Well, this is our last day here..

Yep, its true folks, we leave so early tomorrow morning it technically does  not count as a day. On Sunday we went to "The main church", as Edwin likes to call it. El Redentor (The Redeemer) is the largest Lutheran church in Colombia, and it is just slightly bigger than the average lutheran church in Canada. We felt like we had left Colombia for that time, the only difference we really felt was that they spoke Spanish. Otherwise, it felt like we were back in Canada, it was very familiar. Then we went out for lunch with some of the people from the church, and me and Michelle ordered ribs and got these huge pork ribs that were really good but we only ate about ten percent of it. In never ceases to amaze me the huge lunches people eat here, and the small suppers. We are used to small lunches and big suppers, so its funny when we go out and order so much and the people are just like woooah and laughing at us. I think the ribs are still in the fridge downstairs,, probably wont get the chance to eat them. We also have alot of cereal down there, Areguippe corn flakes are the best!!
Anyway, enough rambling about food. After lunch we went back to our apartement, and just packed and relaxed until Alexandra, one of our translators, and her husband, took us to the mall for pizza and ice cream, our last Crepes and Waffels ice cream ever!! So sad, I tried the rose petals kind, and it reminded me of eating flowers at home. Edible ones. Brownie and Coffee Toffe and Avellena are by far the favorites of the group, we usually all have some combination of those. Why am I talking about food again.
Then today we got to sleep in, and Edwin picked us up and we went to the church office, church being the Iglesia Evangelico Lutherana of Colombia, where the Bishop works. We met with him, and shared our experiences and any suggestions we had for the groups coming in the future. We talked about how it was hard to leave our first group, but it was worth it to experience another facet of the culture. We also talked about some general observations about Colombian culture, the people walk slow and drive like crazy people! Bishop Eduardo thought that was very funny. Then we met with a lady who told us about the churches program working with people with AIDS. It was very interesting.
Then we went for lunch, Matt and Kyle shopped around a bit, Michelle and I blew the last of our pesos on some Bon Bon Bum suckers, and came back home, where I commenced a solid four and a half hour nap. I am not really sure what everyone else did. Anyway, now we are waiting for our host family to come for supper, and then I am pretty sure we will just go to bed, seeing as how when you sleep, time goes by faster! We are all very excited to come home. We wish we could bring Colombia back with us, but we cant stay here, we miss you guys too much!! I miss my Mom and Dad.
Anyway, we are excited to see you all, we have had a wonderful time, and we want to come home!! See you guys soon!!!
Loooove Annaliese Joy and Team Colombia.

So little time...

Well, the time here in Colombia seems to have flown by.  It seems like just a couple days ago we were still at home nervously awaiting our trip.  Yet at the same time, it feels like we have been here forever, its a very strange feeling.  There have been so many things and so much that has happened, too much for words to fully express.  This past week, as Michelle mentioned, we have been doing a VBS in Soacha, a small town on a hill in Bogota.  Also during the past week we had some interesting adventures building walls, hanging doors, painting, and building some "closets" as the Colombians like to call them.  They are basically like an armoire or wardrobe kind of thing.  But yes, yesterday was our last day in Soacha.  Kyle and I (Matthew) managed to finish the last house where we were hanging a new door.  Kind of difficult when the two walls dont exactly meet straight on...But we made do with what we had and it turned out quite nicely!  Mean while, the girls, having nothing to do in the afternoon, watched the rest of Shrek 4, another movie I cant remember right now, and a little of The Gods Must Be Crazy.  We also had a presentation of some other furniture for some of the other seniors.

I was hoping to be able to load some pictures onto the blog but we havent had too many opportunities to load pictures.  But have no fear!! I will be loading some when we get back to Canada. 

After Soacha all of our "official" work is done.  Today we had the opportunity to go to "Catedral de Sal" or "Salt Cathedral".  It is located north of Bogota about 30 km in a small town called Zipaquirá. The name Salt Cathedral is mostly a name given to attract tourists.  Really, its various corridors and sanctuaries were achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations.  Tomorrow we will be attending one of the largest Lutheran Churches in Bogota and on Monday we will be having lunch with the Bishop!  We will be leaving for home on Tuesday  our flight leaves at 8 am and we will be getting in to Edmonton around 10 pm after a 5 hour layover in Houston. 

