Paperwork is out of here!

Okay Finally our paperwork has been sent to Colombia. Now this means that we are not even on a waiting list, that could take another 3 months. We are now hoping just to be on a waiting list before our one year anniversary of starting this huge paperwork chore -- June 12th.

Until then we wait.... and watch sand slowly trikle down the hourglass.



Who knows when our prayers will be answered... but we will try to patient while we wait. We are in for a long one!!

Patience is the greatest of all virtues.
Cato the Elder 234 BC

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!

After 13 years Nate still gets me the most beautiful flowers every year.

I am thankful every day of my life for an extraordinary husband!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy life!

More of the trip - Cartegena!

Okay are you sick of hearing about our trip yet?!? I am just getting started, i have finished the two days we were in Bogota, now let's blab about our two days in the most amazing city ever!! And our plane flying in to Cartegena looked like it was going to land in the water! (my first thought was the miracle on the Hudson!!) but the runway was probley only a stone's throw away from the water that surrounds Cartegena, Colombia. We went from the airport straight to the hotel had a debrief-- which was great to recap on so much that has happened. We then had dinner at our lovely hotel which was great that we did not have to be in a bus or plane for a couple of hours. (Nate's legs must have been cramped!) I know my butt was sore!! So relaxing at the hotel for an hour was inviting.

The next morning we got our new armed security guard, Cesar, and started where we left off. We visited with a few clients who have graduated from trust groups to individual loans. They receive more money than of the people would in a trust group. The first man was a hard-working man. Fabio, who started getting loans in 2007 and has graduated to an individual loan to invest in his business and offer better life conditions for his family. He sells homemade snacks for schools and small shops. He gets up at 2:30 am cooks goes to the shops and schools to sell his product and then goes to sleep from 9 to 2 and then gets up to sell his snacks to the kids when they leave school. He has 4 employees and has already started to look for someone to subcontract his work so he does not have to work so hard.

A extra business that Fabio has (because no one we met had just one business!) was that he had 3 tvs and an xbox and a playstation. He then rents hours for 1000 pesos (equal to 50cents) for kids to play. Ingenious!! Nate wanted to stay and show them a thing our two on their futbol game. But we had places to be. Our next stop was Claudia's.... she started as a saleswoman of products sold at corner shops and/or on street corners. It was there she acquired two of her display cases to begin her dream:

owning her own business!

She has been an independent worker for 6 years. Her services are selling premade meals, washing motorcycles, Internet cafe, selling minutes for the cell phone (which quite alot of the people we met did this) . She started with a trust group and that is where she invested in her very first business selling roasted chicken.

She had a very good location on a very wide street corner and quite a bit of space. Her short-term goal is to suit the place with a covered terrace and improve the facade. She is an excellent example of what opportunities you can give these great men and women by given them funds to start!!! Claudia wants to this place to call the attention of all the people who walk along the street. She was very happy!! This is a pic of her son Christian. He was a cutie.... but was upset that i did not know Spanish. I must not of fooled him with my poor interpretation of a Spanish speaker!!!

We then met with yet another trust group (what a great bunch they were!!) oh... they had a two women in their group who had not paid their loan that week, one had been in the hospital but the other was there and they asked why she hadn't paid. She said it had been a horrible week. You just felt so bad for her! The rest of the group discussed this circumstance openly and agreed to give her only one more day to pay it off! It touched your heart. This little girl was a cutie!!! I wanted to take her home. And she was enthralled with Nate showing her the digital camera with her pic on it.

Okay you may see a trend in our pics... we took lots of pics of kids and babies! You know of course!!!! But you really see the impact/ benefit the next generation is getting from these loans. Doesn't this little boy look like me?!?! He almost came home in our suitcase, but as thoroughly customs worked me over i don't' think i would have made it very far!!! Right, Nate?

