We´re still trying to get situated here in Bogotá, although God has blessed in so many ways. Our next major need is to determine where we will begin ministering. There are several possibilities . . . perhaps help a pastor who is pastoring two churches at the moment, or go help a young pastor who is working in a new church plant. The other missionaries have been very helpful to not burden us down too much at first.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we´ll probably be signing on our house tomorrow. That means that the next few weeks will also be devoted to getting the house furnished. About all we have for it are books (isn´t that all you need?). At any rate, we´ll be learning more of the city by traveling to all of the furniture stores.
Well, I´ve gotta run.
About Me
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Well, we made it to Bogotá, and since Holly already blogged about the trip I´ll skip that to give you my first impressions of being a missionary in this country.
I had forgotten how gargantuan this city is! For the first three days my head was spinning just trying to find my bearings. Thankfully I´m starting to understand how the addresses work here. They just changed them all a month or so ago, so even some of the Colombians are learning. The system is logical . . . the calles go towards the mountains, while the carreras run parallel to the mountains. The numbers go logically based on their distance north/south and their distance from the mountains. I´ve driven a few times already, which was a little tramatic the first time but is now "normal."
Speaking of driving, you have to not make mistakes. For example, I made the mistake of thinking I could get off a road under construction, but it took over an hour to get to a turn-around. Traffic is incredible if you take the wrong road at the wrong time. Picture moving five feet on each change of the stoplight. It´s a wee bit different than Hibbing, MN or Ames, IA!
Holly and I have essentially felt overwhelmed with all that has to be done to get set up here. In the first week and two days we have: filed for our cedulas (ID cards), received our shipment from the States, begun the process of getting a driver´s license, and worked on a bunch of paperwork to rent a house.
Renting a house is not a simple task either. They want to have two cosigners just to rent a house, which both need three or four documents to show their income, position, property, etc. We turned that in yesterday, so we´ll see if we got approved or not. We are very pleased with the house that we´ve picked out, since it´s fairly close to the seminary building (about 10 minutes or less), has a good price, and has all that we need.
We set a new record for getting our shipment out of customs. I got there at about 11 a.m. and had our shipment to the guest house garage by about 3 p.m.! Usually it has taken between two to five days to get this done. Apparently many of you are praying because I´ve been stumbling my way through, and it´s been working.
We visited the Tunal church last weekend, where Holly´s parents ministered. They are doing very well and now want help to start a mission agency to send missionaries to different cities in Colombia. Their goal is to send one couple every four years. I surely don´t feel like an "expert" in that area, but I´m definitely willing to help in any way possible. We also may begin our work with a young pastor who is ministering in Suba. This part of the city has grown tremendously . . . I remember hearing that it had about two million people. We´ll keep you posted as we see God´s direction unfold.
This is what may come to your mind when you think of Bogota, Colombia. A big city with a lot of concrete. But I can guarantee that within a year we will be able to fill a collage with pictures of Colombians who have been etched on our hearts. When I think of our friends in Costa Rica, I am amazed at what God can do in one year. He can take total strangers and make them brothers in Christ. He can change lives, calm fears, and give joy where only bitterness once existed.