We have all been so blessed and touched by the kindness and warmth and open-ness and hospitality of the Colombian people here.  Thank you all for your prayers and support and we look forward to sharing stories and pictures with you when we get back!!

Matthew

P.S.  I have actually missed the snow a lot belive it or not :)  But getting a tan here is nice too ;)

New Penthouse Loft, New Adventure

Hello out there,
This is Michelle Stoyko comin at ya live on location in Bogota, Colombia. Its Thursday Morning!!!! haha. Well, as kyle let ya know, on sunday we left Castillo Fuerte and moved to a new place to rest our weary brows. Its pretty  nice!!! did i mention that were in a PENTHOUSE!!! 2 Showers!!! haha we each have our own bed!!! well, thats not different.
Anyways, this week we are spending our mornings doing VBS in a neighbourhood called Soacha. Well, im not really sure if thats what its called, but its by Soacha. Its a lot of fun and quite a bit less stressful than the last one since theres about half the kids and we only have 2 hours instead of 3. We have been teaching them fun-filled crafts such as oragami doves (representing the holy spirit during Jesus baptism), and paper machet hands (to remind the kids of Jesus healing hands when he healed the paralytic), and clay crosses (obviously to remind us of Jesus death on the cross)..today we are making cardboard tombs with a rolling stone (to show the story of the resurrection), and tomorrow is the last day and theyre learing about Jesus ascension into heaven and were just going to color because we couldnt really think of any creative crafts to remind us that Jesus ascended into heaven. Today, Anna and I are taking part in a skit to illustrate Jesus resurrection, in which we will have no lines considering we dont speak spanish. But we will use very expressive body language to get our point across! A highlight of our days have been recieving Bon-Bon-Bum suckers (lollipops) after VBS. They have gum in them and theyre really good..my favorite flavor is Fresa (strawberry). Annas favorite is peach yogurt.
Our afternoons are spent in rigorous labor doing some household contruction for various elderly citizens in Soacha...yes, this time i know its Soacha. Anna and I painted the outside of a house in 1 hour..were pretty pro. The next we painted the inside of a room in about 1 and a half hours. And yesterday we constructed a fine looking rich mohogany closet using only spanish instructions and a rock as a hammer. Anna said, "I like doing it old school, so old school to the point of primitive." Meanwhile, Kyle and Matthew have been hard at work for 3 days constructing a sheet-rock wall (thats dry-wall, everyone!) and hanging a door, using cardboard shims, and $10 level. All is going well.
We are blessed to have the evenings off to make our own dinners and watch some bad spanish soap operas. Matthew and Kyle play magic. (the card game.) But we are really enjoying getting to know each other better and become closer throughout this trip.
Did I mention that the driving here is insane?! I thought i was going to meet my end on a busride throughout the bumpy dirt streets. I kept grabbing Annas arm as if that would prevent the bus from tipping over..and for all I know, that did help! luckily we are all safe and sound and healthy!..except for anna whos battling a cold, please pray for her...shes actually getting better.
Please pray that well find more water...weve been out for a few days now and our heads are starting to hurt. But anyways, we now have to go..thank you for the prayers and support..we miss and love you all very much!
Adios!!

"Through a Veil of Tears"

     This morning was a groggy one.  My head was hurting from a lack of sleep.  I felt it ringing as I pulled the wadded up toilet paper from my ears.  My thoughts for the day were a mixed bag of raw emotions.  I`m sure Anna, Michelle, and Matthew were all feeling the same as I was.  Excited, upset, happy, and a bit sad.  I was excited and happy to be one step closer to going home to the life I know and the people I love.  Upset and sad because this place had become my home and these people my family.  I had gone through so much with them in just a few short weeks.  Even thinking about it, I had no idea how hard this goodbye would be.

