Dear Friends and Family
Thank you so much for your love and support throughout all these years. It means a lot to us!
We wish you a FELIZ NAVIDAD... PROSPERO AÑO Y FELICIDAD...
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Raining Cats and Dogs
Dear friends
As the year comes to an end there is all the normal activities of end of year functions. The ministry school has 4 students who will be going onto normal school next year. This makes a total of 16 children who the ministry is currently supporting in normal schools. There are a few on line schools in Colombia and we are going to be enrolling 6 of the kids in one next year. There are a few challenges to overcome such as what do you do when the Internet company won't reinstall the cables as they are stolen so often. These new challenges is one of our big prayer items for next year- we are also in need of 3 more teachers.
Carlos was able to go to another church run camp. This time for adults. There were some amazing testimonies- one of the men in his group came with 6 family members. Their brother- in -law had attended a camp a year ago and had been so transformed from his alcoholism and all of its consequences, that these family members came to see what Christianity was about and met the living God. Another of the men from his group, along with his family, is now faithfully attending church.
We have some good news for the project of completing the purchase of the houses where the drop in center and Jungle club run. We have been given a matching grant and need only US $36.000 to complete the purchase and do some renovations. The idea is to have 1000 people give US $36.00 . If you would like to help with this project you can do so through us or directly through the ministry website. This area of the ministry is having a tremendous impact into the community. The auditorium is now being rented out on Sunday's to a local church so follow up can be done with the families of the prostitutes and recyclers. There are also plans to have a special club held for about 25 kids from the “Bronx.” This is a couple of streets that is so full of street people, and addicts that if you go in there uninvited and unescorted you come out in a body bag. Our ministry has spent years praying for God's timing and strategy to reach the children who live in this area.
A few years back the government bulldozed down the last similar area where we would do street evangelism. Some of the kids who came from that area are now missionaries or are receiving Biblical training. It is exciting to see God opening up the doors for another harvest of transformed lives.
Alex has his end of semester exams next week- eighth grade has been challenging as he gets ready for entering High School (American system) next year. Simon and Gabriela are enjoying the days that they do homeschooling at home rather than at the office. It is fun to see them learning and of course I am learning or relearning things as I prepare classes. There are so many cool free websites for the kids to learn from- Simon is signed up for an on line astronomy class on Monday. Internet definitely makes home schooling so much easier and fun. Thankfully, where we live the Internet cables aren't stolen and the Internet connection is good.
We have had a couple of architects looking at the best design for covering the patio and turning it into a home schooling space. We have been given some money towards it and Simon had been given a calf that was sold when a cow. He is giving his money toward the roof so he can have his own space to study. I guess that says a lot about how uncomfortable he is at the dining room table. We hope to start putting the roof up soon. We will work on finishing the job in stages as the money comes in.
Carlos has started translating a excellent book called “The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness” by Jason and Kris Vallotton. It is a true story of Jason, a pastor who learnt about forgiveness when his wife left him and their 3 young children. It is definitely well worth reading and putting into practice the steps he and his father Kris share.
For me personally it has been a struggle with homeschooling and ministry work- sometimes it feels like neither are been done justice. We really need a person to help with the office work next year. I am looking forward to a few weeks break from school over the holidays. Gabriela is also very happy. She has repeatedly come and given me a hug and a kiss and says "Thank you Mummy that you are going to give me a holiday from school work".
In between the heavy rain storms the kids have been out playing in the park. The washing pile is never ending and the rain doesn't help the drying process. The road into Bogotá had been shut as the flood level had risen. There are still some parts that never dried out from the last floods 6 months ago. It is sad to see so many people losing homes. Listening to the news, one day an older women was crying for help. Her town was under water, she had lost everything. She along with the rest of the town's inhabitants were sleeping in the cemetery and were nearly out of food. The flooding had turned the cemetery into an island. Since September 108 people have died including nearly 50 in an avalanche. We continue to pray for God's mercy.
