Who's up for round two?

How lovely it has been to be home! Quite strange not to have any particular activities, other than spending time with friends, but refreshing time at home. It's a blessing to have a family like mine, and a blessing to know all of the friends I did and did not have the chance to see during my holiday rest at home. Thanks, all. :)

Tomorrow I embark on part two of the Gap Year Journey, with a 7-hour flight path to Bogotá, Colombia.
I could not be more ready! The bags are packed--significantly downsized from the Buenos Aires trip--and I have remembered all of the things I forgot last time. At least, probably. :)

I am thrilled to be going back to Bogotá. Back, you ask? You mean to tell me, you crazy chick, you, that you previously have set foot on Colombian soil?

Yes, I have. It was lovely there. And the whole time there, I knew I just had to return.

If you haven't had the chance to hear the amazing story of a Bogotá summer mission trip in 2011 in which I took part, DO ask sometime. God worked in marvelously big ways through a group of about twenty teens and our leaders. This is the way I connected to the opportunities God has situated for me in Bogotá.

I met and worked alongside with some missionaries who run a private bilingual school and an inner-city ministry, and often network with churches and individuals from the Glen Ellyn/Wheaton area. When I sent Mrs. A. an email, she was very willing to set up a position for me as an elementary aid at the school. On some afternoons, I will also be at the ministry foundation. So I'll get a variety of experiences.

Things I'm looking forward to immensely:
    - (hopefully) seeing the same children we met and made friends with on our trip last summer
    - discovering Spanish in an educational context (versus the business context, seen in Argentina)
    - living with a missionary couple that teaches at the school; not alone!
    - meeting up with the Colombian friends I made in Argentina--the way the world gets simultaneously bigger and smaller all the time never ceases to fascinate me
    - flying. I straight up enjoy flying.
    - AJIACO, FRUTA, AREPAS, CHOCOLATE, CAFÉ... oops, overzealous Spanish there, sorry!      Translation: a potato soup typical of Bogotá, the fruit, the yummy cornbread-ish pancacke-ish bread side to everything, and chocolate and coffee.

Suffice it to say that I await this voyage eagerly. Even with a head cold.

¡Siempre Dios es fiel! Forever God is faithful!