Our last day :-( we really did not want it to end!!! The opportunity coordinators made it our choice if we wanted to go out in the field or just sight see this day. We were only in Cartegena once so we decided we can sight see some other time and we wanted to get every client visit we could out of this trip. And boy did we make the right decision. The final day we visited the poorest of the poor. This community was only 2-3 years ago the city dump of cartegena, the smells, the homes, were just depressing. But the people we met were happy and grateful and praised to Lord what they were given!! Amazing!!! What a show of Faith! This woman lived in this area. She had a store in her house that sold school supplies and medical supplies. She said she worked from 6 am - 10pm but so nights she gets no sleep because people knock her door to get medicine. She is the only one in the area that has medication, saline, pedialite, amoxiciline, and anything you can imagine. Obviously they do not have prescriptions! She was newly married and her parents live near by. She was all smiles!!And we just met more and more people. It's amazing because i did not even bore you with them all!! If you want to hear more about our trip or see our many pictures just stop on by our house and we will fill up your mind, heart and time with everything we saw!! If you let me know in advance I'll even make supper. I can make an authentic Colombian meal of Ajioca (colombian soup) Nate purchased some packages that you just add water and chicken to the mix. ANd we can pour you a cup of Colombian Coffee. Juan Valdez.... the best kind you can have! Juan Valdez and Shakira (the singer) is Colombia's Celbrities.

I can't tell you how much this trip meant to us, it was insightful!!

Just make sure to keep in touch with our next trip to Colombia... which will happen as soon as we can make it back and our adoption process (which is not going anywhere right now Nothing New?!?) Check us out at our blog: www.farandaway-ouradoptionjourney.blogspot.com

Also think about visiting Opportunity International's website www.opportunity.org to learn more or think about going on your own trip to see what they are doing. (ask Nate and I and maybe we will go with you!!)

Can you tell we enjoyed it!!!!

More, and More -- Make me stop!!

Okay so you just heard about our first full day in Bogota. Does it make you want to go yet!! We had an armed security guard with us everyday and never felt threaten by anyone. I just think Colombia gets a bad rap.

Day 2 - Feb 4th in Bogota

This day we visited clients near the historic center of Bogota. We met with another trust group, some of these members have been together for 3 years. We then walked to Chiciuron's shop/home. Chiciuron sells eggs out of his home and will also deliver them. With a loan from OI he was able to purchase a car to deliver to homes farther away. He has no employees sells about 20,000 eggs a day. note: in Colombia they do not refrigerate eggs so that is a little leery?!? He also told us that he has been dealing with his wife who left him. The volume he sells really hasn't increased that much but he was in major trouble with loan sharks before so his loans from OI helps him. The loan sharks charged him 20% interest a day, that took alot of his capital.

We also met Maria Angelica. She sells wonderful empanadas -- which are delicious! She has 3 children and 3 years ago she started a loan with OI now she is selling 110/120 each day which will raise her 100,000 pesos. She did say that everything is now more expensive (like her supplies to make the empanadas) but she sells an empanada with a bottle of coke for 500 pesos.

She cooks out of her tiny kitchen and sells her stuff out of a mobile cart. She rents her apartment for 250,00 pesos/month plus services like $20 for electricity which she needs in the Early morning when she makes her empanadas.

One other woman was a great inspiration... notice most of the clients are women?!? 87% of OI's clients are women Amazing right!!! This woman (i can't remember her name) sold arepas out of her home. Arepas are a traditional Colombian food which is ground corn and made into a pancake sortof. You can slice them in half and put meats or cheeses in them. EXCELLENT!! one great thing about this trip -- Nate and I found out the food in Colombia is wonderful, we will do just find down here!!!!

This woman started with selling arepas out of a grill on her front stoop. Now with a loan from OI she has a custom grill in her home and makes everything from arepas to hotdogs. She has been able to send her daughter to the university and she will graduate to be a flight attendant. She is a proud mom and hopes to take a vacation to Santa Marta soon!!!

Oh and didn't we take tons of pics of little kids. This little boy was so shy until Nate gave him a jolly rancher and he just lit up. So Cute!!!