As the year comes to an end there is all the normal activities of end of year functions. The ministry school has 4 students who will be going onto normal school next year. This makes a total of 16 children who the ministry is currently supporting in normal schools. There are a few on line schools in Colombia and we are going to be enrolling 6 of the kids in one next year. There are a few challenges to overcome such as what do you do when the Internet company won't reinstall the cables as they are stolen so often. These new challenges is one of our big prayer items for next year- we are also in need of 3 more teachers.
Carlos was able to go to another church run camp. This time for adults. There were some amazing testimonies- one of the men in his group came with 6 family members. Their brother- in -law had attended a camp a year ago and had been so transformed from his alcoholism and all of its consequences, that these family members came to see what Christianity was about and met the living God. Another of the men from his group, along with his family, is now faithfully attending church.
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| Carlos and Alex at the Church Camp site |
We have some good news for the project of completing the purchase of the houses where the drop in center and Jungle club run. We have been given a matching grant and need only US $36.000 to complete the purchase and do some renovations. The idea is to have 1000 people give US $36.00 . If you would like to help with this project you can do so through us or directly through the ministry website. This area of the ministry is having a tremendous impact into the community. The auditorium is now being rented out on Sunday's to a local church so follow up can be done with the families of the prostitutes and recyclers. There are also plans to have a special club held for about 25 kids from the “Bronx.” This is a couple of streets that is so full of street people, and addicts that if you go in there uninvited and unescorted you come out in a body bag. Our ministry has spent years praying for God's timing and strategy to reach the children who live in this area.
A few years back the government bulldozed down the last similar area where we would do street evangelism. Some of the kids who came from that area are now missionaries or are receiving Biblical training. It is exciting to see God opening up the doors for another harvest of transformed lives.
Family wise
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| Making a Gingerbread House |
We have had a couple of architects looking at the best design for covering the patio and turning it into a home schooling space. We have been given some money towards it and Simon had been given a calf that was sold when a cow. He is giving his money toward the roof so he can have his own space to study. I guess that says a lot about how uncomfortable he is at the dining room table. We hope to start putting the roof up soon. We will work on finishing the job in stages as the money comes in.
Carlos has started translating a excellent book called “The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness” by Jason and Kris Vallotton. It is a true story of Jason, a pastor who learnt about forgiveness when his wife left him and their 3 young children. It is definitely well worth reading and putting into practice the steps he and his father Kris share.
For me personally it has been a struggle with homeschooling and ministry work- sometimes it feels like neither are been done justice. We really need a person to help with the office work next year. I am looking forward to a few weeks break from school over the holidays. Gabriela is also very happy. She has repeatedly come and given me a hug and a kiss and says "Thank you Mummy that you are going to give me a holiday from school work".
Saturday, October 15, 2011
At War for Souls
The Colombian news these days is once again full of terrorists attacks and kidnappings. Including the 12 year old daughter of a mayor of a rural town. The physical civil war in Colombia is a concern but more so is the war for the souls of the Colombians especially the children. The majority of the kids who the ministry works with do not live in the ministry homes. They leave each day to return to their neighbourhoods were gangs, theft, violence and prostitution is the norm. We try to bring light into the darkness- showing the kids and their parents that someone cares and that there are other ways to live.
The Jungle Club is now open twice a month. It would not be possible without the help of Christians from different churches who come to volunteer. We need around 25 volunteers to attend the 100 odd kids. With another group in intercession while the club is running. Last weekend Carlos, Alex and I went to help out at the club. As we walked through the neighbourhood we picked up some boys from a park. They seemed to be a gang of 8 with a older guy being the boss. They were eager to come. During the next hour they enjoyed the different activities, were noisy, found it difficult to wait turns, got into fist fights, and ignored safety rules. When the Bible story and worship time came I headed to the prayer room. The boys apparently were not able to handle the Spiritual light- they became really unruly during this time. When I returned an hour later half of them had been asked to leave due to their behaviour. The war is on for these boys souls.
On the 31st of this month their will be an extra Jungle Club- to give kids a safe place to be- we are praying that people will give us lots of sweets to hand out so that the kids won't go out trick and treating. Last year nearly 200 came, this year we plan for more. Last year 2 kids were kidnapped from the park around the corner, they have not been seen again ,so we are telling the people to send the kids to the Jungle Club not out to the streets.
