Home.

I know this is late in coming, but I have arrived safely home.
Wednesday we went to yet another after school program and did whatever work they had for us, which for me was washing more dishes. That evening we led a church service at our host church from the last week. We got to experience their worship team, Pastor Jimmy delivered the message, and we had an incredible time of ministry afterwards.
Thursday, we went to the last after school program. After helping finish lunch, the pastor over the program took us to a portion of land in the mountains they are seeking to buy. They hope to build an orphanage, a pastor's training building, and missionary quarters on it. However, they first must raise over $1 million. Our team walked the ground and prayed. I was not able to join them because as we stepped out of the program to head to the mountain, I sprained my ankle. Now that I am home, I have seen a doctor. It is not too bad; a little rehab and I will be fine.
After the time of prayer, we returned to the project to prepare for the block party. We performed all our skits for about 150 people. Just as one of the pastors starts the salvation prayer for the 80 that responded, the neighborhood loses power. We all pull out our cell phones to light the room and the pastor continues. Out of caution, we left the area immediately.
Friday morning, 2 other students, 2 pastor, and I left for home.
This trip was absolutely incredible. In many ways, I feel more changed than any change I could have brought to the people. Though the trip is over, the journey is not. What I and all others involved experienced and learned will continue to grow in us for the rest of our lives.
In Him, Elisabeth

PICTURES!!!

Here are a few pics to make up for the lack of updates. And to appease my mother.






My friend, Luis, on the right.






Fifth grade classroom.






View of the city from the top of the mountain.






Preschoolers.






Sweet girls from Avivamiento school.






5,000 person baptism at Avivamiento.






View of the city from the slums.






Monday's work project, carrying dirt and concrete up and down the trail on the left.






My instant friend, Jeidi.

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Sunday-Tuesday

I know I have been so bad about updating this. I apologize.
Sunday we went to Avivamiento again. It absolutely powerful. Pastor Carl was with us. He has an outstanding relationship with the pastor of Avivamiento, Pastor Ricardo. Pastor Carl was asked to take part in service by greeting the congregation and walking with Pastor Ricardo through the healing service. After the second service, the church had a baptism service. How many people do a 70,000 member church baptize on a typical day? A mere 5,000. They had 3 pools and lines that wound through the whole building. There were 6 people in each pool and the line would file in, be baptized and file out. It was amazing. We went to lunch at a very nice steak house and enjoyed a restful evening.
All week we have been working with a program that has 4 different outreaches. The pastor would physically hear the cries of the children at night and started the program as an after school outreach.
The first outreach on Monday had a kindergarten program. However, they could not meet the $4000 a month costs to feed and care for the kids and were forced to close the program. But the pastor believes it will reopen and has been updating the rooms while he waits. Though we expected to work with the kindergarten program, we were quickly put to work with the lunch they serve to the children of the neighborhood. They feed 2,000 kids a week. For 70% of the children, this is their only meal of the day. I was tasked with washing dishes because they do not own enough dishes to feed all the kids they serve in a day. After lunch we were taken to a shack that was in shambles. It is built with whatever material could be found. It is atop a hill and one side deteriorates with the rain. So we hauled dirt and concrete down one hill and up the other for the woman to use to reinforce her foundation. It was hard work but we all enjoyed it.
Tuesday we went to another outreach for a few hours. We cleaned their tables, chair, and trash cans, tarred their roof, and sanded and painted rebar. Then we served lunch again. After lunch we did an outreach at a nearby basketball court. We performed our dramas and played games. We had to leave early in order to have time to make it to the church service we were leading Tuesday night.
The service was incredible. God used our team in ways we could not even imagine. Pastor Cody delivered a powerful word and our team led an incredible time of prayer.
Last two days. Pray our team leaves nothing behind.



