Team Beta returned to Conestoga View Retirement Home in Lancaster this past Sunday, April 9th.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and each resident received a palm leaf for Palm Sunday and a songbook as they came into the auditorium.  They enjoyed chatting with our team before we presented.  One woman was impressed with our matching t-shirts, and asked if we sell them.  When told that, no, we don’t just sell shirts, she remarked, “Well, you should! You would make a lot of money!” 🙂

Jewel Sensenig, one of the DRAMA parents, began the presentation by leading several hymns, which the residents knew better than we did!  Afterwards, the team presented five songs, receiving an applause after each one.  Olivia and Isaiah Stoner and Emily Weaver took turns speaking, explaining the songs and encouraging the audience to remember that Jesus is always with us, and to walk in His light.

After wrapping up, we had the opportunity to hang out at the Sensenig’s home, talking about how the outreach went and praying to thank God for another opportunity to share the gospel!

Yesterday was another warm, sunny day.  We have had amazing weather!  It is very hot in the sun, but as there is no humidity, it is quite pleasant in the shade.

Our youth spent the morning training the Children’s Vision drama team.  The children are so excited and eager to learn!  They completed the song begun the previous evening and finished learning a second one.

Bev, Hannah, and I spent the morning helping the boys from Leviticus House select new clothing. The children receive new clothing once a year, before the start of their school year.  Each boy was allowed to choose four pair of pants and four shirts.  They were very excited!

The youth spent the afternoon in several different buildings.  A group of girls packed away and organized the left-over clothing. The guys and several of the girls continued with the painting project at Numbers House.  Charlie and Alex began building a closet in the school.

We had a special supper.  Our group helped make and serve 500 pancakes for the entire orphanage, approximately 100 children. The pancakes were delicious, especially with raspberry, strawberry, and chocolate sauces and a side of ice cream!  It was a special treat for the kids, and they loved it!

After we ate, our youth spent the evening training the CVII drama team. Due to a misplaced key, they weren’t able to get into the practice room, so they spent 45 minutes playing games and hanging out. Even with the delay, they were still able to get a lot done, and enjoyed getting to know the Colombian team better. Before miming, one of the younger girls said, “I have lots of energy because I had so many pancakes!” Afterwards, she said, “Now I’m tired.”

Thanks for your prayers.  The youth that were not feeling well yesterday are doing great today.

Karen – for Colombia team

Yesterday was a very productive day.  Linford and his crew of painters made great progress on the exterior of the older girls’ home.  Charlie and some of the guys did some concrete work and also repaired bunk beds. Bev and I spent most of the day hemming school uniforms.  Jeanene, the director of Children’s Vision, was very pleased with how much our girls accomplished.  They helped organized donations and fitted the children with new clothing and shoes.

We ate supper at the Leviticus house, the little girl’s house.  The children were so excited to host our group.  An adorable little dark-haired girl prayed for our meal and said, “God bless the missionaries who came to share our food”.  Some of them were so excited they forgot to eat.  It is amazing to see how much communication takes place without a common language.

Our youth spent the evening getting to know the Bogota drama team, teaching them mime techniques and beginning to teach them a song.

Please keep praying.  So far our week has gone well, but several of our team are struggling with stomach issues.

Karen – for the Colombian team

We are enjoying another beautiful, sunny day in Bogota. The weather is perfect, a cloudless blue sky and a calm breeze.

Last evening we ate supper with the boys at the Exodus House.  Our team had fun attempting to communicate with the boys.  It was a noisy mixture of Spanish and English!

The plan had been for our youth to do mime training after the meal, but the schedule changed and instead we went back to Bethel, our guest house.  The team had Bible study, while the parents went grocery shopping.

Thankfully, we were able to get to bed early….as everyone was very tired!

This morning our team split up and went several different directions.  One group of guys worked on concreting a bedroom floor that they had ripped out yesterday.  They worked on bunk beds while waiting for their concrete to dry. The rest of the guys climbed scaffolding and began painting the exterior of one of the houses.  The girls helped fit all of the children with clothing and shoes.

We are all healthy and well. Thank you for your prayers!

We are enjoying a beautiful, sunny day in Bogota!  We arrived late last night after a long day of travel.  Our flight went well, and thankfully, all of our luggage arrived with us.  After landing at the airport and collecting our luggage, we traveled 45 minutes through the city to Bethel House, the guest home where we are staying.  We had a brief wait in a dark courtyard attempting to unlock the door with a broken key.  After being brought a new set of keys, we hauled our suitcases through a narrow hallway and up steep flights of stairs, finally tumbling into bed around 1:00 am.

This morning we ate a breakfast of cold cereal and fruit and walked two blocks to the Genesis House, the home for the babies and toddlers.  We enjoyed a tour of Children’s Vision’s four homes and school before eating our lunch in the sunny courtyard.

This afternoon the group will begin their work projects, which will include fitting children for school uniforms, painting, and tearing out a wooden floor.

We are all well. The youth are understandably tired, but have great attitudes. I haven’t heard a single complaint.

Karen and Alisha, for the Colombia Team