I'm Thankful for God's Blessings, Yes, Every Single One...

It has been too long since I have last blogged.  Life and a lack of Internet access can also deter the best of intentions.  It is hard to believe that we have now been in Colombia for over 3 months now.  The time in some sense has gone by very quickly and slowly all in the same time.  It is as equally difficult to believe that we are going to be back in the states for Christmas in about 4 weeks!  I am not sure who is more excited, my parents or me!  We're hoping to make rounds and visit friends and family while back home!  We just wanted to briefly update you (our friends and family) on the happenings here in Colombia and as always thank you all for your continued support and prayers!  We love and miss you all!

Sergio is now preaching 4x monthly and is over the Praise & Worship Team, the Ushers, the Youth Department, the Greeters team, and has taken over the construction of the church.  A few weeks ago we began fundraising to try and raise the money necessary to finish the closing of the church sanctuary and to add the (much needed) air conditioners.  Sergio challenged the leaders and congregation to make a monetary pledge.  Sergio and I have also jumped on board and have tried to give back to the church some of what God has so richly blessed us with.  The people seem to be responding well.  Many of the members of the church don't have much money themselves, but are trying hard to help their church in this process! They're motivated and excited to see the church sanctuary construction (that has been on-going for some years now) coming closer to completion.   We are hopeful that we will be able to raise the $30,000 needed to complete this stage of the construction!

I (Kristi) am working in the school 4 days a week.  I’m working really hard on learning Spanish and while it doesn’t feel like, people tell me I’m getting better!  We've had several busy weeks here in the school, we've had a "Day of the Bible" celebration (instead of Halloween), a "Family Day" where we had games, a talent show, and other goodies to encourage families to spend time together and to raise money for the school.  I also experienced my first "Week of Creativity" within the school where I was blown away by the many talents the students have.  In addition, I have also spent the last 3-4 weeks in lots of meetings with teachers, other leaders from others schools, and with Monica Castro, making the schedule of classes for pre-school, elementary, and high school for the upcoming year (February 2014).   We have an "Open House" for the pre-school on November 24 and we are hopeful to gain new students through this event!  Please pray that we would receive new students, as the school desperately needs new students in the pre-school classes.  

Isabella continues to amaze us with how much she is learning and how fast she is learning.  She is busy in Paso a Paso learning her colors, shapes, and numbers and entertaining us with her obsession of singing and song writing.  She's recently added choreography to her growing list of skills.  She brings so much joy and laughter to our hearts and home.  She has adjusted well to the climate, culture, and language and is blossoming.  My heart is so thankful.  

Perhaps the biggest news of all is that we are now living in our own apartment!  We found a super nice apartment and have been here for a full week as of today.  We still lack television, phone, and Internet services and our washer and dryer are waiting to be connected, but we are hoping to find a remedy to those issues soon!  We are so excited to be living in our own place and today we braved "El Centro" (a jam-packed market type setting where you can bargain and banter) to buy some necessary items for our apartment.  I (Kristi) have secretly fallen in love with the whole ability to bargain and surprise some people here that I am not just an oblivious "gringa".  Our next task, trying to find an affordable car!  

We hope to be able to see many of you soon!  We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and want to express just how "thankful" we are for each of you.  We want to say a special thank you to those of you that have been supporting us with your prayers--Your prayers have truly been felt here.  Also, for those of you that are supporting us financially--we are truly grateful.  Your monetary gifts have been invaluable to us.  They have helped to alleviate some of our moving expenses and transportation expenses.  We are thankful for such loving and giving people in our lives!

Love,

Sergio, Kristi, & Isabella

Below are a few pictures of the construction process, Sergio preaching, and the lovely, Miss Isabella! xoxo