Arrived Safe and Sound!

We arrived in Bogota on Tuesday evening after about 15 hours of traveling. I was only able to sleep about 2 hours on the plane but I didn't feel that bad. We arrived in Bogota at night so we were able to go to sleep right when got here. We are staying at a ywam base, which is a house, and is really nice. I love that it feels like a home!

The first day here we just got settled and walked around the city a bit. The second full day here we went on a bike tour to get acquainted with the city. It was awesome! It was about 6 hours and for the first 5.5 the weather was really good, but for the last 1/2 hour it poured rain, but since we had plastic ponchos we stayed semi-dry. Even though it rained it was a fun experience! And rain here is definitely not uncommon. The weather here has been quite cold, especially compared to Hawaii, and it normally rains everyday in the evening. I bought rain boots :D

Walking around the city

Part of our bike tour - traditional games

coffee factory

It began to pour during our bike tour!

walking telephone booth

market

bull ring!

Friday we got to go to a daycare and help out for the day and spend time with the kids (age 3-15). The kids that come to this daycare are from low income communities and come from dysfunctional homes. The daycare has been running for quite a while now (not sure exactly how long), and they operate with the purpose of raising children to know God and who they are in Him. When we went we were asked to plan activities and have a theme that we wanted to share with the kids. We decided that we would have the theme of 'You are Special' as we wanted to express to the kids that no matter what circumstances they live with or what may have happened to them, each one of them are special and God cares about each and everyone of them. We did an art project were each one of the children had to decorate an ornament with things that they like about themselves and things that they like to do. Then we had them put on a christmas tree. We did this to incorporate our theme as well as christmas, as it is only one week away! Then we also played games with the kids, sang songs, and explained to them more about who they are in God and how they each are so special! I really liked doing the craft with the kids as I got to attempt to communicate with them through the little spanish I knew, and mostly hand motions and body language. All of the kids are so amazing and were so helpful when I tried to communicate. One of my favorite parts of the day was when the kids sang 'Here I am to Worship' in Spanish. It just really showed me that God is totally working within these communities and that there is hope that things can change. The kids are being brought up in Christian environments and I just pray that they stay strong and continue to follow God. It is kinda funny how so many times when we think we are going to help and give to others, we get way more in return. These kids showed us so much love and showed how we can live for God through a child like faith... not thinking it over so much and trying to understand, but just believing. At the end of our time with the kids we got to pray for them. It was a really great experience and I know that I will always remember these kids. A hard part of this trip will definitely be meeting all these people and only being apart of their lives for a little period of time. Even if I can't stay with them or help them as I would like to, I know I can pray for them and that God is going to always be with them.

All the daily things here are going really good. I've liked all the food we have had, I have been able to sleep well, and our group is getting along really well :D

Love and miss you all!
Rachael