These past weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, with Julio traveling (stay tuned for a special blog update about his trip to Mitu), moving out of our apartment and putting all our belonging in storage, spending time with friends, leading workshops and preaching. We have felt God’s guidance and peace in the midst of it all. And we have felt something else. Love! People have showed us so much love as we prepare for this time in the States. We are sad to be leaving good friends and colleagues in Colombia, but are thankful for the ones we will join in the USA. We were thankful for the many different settings we had to celebrate friendship and what God has done in these past 3 and 1/2 years. We were blown away by the generosity and love showed by our neighbors who hosted a good-bye dinner for us. It is so clear that God led us to our apartment and the relationship we have formed with our neighbors is something for which we are forever grateful. The boys had a special treat as their Sunday School classes shared a good-bye celebration with them, complete with singing, games, cake and ice-cream. These boys have been well-loved. We are grateful that these good-byes are really just “hasta luegos” and we are thankful for the technology that lets us stay in touch despite the distance.
A special goodbye with the youth and leaders that participated in the Bible classes Julio taught in El Hato
At a workshop on Christian formation in children
More fun at the Christian formation workshop
A sweet good-bye with a great team of children’s ministry leaders from Shalom church
The boys loved the fact that their friends took time to celebrate them
A special morning where the kids got to be kids and eat cake in church
Julio preaching at Fuente de Salvacion church
A special moment with our special friend Diana and others from Nueva Vida as we enjoyed a bbq together
With members from another Nueva Vida house group that has been formed this year
