Friday Favorites....& Bogota Bridges Anniversary!

Today I have a few favorites (& highlights from the week) along with a link.  

I've read a lot of funny sayings lately, but this is my favorite!!  Love this!!

I write about this on our Bogota Bridges blog, but when I say the weather rarely changes here, I mean the weather rarely changes.  

Sometimes I just take a minute & watch Huey Lewis on youtube when I realize I may or may not see him again in concert anytime in the near future.

Empenadas are a typical Colombian food.  Our housekeeper made this for us this week & used my cheddar cheese in them.  Delicioso!!!

Here we were on our first full day in Bogota, April 25, 2014.  That means today marks 1 year since we arrived in Bogota.  Read the blog to find out the highlights, hardships, & things that are normal in life to us here.  

Happy Weekend!  I am heading to Peru on Sunday!  

Thrive

Today I want to mention a ministry called Thrive. From their website, their mission is
to encourage and empower Global Women (by providing care, resources, & community) to thrive and to be their advocate (by engaging and educating Christian communities to be equipped and empowered to pro-actively meet the needs of Global Women.)

This ministry was originally started by a missionary leaving to serve cross culturally & created a magazine to have community.  This led into having retreats for missionaries.  Fast forward to today....they have an online magazine that is emailed each week & they still have retreats held regionally.  I receive their emails each week & next week, I am blessed to be able to attend a Thrive retreat!

The Thrive retreats are for missionary women from North America who are serving cross culturally. In thanks to donors, the ministry pays for this retreat! There is only a small registration fee & transportation cost to your retreat location for the attendee.  The ministry covers all food & hotel expenses!  Because of this gift, a missionary can only attend a retreat once during her term.

Next week, Thrive will have a retreat in Lima, Peru for missionary women serving in Latin America. So this Sunday, I fly out to Lima, Peru.  I am going from Bogota by myself, but there are 3 other MTW missionaries who will be there (2 I have met, but don't know well, and 1 more person I have not met).  I will be returning back to Bogota Thursday night, so it is a 4 day retreat.

What will I do at the retreat?  Relax, speak English (maybe just a little Spanish to get by in the city), be encouraged (in English), & be pampered!  There are lots of options for self-care during the day.
Each day will begin with an optional fitness class, followed by a morning session time with a speaker & worship.  The afternoons & evenings are left for self-care options & time visiting with others. The retreat is fairly small with only around 30 attendees, plus volunteers (I think). Self care options include pedicures, massage, color analysis, hair cut (I am excited to get a hair cut!  I have only had 1 this past year), nurse, counselor, & prayer.  I hope to participate in as many of these as I can.  All of these services are done by volunteers who serve at these retreats.  This possibly would be something I would like to volunteer with someday.  Who knows. We will see how next week goes.

Here is a neat thing about this retreat.  They are spending 30 days prior to the retreat in prayer. They are praying for each person coming, speaker, volunteers, & attendees.  They are praying for each country represented.  They are praying for families left behind as women attend this event.  They are praying for persecution on the field, homesickness, language learning, illness & other things. They prayed for me on Day 10.

During the retreat, my understanding is there will be a blog, so if you want to follow it next week, click here & it should be updated with the Peru retreat.

Thanks for your prayers as I go to this.  I am traveling alone, but never am I really alone.  Pray I can be open with others of hardships here that can be difficult to express to others sometimes due to fear. Pray I can relax & enjoy myself.  I am looking forward to seeing a new place in South America. Pray for Avery & the girls next week while I am gone. Thanks to Avery for initiating me going on this trip & realizing this will be good for me. Pray especially for the girls on Tuesday as they have testing for their new school & I know they are a little nervous about the unknown.  Pray they remember math!!  And, when I get back from this trip, only another week to wait until we travel to the USA!!

Show & Tell Tuesday, Name Edition

Today is all about names & how we got them.  I will focus on my girls names.

