A True day of Love - Day 3 - Feb 14

This is Eva...

Today we got the chance to visit the Luz y Vida orphanage.  At first we were pretty nervous because we didn't know what to expect, but it ended up being one of the best and most meaningful experiences of our trip so far.  

Even though there were language barriers and disabilities, I learned that you don't always need words to connect.  Smiles, laughter and simple human touch said more than anything else.  Everyone there was so joyful, and it was such a good reminder to be thankful and appreciate what I have.

Even though it was an emotional day, and we left feeling pretty heavy, we feel so blessed for this amazing opportunity.  Please keep all the people there in your prayers so they feel encouraged and supported.  Thank you for praying for us and we're excited to see what tomorrow has in store! 

From Amiyah...

Today was a day full of many highs, lows and everything in between.

This morning we drove to Luz y Vida, an orphanage and care centre for children and adults with extreme disabilities.  It was hard to hear that many of the people there have been there for most of their lives, and we learned that 95% of them don't have any family.

This was for all of us, a BIG step out of our comfort zone.  We all helped our where we could and sat with these precious people.  Some prayed, held their hand, or played with the little ones.  Thanks to our miraculous traffic-free commute, we actually arrived early so we were able to help the staff to feed them.  

This was a heavy morning for a lot of us because of the realities of their lives, but we are thankful that Luz y Vida gives them safety and people who care about them.  For me personally it gave me so much hope to see how the incredible nurses and the staff interact with them so lovingly.  They are amazingly people. 

After that we had a bit of whiplash when we indulged in shopping and a delicious chicken lunch.  We were also super blessed to have some Colombian friends with us throughout the whole day to help us with translating and shopping.  

In the afternoon we visited Monserrate, a mountain cathedral with beautiful gardens and stunning views.  We came up on a train car-type thing and down in a cable car.  You could see most of Bogota and then some.

The coolest part of the visit to the mountain was at the end when a team of 10-12 year old girl soccer players made friends with us and although almost none of them spoke English, we laughed at each other's attempts at each other's language and then took photos together.  I think they were just super excited to meet some Canadian teenagers.  haha

...and shout out to Ezra for getting us girls flowers and Sheila for the chocolates for Valentine's Day!

(editors note...   the coral ones were from Ezra - the yellow ones were from another Ezra for his valentine  ;)