MONDAY - FEBRUARY 19 - Hogar de Paz x two

 Happy Birthday to Eric!!  Today we started the day down one member.  Hope woke up with a wonderful stomach bug and had to unfortunately stay behind.  We missed her and Mr Rothfus - who also stayed to make sure she was okay.  

We visited two locations of Hogar de Paz - an after school and before school program to support kids with social, emotional, spiritual and educational assistance.  The ladies that run these places are incredible and love these children so much.  

For supper our team was picked up by local Colombian families from El Camino Academy and treated to some Colombian hospitality.  Everyone came back with full tummies, great stories and even some gifts.  Again, we are so thankful for the way that we have been welcomed.

Here are the details of the day...

A definite highlight of the trip, thus far, was going to an ECA family's house for dinner. The family Eric and I were assigned were the most genuinely warm and welcoming people I have ever met. They fed us, and engaged in deep conversation. At one point during our dinner, I was handed a cup with a question inside. The question that I got was "What is the meaning of life." I was a little scared, but it was truly a pleasure to partake in such a genuine deep conversation.  XoXo-Jonah

During our time here, I have been in awe of the hospitality and warmth Colombians emit. I felt so blessed going over to our ECA family's home. We were showered in endless amounts of food, questions, and love. It's fun learning about Colombian culture and sharing about life in Canada. Earlier in the day, while we drove to both Hogar de Paz centers I couldn't help but notice the beauty around us. It's amazing how beauty lives everywhere, even in the most poor and broken environments such as the ones we have driven through. God crafted this world so wonderfully and seeing his handiwork in Colombia has been a great experience and I am so grateful for it.  > Claire

Today was absolutely crazy! Spending my birthday in Colombia was such a neat experience! It started by us visiting two different Hogar de Paz's, similar to a daycare for before or after school. It was so cool hearing them sing and speak a bit of English, but it was also sad hearing some of the stories of where they come from. Afterwards, we went to hang out with different families from ECA, and I was paired up with Jonah. Our family was extremely hospitable, and they shared their beautiful house with us for the evening. Not only that, but they even bought me a birthday cake and a present. Despite the misconceptions that Canadians are the politest people in the world, Colombia is certainly making a case for itself. Truly everyone here is so warm and welcoming, and they are the most genuine people I have ever met. The conversations with the hosts were very intentional, and I really enjoyed both sharing about Canadian culture, but also hearing much about Colombian culture. Today was awesome, and it will be a birthday I will never forget! >Eric