First, Isabella Marie.  Isabella is a Spanish name & means "consecrated to God".  I loved this name because it is a classic, timeless beautiful name.  It has grown in popularity since 2001!  The name was ranked #4  of girl names in 2013.  Marie is a family name.  Marie was the middle name of my grandmother, my mother's middle name, & my middle name. Most of you know this story, but this is how I was convinced I would name my first born girl Isabella:

I won a free trip to London in December 1999 while working as a travel agent, so Avery & I went for a long weekend trip.  It was so cold!  We had just been to the Tower of London & Tower Bridge, when we stopped into a nearby hotel to eat lunch.  A lady came behind me & tapped me on the shoulder, thinking I was someone else.  I turned around & she realized I was not who she was looking for.  She was holding a baby girl who outstretched her arms for me, so without thinking, I asked if I could hold her baby & she said yes!  I looked at the mom & asked, "What is her name?".  Guess what she replied?? "Isabella".  In that moment, I knew this is the name I would choose, so our Isabella is named after a girl in London, which is so appropriate for her since she is a London fan!!  

This is a picture of the hotel I took when in London February 2014.

Next, Elizabeth Brook.  Elizabeth is also a Spanish name & also means "consecrated to God". I love that Elizabeth is also a classic, timeless beautiful names.  Elizabeth was ranked #10 of girl names in 2013.  Brook is Avery's middle name, so that is why it is Brook with no "e".  As much as I like Elizabeth, we wanted to call her Brook, as Brook Bridges just seemed to roll of the tongue!  

Interesting, both Isabella & Elizabeth are the same name in Italian & French.  There was both a Queen Isabella & Queen Elizabeth in history, & presently. Both girls share our middle names & both girls first names has the same meaning.  And if you are wondering, our boy name was Wilson Bridges & call him Will Bridges. 

Signing off for the day.......Marilyn Marie

Weekend Wrap-Up, Week 16

We had an early celebration of our 1 year anniversary in Bogota with a visit to our favorite place here...the Hilton Bogota!  We left after Spanish class Friday afternoon & spent one night there.  It was quite rainy, so we postponed our swimming until Saturday morning.  We ate at the hotel Friday night & spent some time reflecting on the past year.

Thankfully, we had sun for a little bit Saturday morning (and the pool is heated).

We had a late check out, so we enjoyed our long morning at the hotel & then headed to the theater for our first play in Bogota!  I think the last play we saw was in London, a year and a half ago, so it was fun to be watching a play again.  We went to see The Sound of Music, or in Spanish, La Novicia Rebelde, which literally translates to the rebel novice.

Outside the theater

Inside the theater were stacking chandeliers

(photo courtesy of google)

view from our seats

(we had second row mezzanine seats which were perfect)

Another view of the theater

(photo courtesy of google)

The entire play was in Spanish, even the songs!

We were able to follow along pretty well since we know the play & movie so well.  Outside of the time Marie Osmond played Maria, this was the best performance of this play I've seen.  

It was a fun language experience for us!

Friday Favorites

Tuesday on our day off from formal Spanish class, we spent 3 hours with our friend, Marina.  Marina has worked with the MTW team for many years, mainly helping out with childcare.  She is great with kids & that is her ministry & passion.  We met her because she went to our church when we first arrived, but like most people, she has left our church.  We still try to see her occasionally, so we she came over Tuesday morning for a visit & then we went to lunch at the mall.  It was fun & another practical chance to practice speaking & listening in Spanish.

It is always a treat to get mail here!  This week we received 4 things in the mail!  We received 2 Easter cards, a St. Patrick's Day note, & a just hello card.  

Avery & I went to dinner with our team leaders for an early celebration of our 1 year anniversary in Bogota.  I didn't get any pictures of us, but this is where we ate.

Carbon de Palo, meaning charcoal stick

We had steak, which is served with salad, grilled banana, arepa, and a potato.

