Bogota Kids Mission
I imagine most of you have been hearing about the earthquake in Colombia. We had just started class when the ground began to sway requiring us to exit The Bridge calmly. I recall standing in the street with all our morning students gathered round, looking up at the building and wondering if it was going to fall. While Bogota is 400 km from the epicenter, the swaying motion carried on for well over five minutes – long enough for some parents to return to The Bridge to be with the children they had just dropped off.
When things calmed down, we returned to class and carried on with our day fairly normally. We are relieved that Bogota was ultimately unaffected and we are all fine. Others were not as fortunate. Cali, Pereira and Manizales were among the cities most affected. There have been over 100 deaths, many homes and structures have been destroyed, and more than 3000 people are still missing.
Time is precious. We are not promised tomorrow or even the rest of today. Once again we are reminded that how we choose to invest our time and energies is important. It is challenging to work towards the future – often urgently at The Bridge – while realizing that if today is all we have, this moment and how we steward it really matters.
A precious one from a ‘recycler’ family that prayerfully we can steer towards a positive future.
More than a few of our students have come to us in, what I would call, an academic fog. We are trying to better understand what is going on with them and guide them towards a breakthrough. Positive futures for these children may depend on us getting that figured out and addressing the problems.
A nearby foundation recently came to us and asked if we would partner with them with some of their kids – half a day with us, half with them. We’re squeezing (currently two) kids in and seeing where that leads.
We also just began schooling a 14 year old mother who has a year old baby. That’s a first for us. Hopefully we will prove to be a safe place for her to continue her learning.
These are just some of our efforts to make each moment, each opportunity count! Your support, prayers and encouragement are invaluable towards that end. Thank you for being there for us.
Anita