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Location:Calle 102 108A,Bogotá,Colombia

Wednesday-Saturday

On Sunday we scheduled ourselves to visit the school associated with the church, Avivamiento. We had never been there before so we had no idea what to expect. We found the school to be much like Trinity. They had about 280 students with quite a few pastor and missionary kids. They also had some of the smartest kids in the country. We led a short worship set then split into 2 groups to do puppets and dramas. When we finished, the students were on break so we got to hang out with them.
Manda and I were swarmed by a group of 20 girls. Communicating was very difficult but they were just as eager to communicate as we were. We played hide and go seek which was a blast.
After the break, we divided into 4 groups: testimonies, flashcards, conversational, and listening. I was in the testimony group and we shared something that God had done in our lives. The conversational group talked about themselves in English while the listening group listened to the students tell about Colombia. We all loved this school, perhaps because it felt so much like home.
After the school, we returned home to get ready to lead a service at our host church. We performed all our dramas, led worship, and two students gave a message. It was perfect way to end the high school trip.
Today the college group has arrived and we are touring. Don't expect a blog for Thursday-Saturday. Thursday and Friday those of us staying 2 weeks hung out, did a little shopping, and found some amazing little restaurants. Last night we went to the opening session of the Equip leadership training conference lead by Trinity's pastors. Tomorrow is Avivamiento again.

Location:Calle 100 18A,Bogotá,Colombia

Tuesday

Tuesday was absolutely incredible. We started at a Preschool with children ages 2-6. We did our puppet show, sang songs, performed skits, and played duck-duck-goose. The other two rotations played games and taught the wordless books that our 6th grade supporters made us.
Our original schedule changed when the afternoon school cancelled on us. So we asked one of our host pastors to find us a program we could visit. We went up one of the many mountains that surround Bogota to a woman's home. As we drove up the mountain, all I thought was this is where tours of Bogota stop. The view if the city was magnificent but was an extremely poor neighborhood. The lady runs an after school program for children of all ages and has an open door policy for anyone. The children all have chores they must perform. They are fed, but they must wash their own dishes. The children are not separated by age so that the older ones can care for the younger ones and the younger ones learn for the older ones. This in turn creates a strong family environment. Though she is not as organized as other programs, her ministry is incredible.
We divided the kids by age. The older kids watched the dramas and the younger kids watched the puppets. After the puppets, we did the wordless books and the flashcards. This program was so different from all the others we visited. It was a nice change.
Tuesday night we went a church where we had the most amazing service of our lives last year. Since the second school was so far up the mountain, we were running low on time for the praise band to practice. As the band practiced, everyone else met to pray then prayed individually. It was amazing to see the Holy Spirit begin to move through us as the same things were laid upon our hearts to pray for.
About half an hour before service was set to start, we found out there was a miscommunication and we were expected to lead the leadership conference that the church group was scheduled to do next Tuesday. Instead of two of our students speaking, Pastor Rob and Pastor Barry were asked to speak with no notice.
The worship began and it absolutely powerful. You could not tell how little practice they had. When worship was over, Pastor Rob came and lead an altar call for healing. He began his sermon after that and spoke on Elijah. His message was how Elijah was an average man called to do hard things. After all his successes, he began to feel weary and sought refuge in the desert. There God met him and restored. Pastor Rob related it to leaders going through hard times and seeking God for strength. The pastor of the church, Pastor Samuel, has been going through a dry season recently. Rob called him and his family to the front and had us hold their arms up as Aaron and Joshua held Moses' arms up during the battle. As he prayed for them, they were slain in the Spirit.
Then Pastor Rob called all the leaders facing weariness and hard time to come to the front for prayer led by our team. The Holy Spirit was present in a mighty way as many people were slain through the prayers of our team. None of our students will be the same after that service. We went to our faithful pizza place, Archie's, for dinner and fellowship with some local friends from last year.
Today the high school team flew out for a day in Miami. I cannot believe that this is the half way point if my trip. Those of us staying longer have joined the Trinity pastors at a very nice hotel for the next few days. I probably will not blog for Thursday or Friday unless something happens, but expect Wednesday's post soon. Perhaps I will figure out how to post some pics. Thanks for all your prayers. The first half of my trip blew all expectations.



