Our last day in Cali could be likened to a nightmare, luckily, like most bad dreams we were awakened just before complete despair set in. I could tell the story, but I'd rather not. Somethings are best forgotten.
I will say that walking off the plane in Bogota was like walking into a "wonderland" of delights.
Oh, the air is beautifully crisp and clear. The landscape is lush and green. Traffic flows at a normal pace and drivers obey streetlights and stop signs. Chinese Restaurants sit on every corner. The Papa John's Pizza sign flashes bright in the night sky. There is a rhythm here quite different from the city we had just come from.
Fair Maiden and I looked at each other and smiled.
This place was peaceful, and that very peace washed over us like a refreshing rain.
Arriving at our second home away from home was pleasantly surprising. The apartment is two-stories with three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and a large living, dining, and kitchen space downstairs as well as another full bath and laundry room. There is also a maid...a real live maid. She is Mairisella and she arrives at 8 a.m. She cooks, cleans, launders, irons, grocery shops, and makes me a hot pot of coffee every afternoon to take the chill out of the Bogota air.
We are living in a quaint, quiet neighborhood with a park and shops right across the street.
People smile and kids play. There is a rhythm to life here that is quite different from the city we had just come from and I like it very much.
Then there is Gloria, our in-country, Bogota, facilitator, and her husband Cesar.
If ever there was a couple that exemplified hospitality, it is Gloria and Cesar.
Today she invited us to her home for a special snack in the afternoon...and that is exactly what we expected, a special snack, not a formal dining room table set with fine china, fresh flowers, and candles where we were served a delicious home cooked meal accompanied by mango juice and herbal tea.
Fair Maiden asked for a glass of water and Gloria replied, "Sweetheart, this is your home. Make yourself welcome. What's mine is yours."
We toured her grounds, taste tested the wild raspberries, and picked orange colored leaves off the ground. Thunder and Lightning ran and played and collected firewood. Then we went to the family room and sat around a lovely, large, wood burning fireplace where we stoked a fire.
Everyone gathered around and the hours flew by as we talked and we laughed and Thunder told us a short story...the story of Rapunzel and her Prince. He is a very entertaining fellow...so funny and engaging.
Just like a fairy tale, it was a night that we didn't want to end, but it did, and my children wrapped themselves around our gracious hosts giving a great big hug and asking if they could please "come home again before leaving Bogota."
My boys...so sweet, so full of satisfaction, so grateful for the life and love they have been given, so blessed by the ordinary angels God continues to put in our path.
They had their TB tests on Thursday morning. We return to the lab bright and early in the morning to get the results. The results of the tests will determine our next steps here in Bogota.
Praying without ceasing...
I will say that walking off the plane in Bogota was like walking into a "wonderland" of delights.
Oh, the air is beautifully crisp and clear. The landscape is lush and green. Traffic flows at a normal pace and drivers obey streetlights and stop signs. Chinese Restaurants sit on every corner. The Papa John's Pizza sign flashes bright in the night sky. There is a rhythm here quite different from the city we had just come from.
Fair Maiden and I looked at each other and smiled.
This place was peaceful, and that very peace washed over us like a refreshing rain.
Arriving at our second home away from home was pleasantly surprising. The apartment is two-stories with three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and a large living, dining, and kitchen space downstairs as well as another full bath and laundry room. There is also a maid...a real live maid. She is Mairisella and she arrives at 8 a.m. She cooks, cleans, launders, irons, grocery shops, and makes me a hot pot of coffee every afternoon to take the chill out of the Bogota air.
We are living in a quaint, quiet neighborhood with a park and shops right across the street.
People smile and kids play. There is a rhythm to life here that is quite different from the city we had just come from and I like it very much.
Then there is Gloria, our in-country, Bogota, facilitator, and her husband Cesar.
If ever there was a couple that exemplified hospitality, it is Gloria and Cesar.
Today she invited us to her home for a special snack in the afternoon...and that is exactly what we expected, a special snack, not a formal dining room table set with fine china, fresh flowers, and candles where we were served a delicious home cooked meal accompanied by mango juice and herbal tea.
Fair Maiden asked for a glass of water and Gloria replied, "Sweetheart, this is your home. Make yourself welcome. What's mine is yours."
We toured her grounds, taste tested the wild raspberries, and picked orange colored leaves off the ground. Thunder and Lightning ran and played and collected firewood. Then we went to the family room and sat around a lovely, large, wood burning fireplace where we stoked a fire.
Everyone gathered around and the hours flew by as we talked and we laughed and Thunder told us a short story...the story of Rapunzel and her Prince. He is a very entertaining fellow...so funny and engaging.
Just like a fairy tale, it was a night that we didn't want to end, but it did, and my children wrapped themselves around our gracious hosts giving a great big hug and asking if they could please "come home again before leaving Bogota."
My boys...so sweet, so full of satisfaction, so grateful for the life and love they have been given, so blessed by the ordinary angels God continues to put in our path.
They had their TB tests on Thursday morning. We return to the lab bright and early in the morning to get the results. The results of the tests will determine our next steps here in Bogota.
Praying without ceasing...
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