Barranquilla

As I stated in my last post I have been invited to go with my host family to the city of Barranquilla which is along the Carribean coast of Colombia. So here I am sitting in my host mom's sister's apartment feeling the breeze of Barranquilla. How is Barranquilla? Well let me start by saying it is a decent sized city that is hot but has an ocean breeze. It is full of life especially now that they are in their carnaval season and the city is decorated for the carnaval as well and there are people selling anything from fruit to car parts to other odds and ends from stands along the street. There is also carts being pulled by donkeys that share the streets with cars and buses. I have also seen women walking through the streets carrying whatever they are selling on their heads (usually it is something sweet that they have made).

My host family seem to know everyone here (ok maybe not everyone but a lot of people)and it seems like everyday I am meeting someone new and seeing a new place. I finally realized today that even an extroverted person like me needs to allow for their introverted side to come out and breathe sometimes. So today when my host mom asked me if I wanted to go with them to visit someone else or stay in her sister's apartment I chose to stay behind and get caught up on sleep (as I have been going to bed at midnight or later since coming here), journaling, letter writing and other things that I have been putting off doing.

The drive here was very beautiful and it was nice to see different scenery other than mountains. We drove through areas that are as flat as Kansas and you could see far into the distance. There were areas full of palm trees where they harvested cooking oil, areas that looked very dry and you could see many cactuses, areas that were mountanous as well as rivers that we crossed. We also saw fields of banana trees as well as other fruit trees. The houses looked different as well. Most were cement with thatched roofs but we did see houses made from bamboo, dirt and a thatched roof. My host dad told me that the thatched roofs help keep the houses cool on the hot days.

We also went to the beach for a day which was alot of fun and we might be going to one called Santa Marta which I hear has the best beaches in Colombia. :)

2008

Happy New Year to all. I hope this year has started out well for everyone. The Mennonite Church here had an end of the year supper for the whole church and Amy and I baked bread for the meal. I also helped with many other preparations for that supper. I am looking forward to seeing what 2008 has in store for me. Somethings that I already know are in a week and a half my host family and I will be traveling 20 hours by car to the city of Barranquilla where my host family is originally from. (They moved to La Mesa last February). Barranquilla is a city on the Carribbean coast. We will be spending 2 weeks there with their family and friends as well as at the beach. Then when I get back school will be starting and my role as a teacher will begin. I am also going to continue to be involved in teaching sunday school, youth group and in the Anapoima project. Also I mentioned in my last blog that I have a new ministry opportunity so I guess I will explain that more. Starting in February I will be helping with the prision ministry that the Mennonite Church has here. The story behind that is that apparently there is a North American in the jail here and my host dad asked him if he would like someone to translate the preaching and share the gospel in English and the inmate said yes he would so I will be translating and sharing the gospel with him. I am really excited about that. So that is what I will be doing with the remainder of my time here. Some year long goals that I would like to see accomplished for 2008 are the things I mentioned above, then after RAD I would like to get a job and find my own apartment and live on my own again since I really enjoyed that before. Those are some goals for this year.