slated button of a nose

"Rebecca, what is your relationship status?"

It is the Sunday night before I depart for Colombia, and this is not exactly an out-of-character question from Jorge with Ginny giggling alongside.

"Um, that would be single."
"So is that a single single...or a desperate single?"
"Definitely a single single."

I laugh and throw my head against my Jeep's driver seat. I will be leaving for Bogota in just three days, and our final phone arrangements of what I can bring them from the States and what we should plan on while I'm there included Jorge trying his handful of male options to hook me up. Colombian hospitality at its finest.

One week later and I'm remembering new senses that have come with a new environment. I told Jorge that it had been a long time since I was 20, and therefore, a 20-year-old dude was just not going to work out...yes, his desperate option. Along with resolving such an issue, they both told me that we would go salsa dancing with a group of their friends here (still to come), and it was at this moment that I realized I was going on another adventure. I packed my bags, had good conversations with honest friends, and put myself, willingly, on yet another strand of planes. From Memphis to Charlotte I think I paid attention to the safety instructions for the first time. The previous 63 flights were spent in subversive rebellion as I creatively refused to buckle my seat belt. I did this time, as well as finding my floating device underneath my seat. Phew, good thing. Later on, I spent the night at the Miami airport. I made the wrong move to try and sleep on the marble floors, and awoke one hour later to a fierce chill. That marble made me have to go into the bathroom at 3am so that I could do jumping jacks and run in place just to raise my body temperature. I looked myself in the mirror and realized how ridiculous I looked. Luckily, I arrived into Bogota seven hours later to 70* temperatures.

Ginny got out of the 1982 Bronco jeep the size of a small tank with her six-month-old pregnant belly carrying baby Maya, we hugged, and climbed into said tank where two-year-old Matilde Lina was waiting with her bob haircut and button nose, and Jorge was grinning behind the wheel. Ginny, the blue-eyed beauty of a gringa, grew up in Bogota as her parents helped start a church and Jorge is the tallest, skinniest and most attractive (this last adjective was pressured by the subject himself) native around town.



They met when Ginny came back from Colombia after going to university in the States. They married, moved to Memphis, became good friends to good friends of mine, and three years later, bore Matilde and were making efforts to return to South America to pursue ministry once more. Their original pursuits of doing mission work in Peru took them down a long road that led, almost ironically, back to the very church that Ginny's father pastored. They have been here for over a year, and they have gone from a big vision as community workers to an even bigger one as that as well as pastors themselves (Jorge one of the teaching pastors and Ginny the children's pastor). My desire to come visit was for a lot of little and not-too-phenomenal reasons. The little time I got to know them in Memphis, I quickly realized that both of them are the kind that see. I mean that in the ee cummings kinda way. They're creative, love Christ, know beauty, manifest laughter, pursue people (the displaced, in particular), and are filled with humility (Ginny more than Jorge (: ). I had a great desire to see what they were doing down here. After 8 years of studying German, I grew frustrated that I never capitalized on my high school foundation of Spanish. I had yet to visit South America. And, finally, my almost obnoxiously flexible character has made me completely open to any corner of the world. The pseudo (as in, whatever and ever, amen) plan is to start classes toward nursing school in May and finish 2 years from that May. From there, I want to use those skills and my love to know folks and to be known in the vein of ministry somewhere...maybe Colombia. And so I come here as a kind of preview. To be encouraged by funny, soulful friends and see a new land and the beauty within...sounded like a good enough reason to travel to me.

Since Thursday afternoon when I arrived in sunny Colombia, I have been able to be a fly on the wall, an extra set of hands, and the bearer of trumpets and one clarinet (carried from the attic of 3116 Waynoka inside two thrift store pieces of luggage to the amateur trumpet skills of Jorge and the deafened ears of Matilde). G and J have had one full house since I arrived including Nayibe and her two sons, Javier (Javi) and JoJo, for my first night. Nayibe's grandparents live in Colombia but she has been in America her whole life, met her husband in the Airforce, and their family has spent the past 6 months in Bogota in hopes to adopt and see the hand of God. I liked her and her two unbelievably adorable boys immediately. Andrew, the husband and father, left that morning for a two-week hike in the Patagonia (needless to say, even in his absence I liked him immediately as well).

We spent that first day in the park outside the front door with several neighborhood kiddos (Juan, Esteban, Daniella, Ivan, and Junior) throwing frisbees and an American football.


Matilde and Fishy with Junior and Lucy Osito

Actually, I have spent every day since teaching the boys and beautiful Daniella the perfect Joe Montana spiral as they help me out with my painfully basic Espanol. I have come to believe that there are 3 universal languages with children: smiles, tickles, and John Cena. Yep, he's here too, and they love him. Being here just reminds me how effortless it is for children to need and trust and desire love. It reminds me to remember.

On my second day, Ginny, Matilde, Nayibe, Javi, JoJo and I took a trip to one of the larger libraries in Bogota. The architecture was impressive and the horizon held mountains to the East. Libros y montanas...the perfect world.


Javi, Nayibe, JoJo, Ginny and Matilde

Later that afternoon, Ginny, Matilde and I explored one of the more posh areas of Bogota with upscale shopping and your local Juan Valdez Cafe. Apparently, Starbucks tried to make their move on Colombia, but in typical resistance fashion, Colombians said a strong 'No' to *$s and created their own version with their signature mustached farmer and his burro. The coffee was much better. G left me to myself as I read and stared at people...I realized that every big city is alike if you find the right neighborhood. That is, they're all trying to look European. I found my way back in buckets of rain, and spent the rest of the evening with food and kids.

Yesterday was by far our busiest as "A Day in the Life of G & J"...meeting at church led to preparing a large lunch and transitioned into making an even larger onces (dinner) for their small group. I am truly thankful that I enjoy cooking and washing dishes. I babysat 7 children and just continued to embarass myself with my speaking abilities.

The exhaustion of hosting yesterday gave us sweet slumber for a full day of excitement which is ending as I type. I was able to be the photographer for their first church baptism where two of the teenagers that live around the corner from G & J in an orphan home, Crystal and Juan, made professions of faith in Christ. It was a celebration. We were invited over for lunch by two members of the church who have been there since Ginny's father started preaching, and stuffed our bellies with fried platanos...que rico. Our entertainment continued as we picked up G & J's closest friends, Susan and Johnny, and headed downtown. I more than enjoyed myself with such company, cobbled stoned streets, slated rooftops, and a thankfulness that I can, yet again, see, touch, smell and hear something new.


I have already taken way too many cute photos of this girl.






I leave far too early in the morning on a bus to Medellin, Colombia's second largest city 10 hours away surrounded by mountains. Ginny and Jorge have a friend doing ministry with YWAM there, so they thought it was a great way to see what's happening and see a lot more of Colombia. I enthusiastically agreed and have just finished being briefed by Jorge on how to avoid a Guerrilla kidnapping. We prayed. I'll let you know how it goes (: