Weekend Wrap- Up, Week 10

Today, we are beginning week 2 of our Spanish break.  Well, let me clarify, our break from formal Spanish class!  We do miss our teacher, but we are so enjoying our break, & staying busy too.

Our weekend....my Friday began with me taking a bus to the girl's school to turn in application documents.  We had already turned in applications & had an interview, but Friday I had to turn in all other paperwork (financial, school, church recommendations, etc.).  Brook went to a birthday party for a daughter of one our teammates.  This is her 2nd birthday party to attend during our time here.

The highlight of my weekend was Friday afternoon/evening.  My Colombian friend, Monica, came over for manicures & cooking.  She likes to do manicures, so I paid her to give Isabella & me a manicure.  She really does a great job too.  She wanted to learn how to make cookies, so we made chocolate chip cookies.  Cookies are so different here. They have different brown sugar here & no chocolate chips (except if you go to Price Smart & then only semi-sweet chips), so baking is different here.  They are not use to a soft, chewy cookies.  She couldn't believe the cookies were not hard.  I had a productive time of practicing my Spanish too with Monica.  She is a great help to me in that area.

She had never seen milk chocolate chips before, much less the good kind...Ghiradelli!  I love introducing Colombians to our American foods :)

So fun, she is drinking out of a Garibaldi Pizza cup, straight from Memphis :)

And of course, another beautiful sunset.

Friday night, we were able to skype with friend Lauren, who went to Honduras with MTW, but is now back in the USA.  We are so thankful we met her 2 years ago this week & for the connection we have made with her.

Saturday morning, Isabella babysat for a few hours. I did school planning, & we had a low key day at home.  Saturday evening, Avery was able to go to a men's event with the English speaking church here, which is the first time he has done anything like that here.  The girls & I went out for dinner & came home & watched a movie.

I'm always amazed at the crazy traffic we can watch straight from our balcony.  This intersection is always crazy!  All these cars are waiting to get to the mall.  We just walk :)

Sunday morning, we went to church.  We missed seeing Edwin there, but were glad to have a few visitors, which is a huge encouragement to see new faces.  The girl who had the birthday party Friday came over Sunday afternoon to play with Brook.  This was her first time at our apartment & she & her family will move to Ecuador this summer.  Our team leader came over for a meeting with us & stayed almost 5 hours, so we were pretty tired by the end of the night, with a lot to process.  

And tonight, Avery's parents arrive from North Carolina to Bogota for their first visit to Colombia! We are looking forward to a fun week with them, as we haven't seen them in a year.

Friday Favorites

First & foremost, my favorite thing about this week is No Spanish Class!!  Y'all know we love Clara.  We really do.  But it is so nice to have a break from Spanish while she is actually in the USA for 2 weeks.

Looking at Edwin's facebook page made me smile.  He has our photo on his page & has added Bridges to his last name!

I got to spend a little more time with Gabriella, the baby (aka, me in my family) of my friends with 3 kids similar to my siblings.

We had a team meeting Tuesday & it is always good to be with our team to be encouraged through laughter & prayer together.

It was an honor to spend time with the president of RUF ministries.  We shared a meal with him & he was able to come to our apartment.  There is a possibility RUF ministry could begin in Bogota next year.

Edwin

Today, even though I am posting later in the day than usual, I have some photos from our last weekend with Edwin to share.  Hold on....there are lots of pictures.

It began Saturday night when Edwin brought his mom and one of his older brothers to meet us.

Our family, Edwin's mom & Edwin

Edwin's brother, John, in the photo

It was so sweet.  Edwin's mom brought me these gifts...a huge bottle of lotion, a can of peaches, a cake/bread, and a package of cheese.  Very thoughtful of her.

Sunday, we went to church & Edwin's oldest brother, Anderson & his wife, were also there.  Let the photos begin!

Here is our family photo with everyone.

After church, they invited us to go downtown with them.  So we hopped on our bus system for the ride downtown.

Here we all are on the bus.  

It's very small, but here is our panoramic picture, minus Edwin's 2 brothers.

Brook walking on the plaza.

Edwin's oldest brother had a striking resemblance to Avery's brother.

Posing

The shoes I had worn to church were not made for walking!  So, I bought these handmade Colombian shoes on the street.  I've always wanted a pair, & Sunday was a good time to get them.