Our last meal in Bogota was authentic as well... YUM. (can't you tell we ate well!) this sopa (soup) is called Ajiaco. It is a potato based soup with chicken and a piece of corn on the cob in it. the also served several toppings to put in it. Avocados, salsa, sour cream, lots of others. This is the national dish of Colombia. Also we tasted a great drink Feijoa it is a fruit in Colombia with sugar and water added.

Very good... can't wait for Cartegena.. off we went more flying. We landed in Cartegena and checked into the Hotel. Ready for another day... it is getting closer to the end of trip and we weren't ready for it to end quite yet!

Are you ready for me to stop writing yet... not going to happen! Still full of so much love for the country and the people we meet. And i am not even sharing everyone with you. Do you want to go yet? Everyone would just love it there... the people are so enduring and full of faith. It renews your love for the Lord just listening to their faith and what they have overcome.

Part 2 ... just getting started

Still Feb 3rd - (didn't i tell you it was a hectic but beautiful day!)

we stopped for lunch a shopping mall in Bogota. You could tell everyone was starring at the "Gringos" Then we headed for Paradise. When we got to the small village our van could not make it up the steep dirt hill so we got out and walked to Anna Marie's who makes beautiful buttons/broches out of bull horns. You would never believe it!! This is a trait she learned by working for a man who did this. She was not payed very well at all and soon decided to venture out on her own. Her sister and mother came to live with her after they were forced out of their home by the Farc (guerillas). She started out as part of a trust group but quickly relized she needed bigger loans and should graduate to an individual loan. She was reluctant because she liked the support and commraderie the trust group gave her. Now... she is dong amazing well. She exports her beautiful creations to Italy where they put the pieces togheter to create unique one of kind pieces. Little do these italians know they are made from bull horns that anna marie gets from teh butcher for 500 - 3500 pesos a pair.

Her business has done so well that she makes 4 shipments a year to Italy, and it takes 4 months to complete an order. She has employees that are paid per pice that they make-- and the man we spoke with makes 100 pieces a day at $1000 pesos /each. In Colombia 400,000 pesos a year is minimum wage and he made 2 million pesos in the month of December! that's as much as an executibve board member at OI in Colombia. ANna Marie uses her profits to by more machines for the shop and now.. in her family they have 4 shop/houses to make materials and she is also a Leader of the community. When women are abused and have no place to go she takes them in and gets them on their feet! Now, look what just opportunity she had with OI and all the people and children she is helping. It all trickles down!! And OI's goal is to really reach the generation of children and give them a better life!!! Mission accomplished with Anna Marie she is a visionary example of what you can become!

We took a shortcut out of "Paradise" we climbed down 256 steps to our van. FUN!!

We ended the day by going to the OI office in Bogota .... there is no sign on the door because they have a problem with vandalism. And this is better this way, the clients who bring their loan deposits can be at risk for theft is they see people bringing things to OI.

one long day behind us. It was a very rewarding day and more than i expected or could have even imagined. I would have never have thought that the next days cold get even better!!!

more to follow.....

Our Amazing Trip!! part 1

Okay, so much has happened since we left. This trip was amazing and in Nate's words "life changing". I am so pumped and energized about what Opportunity International is doing in Colombia. I could talk all of your ears off. INSTEAD -- i will post our entire trip on here and you can read what you want. I apologize now if I ramble on but i am enthralled to say the least!!!

So on the first day Feb. 2nd --

We traveled to Bogota, Colombia by way of Avianca airlines (which are really nice) from Miami. We did not get there until late so we got off the plane and went through Customs. Such a pleasant time..... We got our bags and turned around and there in front of us our just faces plastered to a large window looking for their loved ones. Neither Nate or i wanted to go out the door it looked like a riot. But soon enough we noticed the sign Adele was holding saying Opportunity International and were relieved!! Opportunity Staff -- Wendy Cox, Adele Nandan, and (Representative Director for Latin America) Jim Frantz met us outside the airport.

Our first steps on Colombian Soil!!! Jim Frantz is actually from North Dakota but has lived in Colombia for 14 years and married a beautiful Colombian woman and have 4 kids. They put us in a cab/van with one other couple who gets there 30 minutes behind us from Houston. The Embassy Suites Rosales is our home for the next two nights and we can't wait to get there.