Avery & I took a walk Thursday afternoon through an area of nicer homes that I had always wanted to see.  I never go walk for exercise here because walking is such a part of life here, so it was nice to just "take a walk".  

This picture is taken from our balcony & the area you see in the distance is where we walked.  

This picture is from the same view, just not as zoomed into the area.

That's it folks.  It's Friday, so that is good news.  And we are 3 weeks from Memphis.  We've never needed it so bad in so many ways.  

Crepes & Waffles

One of our favorite restaurants here is Crepes & Waffles.  If you come to Bogota, we promise to take you there!  The first restaurant opened in Bogota in 1980.  It began as a restaurant that served crepes, waffles, & ice cream, but they have extended their menu to include soups, salads, crepes of all different kinds (my favorite is the Mexican), bread bowls, & pitas of all different varieties.  Without a doubt, they have the best ice cream in town & everyone agrees on this!  They also have delicious fruit juices. The restaurant has now extended to other cities in Colombia & other countries:  Peru, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, & Spain.  I think it would do well in the USA too, but no locations yet!

One other interesting fact is that all locations in Colombia only employ women, so there are no male cooks, cleaners, etc.  This is aimed to employ single moms, or other women who are head of their households.  Below is a combination of photos from our collection & the internet!

Some locations are in a mall, but not all, & there is a location in the airport & in the US Embassy here!

An example of the Mexican crepe

Bread bowl with beef

example of dessert crepe

example of dessert waffle

My strawberry juice!

Eating Crepes & Waffles ice cream!

One of my favorites :)

Mini waffles with ice cream

And another picture from last weekend of the girls with their massive ice cream bowls! The desserts get an A for their presentation & taste!

Fondue dessert

Happy Thursday!  Yay!  1 more day to the weekend!

Bogota Bridges

Today, just a quick formal announcement at www.bogotabridges.com that we are coming to Memphis!  We are working on a schedule with people & will let you all know specific dates on our newsletter next month.  23 days, 20 hours at the time of writing!  Brook tells me that sounds like a very long time to wait :(.  We have some things here to keep us busy in the meantime, so we press on here while excited about next month.

Book Review, 5th Edition

Today I will finish up my book review highlights from The Power of a Woman's Words.
Thanks for your patience, as I know I'm a slow reader :).

The remaining chapter highlights are:

The Power of a Woman's Words to God - When the Bible says, "God remembered", it doesn't mean He has forgotten or has not seen, but instead, He is about to act. (examples:  God remembered Hannah, Noah, Abraham, Rachel).

*The next section of the book is about the potential to change

The Promise of Power - "It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to control this little muscle that rests between our teeth.  However, change does require our cooperation.  We must work in tandem with the Holy Spirit to rein in this feisty force.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power, but our responsibility is to put God-given principles into practice."

A quote from Corrie ten Boon - "A glove can do nothing.  But if my hand is in the glove, it can do many things, cook, play the piano, write, etc.  Well, you say that is not the glove but the hand in the glove that does it.  Yes, that is so.  I tell you that we are nothing but gloves.  The hand in the glove is the Holy Spirit of God.  Can the glove do something if it is very near the hand? No!  The glove must be filled with the hand to do the work.  That is exactly the same for us.  We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work God has for us to do."

When someone says something rude to us, we can put on the humility of Christ & not retaliate.  We must choose to walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh, which can happen only by the power of the Holy Spirit, & when it comes to changing the way we speak, we may have some powerful reflexes to overcome, but it becomes easier with practice, training, & reprogramming.

The Product of Practice - When we choose not to react in anger, but extend grace, the aroma of Christ is released.  The only way to be free of bitterness is to let go of past offenses & refuse to collect them.  The fact is, hurt is inevitable in relationships.  We are sinful creatures living in a fallen world, & only by the grace of God can we be a blessing to anyone.  The only way to be better rather than bitter is to extend the same grace to others that God extended to us through Jesus Christ.

