quick update

So much is happening right now ~ My sister is here! First and probably last visit to us here in Colombia. It's been so nice to talk and talk, and she's teaching my kids finger knitting, and organizing all my books and yarn.

Presumably the peace accords between the Colombian government and the FARC will be signed tomorrow, ushering in a new era of nobody is quite sure what. There will be a plebiscite next week for the nation to affirm or not affirm the signed agreement, which has been made public in its entire 300+ pages. There are "Vote Sí por la Paz" signs all over the city, yet every "man-on-the-street" that I ask (mostly taxi drivers) are highly skeptical.

Six years ago this month we moved to Albania. I still miss it... though not as acutely as I did a few years ago.

So much more happening, not all of it bloggable... but mostly good things :-) The kids are doing well, headed into the last quarter of this school year and looking forward to Halloween!

Good things, September edition

One of my favorite things in life is working with intercultural young people. Or, in this case, young people in the process of becoming (more) intercultural. It is such a huge leap of faith for this crew of six (waiting for one more to get his visa and come from China) to have traveled so far outside of their comfort zone, and come to Colombia - from Mozambique, India, Indonesia, China, the United States, and South Africa. The past two weeks have been an intense but wonderful time working with them in their in-country orientation, learning about Colombian history, politics, and churches, as well as a host of topics specific to the work they will be doing here. I have been very pleased with their can-do attitudes, curiosity, and willingness to serve. Off they go today!