"You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another." Leviticus 19:11

Feb. 3rd - (our first full day)

We meet in the lobby of the hotel our first morning in Colombia on our first of soon to be many Insight Trips. We all pile into a van & head to our first introduction to what OI is doing in the field. We travel to the outskirts of Bogota & sit in on a trust group meeting.

A trust group is usually made up of 28 people & then broken even further down into subgroups of approx 7. They have short loan cycles of 4 months & many of these men and women are in there 3/4 cycles! Max loan for trust group is about $4500 and min is approx $500. When they are on their feet and doing better and an individual is asking for more and more money to grow they graduate to an individual loan. The trust groups work exceptionally well because they work on trust and honor. And all of Colombia is Proud!! All of the other members of the group are responsible for one another's loan. If you don't make your payments you answer to your other group members. They teach 3 basic principals each week at their meetings these are what they want to bestow on each client. 1. Transformation first!!! 2. Training 3. entrepreneurial credit.

Because of Trust Groups, individual clients are not asked to stand alone against the risks of starting or building a small business. Instead, a group of 15 to 40 local entrepreneurs - mostly women - joins together, elects leaders and applies for a single loan as a group. Meeting weekly for sessions ranging from business practices to family relations to leadership training, Trust Group members grow together as they develop new skills. Because members guarantee each other's loans, loan-repayment rates of 98% worldwide far exceed those of commercial loans in the United States.

As we walked away from the trust group to meet with our 1st client we were stopped by one member of the group who wanted us to see her business (she would not take no for an answer) It is a all purpose store but what her granddaughter makes special is brooms and mops! It is a three generation store... with a grandma, mother, and daughter and boy is the grandma proud!!!

We stopped at a couple's home/shop who were making mattresses for $30 making $7/8 profit. They were a lovely couple who had two employees making i think 11/12 mattresses a day. The middle of the mattress was made with cardboard and styrofoam and then wrapped in padding and fabric!! AMAZING!

Next stop was Alejandra's bakery. Now this is probley the most meaning stop of my trip. She has grown leaps and bounds with the loans from OI. And remember her name because our daughter if we have one might be named after her! Her is her bakery sign outside her home/shop.

She started 6 years ago with nothing. She came from outside Bogota and no one knew her. So she convinced a baker to hire her and she worked from 7 am until 12 pm for $4/day. Her husband was a ex soldier and and also started to work at the bakery. Shortly after that she started making bread at her home and selling it at the town center. After Opportunity gave her a chance - she has been able to grow as a business. She know has 4 employees adn profits 20,000 pesos a day. They hope to grow large enough to have a rotatinf oven for the wonderful breads to bake. But that is 30 million pesos or about $12,000 american dollars. Currently, because opportunity took a chance with them they have 2 other loans... one is consumer credit for brick and concrete to put up the cleaner space they now have! They were such a cute couple and understood it takes a lot to make a marriage work!

After visiting the lovely Alejandra we headed for a place even higher in the mountains, an area where most of the inhabitants are displaced families a place that traslated into English means "Paradise" More to follow....

Hot and Sunny

We are here in Cartegena right now. We are getting ready to go to dinner. It has been really busy and hectic days. BUT so rewarding, it just makes us realize how blessed we truly are. I am still taking loads of pics and hope to share them with you soon. I will share with you the stories of these people`s lives because they are truly remarkable. Love ya all and sending you warm weather. It is 90* here and sticky but we can`t complain.
Chao mi familia y mi amigos!

COLOMBIA!

okay... we made it. We are here in south america. It has been one and half days of being really busy and seeing as much as the team down here can fit in. We will fill you all in on it when we get back to the states. After only one full day out in Bogota -- Nate is ready to come back and volunteer and do as much as we can. It has really opened our eyes. And the Lord really has our hearts set here in South America. Don`t worry i am taking lots of pics, and we are spending each night writing a recap -- between Nate and I, we remember more!


Can`t wait to share this all with you!
Love
Lynn & Nate