Sunday, August 8th...

Last night was interesting, to say the least...

Abi tossed and turned ALL night.

Bella cried in her sleep ALL night.

Bruce gave a quiet snore and

Josh talked in his sleep.

Clearly, I was up listening to this orchestra of sounds.

I woke with a sore left shoulder, neck, arm, wrist and hand. The fall from yesterday had proven to be as bad as I thought. No time for sympathy though...time to get up, get ready and head to church!

The church, remember, is just next door to Jose & Irma's house...well, about a 1/4 of a mile. We drove to church...thank goodness. I didn't want to walk back through the fire ants, tall grass, rocks, passed the cows, etc. The room was small. The walls thick and made of concrete. There were two small fans with little to no outflow. There were four windows...small and open. The humidity level was off the charts and sweat was beaded on our faces. The Colombian people were not moved by this heat for it's all they know. I didn't want to "fan" us the entire time but did choose to do it alot. Abi fell asleep in her stroller and her entire head/hair was completely wet with sweat. Beads of dirt were forming under her chubby chin and neck. Bella was seated with Sarah about four rows up. Josh was to my left, Bruce to my right and Abi in front of me in her stroller. Richard, the pastor, gave a long but seemingly good sermon. I couldn't understand a word of what he said but the people were listening intently and seemed blessed.

We were a bit surprised that they didn't ask us to give a brief testimony. We could have given great praise to their congregation of God's goodness and faithfulness. We could have also thanked them for the heart of the Colombian people and how they've shown us love and acceptance.

When church was over, the kids played on the playground. We had to wait a good 30 minutes before going to lunch. I told Bruce this waiting time was how our friends must feel when we go to lunch with them on Sundays...thanks for your patience, Mason's, Shannon's and Goen's!!

From church we went back to Irma's house to change our clothes and get our bags ready to go back to Bogota! Then we were off to lunch! Oh, the restaurant was lovely. It was all outdoors and just beautiful. They had a huge area to cook meat. Slabs of beef and pork hanging over the fire to be cooked. We were seated at two long tables in a perfect spot. We ordered our beef, chicken and pork and very soon thereafter, it was brought to our table. Jose and Irma, Samuel and his daughter, Sarah, Richard, Naicy and their son, Juan Estaban, Andrew and our family were in attendance. Juan Estaban is almost a year old. He and Abi sat next to each other in high chairs. They weren't interested in each other and didn't communicate to each other. Our meal was delicious and enjoyed by all! To make things even better, during lunch a young guy and girl came out and began to do a Colombian dance together to beautiful Colombian music!!! I was able to capture it on video...so beautiful! Bruce blessed all of us with lunch and I gave small gifts to each couple as a reminder of our love and thanksgiving. I told them how thankful we were for their hospitality. Jose, with tears welled up in his eyes, said, "You will always be welcome here! You are our family now." Irma and I were also crying.

We took some pictures together and then headed back to Jose and Irma's house. Irma used Andrew as her translator and said to me, "If you would like a sister in Colombia, I would love to be your sister! I will be an Aunt to your children!" I agreed. She reached over to hug me and didn't let go for a few seconds. When she pulled away from me, she was crying. She is a precious, precious woman of God.

We loaded up and we were off to the bus stop! We waited in line for a taxi and started the journey home. Josh rode in the front, between the driver and a lady. Bruce, Abi, Bella and I rode in the middle section. It was much better and I didn't have to worry if my hand ended up on Bruce's leg...;) Andrew sat in the back with a man and woman. We got our snacks beforehand, just like we had done on the way to Villavicencio. We had our Colombiana (drink/coke) in hand with our bags of peanuts for snacking.

The drive to Bogota was just as I remembered in 2007. The mountains were gloriously covered with greenery....every shade imaginable...flowers, small huts and houses and in some parts, the beautiful people of Colombia! There were fewer water falls but we did see some and they were breathtaking. My Mom and Dad would have LOVED this view and the picture God painted for us today, in the sky! Amazingly beautiful!

Our journey to Bogota was much better than that of Friday, while driving to Villavicencio. We all did well and four hours after departing, we had arrived to the bus stop. Andrew helped us get another taxi and told our driver where to take us. Then we had to say goodbye.

Andrew is an amazing man. He's so full of love for the Lord and others. He's always positive, even when he's not. He's usually smiling. He loves to talk about Jesus. He loves his family. He wore a long sleeved, brown shirt over his white tee shirt today in Villavicencio and it was hotter than a skillet with bacon sizzling on it. I asked him how in the world he was wearing long sleeves? He said, "It's all in the mind." Basically, he was saying, we can overcome anything. He's well rounded and intelligent. He knows of our American history AND Colombian history. He's awesome. I didn't want to leave Andrew at this time but we had to. Even Josh said, "When will we get to see Andrew again? Can't he come home with us?" We stood on the curb, taxi loaded, gave hugs and said goodbye. We drove away and when I looked back, I saw Andrew still standing on the curb, with that beautiful, big smile, watching us. I began to cry. He was much like a brother to me and I was thankful for the bond we created with he and his family!

Andrew went on to meet a pastor, friend here in Bogota while we went to Hotel Paris. We arrived to our hotel around 8pm (I think?). Kathy, the owner, was so kind and willing to serve us dinner, even though it was late. We had a nice, quick dinner and then we were up in our room!!! The room was chilly...hallelujah!!!! The shower was clean!!!! All four of us took magnificent showers and I bathed Abi in the sink. We layed down in our clean beds...all of us thankful for this chilly city, this clean room, tap water that we could use to brush our teeth, clean floors, clean everything and large enough beds to accommodate all of us!!!

We were all in bed and asleep by 10:00! Abi was in her crib and slept until 7am! She did great!

What we learned, as a family, over the weekend:

"PERSEVERANCE...PUSH AHEAD EVEN WHEN IT'S HORRIBLY HARD" - Ruth

"WE DON'T NEED ALOT OF THINGS" - Josh

"THAT WE CAN STILL LIVE, EVEN WHEN IT'S REALLY, REALLY HOT!" - Bella

"ABOUT THE FOUNDER OF INFANT PARADISE" - Bruce

"MY FAMILY REALLY LOVES JESUS AND EACH OTHER" - Abi

Mucho amor, Ruth