmart shopping at the same time.  The rest of the afternoon was "as expected."  Stephen went for a run and watched the football games while I went to the regular grocery store.  

Even with the unexpected, we're happy to be home and looking forward to a restful week before we travel to Bogota, Colombia for the first campaign of the year and first ever campaign at our first church plant in South America.

Happy New Year

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

Goodbye old year

As everyone says, it's hard to believe we are saying goodbye to another year, but we are.  Once again as we look back, God's grace was evident.   So thankful for everyone who joined us on a trip somewhere in Central America.  We loved serving along with you and seeing how God used you.  We are grateful for your willingness to invest your time and money to share Jesus with the people of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

We are thankful for our family and dear friends wherever they are tonight.  We are praying for God to reveal himself to you and us in new and deeper ways in 2015.  We are looking forward to another year of serving him!

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!

Christmas Day in Bend

We spent a relaxing Christmas day at the house in Bend, with an emphasis on family time, not gifts.  The O'Neil siblings drew names at Thanksgiving and so they exchanged gifts.  Michael (Shannon's older brother) and his wife, Emilee, who were in Atlanta with Emilee's parents, are expecting a baby in May.  We all participated in their gender reveal over Skype.  The box was wrapped in both pink and blue paper and inside was a giant stuffed kangaroo.  Inside the pouch was a little baby kangaroo wrapped in a BLUE diaper.  They were so excited with the news of the first O'Neil boy, who could be Michael Charles O'Neil IV.  

Of course, there were a couple of small gifts for the kids, but, not surprisingly, they had the most fun with the boxes!

VW popup tent camper for Josiah

Lego set for Maleia--just like her Daddy

Lunch was an amazing turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  Quite a feat when you're all just visiting!  Thanks to Shannon's mom, Patty, for bringing most of the food with her.  Surprise, surprise, my contribution was two pumpkin pies.

The cranberries were Aviah's favorite dish

In the afternoon, Aunt Katherine helped the kids add (eat) candies to the gingerbread house.  

We finished off the evening watching "It's a Wonderful Life," and then playing games.  

Merry Christmas 2014 from the Parris and O'Neil family.  

Merry Christmas Eve

Beautiful, wet snow fell this morning here in Bend.  The  kids loved playing in it and then enjoyed jumping in the hot tub even more.

Special day watching the trains

Daniel, Jon, Maleia and the rest of the O'Neills got up early and headed to Mt. Bachelor to ski.  Shannon, Stephen, Josiah, Aviah, Shannon's dad and I stayed home.  

Last night when we stopped for pizza, I picked up the local paper and read a story about a man who had set up his Lionel trains at the public library.  We went this afternoon and Josiah was mesmerized by the 6+ trains that moved around on tables set up in the children's area of the library.  It was amazing!

Beautiful Bend!

Daniel, Maleia, Josiah, Jon and Stephen and I left at 7:00 a.m. yesterday morning and the kids were awesome travelers, enjoying their sticker books and the 9:30 a.m. second breakfast stop at McDonalds.  

We made the eight-hour drive from Sunnyvale, California to Bend, Oregon yesterday and the weather cooperated perfectly--only rain, no snowing and not even any snow on the mountain roads so no need to put on the chains.  

We were 15 strong at the vacation home in Bend last night.  It is an amazing 6 bedroom house with plenty of space for all of us.  

This morning nine of us took a walk around a beautiful neighborhood in Bend.  It felt good to get 5,000 steps in today after not having time to walk much in Kansas City.  

Last Night in Kansas City

As always, time flies when we're in the states.  We have a seven o'clock flight to San Francisco and should be hugging the grandkids by lunch time.  

Unfortunately for us, the weather has decided to throw a possible wrench is our last night and rather than have someone drive us to the airport very early in the morning, we are going to stay at the Fairfield Inn and catch their shuttle in the morning.  We'll leave my dad's car at the hotel and he and my brother will come pick it up tomorrow afternoon.  

We always like reconnecting and catching up with family and friends and this time has been no different.  We were able to worship at Abundant Life on Sunday; Stephen spent time with his Mom and Dad in West Plains and we've continued our city-wide restaurant tour.