Thursday, July 16

This morning Nancy led our devotional time and had everyone in tears as she spoke about the varied gifts and talents that each of our team members possesses and how the Lord is using us here so far from home. Then she spoke about the gifts that we have seen in our gracious hosts, the sweetness of their humility, their quiet devotion to serving us while we serve them, and their enthusiastic devotion to the kingdom of God. As we have poured ourselves into one another's lives, we have truly seen Jesus at work, mixing our personalities, our abilities, and our spiritual gifts in surprising and creative ways.

Work continues apace on all fronts. Scott and Billy made a lot of progress on the new office area, installing the metal studs, mounting most of the drywall, and figuring out how to mount a sliding door.

Billy provided us with considerable extra excitement when, late in the afternoon, while cutting his last piece of drywall with a razor knife, something slipped and he cut a deep, approximately 2" long gash between his thumb and forefinger. Immediately our hosts and team rallied, wrapping his hand and taking him to an emergency clinic nearby. Ultimately, he wound up at a local hospital emergency room, with Rick watching over him, where he received six stitches, a shot in his booty, and a prescription for ibuprofen. He reports that the medical treatment he receive was very professional and carefully done. Amazingly, the bill was only $35 US. And now, we are very happy to report, he really is in great shape. Of course, we had to promote him to a different work crew, one where he doesn't get to play with sharp objects for a while, but he is back to his lovable and highly capable self. On Friday morning, Luz Angela thanked him for shedding his blood for Columbia.

Having completed the painting on the first floor, Leigh Anna, Britney, and Tina are working on removing the old tinting from the windows so that new, better tinting can be applied. This is a big job, but they are getting it done.

Here is of one of our helpers, Laura Macias. She speaks excellent English and has been a great translator. She has also been helping with the work in several areas, here with Britney & Andres. She is studying psychology at a local college and intends to be a teacher upon graduation.



And here is Consuelo Martínez, who has cooked and cooked and cooked the most amazing meals for us. Typically, she prepares two meals each day for 16-20 people. Now that, folks, is ministry.


This is what we had for a midmorning "snack" today, a kind of puff pastry filled with chicken, served warm:

And speaking of lunch, this is what it looked like today:

That is a salad with fresh sliced tomato, carrots, sweet peppers, lettuce and cilantro in some kind of light lime-flavored vinaigrette. The main course was roasted chicken, what seemed to be a sweet-tasting ground pork with red peppers, and fried yucca wedges. The yucca is pan fried in butter with a little salt and, sometimes, a little garlic. It taste like a gourmet french fry. The desert was a small plate of mild cheese, probably mozzarella, with melted panella. Really, really good.

And here is "el Jefe," Pastor Jose Quintero, and his wife, Luz Angela. They are both very gifted leaders, and they overflow with kindness, graciousness and the love of Christ. It has been a joy and great privilege to get to know these people.


On Thursday evening, all of us except Rick and Pastor Jose, who were looking after Billy at the hospital, took a ride through northern Bogota in an open bus, complete with a live mariachi-style band. This adventure also involved some singing, sight-seeing, illegal driving, dogs in T-shirts, and "dancing", if that is what you can call this:


Below are some more shots from that evening. We were sooo happy that Billy was able to join us later, too, for the last half of our ride.

Remember, there are many more photos at the Fountain City Wesleyan Church's Flickr Website. Follow the link from here.