Family News
Carlos is at the church camp for unchurched high schoolers this weekend. He has a group of 9 boys to be with for the whole 3 days and nights. He has been translating a book when he has a free moment. This last week has involved a few trips to sort out the legal status of two ministry youth who didn't present their obligatory military service- they were not deemed fit to do so but the paper work was never carried out. This left them vulnerable to be picked up off the streets by the military and kept overnight and fined. This happened to one of the boys earlier this year. Even after this experience the two young men were not very successful at following though and getting the right paperwork done. Hence Carlos stepping in to walk beside them and help them learn to walk through the system. The systems here are complicated and they still have 3 or more long lines to stand in before the process is finished and they are given a military card to show when stopped at checkpoints.
This week was a school holiday. Alex was getting stressed with schoolwork so it was good timing for him. The family we were homeschooling with has left for the states. Simon and Gabriela have been doing great at homeschooling but will now have to learn to do it with me at the office twice a week. Definitely a challenge for organisational skills.
Simon had a nasty fall down or rather over the stairs in our house. The first thing we did was pray. After a few hours wait at the hospital he was feeling much better and wanted to try out the wheelchair he was sitting in. By the time a doctor saw him he was able to walk by himself. Apart from the ugly bruising on his side and a cut in his head he was fine PTL. Thankfully he has stopped jumping down the stairs though he still runs.
Thank you for your support and prayers they make a huge difference in our lifes and what we are able to do to help reach the children in need of Bogota.
The Jungle Club is now open twice a month. It would not be possible without the help of Christians from different churches who come to volunteer. We need around 25 volunteers to attend the 100 odd kids. With another group in intercession while the club is running. Last weekend Carlos, Alex and I went to help out at the club. As we walked through the neighbourhood we picked up some boys from a park. They seemed to be a gang of 8 with a older guy being the boss. They were eager to come. During the next hour they enjoyed the different activities, were noisy, found it difficult to wait turns, got into fist fights, and ignored safety rules. When the Bible story and worship time came I headed to the prayer room. The boys apparently were not able to handle the Spiritual light- they became really unruly during this time. When I returned an hour later half of them had been asked to leave due to their behaviour. The war is on for these boys souls.
On the 31st of this month their will be an extra Jungle Club- to give kids a safe place to be- we are praying that people will give us lots of sweets to hand out so that the kids won't go out trick and treating. Last year nearly 200 came, this year we plan for more. Last year 2 kids were kidnapped from the park around the corner, they have not been seen again ,so we are telling the people to send the kids to the Jungle Club not out to the streets.
Family News
Carlos is at the church camp for unchurched high schoolers this weekend. He has a group of 9 boys to be with for the whole 3 days and nights. He has been translating a book when he has a free moment. This last week has involved a few trips to sort out the legal status of two ministry youth who didn't present their obligatory military service- they were not deemed fit to do so but the paper work was never carried out. This left them vulnerable to be picked up off the streets by the military and kept overnight and fined. This happened to one of the boys earlier this year. Even after this experience the two young men were not very successful at following though and getting the right paperwork done. Hence Carlos stepping in to walk beside them and help them learn to walk through the system. The systems here are complicated and they still have 3 or more long lines to stand in before the process is finished and they are given a military card to show when stopped at checkpoints.
This week was a school holiday. Alex was getting stressed with schoolwork so it was good timing for him. The family we were homeschooling with has left for the states. Simon and Gabriela have been doing great at homeschooling but will now have to learn to do it with me at the office twice a week. Definitely a challenge for organisational skills.
Simon had a nasty fall down or rather over the stairs in our house. The first thing we did was pray. After a few hours wait at the hospital he was feeling much better and wanted to try out the wheelchair he was sitting in. By the time a doctor saw him he was able to walk by himself. Apart from the ugly bruising on his side and a cut in his head he was fine PTL. Thankfully he has stopped jumping down the stairs though he still runs.
