Sunday--Altogether Wonderful!

The timing of our trip was built around our being

able to worship with the church in Colombia

 on Sunday. What a blessing it was!

The extreme heat and humidity necessitate  an

early start for the service.

We "dressed up" just a bit as a sign of respect.

But, oh my!

Our hosts and the children were dressed up
 so much more!

This is the fabulous praise team, beautifully 

coordinated, along with very talented instrumentalists.

(That's the pastor's wife in the lighter colored skirt.)

I was delighted to capture this photo.

The little boy shown here came on his own and

sat down beside Krista Stotler!
He's not one of hers, but

here she is letting him video part of the service!

That's Martha Partlow in the background.

And here are some of the worshipers, including

Dakota Stotler.

They were so earnest and sincere.

After the musical portion of the service, we who

speak only English ducked out to minister to the kids.

Our fabulous Tony Avilés brought the message 

in Spanish. 

What a privilege and blessing the whole morning was.

And then came the afternoon...

speaking of privileges and blessings and fun!

The pastor and his family took us to a nearby beach

resort on the Atlantic Ocean!

This was a very exciting surprise for all of us!

I pretty quickly wimped out and retreated to a

covered, cooler area for the afternoon.

My friend Nita Cobb perpetuated the idea that I

"spent the afternoon in the bar!"

with this picture!

I was "watching" the very exciting (to them!)

semi final soccer game in which Colombia was playing.

(Of course, I did have to first inquire as to what 

kind of game it was.)

(And I was accused of not being able to see

around that pole anyway!)

All the wild cheering and air horns were so much fun, 

even though the back of my hair has holes in it.

Oh, that's a little off the subject and vain. Sorry.

We were served another amazing meal here.

The fish was the most delicious sea bass I have tasted!

I got to sit by the pastor and family.

Oh, to be bilingual. They are so lovely!

We could have shared so much.

I just must insert my favorite joke...

Do you know what you call a person who speaks

two languages?  Yes, bilingual.

Well, do you know what you call a person who

speaks only one language? An American!

After a trip like this, it NO LONGER SEEMS FUNNY!

Okay, back to the beach.

When it cooled off a bit I left the bar (oops)

and got some lessons in Mexican Train from

Phillip and Logan and the pastor's son, Daniel.

It was wonderful to curl my toes in the sand
and beat the guys. (Not really--the beating part.)

If there is anyone out there reading this who

thinks being a Christian can't be fun, I

sincerely wish you had been on this trip with us.

I actually thought at times I was going to explode

from the fullness of Jesus...

and at other times asphyxiate from laughing.


Stay tuned.
 I'll share more about both types of highs.