I arrived safe and sound in Bogota, Colombia on Friday night around
10:30 p.m. After going through customs
and getting my luggage, I met Glenn and Glenda to take me to their home for the
week. We spent a little bit of time
visiting over some hot chocolate, so didn’t get to bed until after midnight.
We had an early start to the day on Saturday. After a breakfast of some fresh squeezed
orange juice and homemade granola, we were off to meet the STEP team. We picked up Beth on our way to the Trans-Mi
(bus) station. Beth and I met up with
Aaron and Eryca at the bus station. We
had about an hour bus ride to get to “The Jungle.” And, no, it’s not a real jungle…that’s what I
thought at first.
The Jungle is a ministry created by Steve and Evie for street kids to
have a safe place to play in the city.
Most of the kids come from neighborhoods with a reputation for drugs and
prostitution. There were maybe 45 kids
that came in—it was crazy! And, there
are usually more that come! There are
just a lot of activities available there for the kids to play—basketball,
foosball, golf, tiny zip line, fire pole, ball pit, these huge buckets on
wheels where you spin them around…tons of stuff! We were there to play and just love on these
kids. Some do not get much love or
affection from home. We also spent time
praying for the program and the kids that came in. After playing, they also always share the
salvation message. Today, 21 children
asked Jesus into their hearts! Pray for
these little ones! (You'll notice there are not any kids in the pictures at The Jungle--due to privacy reasons, I was asked not to take pictures.)
I’ll be spending more time with Steve and Evie in the next few days and
will hear more about the complete ministry they run. The Jungle is just one part of their 7-step
program to help get these kids off of the streets.
After leaving “The Jungle,” Aaron, Beth, Eryca and I went for
lunch. We invited Nathan. He’s from New Zealand and is here helping out
with Steve & Evie’s ministry. He’s
staying with Aaron in the mountains.
After lunch, we walked about 25 blocks (maybe more?) to Luis and Nubia’s
house. Today is Beth’s birthday and they
hosted a birthday party for her! And,
apparently, the tradition in Colombia (for parties) is to start with dessert
first! So, we had cake and ice cream,
followed by sandwiches a bit later.
I came back to Glenn and Glenda’s house. The STEPpers all went to their respective
host families for the night. Tomorrow we’ll
all meet up at church in the morning and spend the rest of the day
together. We’re heading up the
mountain. I’ll be staying up on the
mountain with Steve & Evie (and Aaron and Nathan) Sunday night into
Monday. Aaron has been working there,
helping to build a house that will be used for future kids or work teams that
are part of the ministry that Steve & Evie run. I’m told I could be doing some welding!? Should be interesting…
And, of course, you know me, I’m always up for some sort of physical
challenge. And, Aaron is just as bad as
I am. So, we’re already talking about
doing a workout on Monday morning that may include running up the
mountain. So, pray that I don’t pass out
from sheer exhaustion, dehydration, or from altitude problems (we’re 8500 feet
above sea level here)! J
I’ll be back on the blog sometime late Monday night! Thanks for following along. Thanks for your prayers, too. Enjoy the pictures!
Praying for you! :)
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