I’ve had this song stuck in my head for days, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…a beautiful day for a neighbor…” Now it’s stuck in your head! Ha! I’ve had it in my head because that’s how I’ve been feeling. I am so thankful for my neighborhood, the building we live in, and the amazing neighbors we have. We prayed so fervently as we walked the streets of this neighborhood that God would direct us to our home. It took a lot of walking, a lot of paperwork and patience, but we are so thankful for where we are.

It’s not easy to move to a new place, a new country and start to make friends. The first few months were lonely at times as we missed our community of friends in Chicago. But, slowly we have been building community here. Little by little we have been meeting our neighbors and it has been a gift. We are thankful for the invitations to come to dinner, for the invitations to stop by for coffee, for the time our neighbors invited my parents who were visiting out to dinner, for the group that has started meeting once a week for English class in our apartment. One of the highlights of our week has been this special time with our neighbors as we move from being neighbors to being friends. You can hear the laughter coming from our apartment on Tuesday nights as we enjoy one anthers company and struggle through the basics of speaking English. I can’t wait for Christmas time as they get together to celebrate with typical Christmas gatherings (novenas).

I’m thankful for this new sense of community; for the opportunity to get to know my neighbors. I’m excited for the times that will come to share more about who I am and why I’m in Colombia. Like I said, “it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”