     The worries of the day passed away as the church service started because, I was busy doing something.   Everything went by so quickly and flawlessly it almost seemed like a dream.  As the service ended people came up to me asking for photos of them or their kids with me.(and by me they meant the team) I replied with a quick, "We`d love to!"  But in my head I thought, "Who do these people think we are?  The Pope!?".  Later on in the day while reflecting on the past the significance of what had transpired hit my like an overwhelming flood.

     After the photo snapping mob left we had to finish up our packing.  I noticed the whole team seemed to be in a somber mood.  There was no energy or life in any one of us.  Once we finished packing we went on a short walk to a lovely apartment for our last lunch in El Codito.  The walk was made in almost total silence and the weather began reflecting the somber mood.  The sun had disappeared behind dull grey clouds and the temperature had dropped.  Maybe this was foreshadowing what was to come.

       The meal served to us brightened our spirits, mostly because it was an adventure in food.  They brought the fish out on a plate with its crispy fried eyeballs staring out at you from its almost completely intact body.  The only damage done to it was from being fried in oil and having an incission along the bottom from which they emptied out its squishy guts.  It was pretty tasty but as soon as the adventure started it was over and reality struck us again.  It was time to leave our home and family.

     The walk back to our home from the apartment was dull and dreary.  As before it was made in almost total silence.  The things that stuck out on the walk were the dead dry crunchy roses and the crusty brown leaves.  There was little beauty to be found.

     As we looked up the street to where our home was we saw the sad teary eyed faces of our Colombian hosts, friends, and family all gathered around to see us off.  The bishop was waiting there with his car for us to load.  We begrudgingly packed all of our belongings into the back of his miniature suv.  I gave away my new white Colombian hat to my freind David and I had already given my brown driver cap to Zully.  She was still wearing it from this morning.  I don`t think she will ever take it off, even to shower.  Of the tears shed on those church steps she shed the most.  None of us wanted to be the first to get into the car and the bishop was beginning to get impatient.  Several times he told us it`s time to go but, the photos and hugs just didn`t want to end.  Finally I knew we had to go and I got in the car shortly followed by Michelle, Anna, and Matthew.  We waved goodbye as the car crawled away.  As they disappeared from sight the bishop said, "You broke their hearts."  This caused us all to start tearing up again.  Matthew said, "I wonder if they will run down to the bus stop and wave to us.  It seems like something they would do. If they do I think we will start crying again."  Michelle mentioned that, "They were the best friends I have ever met."  I stared out the window with a few tears rolling down my cheeks as the downpour started and the sad blues trumpet music started playing from the bishop`s radio.  It was then that I thought, that God was crying with us.  And through a veil of tears I realized He was. 


-Kyle Letcher

P.S.  This was actually written on Sunday and I haven`t gotten to post it till now.