Thank you for your support and prayers they make a huge difference in our lifes and what we are able to do to help reach the children in need of Bogota.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Some Happenings...
At the beginning of August we started homeschooling Simon and Gabriela. It was a difficult decision for us to make, as the kids were happy at school and doing well. Simon is doing an online program called Monarch and Gabriela a program called Horizons. Alex continues at the Christian school they all were attending.
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| They are the happy home schoolers |
On Tuesday and Thursday's we drop the home schooler's off at a friends house and she teaches them along with her 4 kids. This has been a real blessing as I can continue to work in the office on those days. We are in a routine with the kids now, they start classes at 8am and are usually finished by 1:00pm. I am enjoying being with them and they are enjoying being home schooled but miss their friends. In November, our friends leave on furlough until March- we are praying for someone to come and help teach the kids during this time so that I can still continue in my role as the administrator of the ministry. Also please pray for a bilingual assistant that I can train – the coordinator of the different areas of the ministry are all very understanding and have done extra work for me but it is not the best situation as they all have a lot of responsibilities already.
Alex turned 14
We asked for prayer in a previous letter for Carlos translating jobs. God certainly did answer. He has been selected to translate a devotional book for teenagers on a monthly basis. He has just finished the first book. He has 5 days to do the work each month. Since it is concentrated time he can schedule his ministry work around these 5 days. It means working an average of 15 hours a day.
Ministry happenings
The Other Way house was broken into and stripped of everything. As well as the police, the fire brigade had to be called as the thefts had ripped out the piping for the gas. Everything in Colombia has bars on the windows and strong doors, so how did the thefts break in? The bars on one of the windows was sawed off and in they went. They stole the bars, so when Carlos and a welder from church went to make the place secure again they had to spend a morning going around the local junk shops in the hope of finding the stolen bar. They didn't find them so they spent the rest of the day putting up new bars on the inside of the window. Thefts can't saw them off that way but the down side is the windows can't be opened either.
Two young adolescents who Carlos tutored for many years are going to be doing YWAM Discipleship Training Schools. Julian in Argentina (he left last week) and Paola in Chile (she leaves next week).
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| Julian and Paola are the ones in the back row to the right |
Prayer requests:
- We need God's wisdom as we balance family and ministry life.
- Thanks to God for the translating job that has been given to Carlos.
- Thanks to God that I was able to complete the USA tax return for the ministry.
- Thanks to God that the kids are all healthy and are able to participate in local sports activities. Through this we are able to meet other parents, pray that we will have the opportunity to share about Jesus with them.
- Homeschooling currently takes place on the dining room table- this is not ideal for space nor for shape as the table is round and Simon can not support his arms properly – we bring a small table downstairs each day for Gabriela to use. We have a patio 3.5m2 that we would like to cover and turn into the school room– our request is for God's provision to be able to do so soon.
- Pray for a full harvest of souls at the next two youth/parents camps that our church is running in October/November.
- Pray that the government funding given to the towns that were affected by the last flooding will be used properly and that the preventive work will be carried out before the next rainy season starts.
- Pray for the youth in the ministry- especially for those who are seeking work or the opportunity to study.
Monday, July 11, 2011
News from Bogota
When I sign into the ministry's new website ¨Howdy¨ is the greeting I receive. Thanks to Joseph the site is up to date and easy to move around. Joseph comes from Texas hence the greeting. He has put hours of work into this web site, with all of the graphics and photos. Check it out and if you read Spanish the final translation was done by Carlos. I helped with some content, now all we need to do is keep it up to date … just as well some others on the team are going to be helping with that part. http://www.colombiastreetkids.org/
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| Ministry picnic |
We have had a couple of teams through lately and another two arrive before July is over. The teams have been doing maintenance projects as well as activities with kids. The last team and the next one are church teams from the USA, they come to serve and equip the church we attend here. They have visited us in the past but this time they are spending 3 full days with the ministry. It is a privilege to be able to show others what God is doing in and through the lives of the kids here. They are a blessing to us as they serve the ministry. The last team focused on the adventure playground at the farm, making it a safer place to play. A retired welder from our church here made up metal barriers for the 3 story tower and the team pulled out the old wooden ones and installed the new metal bars. They also made a platform to attach the small kids slide too. It had been perched on a fence. The caregivers at the Kiwi house were especially happy that they had their clothes line reinstalled. Days of work were required last year when a tree fell knocking down power lines, the clothes line and finally landing on the garage roof of the house. The roof was fixed, the power line put underground but the clothes line was never put up again. Things do take time here but I think a wait of more than a year to have the clothesline reinstalled might have been a record.