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Location:Calle 100 18A,Bogotá,Colombia

Wednesday Prayer Requests

Good Morning!! I wanted to post a few prayer requests in case I don't get Tuesday posted before tonight. We are going to Avivamiento's school today. We have never been there before. Tonight we are leading a service at the church that is housing us. Last night's service was incredible and the Holy Spirit flowed through each student with power I have never seen before. Pray against a sense of pride and arrogance that we could have or can do any of it on our own. I feel much better. I know your prayers made a huge difference. Another team member felt quite sick last night. Pray for quick recovery. This is the last day of ministry for this team. Pray they hold nothing back.


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Monday

Yesterday, Monday, we went back to the school we painted on Saturday. They were so excited to see us. I met one of the little boys I had made friends with last year. As soon as he saw me, he ran and gave me a huge hug. I remembered him as well and hoped I would see him again whether he remembered me or not. Last year, all we did together was play a patty cake type game. So, the first thing we did together was play again. I played that game sooo much with him and others today that I burst a blood vessel in my finger.
Through this, I learned that simple acts of love can make such a significant impact on the lives of these children.
We did our 2 dramas then split up into the classrooms. My partner and I were in the 5th grade classroom. He has some Spanish and I have 4 years of Latin. So communicating was not easy especially since they were young as well. We told them about ourselves, our families, and a myriad of our favorite things. We worked on teaching English by having them tell us about their families and favorite things. We had some flashcards with English/Spanish verbs that we acted out. We sang head, shoulders, knees, and toes. We had a lot of fun, but I'm not sure if I have ever done anything as hard in my life. However, my Spanish vocabulary is rapidly growing.
After we all finished in the classrooms, the older kids went to the park to play while the younger kids stayed to watch our puppet performance. We have not practiced our puppets in a very long time. Also the script is recorded in Spanish. So we have to learn the timing of the recording and figure out what is being said. That performance of puppets was the worst attempt I have ever seen. We hardly fit behind our sheet, we couldn't hear the recording, and everyone missed their cues. But when we were finished the kids went up to the principal and told her how much they loved the puppets. By God alone could we have done what we did. Then it was time for the children to go home so they fed us lunch again.
We went with the mission to show love to the school, but every time we turned around they were loving us.
For the afternoon, we had plans to tour the Museum of Gold, do some shopping, and ride a cable car to the top of the mountain. However, the Museum of Gold was closed, so we had extra time for shopping. Then we rode to the top of the mountain where it started raining. We decided to call our buses early, eat dinner, and be back to the church with time for some basketball and worship band practice. Then, in the crazy Bogota traffic, our huge bus was almost cut off by a small car resulting in a small fender bender. We proceeded to sit on our bus for 2 hours, first waiting for the traffic police, then a second bus to take us away. We eventually made it to Crepes and Waffles, one of our favorite places to eat. We came home, read the letters from our TCS 6th grade prayer partners, and made it to bed by 1:30am.
A couple of prayer requests: we are leading a service tonight at a local church. Pray for our worship team that has not had adequate time to practice. We most likely will perform our dramas and two of our students will give a message. I am feeling a little under the weather. Don't forget to check out our Facebook fan page, "TCS loves Bogota." Feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear from my supporters. Thanks, Elisabeth



