Colombia Mission Trip '25 | Day 1-3: Arrival
Day 1, Wednesday 5/14
Enthusiasm is strong at the airport, with laughs, pictures and giggles aplenty, surely enough to make our taxis wish they could go along too. Check in was painless, no doubt aided by the merciful 11 a.m. flight, and the connection was uneventful, except for the vlogging which you all are sure to see. Bentley and Montgomery far exceeded everyone else’s arrival times, but upon further review Scott had managed to book Montgomery on a flight all by himself. The Owers family takes the cake for the most representation with the Haley’s close behind. Apparently it’s an aberration that we’re flying American instead of Delta, but that feels just right to me, and it surely must be a God thing, because it turns out the stewardess is the daughter of Bentley’s old classmate, which she confirmed via Facebook photo. Small world was confirmed all around. Despite obviously being God’s chosen chariot, we may need some divine intervention from the food. Our only saving grace was that we stopped at one bite. Landing was smooth, immigration presented no problems (I even spoke a little Spanish to the lady), and we were received with joyous reunions and welcomes to our host families.
Enthusiasm is strong at the airport, with laughs, pictures and giggles aplenty, surely enough to make our taxis wish they could go along too. Check in was painless, no doubt aided by the merciful 11 a.m. flight, and the connection was uneventful, except for the vlogging which you all are sure to see. Bentley and Montgomery far exceeded everyone else’s arrival times, but upon further review Scott had managed to book Montgomery on a flight all by himself. The Owers family takes the cake for the most representation with the Haley’s close behind. Apparently it’s an aberration that we’re flying American instead of Delta, but that feels just right to me, and it surely must be a God thing, because it turns out the stewardess is the daughter of Bentley’s old classmate, which she confirmed via Facebook photo. Small world was confirmed all around. Despite obviously being God’s chosen chariot, we may need some divine intervention from the food. Our only saving grace was that we stopped at one bite. Landing was smooth, immigration presented no problems (I even spoke a little Spanish to the lady), and we were received with joyous reunions and welcomes to our host families.
Day 2, Thursday 5/15
In the morning, two buses were hired to round everyone up. While waiting, breakfast pictures in the group chat would have been trending. We were whisked away to a grand state park, filled with exotic animals, a faux-Taj Mahal, and more walking in a day than we do in a year in Shreveport. It was here that Jon joined the group, fresh off his extended stay in Brazil. We were separated into a “base” (blue wristband) and “not base” (brown wristband) groups, whereby the “not base” group had more ride privileges, but all that really turned out to be was the privilege to use peddle boats. The girls passionately sang Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” together, perhaps spurred on by the 1,000 miles we were all walking. Josh Owers was actually lost to a leopard here. Afterwards, we were treated to an ice cream coffee shop reminiscent of Braum’s in the states, where we caffeinated to pep our American selves back up from the exhaustion all that walking caused us. The bus ride home also had more stop and go traffic than we have in Shreveport in a year. We were stretched today, but surely only in a way that makes it easier to sleep at night.
In the morning, two buses were hired to round everyone up. While waiting, breakfast pictures in the group chat would have been trending. We were whisked away to a grand state park, filled with exotic animals, a faux-Taj Mahal, and more walking in a day than we do in a year in Shreveport. It was here that Jon joined the group, fresh off his extended stay in Brazil. We were separated into a “base” (blue wristband) and “not base” (brown wristband) groups, whereby the “not base” group had more ride privileges, but all that really turned out to be was the privilege to use peddle boats. The girls passionately sang Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” together, perhaps spurred on by the 1,000 miles we were all walking. Josh Owers was actually lost to a leopard here. Afterwards, we were treated to an ice cream coffee shop reminiscent of Braum’s in the states, where we caffeinated to pep our American selves back up from the exhaustion all that walking caused us. The bus ride home also had more stop and go traffic than we have in Shreveport in a year. We were stretched today, but surely only in a way that makes it easier to sleep at night.
Day 3, Friday 5/16
On the third day of our South American summer camp, a lazy morning preceded the start of the prophetic conference at La Casa. Those of us whose host families worked during the day were sent to Maru’s house for a tasty lunch and some trifling with her cats, while others went to the mall to try Crepes (also known as “really thin pancakes”) and Waffles and eat what appeared to be the fossil of a piranha. We all arrived early to the church and spent some time praying over the administrative staff. The conference started at 7 with a lively worship set, followed by Scott preaching with his old buddy Juan Pablo. Afterwards, we were almost too tired to eat the empanadas they gave us but we still managed. Tomorrow is the first full day of the conference, and everyone should feel acclimated to their new surroundings and be ready to hit the ground running.
On the third day of our South American summer camp, a lazy morning preceded the start of the prophetic conference at La Casa. Those of us whose host families worked during the day were sent to Maru’s house for a tasty lunch and some trifling with her cats, while others went to the mall to try Crepes (also known as “really thin pancakes”) and Waffles and eat what appeared to be the fossil of a piranha. We all arrived early to the church and spent some time praying over the administrative staff. The conference started at 7 with a lively worship set, followed by Scott preaching with his old buddy Juan Pablo. Afterwards, we were almost too tired to eat the empanadas they gave us but we still managed. Tomorrow is the first full day of the conference, and everyone should feel acclimated to their new surroundings and be ready to hit the ground running.
Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days as our missionaries continue to partner with God's heart for Colombia!
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