Day One

We hit the ground running on this first day in Bogota.  With a 7:30 am breakfast call, and 15 people needing to shower and get ready, it was an early start.  Berta, our faithful cook, was a welcome sight as she prepared a delicious breakfast of eggs and arepas.

Our first stop was to a new ministry called Hogares Luz y Vida (Home of Light and Life)  This was so appropriately named as it truly was light and life from the moment we walked in.  This is home to about 160 disabled children - infant to 18 years of age.  It was born out of a passion in the heart of one woman, a nun, that saw the "broken" children of Bogota.  Through her vision and many generous donations Hogars Luz y Vida was born.  "Challenging" is a good word to describe our thoughts as we entered that first room of children.

 Logan Sept gives his reflections on his first day...

Today was for sure an eye opener, particularly when we visited the home for disabled kids.  Most of the kids could hardly move and had deformed parts of their bodies.  Some were blind, many had cancer and many had brain problems in general.  It took a while for some of us to warm up to the idea of holding these kids and feeding them, etc.  But after a while we were all making connections with the kids.  The type of communication that we used with them was not speaking because even if these kids could speak, they definitely wouldn't know English.  Rather we used the universal language of love.

For me, this experience opened my eyes to the ugliness of sin.  In North America we don't always see the consequences of our sin to the same extent that people do in other parts of the world.  This experience allowed me to see how serious God treats sin and the direct consequences that we must face because of it.  Also this made me more grateful for the hope that we have because of God's plan of redemption.  One day these kids will have no sickness or pain.  I'm looking forward to the day when I can meet these kids in Heaven and they will be perfectly healthy.  Praise the Lord for His plan for redemption!