love without limits

Hola de Bogota!

I’ve been here 3 days. It honestly feels like almost a week already. We’ve been buuuusy. 

So my team started off Link Year with training camp in North Carolina last week from Sunday-Thursday. It was a sweet time of speed-bonding and mentally/spiritually/physically prepping for program elements before the trip. 

We flew out together Friday (a total of 16 hours of travel time between all the transportation!!) and reached a host home for the night in Bogota very late that night. 

Early Saturday morning we headed up the mountain to the church we will be staying at to help with the ministry site. We are here in Bogota for 3 weeks, then we fly to Armenia, Colombia for 4 weeks, before heading to Ecuador!

The transition has been smooth travel-wise, but definitely challenging mentally and emotionally, as I’ve been adapting to a new culture and home life. God is already showing me how accustomed I’ve grown to the comfortable lifestyle of familiarity that I’m used to — There are times already that I deeply long for the familiarity of my home, family, friends, coworkers; things that are comfortable to me. But instead he has been stretching my comfort zone big time by throwing me into new situations where I feel helpless, and am forced in a beautiful way to fall back and rely upon Him. He has certainly been faithful in his provision and care for his children, and for that I’m nothing but thankful. 

So quick overview of our current location. We are living at the top of a mountain in Bogota at a church called “Formavida Alliance Church.” 

During the week, the church has a ministry program for kids, ranging at all ages. They have rounds of kids come during different time frames (one small group of about 10 in the morning and a big group or 70 in the afternoon). We will help teach English, offer bible stories and lessons, games, assist with homework etc. 

Over the weekend, we had about 35 7-12 year olds come stay Friday-Sunday for an overnight retreat — it was basically a VBS camp combined into 2 days. We arrived at the ministry site on Saturday morning and jumped right in with assisting in the program elements! It was a very tiring but exciting weekend. We will have the same type of retreat this Friday-Sunday again, but for 12-18 year olds. That’s one of my favorite age groups to work with so I’m looking forward to it!!

So living in south am = spanish. Literally. Everywhere. 

If you don’t know it then heck, you better learn it fast or you’re pretty screwed. Something I’ve felt strong about at home is my strength with relationships and loving others. I feel like God has enabled me with that strong suit so I was excited to see how it would be used during life here. 

I didn’t realize how difficult and frustrating the language barrier here would be. Do ask someone if they need help, you have to use spanish. To ask someone where towels are, you have to use spanish, to have a LIFE CONVERSATION, you have to use spanish. And for someone who likes to talk and meet people that’s a bit of a challenge. When all the kids would be playing I’d want to go up and talk to them and immediately be stumped and not know what to say. I could hardly ask them about their hobbies without reaching a dead end.

So this began to equal frustrating. I began quickly feeling useless. Like I wasn’t helping or contributing or making connections. Other people on the teams knew spanish and seemed to be way more useful on the team than I was, so what was I supposed to do then??? 

 Sunday morning I was sitting outside prayer journaling at the top of the stairs with a beautiful mountain view before me. I began pouring out my frustrations to God, asking him for help and guidance. It felt good to escape for a bit and just sit with him. I pondered his intentionality as I stared at the masterpiece before me; mountains, cities, and gardens stretched out for miles. My favorite things to look at. (especially Mountain View’s ahhh so much love for those) I began thinking of how WOW I was sitting at the top of stunning 14k foot elevated mountain which is my HOME for the next 3 weeks, when instead we easily be living in a home tucked down in the villages instead, with flat terrain and no view at all. Yet the lord placed us with a glorious reminder of his love every time we stare out the window or go outside. This thought brought me comfort of his presence as I continued to journal and offer requests to him. 

So, literally mid-prayer, as I was writing out my difficulties about the language barrier, a little girl came up to me, smiling, and said “hola” and I was able to ask her a few questions. I got her name and age (her name is Paula and she is 11), we talked about our families, favorite animal, color, and hobby (some of... okay, A LOT of those consisted of me using my spanish dict app hehe LIFESAVER) 

She sat down next to me and I showed her pictures of loved ones back home. We talked for 20 minutes until church started, and then we went upstairs and sat together for the service. I was mind blown. God answered that literally as I was ASKING him!!!! I felt like Eli in the Bible, when he was sent to find Isaac a wife and mid-prayer, his request was answered and he shortly returned home with Rebekah. (I remember always reading that and wishing that could someday happen to me AND AH. It did!?!! So cool.)

Anyways, she wrote me notes saying “Allison is my friend and I love her” and hugged me and laid her head on my shoulder. And it was then that I realized the truth in the well known phrase “love knows no language.” Such beauty in learning to love through raw actions, not just our words. Being able to exchange smiles, hugs, forehead kisses, and kids sitting in your laps. 

 I’ve only been here 2 days and have already found one of my favorite parts of the day is worship with the kids bc it brings everyone together. You don’t have to know a language to be able to laugh, sing, and dance together while worshipping the one who made us. You can still love others as you attempt to help make homemade pizza or when the cook laughs at you bc you don’t know how to cut carrots “finito,” or while playing basketball or spicy uno together.  

I’m grateful unity and love aren’t limited to words, but are instead brought about by the author of love himself. 

As always, I am deeply grateful for the prayers you send my way. I’ve been learning so much about how God answers prayers and believe me, I can feel him answering big time (even in the way that if I’m feeling discouraged, he gives me joy out of nowhere???? i have no explanation but the fact that I know I am being covered in prayer from all of you and that is SUCH a beautiful thing. So I truly mean I appreciate it because PRAYER WORKS.) continue praying for 

1.) prosperity for the ministry we are serving at.

2.) joy in my everyday life as I seek to live in the present and take advantage of the opportunities God has placed around me.

3.) That spanish comes FAST. Hahah yeah isn’t this soooo hilarious I can just feel all of the cfa people making fun of me rn hahaha but seriously help a sista out and pray over that ! It’s only been a couple days and I’ve been able to pick up a good bit already, but I’m definitely far from where I wanna be with it SO hit me up with alllll the prayers lol THX love y’all <3