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Sunday

Sorry I missed the last two days. We were super busy. We went to Sunday church at Avivamiento, the largest church in South America. In our service alone, there were 20,000 people. Over the weekend, 70,000 people were in attendance. Needless to say, it was slightly overwhelming.
This church holds nothing back. There is a lot of yelling, jumping, and enthusiasm. We arrived for the last half hour of the first service and they sat us in the balcony so we got to ease into the environment. When the first service was over, they moved us to the very front. The service started with worship led by a couple of leaders and the 200+ choir. The music was nothing I had heard before and it had no English translation, so I only understood what I could attempt to translate. They had a short children's part with what sounded like kid songs and more dancing than before. Then the pastor entered to the Rocky theme song (we later found out he meant it to be to the glory of God). He then began the healing part of the service (yes, it's included in EACH service). The pastor went around praying for people as he felt led, slaying many in the spirit. Those healed were brought on stage to have it confirmed by a physician. They perform x-rays and blood tests on the spot in order to uphold the church's reputation. After the healing service, the head pastor's son came to lead a salvation prayer. In our discussion of the service afterwards, someone mentioned how significant the order was because the people saw firsthand the power of God, then were given the chance to accept Him.
The pastor returned again to give the message on 1 Samuel 16. We had a limited amount of translator headsets and a couple of Aviva workers sat to translate for us. I caught bits and pieces of the message but not a whole lot. The gist was heaven is open to those with a pure heart. At this point the pastor had an alter call having something to do with his message.
We were then called on stage along with smaller mission group from Argentina. The pastor laid hands in each of us as we were slain in the Spirit. After we literally picked ourselves off the ground, we pulled ourselves together, preparing to leave. However, the pastor came back through and spoke a prophetic word over most us. The service as a whole lasted almost 3 hours. It began pouring rain so we had a long wait for our bus. By the time we got out of 10:30am service, got our bus, and drove through Sunday traffic, we had lunch around 3 at a great burger place in the mall. We wandered around the mall, found a hackysack, and bought a delicious cup of Juan Valdez (Colombian Starbucks).
Then we returned to our housing area to await the arrival of our last three team members and Mickey D's for a late dinner. This ends Sunday.



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Saturday

Hello!! Today was great. It did not rain so we were able to accomplish a lot at the school. We painted for about 5 hrs. Though we went to bless the school, they returned Christ's love by providing a steak and potato lunch far outside the school's budget. The school is located in a poor and dangerous part of the city, but you would not be able to tell from the atmosphere. I cannot wait to return on Monday to hang out with the kids.
Tomorrow we go to the biggest church in South America. Then we will tour downtown and ride to the top of the mountain to watch the sun set. Pray for the rest of the team that joins us tomorrow night. Thanks, Elisabeth


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MIAMI

Good Afternoon!! I am sitting in the Miami airport with a four hour layover. I am beyond excited to be going to Bogota today. I could not have made it to this point without prayer support. I am so excited to see what God does in and through my team.
A couple of prayer requests: We didn't realize that a couple of team members had a slightly different flight schedule. They got a slight delay in Dallas. On top of that, apparently Pres. Obama is flying in and will cause further delays. Pray our team is united soon and we all make it safely to Bogota tonight. Three members of my team are participating in the basketball state championship this weekend and will join us late Sunday evening. Pray for safe travels and, of course, victory. Tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to paint a school we visited last year. The weather forecast predicts rain, so please pray that we are able to accomplish what needs to be done at the school.
Don't forget to check out our Facebook fan page, "TCS loves Bogota." Feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear from my supporters. Thanks, Elisabeth


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It is finally March!!!

Yay for March!! 3 days til we leave!! I cannot believe it is already here.
Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
Please pray for:

• Safety as the students and sponsors travel to and from their destinations
• A spiritual renewal and awakening in the lives of the students, sponsors and the people they encounter
• Team unity for both teams
• Safety and health
• Wisdom for all leaders and students as we make decisions
• Flight schedules
• Divine appointments and schedule planning
• Boldness in our faith
• Financial Provision for all going (I AM FULLY FUNDED!!!)
• Communication, that we would not rely on our words to communicate God's love, but our actions instead (especially since very few of us speak Spanish)
• To resist Satan's attacks of doubt and discouragement

Be sure to check back daily (I hope to have time) for updates of what is going on and additional prayer requests. Thank you so much for taking time to pray for me and my team. I know that this trip would not be possible with complete prayer coverage.