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| Northridge Church team working out how to attach the slide |
Family wise. The kids have been on holidays for over a month now. We managed a one day trip to warm climate for them to have a swim but otherwise they have been hanging out at home or at their grandparents. Alex will be back at school on the 8th of August. Simon and Gabriela will be home schooled this next school year. It was a hard decision for us to make as it affects many things. However we have peace that it is the right one. A friend who is a teacher and is going to be homeschooling her kids will take our 2 twice a week. This will enable me to still be at the office some. The rest of the work will have to be done in the evenings. Carlos will continue to work full time in the ministry and do translating jobs as they come available. It looked like he was going to be translating a monthly devotional book regularly but he has been trying to get an answer from the church who contacted him for the last 2 weeks to no avail.
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| Simon(with shirt) with friends at the pool |
We have been overwhelmed by the generous gifts we have received lately. We don´t know on the most part who the donors are so please take this as a personal thank you.
We had a couple of celebrations with Fathers Day at the end of June and Carlos's 40th birthday in July. Another thing to celebrate was the 190 odd parents that became Christians at a camp run by the church. Carlos had 7 men in his group and all accepted the Lord. Before that camp they had one for high school students and of the 400 odd that attended over 200 also became Chrisitans including the 10 in Carlos' group. It is great to have standing room only in church.
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| Carlos at work |
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Under Water
Alex and Simon at the ministry farm
We are all doing very well, a few upset stomachs lately but nothing major. It has rained nearly contenously since we returned in February. Flooding is happening all over the country and it hit Bogota and surrounding areas really hard. The house where we live is located in between two main rivers (about 1 Km from one river and 2 Km from the other). Both rivers flooded and houses, schools, one major university, farmlands, recreational clubs and highways have been under water for over two weeks. We had to start leaving our house at 6AM since then so that the kids will be on time for school at 7:30AM (it normally takes 15 minutes to get to the school), but due to the flooding on the road you crawl or turn your engine off and wait.
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| The road we take to Bogota, |
Ministry wise, Carlos has been very involved in meetings and legal stuff with YWAM Bogota. Last month he was in the city of Cartagena for the National YWAM leaders meeting. He is Bogota's interim leader for 2011. Bogota itself has 9 different ministries. Formando Vidas (Street Kids ministry) is just one of those.
Carlos was busy with the organisation of a church team from Texas that came in March. This church has taken on the outfitting of all of the recreational equipment for the Jungle Club. This time they did roof repairs and painting the jungle with life size animals etc. They also evangelized with a puppet show and crafts to about 300 kids.
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| Puppet show |
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| A visiting team member with her craft group |
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| Painting of the Jungle walls |
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| Alex enjoys helping at the Jungle club |
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| The visiting team invited staff out to dinner - yummm |
The school has opened different classes as teachers are available. Still one class needs a teacher, there are 15 kids enrolled and there are a lot of part time volunteers for the school but we need fulltime trained teachers also. One of the teachers has had to pull out due to health issues so the team is really under pressure right now. In the continued educational program we have 18 kids and the majority of them are receiving weekly discipleship.
There have been a couple of cases of families in crisis. Two brothers spent a month living in emergency care. The other case was a family with 10 kids that were evicted; they lived in one of the Other Way houses for a week.
In the residential care area, one of the girls who grew up in foster care homes got married to a British missionary.
In the residential care area, one of the girls who grew up in foster care homes got married to a British missionary.
