This is a Domino's pizza that I ordered in Colombia. Surprisingly enough it made it to our hotel in spite of the difficulty they had in spelling my name. It wasn't a particularly large pizza, or a very good one. We had to go cheap. We are too poor.
We've made the joke about being "poor" a number of times during this trip, but we obviously are using it facetiously. Many people in Colombia live in really humble circumstances (like the indigenous villagers you saw in our previous post), and they lack many of the blessings that we enjoy in the United States. That said, in one aspect we really are poor compared to Colombians. Colombians are rich in kindness. They're rich in spirit. They're rich in how they treat their friends, family members, and even strangers. While we walk around the streets with our eyes glued to our cell phones, Colombians exchange pleasantries and take care or each other. These past two days in Bucaramanga Haley and I have been the beneficiaries of countless acts of kindness. I may have served these people as a missionary, but in reality they are the ones that served me.
It began yesterday morning. Haley and I arrived in Bucaramanga at 8 in the morning after a 12 hour bus ride. We were tired, we were cranky, but worst of all we were early. We couldn't check into our hotel until 3, and we didn't have any visits set up before noon.
We decided to try our luck with Jackeline, a sister that I met in my last area. She and her family had since moved to another part of the city, so we jumped into a taxi and off we went. When we arrived at the house, however, we ran into more bad news. Jackeline was at the doctor's, and wouldn't be back for four hours.
That didn't matter for Jackeline's sister. We were welcomed into her home (which was next door) with open arms. They bought us empanadas, fruit (the picture is of a pitaya, a variety of dragon-fruit), soda, and even insisted that we take a nap in their own beds. We awoke to a fresh glass of blackberry juice and a handmade arepa.
Four hours later Jackeline arrived. We had a wonderful visit. She too insisted that we eat with her, and she made us delicious guanabana juice (soursop) with a plate of rice, pork, and beans. We had a lovely visit.
We were then able to check into our hotel to get some rest. We ordered the pizza pictured above, and collapsed into bed.
We arose early this morning in order to get some laundry done. Laundry services in Colombian hotels cost around 25 thousand pesos (about 7 dollars), but a bag of detergent (one dollar) and the hotel shower worked just fine.
The rest of today was spent visiting families. Each and every person we visited treated us like kings. First there was Kristhina, who took three hours out of her busy day to escort us around one of my previous areas. Here is a picture of her (on the left) with her wonderful family, who made sure to offer us soda and cake:
We visited the Mendez family, and were treated to ice cold water and pleasant conversation.
We also spent some time with Sister Clara, who cut Haley's hair for free and made us fresh guava juice.
Next came the Delgado family, which offered us yet more soda as well as pound cake. We happened to arrive just as the missionaries were leaving their house. We gave the american elder there quite that shock--we were probably the first "civilian" gringos that he's seen in over a year and a half. He literally started to tear up when we gave him a small roll of Smarties.
Next we visited the former bishop's house, where they took saltines and smothered them with caramel sauce--delicious! Once that was done we went to the home of another sister who took good care of me--sister Martina. We had an awesome visit, one that was accompanied by empanadas and coca cola. She wouldn't stop talking about how beautiful Haley was, and I'd have to agree.
We finished the day with Edison and his sweet wife Martha. These two treated me like family when I first arrived in Colombia--back when I didn't speak a lick of Spanish. Without hesitation Edison went back into his room to go get a poncho that he would give to me as a gift, as well as a shirt that he had bought in Cartagena. Martha found some jewelry for Haley, including some earrings that were shaped like sombreros volteados (a traditional Colombian hat) and a bracelet made out of turquoise.
I can't believe I was lucky enough to serve people like this. I don't mean to get overly preachy, but I hope that we can all learn a lesson from these people. They literally offered us their beds, their clothes, and their food. It reminded me of a quote from the bible. In Matthew 25 verses 35-40 it reads:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thrity, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and when fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
May we all try to be a little kinder, a little more giving, and a little more charitable like the wonderful people that we spent today with. If we all acted like them the world would be a better place.
Tomorrow we'll be coming to you from San Gil, a pretty little pueblo that is Colombia's adventure capitol. We'll be passing through Chicamocha, a really big canyon and national park. Be sure to stay tuned!
Konner & Haley
To me this was the best post of all! Proud of you two!
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