Quiet

Things have been quiet at work, and I've been catching up on some reading - news, mostly, about the ongoing peace talks. I often forget that this country is at war with itself even though our work deals directly with the fallout from that war. I've heard Bogotá described as a "bubble," where it's fairly easy to avoid awareness or consciousness of the conflicts over land and the long legacy of violence that plagues the country. And yet we are surrounded by human misery. My children are keenly aware that there are many people in this city who have no place to sleep but the streets. We walk past them every day. We go to school, to work, to church, we have our routines, our Legos, our date nights. We live here. And I'm still trying to figure out what that means.

The fifth year

In honor of Gabe's birthday, here is a retrospective of his fifth year of life - 12 of my favorite photos from the past 12 months.

At a retreat center in Sogamoso

Not sure what the persona was here but just too cute!

Demonstrating a machine that makes hearts and love for the world

Alter ego!

Sweet and affectionate boy!

Loved the snow! in Harrisonburg, VA

A craft project from school - recycling!

Favorite Christmas present!

at the Children's Museum in Harrisonburg

I'm so happy I don't have to wrestle him into seat belts anymore, he does it himself!

Very interested in learning letters and reading

Pirate captain!

Outlet

Well! I ended up unplugging for much more than a week - more like a month! It was fantastic. And hard to get back into the swing of regular e-mail reading etc. But we're back at the office now, although it's been quite quiet since a lot of people are at MWC Assembly at the moment.

I'll be back over the next half of the month to post more about the delegation that came, our trip to Peru, Gabriel's fifth birthday, and more - meanwhile here are some "sneak peek" photos of all of the above.

10-year anniversary of Sembrandopaz in Sincelejo, Colombia

The community of Pichilín shares their hopes and dreams for sustainable life while remembering lives lost in a massacre ten years ago.

Feria de Huancaro in Cusco, Peru! My sister and nieces in background

Gabriel's fifth birthday and first piñata!

One of our favorite spots - the stone slides at Sacsahuayman above Cusco

Cousin time!

At a retreat center in Bochica, Colombia