Backing up to where I last left off in the adventure of Summer 2011: Well, I'm going to be honest, those four months were more than hard. Missions are a fun adventure, yes. But because of my health almost everyday was a challenge. But God is faithful.
The two months in Palmira were... interesting. We lived in a house for missionaries with two missionaries from our church. And there was an orphanage there, too. But there aren't orphans because it needs, and still needs, repairs. So, we painted and cleaned almost everyday.
Jessica, Sandra (our friend from Pereira) and I in Palmira.
Yes, that is a giant slice of bread. And yes, that is a foam roller she's using to put mayo on said giant slice of bread.
Here's the orphanage building.
One thing that we did that I enjoyed a lot was an evangelistic event every Wednesday with a church in the city. We went to different neighborhoods and with our sound system we preached to whoever was listening. And one time I preached, without notes or anything. Just the pastor as my translator and I. I was really nervous, but I'm glad I did it.
Then it was off to Barranquilla, Colombia For our first week we went to a town three hours away from Barranquilla called Carmen de Bolivar. We did dramas in the schools and gave them "Books of Life", a book with the message of Christ. We gave out around 1,600 books. The final week I was there we went to another town called San Jancinto and did the same thing.
Some of our drama team.
Niños!!! Magdalena, the lady we lived with, is the one with the white hat.
You've gotta love candid facial expressions.
Then I came home and Jessica stayed, and will stay, until November. I decided trying to battle my respiratory problems that I've had for four months now and trying to keep up with our schedule was madness. Not that I didn't have fun. It was a hard decision because I liked being there. But I wasn't there to be in bed because I'm sick. I go to work. So, I decided needed a break, to get rid of the rest of this sickness. So that I can go back, with strength! And strength was something I didn't have much of.
So its back to life in the States til... whenever the next trip is : )
