Being realistic

I’ll be honest, this transition to Bogota has been harder than I thought it would be. I have been so excited to settle down and unpack my bags that I forgot how hard moving to a new place really is.

I think the first surprise was changing from a small school to a big school. This was a change we intentionally made, but it hard. I went from a staff of 7- all of whom relied on each other for survival to a staff of over 40 teachers and 30 support staff. It is a welcome change, but one to get used to. I still don’t know everybody’s names or what they do. Plus with a staff that big sub-groups form and the process of finding a “niche” is necessary.

I was also surprised to find it hard to know how to get around and what to do in our extra time. We live in the north end of Bogota and the school is there also.  It takes time and navigational skills to venture out of our area- both of which we are slowly gaining- but not fast enough for my liking.

I think the most surprising was just how distracted I have been from my relationship with God. When in a new place “survival mode” kicks in, and I revert to my earthly instincts of trying to do it all myself. I forget that I am doing God’s work and need to let him in to work through me. I forget to prioritize the word and just bowing before him in prayer. It leaves me dry and frustrated.

Finally this week I have began to feel settled. I am starting to feel the routine of my days and have had a spark to re-ignite my relationship with God. I am making friends and finding fun ways to spend my free time. I just had to let myself adjust and slowly adapt to a new place.

Please continue to pray. Pray we continue to adjust. Pray we make genuine relationships with our community. And most of all pray that our relationships with God grows and thrives as our lives settle into this new ministry.

I will leave you with pictures of my students… aren’t they adorable!!!

From “La vache qui rit” to “La vaca que rie”

For those that knew us in Bamako, you know just how important “laughing cow” cheese is to life. Not only is it inexpensive, but it can make a boring piece of bread just a bit more palatable. And if you are Becky you can work your baking magic to create the most amazing cheese ball.

Well, on our way back from the retreat (see below) we discovered the Colombian “laughing cow” factory! Sadly they do not sell processed cheese, rather a magical supply of fresh cheese, caramel, and all sorts of baked goodies! Win!

 

This past weekend Ed and I joined the teaching staff for a spiritual retreat in hot country. That means we went from Bogota fall to non-Bogota hot weather! I welcomed everything warm weather brings except the bug bites.

The topic for the weekend was integrity which is also the school theme for the year. I was excited to unpack this topic so that I can better communicate it to my students, especially since I was unclear of what it really means on a deeper level. I am sure a few more blog posts will appear as I process.

Outside of teaching times, we were able to explore the resort and enjoy the beauty of Colombia.

Around the resort was a trail of ancient ruins re-created.

There was a trail of folklore characters. Here is the “witch”.

We also found a zoo… with lots of birds, monkeys and turtles.

Sometimes us teachers are just a little strange!

This delightful creation we nicknamed “Colombia in a cup”. It has: shaved ice, strawberry syrup, pineapple, banana, mango, passion fruit, sweetened condensed milk, ice cream and a wafer. YUM!!!

A fun night out!

Working at ECA has its perks! Last week, Ed, my co-teachers and I were invited to a special concert given by the father of one of my students. Being new to the city, and not wanting to miss cultural opportunities, we accepted the invitation.

Well, apparently this person is a big deal in the Latin Christian music scene. We arrived at the concert and the line was out the door. We didn’t have any tickets so I was nervous about being able to get in. As we approached the door, I tried to explain to the ticket lady who I was and what I was doing. She thankfully flagged down the wife of the performer and gave us special front-section wrist bands. We were escorted to the front of the auditorium and sat down. I looked around and recognized a few of the people in front of us as families from the school. They had their children “greet their profe (teacher)” and we settled into our seats.

A little while later the concert started, and I was impressed by the performance! Apparently it was a CD release concert and was being streamed live via internet. I didn’t know any of the songs, but the blend of Christian and Latin music was fun!

Towards the end of the show, the singer got out a special award he had just been given- a Latin Grammy. That is when I realized just how legit of a performer he was and how much a treat this invitation really was.

As a way to end the show he had his family come up and sing with him. I was able to see my student, along with her family, praise God and worship together- what a fun experience!

One year

Today marks our first wedding anniversary. Not only is it exciting to celebrate an amazing first year a marriage, but it is a chance to look back and see how much God has brought us through together as a couple.

