New Jerseys, An Awesome Rep, and a New Worker

Wow. I can't believe I only have tonight and tomorrow left before I leave. In one instance it seems like we've been here forever; in another, it's gone by in the blink of an eye. The same can be said of our trip 4 years ago (although when I came home last time, we came home as a family of 3), but this time feels different. I think the fact that I'm leaving my wife and kids here makes it feel differently, but I'm blessed to know that they're in great hands, and also that the calvary is coming on Tuesday to help out.

Today started off a little slow... Will thought it would be great to wake up at 5:30 am and hang out. The rest of us... well, let's just say the bags were still under our eyes. But breakfast was great, and afterward we headed to a place with Jen and Gabby that sells sports jerseys for cheap. We ended up buying jerseys for Will and me for under $35.00. That would be a hard find anywhere in the states, and they're great jerseys! We didn't get a chance to take any pics- maybe tomorrow we'll see if we can get Will to sit still for a second to do that.

After we got back, we took our representative here, Isabel Romero, out for lunch to Carbon de Palo. We'd never been there before, and we let her pick where she wanted to go. It was a great Colombian restaurant, and we had a great lunch there. We are so grateful for all Tia Isabel has done for us... without her, we wouldn't be the family today that we are:

We had a great conversation with Isabel at lunch about her career choice, how many families she's helped (and certainly there are many of us in West Michigan!!), and how much she means to all of us. We had a great experience with her when we went through Ally's process, but this time we just feel so much closer to her. She is a saint!

After we finished lunch Isabel talked our waiter into giving Ally an apron (both of the kids got aprons to wear while we ate). Ally was SO excited- she couldn't wait to get back to the hotel so she could wear it (apparently she was excited to get to work with an apron on). During Will's nap (Ally's rest time), Ally asked what she could do to work. All of the hotel workers were working, and Ally said, "All of the hotel workers are working, and I want a job. They're all big enough to work but I'm not. But I want to work too, Mommy!" We were appreciative of Ally's gumption, but there just wasn't enough for her to do. So we had to wait until after dinner, when Ally asked me again, "Daddy, can we help them do some work? Can we help them clean up?" So Ally and I went into the kitchen after dinner and went to work washing dishes. The hotel workers kept saying what a great worker Ally was and how surprised they were at her willingness to help. She worked until every last dish was cleaned, dried, and put away. What a great job she did! Here she is, with her Carbon de Palo apron on, and with Sandra, one of the workers here:

Here also is Juanita. I've talked about her quite a bit, but I think Juanita is one of the biggest reasons we love Hotel Paris so much. She goes out of her way to make sure we are taken care of, and we were blessed to spend her 50th birthday with her this past week. I think of all the people here at Hotel Paris, I'm going to miss Juanita the most.

One last post from Bogota tomorrow night for me, and then back home to the Los Estados Unidos. It's certainly bittersweet, but I'm thankful Beck and the kids will be in good hands. Please continue to pray for Beck and the kids, for strength to "go it" alone for Beck, for good health for the kids, for a quick Sentencia!, and safe travels home for me Sunday. I'll see some of you soon, and will be missing this country that I have grown to love.

In Love-

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will