Good Grief Charlie Brown

Hello, Hola, such and such, its your great friend ANNALIESE speaking to you over the miraculous and mysterious interwebs. I have so much to tell you, just so much. Where do I begin?
Well i will just start with the best day of my life, which Michelle briefly talked about last time. It was the actual BEST day i have ever lived, I wish you all could have been there. If you were, then it would have been an gamillion times better!! We climbed, yes climbed, up a jungle river, with tarzan vines and big huge slippery rocks and refreshing water and I did so good I didnt even have to hold anyones hand. Me and Michelle were at the front, the only guy in front of us was the guide, he had a huge machete. Yeah I saw a real machete. It was huge.
He was just hacking away at vines and stuff oh man it was sweet. Anyway, me and Michelle have proved tougher and cooler than any of the big macho colombian dudes, we owned them all, doing stuff they wouldnt even try, like JUMPING OFF A CLIFF. Yes we did in fact jump off a huge cliff, dos times. That means two times. Only two other guys would try that, out of about sixty people. And then to top off the day, when we got to the end, we got to go UNDER A WATERFALL. Not a huge one, but a little one, so it was sooo sweet. That day was a dream come true. It was just great all around, we shared our testimonies and were blessed by the prayers we recieved from the youth and leaders.
We got back from the youth camp, after about one trillion pictures. You would think they have never met a white person before! Actually most of them havent, not in real life. The tourists that come to Colombia stay downtown, take taxis, eat at chain restaraunts. We get to see stuff that only Colombians see, such as sweet serenaders jumping on buses and cantor-ing (singing) at the top of their lungs for some paltry change. Its a very cool thing to see parts of this amazing country that no one else does. Anyway, once we got back, we stayed at Edwins, and he made us the most delicious supper in the world, big huge crepes full of meat and cheese and more meat and cheese and creamy sauce and other such stuff. We then got back to El Codito (a.k.a Little Elbow) where Castillo Fuerte is, where we are living, early the next morning. We did a house visit, sharing the hope of God and praying for provision for a family. We give them a gift of rice, lentils, canned meat, cooking oil and milk, read some Scripture passages and share some encouragement. Edwin says it is a huge blessing to the families we visit, even though we dont know what is going on half the time. Then we had lunch at a persons house from the church, then quickly to VBS, where we have 100 percent no clue what we are doing, but it is messy and loud and hilarious and fun. The kids love to practice their english, and we try to learn more spanish. There are even kids that will return the next day with items, animal toys, or books to try and learn more about english and laugh at us as we butcher spanish. Anyway, its a good time. The kids just love us, and the people here take such good care of us. We really feel undeserving of the attention we get and how the people give what little they have to make us more comfortable or happy. That has been truly a blessing, and God is teaching us patience, how to handle pressure, how to be grateful and how to love the people as he does. It has been a mindblowingly awesome and exausting and stressful week.
Today, however, we got to go to this huge park that is similar to Stanley park or Hawrelak park, and is called "the lungs of Bogata" because its where all the trees are. We played some full contact handball in the sand, ate some popcorn and lots of popsicles, and we all got quite the horrible sunburn. I would say especially Matthew, but then i would say especially Me, then I would say especially michelle and kyle. So really, we all got it bad, this sunburn, and this colombia fever. We miss you all, and we hope you are doing good and not worrying to much. Thank you so much for your prayers, God has definitely been protecting us. Please pray that these dang invisible bugs would leave me ALONE they are eating me alive and driving my brain up the wall!!! Shortly we will post pictures. I am not sure how shortly. Matt is currently asking Pastor Deanna, the beautiful pastor of Castillo Fuerte. We are at Oscar and Deannas house now for dinner, after bowling and falling asleep on the bus. Well I fell asleep on the bus. Sorry this is so long, I hope you are not bored. I think i will just keep typing away till Matteo comes back.. Yep its pretty awesome here....I like to eat the food. Oh he is back. he says "hopefully we will be able to put some pictures up..HD....USB mini....I should have brought my flash drive. Not flash drive, USB cable. Mini. I know I said flash drive but i meant to say cable. hahahaha anna you are hilarious. aaiii you are weird.." Matts own words, I promise. Except for the anna is hilarious part. : ) As you can see we are all getting along, talking stuff through, etcetera. We have fun. Have fun yourselves!! I hope people read this. Mom if you are there please comment. LOVE ANNALIESE JOY aka Añalisa

Hola Senors, Senoras, and Senoritas!!!
This is Michelle Stoyko speaking to you from Bogota Colombia!
sorry it has taken us so long to update this blog, but we have found ourselves rather busy down here in South America with not much time to do so!...well last weekend we were at a youth camp, participating and having fun with some young people about an hour outside of Bogota. It was very beautiful, quite humid, sometimes rainy, but always warm! Definitely experiencing shorts weather in January. On the Saturday we went exploring through the jungle, climbing up a river, over boulders and jumping off cliffs! (Dont worry Mr and Mrs Skretting and Mr and Mrs Letcher, Kyle and Matthews fear of heights prevented them from doing such brave and dangerous activites like jumping off cliffs, but Anna and I took one for the team and plunged right into that raging river! Too bad we dont really have any photographic evidence to prove it, i guess youll just have to take my word for it) anyways, Anna exclaimed many times that it was the best day of her life!! it was definitely one of the most adventurous and exciting days in my life. We shared our testimonies with the people at the youth camp that night, and it was definitely a challenge with a translator, but i think they went pretty well. The Colombians offered their thanks to us by giving us genuine Colombian Sachels!
This week we{re had at work back at Castillo Fuerte, helping run a VBS from 2 to 5 and doing home visits in the morning from 11 to 12. Our new favorite restaurant is Crepes and Waffles where we can get delicious ice cream! For being in Colombia I have had a surprisingly small amount of coffee while here...about 2 cups actually, i found that odd...and I finally gave in and bought a razor, so now i have very smooth legs that are ready for shorts!!! well this is our last day at Castillo Fuerte VBS, and then next week we will be in a neighborhood called Soacha to do VBS and construct some furniture for elderly citizens. anyways...thank you for all of your prayers and we will talk to you soon!!!
We love you and miss everyone back in Canada..(i even kind of miss the snow..weird!)

