“Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work
necessary. Yes, so long as God is with
me, I will not die. Amen.”
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Four months have passed since I have posted anything. It’s not that I haven’t had any crazy
stories, reflections, or news, but rather a combination of not knowing how to
share what is going on and finding the time to write it out. So in order to quick catch everyone up from
January to now, here is a short timeline of events so far this year:
January
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At the end of January, all of us in the SEED program went to
Barrancabermeja to visit a community called Micoahumado. Micoahumado is a community that is currently
experiencing conflict with armed groups in the south of Bolivar. We had a very intense experience there, but
it was inspiring to see leaders so committed to their communities and to
nonviolent resistance. You can read my
reflections here(I will post my blog that I wrote for SEED here when they publish it!)
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February
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In February we started spreading Ultimate Frisbee to
different communities in the area. We
first got to adventure to a town in the mountains where we got to play for two
days straight and since then we have been sharing the game with communities
closer by with hopes of arranging a tournament here in Libertad in July! (More to come on that later!) You can see a bit of our experience in the
mountain here:
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March
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At the beginning of March all the SEEDers came to the coast
to visit all of the communities we support in Sembrandopaz. It was awesome to listen to the communities
share their experiences with our colleagues and hear their reflections and the
connections that they see between where they are accompanying in Colombia and
the coast. Plus we got to make fun of
our teammates trying to ride donkeys.
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One of my friends and coworkers was in a motorcycle accident
at the beginning of March and has been in the clinic in Barranquilla since then
recuperating from a broken femur and a skin graft. She’s doing really well but prayers are
always appreciated for a full recovery!
I got to visit her three times and send the night with her. We even painted eggs on Easter!
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At the end of March, my parents came to visit! It was so good to have them here and share with
them the communities where I accompany.
They were such troopers and went wherever I had planned- Mampujan,
Pichilin, Libertad… It was so fun to share it all with them! And then we relaxed on the beach. It reminded me how much I like reading; I
haven’t just sat down and read for a long time!
I was very happy to share this time with my parents eating cow
intestines, riding buses and motorcycles, having translated conversations with
friends, and reading on the beach. Thank
you Mom and Dad!
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April
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Easter was fun! Just
like last year, I got to eat a lot and painted eggs with the kiddos. Fish, rice and beans, potato salad, and all
classes of sweets… It is my favorite week because everywhere you go, people
give you delicious food. And this year I
had forty kids come by to paint eggs. It
was a blast!
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There has been a nation-wide strike by the teachers so the
students have not had class for a while, which means I get lots of visits and
drawings by kids! Check it out!
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My neighbor dug a huge hole in the backyard because she had
a dream that her grandpa had buried a fortune there. They found salt water… I found this pretty entertaining.
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The rest of April has been full of getting into the swing of
work… It is a little crazy how long it takes for things to get started, but now
the leaders are organizing themselves and the work they want to do in the town,
the youth are starting to organize themselves as well, Frisbee plans are
advancing, and community exchanges are getting planned! It’s going to be a good year!
