Snapshots from Bogota

Just a walker....

I have been demoted from teacher to walker (though Dave might call this a promotion).  Instead of teaching ESL sessions, I walk with the El Camino Academy kindergarteners as they travel through their English classes. As a team, we decided that this is the best use of my 24 years of teaching experience (don't let those angelic faces fool you! ). The kids and I have learned together this week.  Yesterday I taught them how to say "Listen, walk, and wait your turn".  They in turn taught me how to say these phrases in Spanish. We have also discovered that Buzz Lightyear, Spiderman, and Duck-Duck-Goose transcend cultural boundaries.  I have listened in amazement as these little ones explain, in their mixture of Spanish and English how Jesus has washed away their sins, and sing songs of praise.  It has been a good week. (Carolyn)

Dave prepares to enter the pit of despair.

Easily the most memorable soccer event of the week has been the game we've deemed the mudbowl -- played in the Suba district of Bogota.  Our outreach in this area was to Suba a church and community center that provides before- and after-school care and feeds hundreds of kids each day.  The soccer game took place on a field the likes of which I'd never seen -- ankle-deep mud holes that threatened to suck our shoes off our feet, small ponds over which passes needed to be played and amazing mud slicks which made it feel as if we were running on ice covered in a thin layer of grease.  The field didn't seem to bother the kids we were playing in the least -- they were fully warmed up by the time we'd determined that no dry ground existed anywhere in the park.  Our opponents, ranging in age from barely double digits to about 16, enjoyed knocking the ball around us as we struggled to stay vertical.  There's really no need to report a final score, because as we all know, it's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game... :-)

We returned to the community center and after scrubbing up, spent a few hours getting to know the awesome staff at this center, serving lunch to the kids and helping them practice their English.  What an amazing place of hope this center is in the midst of brutal poverty.  They feed over 500 meals daily and provide academic support and love to kids whose parents are often gone from early morning to late at night.  What an incredible privilege to serve those kids for just a short time.  The handshakes, fist bumps, high fives and hugs from those we've met as "futbolistas" and English teachers won't soon be forgotten.  Gracias, Bogota! (Dave)
for the whole team,
Carolyn and Dave K