In the past year-

-We have lived in/visited 7 countries on 4 continents.

-We have started new jobs at El Camino Academy after suddenly finishing our jobs in Mali.

-We were forced to evacuate our home in Mali and have drastic changes of plans.

-We have grown closer together as well as  grown in our relationship with God.

There are so many things I am grateful for by being married to Ed. We both share a common passion for education- one that has taken us all over the world. Ed is the definition of calm amidst crazy unknown and transition. Together we have learned how to work together and encourage each other in spite of our differences.

Today as a celebration we decided to treat ourselves to a waffle maker! YUM! We had a late lunch of waffles, whipped cream and strawberries. Life in Bogota is rough sometimes

You can’t catch me!

The first unit my preschoolers did was about the Gingerbread man. For the first two weeks of school we read the book and learned a fun song!

 

As we finished the unit we made our own cookies! YUM!!

 

Mixing the dough

Cutting and decorating

And of course eating

(They don’t look too happy… maybe they didn’t like the taste OR they just woke up from their nap. You can decide.)

As part of the last lesson, I told the kids that my gingerbread man ran away as I was taking him out of the oven. Thankfully as he was running he left clues all over the school. We divided into groups and searched for the missing gingerbread man. We saw the director, the kitchen staff, the computer guy, and ended up in the nurses office, where the poor gingerbread man was resting from all that running. It was so fun to see the kiddos so excited to follow the clues AND meet many of the staff! Overall, a great first unit!

Setting up pre-kinder!

My  classroom that started off as this:

 

Ended up like:

AH- the joys of teaching little kids: lots of toys and lots of colors!

T.I.C.

Every country I have been in has had a phrase describing the foreign experience. In Spain it was “oh, Spain”. In Mali it was “WAWA” or West Africa Wins Again. Today I learned the phrase “This Is Colombia” or T.I.C.

Today all the new staff had a TIC experience when we went to register our visas. Basically the visa process is long and complicated, so we just follow directions when given to us. That has worked… mostly.
Prior to today we were told that we would need to have photos taken at a shop called “photo japon”. Roughly translated it is Japanese photo place where they wear karate uniforms and charge you too much for 8 tiny photos of yourself looking horrible. We needed them to get ID cards that basically validate our existence in Colombia.

Today arrives and everyone has their pictures and paperwork ready to turn in for this process. We head down town on a big bus and enter the immigration center.  I am first in line and hand my stack of pictures and papers to the lady behind the counter. She looks through my things then gets to my overpriced pictures and goes “no good, you need a blue background, not a white one”. TIC! Those Photo Japon people told us wrong! I turn around and ask the rest of the group what they have… everyone has the same white background. Now, what??

Well, apparently a very smart entrepreneur  has set up business outside the immigration office for situations like ours. He grabs his blue screen, throws it over the bus stop advertisement, then one at a time lines us up and takes our picture. Outside. In public. On the main road. At the bus stop. If a bunch of “gringos” were not a sight already, this definitely made people’s days!

We all wait a few minutes for the man to print our pictures from his street cart-style photo shop, then head back into the office. This time the lady accepts our paperwork and we continue on with the process of being fingerprinted and photo graphed. Finally after about an hour, all 15 of us have official numbers! We are legit!
After our adventure, we went to see a few sights in the area. Here are some pictures!

Apparently when you want to watch the Olympics, you head to the local park, grab a provided bean bag chair and watch it on the big screen! Woah!

And we couldn't help but join in as well!

Some of us "new staffers" with the Spanish teachers/tour guides!

Arrival

Lots of things have happened the past few days- here are some of the highlights!

HOUSING

The day before we left, we received an email that the apartment we had expected to rent was no longer available and had to be vacated in 2 days. Since we had not even arrived yet, it was unsettling to not know where we would rest our head the next day.

While in transit, we got word that the apartment was available until the end of August- not just the following day. Our coordinators assured us that they would be quickly looking for a new place, but in the meantime we had a home. Upon arrival we received word that the apartment directly below us is now available for rent- which would be a great solution. The only problem is renting apartments in Bogota is extremely complicated, so we just need to pray. Please join us in asking God to allow us to live in this apartment or show us another house quickly.

While unpacking we did enjoy some coffee- it’s Colombia of course!

