Summer Recap!

The 2015-2016 School year is off and running!!! This year I will be at El Camino Academy (ECA) Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays and then up at the foundation FormaVida Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In this blog I want to review everything that went down this summer...starting with the last week of school last year in June. :-)


ECA Social Service Week 
June 1-3

ECA & World Race team at FormaVida!

The last week of every school year ECA each grade in middle / high school do service projects.  This year I worked with 9th grade who went up to the foundation I work at, FormaVida. It was SO cool seeing my "two world" come together.  They went to some local public schools and evangelized by teaching English classes and then also hung out with the kids up in the program, Oasis.  It's always rewarding seeing the high school kids take ownership of ministry and lead others.


World Race Team!
Month of June

The 2nd all Latin Route World Race team came through Colombia and where did one team end up?? At FormaVida of course!! I really wish I could've spent more team with this team because I GET them. I KNOW what they are living and how they are feeling.  I lived the exact same experience last year traveling from country to country and pouring into people and then getting up and leaving a part of our heart in that country.  It was SO refreshing being with a "world race family" even if I wasn't exactly on their team, once you're a world racer you understand world racers and are automatically apart of this "World Race Family" They were so encouraging to me and filled with love!! Shout out to team Echale Ganas!

Annapolis Area Christian School
June 13-20th

I had the privilege to help host a high school team from Annapolis, Maryland that put on a Vacation Bible School for ECA kids and kids of other Christian schools in Bogotá. The Principal, Bob McCollum, is the former Academic Director that was at ECA for 5 years and left 2 years ago (when I left...he was actually the one that I got an email from to consider working at ECA!! Also, his daughter was one of my former students!) Living in a different country surrounded by a completely different culture can be rough at times and it's ALWAYS nice to have a taste of America and work with a new group of Americans every now and then. I helped them with whatever they needed for the camp.  It was a jam packed week of VBS and Bogota sightseeing but it was AWESOME. They were a huge blessing to me seeing American high school kiddos very energetic and passionate about serving the Lord. They did an awesome job!

Santa Marta 
June 21-25

I had the opportunity to go to Santa Marta (a city on the coast where my fiancé, Edwin, is from...yeah that's right I'm engaged!! That just happened like a week ago so it's fresh. I'll write a whole new blog on that one soon...) It was awesome going to see where his family is from. He's Colombian and was born there but moved here to Bogotá when he was five years old.  Santa Marta, if I'm not mistaken, is the oldest city in Colombia...the first one founded...or something like that? I really should look that up before I publish this...I just looked it up and looks like it was the first Spanish settlement in Colombia. :-) Here's a link to read more on Santa Marta it's from Wikipedia so take it for what it's world....Santa Marta, Colombia)

While we were there I was able to meet his family and see where he grew up and see his love that he has for the ocean. He told me some history of Santa Marta that really broke my heart.  I serious believe I felt God's heart that night as he was telling me all about the sexual corruption and immorality that is there. As he was telling me I couldn't help but literally weep for that place and those people.  When you think about it...pray for Santa Marta!!

Armenia - Coffee Country!
June 25-28

The foundation I work at is part of the Iglesia Alianza (Christian and Missionary Alliance Church).  Their national headquarters for Colombia is located in Armenia and have a conference center there.  I had the opportunity to a youth conference there and learn about leading youth groups (in Spanish).  I also was able to make it over to the Parque del Cafe (Coffee park) Which is an amusement park dedicated the coffee influence in that region. Also, Evan Craft was there!! (an american but is super popular in Latin America for his Spanish worship songs) 

Evan Craft

El Salvador!
July 4-14

While I was in El Salvador last October I made really good friends from the church we worked at there.  The leader/evangelist Javier invited me to go there for the first part of their Evangelistic Crusade and then finish up in Colombia (since I live here and they were coming here to continue the evangelism event). El Salvador was my favorite country out of my 11 countries I went to last year.  It was so cool seeing my friends again! Such a blessing. Every day we would go to different churches and then pray for people after the services. I learned a lot and was able to be able to spend time with my "El Salvadorian family."

Dios es Bueno Salvadorian fam/friends!

Half Marathon!! 
July 28

In the midst of one of my busiest summers I was able to squeeze in running the Bogotá half marathon! It wasn't my best time but I also didn't train as much as I would've liked to (due to all the hosting teams and traveling) but nonetheless it was an awesome way of just worshiping the Lord. I love running races. It's one of my favorite environments! To me it's a manifestation of the fact that when we are weak and tired his supernatural power gives us strength to keep moving forward and finish the race!

Edwin (right) and I after running the half marathon with our good friend Oscar
who game to cheer us on!

ECA Summer School!
July 29-August 5

Kids at Summer School

This year I was in charge of the summer school (putting on an English camp for ECA staff kids and other ECA students to start using their English and get back in the English habit since most have been only speaking Spanish all summer with their families) A missionary from Maryland (Katie) came down to help and she was a HUGE help! She's a science teacher at the school she works with. Also, a former ECA student, Dani, helped us.  Katie taught science, I gave the social studies lessons (teaching and doing activities about the countries I traveled to last year) and Dani did art! Our Devotion theme was Fruits of the Spirit and we went through those with the kids throughout the week.

Oh and a HUGE shout out to my very awesome friend and former roommate in Colombia three years ago, Megan Kingery! She came down to visit and was SUCH a help. She didn't have to hop in but she totally jumped in without second thought. Unfortunately I was sick for a couple days during the camp and had to stay home with a fever but she so willingly stepped in! I heard good reviews about the camp and that the kids had fun so to me that's all that matters!



New School Year!
Now the 2015-2016 school year has started! I'm teaching Creative Outreach for 7th and 8th grade and helping out with the social services again.  Also, I'm helping with pre-kinder PE, Kindergarten language centers, AND leading Mission Spot (1st-8th grade).  Mission spot is a 15 minute slot on Fridays where right now we are watching the visual Bible of the book of Acts which is really cool! It's word for word but acted out. :-) And then we talk about it. Last week we talked about  Acts 1:8:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 

and how in greek power=dynamin which is like the word dynamite and how the power we have through the Holy Spirit is so powerful like dynamite! Then, witness which is greek is martyrs aka dying for a cause - in this case Christ. So the thought is witnessing not just once in our life but daily until we die!

I'm so excited for this new school year. Thank you so much for your support and prayers!!