Colombia - a weekend retreat

Apart from enjoying the city of Medellin, we got to accompany the students on a weekend retreat to the outskirts of the city - away from traffic, noise and buildings. The landscape was gorgeous - green hills and blue skies. It was a great time to be able to sit and talk with the students more in depth. We enjoyed the pool and the laid back schedule. We were also blessed to have our pastor and friend with us for the weekend. Pastor Peter gave 4 different talks based on the theme - "Rediscovering Jesus." Students were moved, challenged and motivated. We also had time to talk with another group of young professionals who joined us for the weekend. God is a work, moving in the lives of the young people in Colombia.

Peter teaching, Julio translating - a really great team

Students working in groups

Talking with a group of young professionals - how do we take the church into society

A group photo

Gorgeous weather! A great time to relax and play!

A surprise - it's a secret

The boys

Colombia - family and friends

Obviously one of the highlights about being in Colombia was the time we got to spend with Julio's family and our close friends. Julio's mom spent 2 weeks with us to help take care of Sam while we were teaching and busy with other responsibilities. Julio's dad joined us the last weekend, which was wonderful. Sam loved the opportunity to be with his grandparents. He also loved getting to meet other friends his age. Here are just some of the highlights!

With Julio's parents

Our friend - Deissy

Oscar

Hanging out with Luz Adriana and her children

Cousin Diorlis


Mary Lou and Cathy - some of our missionary friends

Sam loved hanging out with Manuel and Maria Jose

Colombia - ministry with young adults

We're back in Chicago after 2 1/2 weeks in Medellin, Colombia. It's hard to wrap our brains around all that we did and saw when we were in Colombia. Our schedules were so busy, between "working" and visiting people; there was very little downtime. One of the main reasons we went to Colombia was to teach young adults who had come together from Colombia and Ecuador for an intensive 6 week discipleship and leadership school called CBCIPE. We've had the opportunity to participate in previous CBCIPEs in Ecuador and Mexico and it was a dream come true to be a part of the first one in Colombia. This blog post will tell a little more about that experience and the amazing men and women we got to know.

The whole group, minus some of the professors

A group of great friends - Oscar, Pablo, Steven, Johnatan

Julio and I both taught 2 classes a day during the two weeks we were there. Julio taught the courses Evangelism and Theology. I taught spiritual Formation and Children's Ministry. How amazing to be teaching in the areas that we are most passionate about!! The days were long (especially since the first class was at 7:30am!). In addition to the classes, we ate meals with the students, spent time talking with them and praying with them, listening to their testimonies and sharing a common living space. We got to know them well!

Children's Ministry class

Julio's theology class

Lots of group work

Some of the other highlights were a weekend retreat (see separte blog post), cultural nights and the graduation ceremony. Each week a different culture was highlighted during an evening meal. We had food that was typical to that particular region (Ecuador, coast, Antioquia region), a brief presentation of the cultural highlights, and some fun games and activities. We participated in Ecuador night and Antioquia night...soooo much fun. We had everything from videos to pinatas.

The group from Antioquia (so much fun!)

Sweet girls! I loved getting to know Keidy and Bleidy

The graduation night was one of lots of emotions. We cried tears of thankfulness, friendship, and sadness for the goodbyes that needed to be said. God used this group of student to confirm his call on our life to work with young professionals in Colombia. We are so proud of them for the ways God is working in their life and for their openness to serve their churches and communities.
We saw God heal hearts and motivate students to mission. We are so grateful for the time we were able to share with them.

Colombia!!

Yes, we're in Colombia!! After a long day of travel on Friday we made it safe and sound. We were all exhausted by the time we arrived, but the trip went really well. Sam did great on the plane, despite being exhausted and the fact that he is a very active boy!

Saturday we had the day to settle in. We're staying at the seminary where Julio studied, as that is where CBCIPE (a discipleship/leadership school for young adults) is taking place. Saturday we did some grocery shopping, took a walk, took naps, and enjoyed some good food :)

Other highlights so far have been:

* Seeing friends we haven't seen in forever (a friend of mine from Ecuador who I haven't seen in 6 years).
* Visiting the church we attended for 2 years and catching up with people there.
* A typical Sunday afternoon lunch with friends.
* Spending time with Julio's mom, Sam's abuela.
* Watching Sam interact with all the students and people around him. He's so happy!
* Dinner at Crepes and Waffles with the Sanders :)
* 1st day of teaching classes (Julio is teaching Theology and Evangelism, I'm teaching Spiritual Formation and Children's Ministry).

Here are some pictures that capture our time so far!

Taking a walk and enjoying the beautiful weather

Sam getting to spend quality time with abuela

Sam with buddies Manuel and Maria Jose

Enjoying ice cream (i-team as Sam calls it) at Crepes and Waffles

Getting to visit with one of my friends, Luz Adriana, my wonderful co-worker at Colegio Canadiense

Just for fun!

These pictures crack me up - mr. personality!

He thoroughly enjoyed his smoothy!

Obsessed with daddy's keys

4th of July

How is it possible that the 4th of July has already come and gone?! What happened to June?
Oh well! The weekend of the 4th, I, Katie, traveled to Minnesota for a friend's wedding. Julio and Sam decided to stay home and rest up for our next big trip - to Colombia. They had a fun time celebrating Independence Day with the Yee family.

So, I spent the entire weekend in Minnesota, enjoying the time with family and friends. The night of the 3rd I went to my friend, Katie's wedding. Katie and I are friends from high school and a part from sharing the same name, we share many other similarities - both studied abroad in Spain, love salsa dancing, and love walks around Como Lake. The wedding was beautiful and elegant. Katie was gorgeous. And, I enjoyed the time I had to catch up with friends, Britt and Bryan.







Another highlight of the weekend was hanging out with bff Janna and her hubby Robby. You name it we did it - shop, trip to dq, hanging out at their place, leann chin's for lunch, etc. It was a great time to hang with them since the last time I saw them at their wedding in March.


I also got to see my cousin Nicole and her family, including baby Caleb (6 weeks). So much fun to see them and get some quality time with Nicole. I don't know how she does it with 2 kids.



Then of course I spent the rest of the time with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. We enjoyed a Twins game on the 4th (they won!) and dinner at cheesecake factory. Then, an early morning run/walk/roller blade, followed by a picnic breakfast. (pics to come)

Looking back on all I did, no wonder I feel tired. Now we're getting ready for our next trip - Colombia! We take off Friday...lots too do!