The girls a part of the Quiroga Pineda family.

We stopped in a military museum that was free.

Walking back to the bus

We sat in age order on the bus (not on purpose:)...me, Avery, Edwin, Isabella, & Brook.

Edwin, his mom, & brother, John, spent Sunday night at our house.  His mom cooked and washed dishes.  The rest of us had a some good talks & played cards.  Edwin, John, Isabella, & Brook stayed up until midnight playing games!  It was a fun night & we were so thankful to spend their last day in Bogota with them.

Brook & Edwin cut goldfish cracker shapes out of cheddar cheese :)

First time I've had a Colombian woman cook in my kitchen.  We had salchicha (like a sausage/hot dog) cooked with eggs, plaintains & a little cooking oil for dinner.  It actually was very good, although the girls didn't eat it.

We made a card we all signed for Edwin along with an American flag for him to have since we were his first American friends.

Before Edwin left Monday morning, he read a letter I wrote to his mother.  It was sweet & she wanted a copy of it.  Edwin wrote out this letter you see above to us in Spanish, but read it to us in English.  He had to stand on the opposite side of the wall where we couldn't see one another because he was crying & I was too.  There were tears shed as we all hugged goodbye. Our lives were blessed by his friendship & we will miss him here...especially Sundays will be hard.  We do hope to visit him & his family late this summer.  He has felt like a part of our family & last weekend, we felt like a part of his family.  It was a special time for all of us.

Bogota Bridges

For a little more information on food in Colombia, check out  our Bogota Bridges website today.

Show and Tell Tuesday, Favorite Room Edition

For show and tell Tuesday, the highlight is on your favorite room of your house  apartment.  

Since I live in a small space, I will give myself permission to show 2 rooms...kitchen and den :)

You've seen many pictures of these already because they are in the background of so much that happens in our house, which is why these would be my favorite spaces.  I like to cook, so I enjoy having a nice kitchen space & we have fun as a family in our living room whether it is  watching movies, doing Just Dance, or having a friend here.  

Looking into our kitchen from the living room

Except for the 2 cabinets you see at the end, the other cabinet doors all open up instead of to the side, which I like.  I do have to use a step ladder for the top cabinets though.  There is a small shelf next to our microwave above the cooktop where I keep my high altitude cookbooks.

My favorite Paris cutting tray, I use mostly for decoration & my new Bath & Body Works hand soap at the sink.

Across from the cooktop, is the refrigerator.  Next to it, is my grocery cart I use when I go grocery shopping.  Normally, my broom & dust pan are hanging in the background, but I had them in another room sweeping.  

This is looking from our kitchen into the living room.  The phone on the wall is for the guards at the front desk to use when they call us anytime a guest comes to see us.  (There is top notch security here in this building).  There is open shelving where we keep plates, cups, bowls, & some other kitchen basics.

Looking into our den

It's a great view, but doesn't allow for a good photo backdrop because of all the light.

We use our cafe table for breakfast, snacks, & computer work/fun sometimes too.

I like my pillows on the couch

The one on the left represents all seasons, since we don't have them here in Bogota.

This is a view from the living room into the kitchen.  We keep pottery/serving dishes and our coffee mugs here.  The cabinet next to it stores cereals & paper products.

Monday, March 2

Instead of my normal Monday, weekend wrap-up post, I am keeping this short but important today.

Today I ask for prayer for my friend Ashley.  Her husband died in a tragic accident 2 years ago today.  Pray for this sweet family today.  They have shown incredible faith & perseverance these past 2 years through a lot of hurt.  I know today is a hard day for her as she re-lives many moments, and faces another year of reality without her husband.  Pray for her girls as they go through normal routine of going to school, but their minds will be anything but normal.  Pray for her son, who will never remember his earthly father.  Maylen has become one of Brook's best friends and they keep in touch here as much as they can. Pray these kids all know & love their heavenly father.

Adeline, Ashley, Pearce, & Maylen

I will do a re-cap later of the weekend because it was actually pretty jam packed with activities, believe it or not.  It was Edwin's last Sunday at church & he departs Bogota today, so that is sad for us.  I also found out one of my high school classmates died this weekend, so some sad news to say the least. Pray for the many hurting people today.