Reflecting on my first week in Colombia

I would like to try to write a blog for each week here at the children's home with the kids. There is so much I wish to share about this experience already! While I am here, I am conducting a VBS for the 18 kids living at the home. The lessons focus on who God is, and who we are in God. This first week focused on following Jesus. The kids learned that we are all in need of the gift of salvation, and that Jesus can be our best friend. It's pretty cool, because the kids already know alot of what I am teaching them. Often they can guess the topic of the lesson, before I even give it, and sometimes they already know the memory verse for the day. It is so good that the kids receive so much spirtual nourishment from the nearby church and the staff at the home.

The kids are all so special. They are all individuals and I am getting to know their different qualities. At times, they can get a little crazy, and they like to watch me do everything. But I love them soooooooo much! It's funny because I have only been here a week and already this feels like home. I'm already having those familiar pangs of sadness at the thought of leaving and going back home. Of course, I will be overjoyed to see my family and friends, but I will be leaving 18 of my kids behind. The thought is heartbreaking.

I am learning alot from Gabriela, the lady that runs the home. She is such an extraordinary women of God! You would have to be to care for 18 children as if they were your own. Gabriela has been with the kids for 12 years. She lives with them, sleeps with them, eats with them. She has watched them grow. She told me that during one season she prayed for eight years just so that the children can have milk and eggs....can you imagine? Now, they have so much of it they find themselves giving it away. She also told me that she has been praying for years for somebody to come and do what I am doing with kids......that just blows my mind. It's so incredibly honoring that God would use me to answer this prayer. That's all for now =)