Bogota, The City of Contrasts

Buenos Dias, Amigos!  This is Kyle here writing from Bogota, Colombia, as if you didn´t know where we were already.  I have avoided going on the computer till now, but I was told we all have to write so I guess it´s my turn.  I really have enjoyed my stay here and I´m not really sure I want to leave.  And no it is not just because there is no snow here.  The food is delicious; the people are warm and friendly, and it is so energizing and exciting learning a new language. 

I am writing this on a computer with no internet and our host Edwin will post this for us while we are on a long bus ride outside of the city, to a youth camp.  What we will be doing there is up for question.  We know we are introducing ourselves, where we are from, and telling them something typical about Canada.  I am actually at a loss as to what to say for that last one as I´ve noticed that people are people.  The way things are done varies a little bit, but we still have the same feelings, emotions, passions, etc.  In reality all that people are looking for is love and who better to find it in than Jesus.   The camp, as it has been described to us, is on a farm and there are 2 American students going, a Korean, and one other nationality of which I don´t remember. 

The whole team is in good spirits after a day of relaxation, well sort of.  We went shopping.   Buying gifts for ourselves and family as well as seeing the sights that Bogota has to offer, of which there are plenty.  We went to an art museum that contains the paintings of an original Colombian artist who liked to paint everything fat.  He even did his own fat rendition of the ´Mona Lisa´.  We really enjoyed that.  We then went to some touristy shops and Edwin explained some of the history of Bogota, and the history of ¨El Dorado¨, the City of Gold.   We didn´t get the chance to see the Gold Museum instead we took a gondola car to the top of a mountain cathedral.  This area is still very Catholic and there was a mass going on when we got up there.  The view while being a bit cloudy was incredible.  Skyscrapers, nice apartments, beautiful parks, and ghetto´s, it is truly a city of contrasts.  I can´t even begin to describe what it is like to see it all at once.  On top of that mountain, when you turn around the sight is that of lush, green, rainforest covered mountains, with elegantly gliding clouds.   That is till the rain starts and you just see a wall of falling water.  Yes, it rained on us just as we were leaving.  They actually stopped the gondola from going anywhere because of the heavy downpour and the lightning.   Seeing lightning in the clouds when they are straight out from you instead of above you is quite interesting to say the least.

We also met an English Chef from France who is now retired and has been living in Bogota for over a year now.  We talked about a good many things and he said that Bogota has a bad reputation but it really doesn´t live up to it.  In the year that he has been here he has had no problems and the people he said he absolutely loves them.   He also told us of a cake he made while catering on a yacht for a celebration of the movie Titanic.  The celebration was hosted by director James Cameron and Bill Gates´ business partner.  We also talked about a good many things and he plans on moving to Cartagena, Colombia as he misses the beach.  He said that place truly captures the spirit of the people here and is by far his favorite place to live.   I really enjoyed talking with him as it wasn´t broken English or broken Spanish.  Being able to communicate freely is a huge blessing.

Sorry for the length, while avoiding computers I still love writing and I hope I brought laughter and smiles to you as you are reassured that we are doing well in Bogota, the city of contrasts.

-Kyle Letcher

P.S.   I did see police carrying automatic machine guns in downtown Bogota, talk about cool!