Day One - The Jungle
Hello! This is Molly! Our first day in Colombia has been a crazy one. After a full first day of travel we finally arrived at the guest house just after midnight. After a good four-ish hours of sleep we all got up and met Berta---- and her daughter who cooked us a huge breakfast, and then we left to go to The Jungle. One of the things I got to do was go with Miss Lockhart, Samantha, and Michelle to pick up kids in the neighbourhood from their houses. I don't even know how to describe the feeling of walking into that apartment building and seeing the way that those kids live. The whole building was rotting, there were ladies scrubbing laundry with hoses over the floor, needles lying around. In North America it would be impossible to live somewhere like that without it being condemned. We walked through the whole building knocking on doors telling kids to get ready to come to the Jungle before going to wait in the front for all of them.
Seeing the way that those kids live just makes me realize how good I actually have it to live in Three Hills with a good home where my room must be as big as their entire appartment. Seeing that apartment was so much worse than I could have ever imagined it to be. How self centered must I be to complain about my own life, while kids no different from my own little brothers are living in a place that I didn't like to be in for more than fifteen minutes.
When they came out to walk with us they were all dressed up with their hair done and cute kids clothes, then we walked them all to the jungle to start the programs and games we had for them. Just looking at those kids playing in the jungle they looked the same as a kid in Three Hills would going to a playplace on the weekend. Seeing the way that Steve Bartell, a YWAM missionary, started a place where kids were able to just play in a neighbourhood that is too dangerous for them to be able to do that safely was an amazing example of how the love of Christ is present in even the most terrible places in the world. This connected so well with our theme 'Capaces en Criso' which means "our competence comes from Christ." God is truly working through the Jungle because the ability for this program to succeed is through Him alone.
Hi, this is Emma :)
Four hours of sleep, and we were waking up to the sunlight streaming through our windows while unidentified birds serenaded us. We were tired, nervous, excited, and very well fed when we loaded on to the bus. For me it was so interesting to drive through the streets of Bogota in daylight since the night before it had been too dark to really observe the city. The one thing that struck me most was the amount of graffiti which decorates almost every wall and surface along the streets. But this isn't just any rebellious-teenage-vandal job, this is real artwork. Giant monkeys and women holding doves, chefs, oversized animals, various wannabe Picaso's. And while at first I was amazed with the creativeness and beauty of the swirling colours and fantastic shapes I began to notice what hid behind the spray paint. Crumbling buildings, broken windows, scorched walls, all reminders of the troubled past of this struggling society. A past which haunts all of Bogota's citizens whether rich or poor.
Another striking characteristic of this city is the disparity between classes, each street represents a different economic status, a different niche of Colombian society. One minute you are in a tourist area with ice cream shops and fancy buildings, the next you are driving down narrow alleys filled with destitute people.
We arrived at The Jungle and again my expectations were far from reality. In my mind I had pictured The Jungle to be a large room with a lot of space for kids to run but the truth is that The Jungle is a not-small-but-not-big room with half a second floor, cement walls and floors, and a giant door with a heavy lock. But despite this every kid who walked through that door left with a smile, their life made just a little bit better by the hope and love shown to them through the workers. I was put on face-painting duty and while this meant that I was unable to interact with the kids in areally active way it did give me the vantage point of being able to watch my teammates as they played with the kids. While I was disappointed to not be able to play with the kids I think it was good for me to be able to sit back and realize how blessed I am to be a part of this team. It finally hit me how excited I am to work with all of these amazing people. God has formed this team with a purpose in mind and I can not wait to see what it is.
Overall my first impression of Bogota is that while there is a lot of hardship and poverty, there is hope. God is working here and it is so apparent. The next 11 days are going to be really hard but they will also be amazing. I'm excited to see how God decides to use us. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Seeing the way that those kids live just makes me realize how good I actually have it to live in Three Hills with a good home where my room must be as big as their entire appartment. Seeing that apartment was so much worse than I could have ever imagined it to be. How self centered must I be to complain about my own life, while kids no different from my own little brothers are living in a place that I didn't like to be in for more than fifteen minutes.When they came out to walk with us they were all dressed up with their hair done and cute kids clothes, then we walked them all to the jungle to start the programs and games we had for them. Just looking at those kids playing in the jungle they looked the same as a kid in Three Hills would going to a playplace on the weekend. Seeing the way that Steve Bartell, a YWAM missionary, started a place where kids were able to just play in a neighbourhood that is too dangerous for them to be able to do that safely was an amazing example of how the love of Christ is present in even the most terrible places in the world. This connected so well with our theme 'Capaces en Criso' which means "our competence comes from Christ." God is truly working through the Jungle because the ability for this program to succeed is through Him alone.
Hi, this is Emma :)
Four hours of sleep, and we were waking up to the sunlight streaming through our windows while unidentified birds serenaded us. We were tired, nervous, excited, and very well fed when we loaded on to the bus. For me it was so interesting to drive through the streets of Bogota in daylight since the night before it had been too dark to really observe the city. The one thing that struck me most was the amount of graffiti which decorates almost every wall and surface along the streets. But this isn't just any rebellious-teenage-vandal job, this is real artwork. Giant monkeys and women holding doves, chefs, oversized animals, various wannabe Picaso's. And while at first I was amazed with the creativeness and beauty of the swirling colours and fantastic shapes I began to notice what hid behind the spray paint. Crumbling buildings, broken windows, scorched walls, all reminders of the troubled past of this struggling society. A past which haunts all of Bogota's citizens whether rich or poor.
Another striking characteristic of this city is the disparity between classes, each street represents a different economic status, a different niche of Colombian society. One minute you are in a tourist area with ice cream shops and fancy buildings, the next you are driving down narrow alleys filled with destitute people.
We arrived at The Jungle and again my expectations were far from reality. In my mind I had pictured The Jungle to be a large room with a lot of space for kids to run but the truth is that The Jungle is a not-small-but-not-big room with half a second floor, cement walls and floors, and a giant door with a heavy lock. But despite this every kid who walked through that door left with a smile, their life made just a little bit better by the hope and love shown to them through the workers. I was put on face-painting duty and while this meant that I was unable to interact with the kids in areally active way it did give me the vantage point of being able to watch my teammates as they played with the kids. While I was disappointed to not be able to play with the kids I think it was good for me to be able to sit back and realize how blessed I am to be a part of this team. It finally hit me how excited I am to work with all of these amazing people. God has formed this team with a purpose in mind and I can not wait to see what it is.Overall my first impression of Bogota is that while there is a lot of hardship and poverty, there is hope. God is working here and it is so apparent. The next 11 days are going to be really hard but they will also be amazing. I'm excited to see how God decides to use us. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
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