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| The bride with her family |
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| Bride and groom with ministry family |
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| The glow in the backgound is from the jackets of police cadets on parade. |
Last month we ran a seminar on transforming pre street children. Mostly our 25 staff attended but we have also had 5 people from other programs come which has been good. The first week was about addictions and recovery, the speakers were a couple who lived in Colombia when Katrina first came and are Spiritual parents for her. It was great to spend time with them.
Family wise, we are thankful that Carlos has been given some translating to do in the last few weeks.
The school year is nearly over and the kids will have a 2 month break. We are looking into the possibility of homeschooling Simon and Gabirela next year. School fees is one of our main expenses at around NZ $ 1300 a month. We would appreciate prayer for this decision.
Bye for now!
With lots of love,
The Paez Family
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Our First Month Back
Gaby dressed up as a Colombian peasant for the Spanish Language Day celebration at her school
Simon was a Golden Lion Tamarin or a Golden Marmoset which is a reddish orange to golden brown monkey found in some natural parks of Colombia.
We celebrated Isabela's 15th birthday "quinceañera", a Colombian tradition similar to the Jewish Bat Mitzvah, where we pronounced blessings upon her life. Isabela came to the ministry when she was almost half her current age. She now lives in the "Kiwi House" at the ministry farm. We all dressed up as in the 60's.
Juan, Andrés and Yina are Isabela's siblings who are in 24h care. Julián and Doris have also been in the ministry since they were little. Doris is going to Chile this month to do a YWAM Disclepship Training School. Edwin from Venezuela and Annie from the US are part of our staff.
Simon was a Golden Lion Tamarin or a Golden Marmoset which is a reddish orange to golden brown monkey found in some natural parks of Colombia.
We celebrated Isabela's 15th birthday "quinceañera", a Colombian tradition similar to the Jewish Bat Mitzvah, where we pronounced blessings upon her life. Isabela came to the ministry when she was almost half her current age. She now lives in the "Kiwi House" at the ministry farm. We all dressed up as in the 60's.
Juan, Andrés and Yina are Isabela's siblings who are in 24h care. Julián and Doris have also been in the ministry since they were little. Doris is going to Chile this month to do a YWAM Disclepship Training School. Edwin from Venezuela and Annie from the US are part of our staff.
You cannot have a celebration in Latin America without dancing!!!
128 kids showed up to the "Jungle" Bible Club from the prostitute zone of Bogotá. They had a teaching about how valuable we are to God, they did crafts according to their age, and played... Wi games, soccer, basketball, ping-pong, climbed a wall, etc. Both Carlos and Alex go to serve at the club and build relationships with the kids.
Gabriela started Ballet classes which are sponsored by the township where we live. She loves it, as you can tell.
All of the kids are doing well at school. We are looking into the possibility of homeschooling them next year.
Our ministry work has been mostly a catch up from our time away and planning for the rest fo the year including teams that are coming soon. There is also a seminar on transforming pre streetkids that will be run for the month of April.
This year there are less full time volunteers- the school has not opened all of its levels yet. It looks like their might be a new teacher starting soon which will be great.
Carlos was away last weekend in a town 9 hours away. His grandmother died. She was 85 and died peacefully in her sleep. Her husband of 67 years is still alive. Carlos was able to write to her about 5 years ago about the process of salvation and the family member who read her the letter said that she kept repeating Jesus and that she understood that she was saved. I don't think many people celebrate so many years of marriage. His grandfather is not well and the family thinks that he will not last long without his wife. They had 10 children, 19 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
NZ Quake
We heard about the horrific quake that hit Christchurch, just within an hour of happening. Our hearts are saddened to hear about all the devastation caused by this natural disaster. We pray for all of those affected especially those who have lost loved ones. We´re praying that NZ will feel God’s comfort and love during these hard times.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Some News in Brief
Minsitrywise, there are 5 outreach teams that confirmed their arrival in the following months from Canada, Venezuela, and the USA (Texas, Michigan and New Mexico). Carlos will be organizing their agenda. In April we will be running a one month Children at Risk school called “Transformation of pre-street children”. Katrina will be working in all the logistics of the school.
On the family front, the kids did really well on their first week after getting back. They are very happy to see their Colombian classmates.and relatives.
