Day 1 in Colombia, SA

9:30 - Salem came to pick us up to take us to the airport. Even though Bruce and I had renewed hope, wee were exhausted. Salem came with his usual calm self and while we were in the car, just his presence was comforting to Bruce and I. My brain and emotions are on overload.

We made it to Houston and just as planned, we gathered our luggage from baggage claim and walked for quite a ways, taking the tram, escalators and elevators. The kids did great! Our luggage quantity grew to 5 large suitcases, 1 medium and all of us having carry on bags so

you can imagine what we looked like, scurrying around the Houston terminals and giggling while trying to shove our suitcases around.

When we made it to the Terminal and Gate where the visas were supposed to arrive, we saw a guy standing off to the side. Josh said, “Dad, that’s the guy. Bruce went on the office where we were told to pick up the package. Again Josh said, “Momma, I know that’s the guy.” This man started to walk away and I told Josh he felt that strong, to chase after him and ask. He approached him and said, “Sir, are you here with a package for Bruce Menefee?” They smiled and said, “Yes!” Josh led him to Bruce and they all stood where Bella and I could see them with smiles covering their faces. Again, God is faithful!!

I reminded Josh that what he was feeling was his gift of discernment! I remember praying for Josh while he was in my womb and asking the Lord for Josh to discern good fr

om evil and to walk confidently in what he felt he was hearing from the Lord. He sure shined today!

All was well…we had the visas in hand! We checked in with Continental for our flight to Bogota and had time for a delicious BBQ lunch!

THE PLANE RIDE…

We were stuck in the back, where it was hot which wasn’t nice. We were

surrounded by men and it seemed a bit creepy. Maybe it was because our seats were separated? Josh and Bruce sat on the back row while Bella and I were 3 seats in front of them.To make a long story short, the Lord used 2 little girls to bring me to a new friend. Valentina and Isabella are

the same age and noticed each other immediately after boarding. She was with her brother, Daniel and mother, Catalina. Valentina was a very bold girl and began waving at Bella, handing her a fruit roll up and trying to talk over the isle while being a row up from us. Since the flight was so long, we had to make trips to the bathroom…that’s always interesting..ick! While we were out of our seats, Valentina came up and began to talk to Bella. I introduced myself to her mother, who is a beautiful Colombian woman. The two girls took our seats and I ended up spending the rest of the trip visiting with Catalina. We talked about our visit to Medellin, my own adoption story and her life as well. Our conversation was rich and something

that I’ll never forget. Before we left the airport, we had exchanged much of our contact information. Catalina was also a huge help getting us out of the airport. So thankful I met Catalina today! God knew I needed her in my life today!

After taking pictures with Catalina and her kids and getting our luggage, we headed out the door and Josh says, “Look! There’s a man holding a sign with our name on it!” Again he was used to

day because there had to have been at least 100 people standing outside the airport doors. We met Jaime, our driver and interpreter in Bogota and took a 45 minute drive to our hotel. We arrived there at 10:40pm and we were spent. Our hotel was unique. I was glad we were all exhausted so as to fall asleep quick and begin again tomorrow. Bella slept with me on a twin bed and she cuddled up next to me all night. Josh and Bruce had the queen sized bed. I couldn’t sleep. I felt anxious and sressed about tomorrow….may have received 4-5 hours of sleep.