Friday, July 17th

On Friday morning, the day began with Steve leading us all in a devotion about discipleship, drawing the lesson from some of the Old Testament traditions. Afterwards, some of our team shared about how the Lord had lead them to sign up to come on the trip to Bogota:


And then it's back to work. We've got a lot to do and we are starting to feel the pressure...we want to be done before we leave.

Above, Billy and Tina are about to start hanging curtain rods. Everyone thought it would be a good idea to keep Billy away from sharp, pointy objects for a while. Below, Ron is assembling the tables for the classrooms, fitting the removable tops to the frames.



Above, Brittany is measuring the light diffusor material which had to be carefully cut to fit to cover the windows in the classrooms. The purpose of this is to moderate the incoming sunlight, for security, and also to cut down on the distraction factor for the students. Below, Debbie is sewing the hems on the curtains. This, too, was a very big job.




Above, Scott is applying mud to one of the walls that he and Billy built while Steve is checking it out. Even though specific people had certain assignments, we all floated in and out of each other's jobs, helping as needed, sharing tools, offering insight and experience to one another. Below, Carl is working on the wiring in the computer lab. This is a job we wouldn't have even attempted without someone like Carl, who is very knowledgeable about wiring. It was great to witness God using each person's unique gifts, experience, and personalities to complete the work.


Here is a wonderful woman who, like the women in the Old Testament, has a name that matches her personality and spirit, Mercy Macias. She works for the Wesleyan Bible Institute and, as you can see she is bringing us a treat. Every day, all day, up and down six flights of stairs, these sweet ladies kept us fueled with food and lubricated with coffee, juice, and water.


This beautiful smile belongs to Xiomara Macias, and she is Mercy’s niece. She also speaks English very well and never missed an opportunity to encourage us. In English, her name is pronounced “sha-MAR-a”. On this day, she is bringing us this interesting refreshment, a kind of drinkable yogurt made by a Alpina, a big and important company in Bogota that exports a variety of food products all over South America.


Here are some of our other friends, again. Laura Macias, our chief translator, tour guide, Spanish teacher, and helper.

Andres Rodriguez, a tireless worker with a true servant's heart.

Pastor Felix (standing, talking to Ron), and Alberto, another young man with excellent translation skills. He is talking with Scott below and is also a worship leader at his church.

Several times during the week, in the early evening, there would be a class meeting in one of the classrooms and we would always try to be a little quieter about our work. On Friday night, after supper, we received a special surprise. One of the classes, in Apologetics, came upstairs to the top floor so that they could meet us. They thanked us for our efforts and we had a good time mingling and talking with them. They were happy to practice their English skills and we had a good time getting to know some of the folks who we hoped would benefit from our labors.

(Remember, you can click on the photos to view a larger version)

Afterwards, we all went back to work, the students to their classroom and us to our jobs:

And finally, here is a picture of Brittany's tool bag:

She got teased a bit because of it's girly look and color-coordinated tools. All week we called it either "Hannah Montana's Tool Bag" or "the Barbie Tool Bag". However, I think that all of us, at one time or another during our work, found that it held exactly the right tool we needed for whatever task we were doing at the time.

Isn't that just like the way the Lord works?