MISSION PILOT

On our final flight out to Houston, we boarded the plane around midnight. After everyone had gotten settled, the plane did not seem to be in a rush. About 30 minutes later the co-pilot got on the intercom to let us know that the captain was not to be found and the airline was doing everything they could to find us another pilot. The passengers, Ed and I included, just started laughing at the fact that a captain just didn’t show up. Thankfully, at 1am they were able to find a pilot willing to make the red eye flight to Bogota and we took off. Never had that happen before!

NEW SCHOOL

Today was the first day of new teacher orientation. Besides the fact that we were all a little sleep deprived, it went well. I think the fact that coffee was served helped! I was also able to access my classroom and learn a little more about my responsibilities at the PreK teacher. Here is a picture of my classroom at this point. I should warn you that everything was painted over the summer so they left the rest for me to sort :)

 

Thank you everyone for your prayers. We are excited to be starting school and are gracious for your support. Bogota is cool- so we have been rocking warm jackets! So far my Spanish has come back to me- except for when I tried to order ground beef in French… oh, well it’s only my second day!

Counting the cost

The past month was the first time I realized how much I am giving up by moving to Bogota. Since high school I knew I wanted to live overseas as a missionary. I knew that I loved the struggle of crossing cultures, trying new languages, and most of all serving a God who is amidst every person. I went forward and have never looked back.

That was until I have been in the States for a while. I see friends getting married, have “big kid” jobs, buying houses, having kids, and living without the struggles of new places. And for the first time I want that.

Being in the States longer than planned has allowed me to meet new people, visit places and see wonderful things. But there has been a sense of detachment. I don't want to get to know someone too deep because leaving in a few weeks is hard. I don’t want to unpack my bag too much, because I have to pack it again. I don’t want to get involved to heavily because then it’s harder to back out. I live in transition and shallowness- and I hate it.

Last night Ed and I were talking and almost at the same time we said “Wow- I want to know so-and-so more. I want to be a part of their lives”. And then we paused. We looked at each other and sighed.

Life in the States is easy. We know where to buy things, we know how to get around, we already have friends that live nearby, and family within shouting distance. It’s wonderful.

But I have to remind myself it’s not what God has called us too. When asking his disciples to follow him he told them to give up everything. Leave your families. Leave your friends. Leave the occupations you know and love. AND FOLLOW ME.

God has asked me to be obedient without the promise of ease. Everyone is different and what He asks others to give up is different than ours. In my mind I am ok with that. In my heart I want to give up and live the “easy” life.

Please pray for me and Ed to continue to listen to what God has called us to. Pray He gives us strength to plant roots in Bogota and make it home. Pray we have the mental energy to invest into our students and not be distracted by the world. And most of all pray that our lives are a reflection of God’s glory.

8 days remaining

Tickets are purchased and all of our start-up funds have arrived! We are ready to FLY!

Usually I am not one for countdowns. I like to enjoy each day and when I have a countdown I tend to focus on the future rather than the present. This time is different. I am ready to go!

I am ready to have my own apartment and claim it as a “Trussell Sanctuary”.

I am ready to go into my new classroom, set up and prepare for all my students.

I am ready to unpack my suitcase.

I am ready to meet a new community of teachers and staff that are working towards the same goals.

I am ready to have a routine and schedule.

I am ready to be in a Spanish-speaking country and learn all sorts of new things.

I am ready to meet my students and see their adorable faces.

I am ready to see what  God is going to do this year and how He is going to shape us.

Although I am ready to leave, there are many fun things going on as well. I am in the middle of a week of 4 weddings- one of which I am a bridesmaid. I also am going to get together with family, and hopefully finish all our shopping. Time will fly- but I am blessed to leave on such a good note.

God knew what he was doing bringing us to Oregon early. We were able to make good connections with our churches. We have been able to visit with a lot of family and friends that would have been overlooked. We were able to travel to our missions orientation and connect with the new wave of TeachBeyond workers. And most of all we were given time to grieve, grow and transition. Because of this extra time I know we are READY for Colombia and what God has planned next!

During our trip to Chicago we were able to visit our Mali friend Hilary (and her fiance and sister)! We went to 6 flags as part of the festivities.

Then my dear friend Elise got married! It was a fun wedding!