The Potency of Silence - "Just because something is true, doesn't mean that you should say it."  Wow, I am asking the Holy Spirit to help me with this one with my family.  Psalm 141:3 says "set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips."

**Final thoughts..........

This was a suggestion from the book - For 21 days, put five pennies in your left pocket.  Each time you say an encouraging word to someone, move a penny to the right pocket.  Make it your goal to move all the pennies from the left to the right pocket while encouraging people you come in  contact with, whether they are strangers, friends, or family members.

A thought to leave you with from the book - What kind of old lady are you going to meet in 10, 20, or 30 years?  Will you be a gracious old lady or a someone who is cynical & bitter?  She is waiting for you.

A scripture to leave with you (and we had this scripture printed on the wall of our house in Memphis)

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that is may give grace to those who hear."  Ephesians 4:29

Weekend Wrap Up, Week 15

Welcome to Monday!  It may take me a few days to feel back to normal from our weekend, but that's okay :). I think we may have had the busiest weekend on record in our year in Bogota.

Shortly after my Spanish class ended Friday afternoon, we had two little guests come spend the night, Annie (4 years old) & Lincoln (2 years old). Their parents are friends of ours we met through the school & they went for a night away in Bogota, but also took their 7 month old with them.  Isabella had youth group Friday night, so it was Brook & I watching the kids.

We had a fancy dinner of grilled cheese :)

Isabella babysat Saturday morning for another family & we played with Annie & Lincoln, and I also did some cooking.  By the time their parents arrived Saturday afternoon, Avery had come back home with Cielo, Erika, & Sol.  Remember the 3 girls we met 6 years ago & were reunited with in January? Well they came to spend the rest of the weekend with us.  We went to the mall for pizza & then did some shopping. It was a treat to take them to the mall.  They have only been to a mall with us before, as they never get that opportunity to pick out something new.  My feet were tired after shopping with them though, as the 2 teenagers took a little longer :).  Oh, and don't forget, they don't speak English!!

Saturday night, we had another family over for dinner.  I had invited them over before I knew we had the 3 girls (everything is pretty last minute here).  We met this family  through the school as well & they are moving back to the states this summer.  We enjoyed our time & the kids had fun playing hide and seek in our 1000 square feet apartment!

Cielo

All the kids having homemade chocolate chip cookies I made earlier in the day & ice cream

At church Sunday morning, Avery read scripture in Spanish & did a great job.  Cielo had helped him practice before church.

After church we ate at one of our favorite restaurants here, Crepes & Waffles (which I will blog about later). This is a Colombian restaurant & is all over Colombia & South America, but the girls had never eaten there.  We felt it was time to change that :).

Cheers!

These us are drinking fruit juices...limonada with coco (lemonade with coconut), fresa (strawberry) & frambuesa (raspberry). 

After lunch, we all ordered desserts, which come very fancy here.  Can you see how big these are?  And they are delicious too! 

Avery & Brook got the fondue to share.

Cielo 

It was fun seeing our girls have fun too. 

There was a beautiful flower wall behind our table where we sat outside. 

Love these girls! 

Continue to pray for them....Cielo, Erika, & Sol as they miss their mom & adjust living with their dad & new lifestyle.  Pray most of all they stay close to Jesus.  We were blessed to be able to love on them this weekend.

We went to the park after lunch for about 30 minutes, then met their dad at a bus stop.  It took us 2 hours from the time we left the park until we got back home.

But, one quick funny story that happened on the bus.....

I sat by a girl who was 11 years old.  I asked her in Spanish, "Do you speak English?".  She answered just a little, and continued to talk to me nonstop in Spanish for about 15 minutes.  It was really cute (& she was on the bus with her mom).  In a very Colombian traditional way, she kissed me on the cheek as she got off the bus.  Sweet girl!  I encouraged her to study her English & what a great skill to be bi-lingual.  

The day holds a meeting for Avery & I with the director of Brook's school at 10am, so if you think about it, pray for us during that time.  

Happy Monday!