A Long Drive, Part 2, and Prayer Support

Yesterday when we went out for lunch with Isabel, she asked what our plans were for today. At that point we really hadn't made any, so she suggested that we go to El Corral- a hamburger joint that is about 15 km outside of Bogota. She said that it would be a great place to take the kids because they have a huge playland outside for them. We both agreed that sounded great, and then Isabel said, "I don't need my car tomorrow- why don't you take it for the day?" SWEET! No cabs, which means that I get to drive around again. And for her to let us take it for the day- what an incredible woman to let us, who she knows only through this process, take her automobile through a city where inches separate vehicles from becoming tangled messes! We of course took her up on her offer, and went back and told the news to Jen so she and Gabby would join us.

As we talked to Katya Paris, the hotel owner, she mentioned a park called "MultiParque" that we should also go to. That would work out perfect (weather permitting), because then we could also have something to do in the morning. She gave us the address, and we were all set!

So this morning we woke to a beautiful day- the sun was out, and there were only a few clouds. We were ready for our last outing as a family, and at 9:30 am we headed out.

Isabel had given us directions to El Corral, and then Katya said that MultiParque was off a road past the restaurant. So we followed the directions Isabel gave us, and about 30 minutes later Jen said, "There's El Corral!" And she was right- we now knew where we would be eating lunch, and it looked like they had a great playland for the kids. So onward we went to find MultiParque. And onward. And onward. Aaaaaaand onward.

We took the road that we were on until it ended. It ran directly into the main highway that runs from Bogota out to the surrounding cities. Fortunately we had been out that way before, so we knew where we were, but it surely seemed like the road we were supposed to intersect with that we couldn't find should have been closer than where we were. Well, a (really) long story short, we ended up driving for almost 2 hours. It was a beautiful day for a drive; we'll leave it at that. :)

We went back to El Corral for a bit, waited for them to open up, and then headed in. It was a great time! Ally and Will both enjoyed the weather, the toys, and the chance to just play around:

Here's Will going solo down the slide:

We headed home, and the rest of the day was spent packing and getting me ready to leave tomorrow. After dinner was bath time (one more time before Mom has to do it!) and now the kids are both in bed.

So tomorrow we enter Part 2 of the trip- Beck and the kids without me being here. If there was a person in the world who could handle this situation, it is Beck. She's always amazed me with her strength, and I know there will be times over the next few weeks where she'll be tested. But I also know she will draw on her faith and will be given strength to get through it. Fortunately our moms and one of my nephews is coming Tuesday (Ally can't wait for them to get here!), so that will be helpful. And we'll all be praying for Sentencia every day (and me every hour- all I know about doing laundry is that there are whites and darks. Whites get warm water, darks get cold water. And that's it, right??), so I'm sure she'll be home before we know it. But that's where we're asking for prayer support.

We all know there's nothing more powerful than prayer, and we've felt it from you all since we've been here. But Beck, Ally, and Will need it now more than ever, and we ask that you keep them in your prayers. Prayers for safety, comfort, health, and again, a quick Sentencia. They will enjoy the rest of their stay here (especially next week in Cartegena), but selfishly I'd like them home ASAP, too!

So thanks to all for your love and support. I'm not sure Beck will have the time nor energy to update this every day, but I'm sure she'll do a great job when she does. I've had a riot doing it thus far- my hope in this is that you all see what a tremendous blessing adoption is (and not pay attention to all the media that people like the woman with the son from Russia is getting). Colombia is an incredible country- the people have passion for life unlike anything I've seen in the US, and this is our second love, for it is where we began our family, and now have added to it.

From Colombia, with Love!

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will