My sweet Colombian family

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Quote of the week: "Often there is nothing as godly as inactivity on our part, or nothing as harmful as restless working, for God has promised to work His sovereign will.... Living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone." 

--A. B. Simpson

This week, once again, has been very relaxed, with a few crazy moments here and there. This past week, I was blessed with the opportunity to volunteer in the church nursery.  Little children and babies are sooo sweet!! Haha, they are even cuter when they baby talk in spanish :) Love it!  One little boy, Sebastian (Love that name!) wouldnt share a toy with another little girl and spent about 3 minutes laying on the floor saying NO NO NO! because he didnt want to share.  Sign language with a 3 year old is a little bit more difficult, but somehow he eventually understood that I was asking him to share and eventually did. Oh, children!


Yesterday was my 21 birthday :) so the Roncancios planned a special day.  We left bright and early yesterday morning and ventured off to several little towns in Boyaca, Colombia (a different state), about 3 hours away.  They are sooo sweet! 

We stopped for breakfast at a little Arepa restaurant.  Talk about delicious!!!

My sweet and precious family!

The beautiful countryside of Colombia!

 

The first little town we visited in Boyoca, Colombia.  For the first time in weeks, I saw some Americans! 

Random funny story: About a week ago, I went with Lina and Santi to a movie with some friends.  There was an unusually long wait to get into the movie we wanted, so seeing as we had some time to kill, Santi and I ventured off to the only Taco Bell in all of Bogota (and Colombia).  I'm a little embarrassed when I think about how excited I got when we walked into Taco Bell... I guess it just reminds me of home :) Anyways, after ordering, Santi grabbed a seat and I filled our sodas.  While filling mine, it overflowed with fizz and began to spill over.  A woman with light brown hair and clear brown eyes said, "Oh no!!"  Seeing that I was at Taco Bell (a completely American restaurant) and the little she said sounded like she didnt have an accent, I quickly (and with a little too much enthuasim/excitement) said, "ARE YOU AMERICAN????"  She quickly responded, with a thick Colombian accent, "No, why? Do I look American??"  I will admit, that was kind of embarrassing :-/  Bright red, I returned to my seat and am still laughing about it even though it happened over a week ago :)  

My beautiful little sister!

Adriana, my mom here, asked me to sit by this huge church door and look like a lost "gringa." Haha, this is how it turned out!

I have the cutest and sweetest little brother in the whole world! 

The first town we visited was setting up a special carvnival (I'm not really sure what for) and they had a mechanical bull.  Santiago and Adriana both said, "Lindsey, it's your birthday, you should ride it!" Hesitantly, I told them yes... but only if Santiago rode it first.  He did :)  I think I fell off after about 1 minute or so.  It was so much fun! 

This is a little town we visited last before our long journey back to Bogota.  It's famous for its clay pottery and crafts.  

When we got home, Dago, a Colombian pastor staying with the Roncancios this week from Tennessee, went out and got me a birthday cake! That was so sweet of him! Even though it was late, we enjoyed rum cake.  It was delicious!!

I am so thankful for my wonderful family here! I cant believe my time here is over half way over! Since yesterday was my birthday, I spent some time thinking about what I'm thankful for.  I feel so blessed to have wonderful friends, a supporting family, and a beautiful Savior.  I'm so undeserving of his grace and his unfailing love towards me, but He is faithful to me no matter what.  I'm reminded of one of my favorite verses, 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." What an amazing adventure it is to be found in the arms of Christ!