Last week, Carlos got a small translation job (PTL!!!) for a local church and he is enjoying it. It is called a Dynamic Prayer Study Guide, which is a 26-week study guide written by John Franklin. It is designed to be used in conjunction with his book: And the Place Was Shaken: How to Lead a Powerful Prayer Meeting (Broadman and Holman, 2005). He was given a week to do it!!!
On the family front, the kids did really well on their first week after getting back. They are very happy to see their Colombian classmates.and relatives.
Last week, Carlos got a small translation job (PTL!!!) for a local church and he is enjoying it. It is called a Dynamic Prayer Study Guide, which is a 26-week study guide written by John Franklin. It is designed to be used in conjunction with his book: And the Place Was Shaken: How to Lead a Powerful Prayer Meeting (Broadman and Holman, 2005). He was given a week to do it!!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
An Adventurous Return Journey from NZ
We had an adventurous return journey, including the bus breaking down, turning that into an 11 hour trip. Our first flight had a broken bolt that had to be replaced --thankfully that was found out before take off. The actual 12 hour flight was smooth. We arrived at 3 pm and hung out in LA airport after Carlos had been cleared from the wanted list (there is someone else with the same name).
The next flight at 10 pm had a delay as the tow car couplet got stuck to the plane, half an hour later we were on our way to Orlando, Florida. Some wonderful people from the YWAM base met us there, they gave us a room and from 8:30 to 2:00 pm we all slept and greatly appreciated our stayed there.
Back at the aiport, our last flight took off on time, and was going smoothly, then somewhere in the Caribbean, near Jamaica, an emergency occurred and we had to land quickly, we dumped fuel and flew to Jamaica to be met with ambulances and fire engines as a fire alarm had gone off and the entertaimanet system collapsed but nothing else happened.
Four hours later we were airborne, 20 minutes out of Bogota the lights of the cabin started flashing on and off and then we dropped altitude quickly--apparently we had hit a lightening storm, the screaming, yelling, fear was very evident but the Captain was great and got us through. In the midst of this Simon is laughing as he thinks it is a great ride, Gabriela was sound asleep and Carlos and I are both praying and thinking is this it. We were happy to be together as a family and to know that if anything would have happened we would go to heaven. Alex was scared that we would fall.
We got to our house at 4:30 am Colombian time, ate breakfast, then went to bed.
The next flight at 10 pm had a delay as the tow car couplet got stuck to the plane, half an hour later we were on our way to Orlando, Florida. Some wonderful people from the YWAM base met us there, they gave us a room and from 8:30 to 2:00 pm we all slept and greatly appreciated our stayed there.
Back at the aiport, our last flight took off on time, and was going smoothly, then somewhere in the Caribbean, near Jamaica, an emergency occurred and we had to land quickly, we dumped fuel and flew to Jamaica to be met with ambulances and fire engines as a fire alarm had gone off and the entertaimanet system collapsed but nothing else happened.
Four hours later we were airborne, 20 minutes out of Bogota the lights of the cabin started flashing on and off and then we dropped altitude quickly--apparently we had hit a lightening storm, the screaming, yelling, fear was very evident but the Captain was great and got us through. In the midst of this Simon is laughing as he thinks it is a great ride, Gabriela was sound asleep and Carlos and I are both praying and thinking is this it. We were happy to be together as a family and to know that if anything would have happened we would go to heaven. Alex was scared that we would fall.
We got to our house at 4:30 am Colombian time, ate breakfast, then went to bed.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Some Unforgettable Moments in New Zealand
Gaby and Simon at Grandma's
The main reason we came to New Zealand: Uncle Bruce and Paula's (from Colombia) wedding
Simon and Gaby enjoying with their cousins making up the wedding party
Enjoying a ride with uncle Ross and cousin Troy
Catching up with lovely friends
Gaby getting to know her cousin Sam
Enjoying the river
Yeah... we arrived in New Zealand
Enjoying the first "Kiwi" meal -- Fish & Chips
Gaby with a new friendGaby making mud pies at pre-school
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