I've wanted to go on a mission trip to Colombia for about a year and a half. I finally found one in August 2014 that I could afford, and I immediately got involved. Even though I had to front all of the money out of pocket, I created a fundraiser website to help me along, since I was on a tight budget.
The fundraising was completely wonderful. In two months' time I raised enough to equal what I had paid already. It was such a blessing that others were willing to help me. Soma of Christ Church in Tuscaloosa was a major contributor, and I am so grateful to them. I haven't ever been to their church, but they chose to partner with me on this adventure. I look forward to visiting their church in the future and talking about my experience in Colombia.
We went to the city of Medellín, a city that has approximately 3.5 million people in the metro area, like Seattle. Where I live is more spread out though, so there are fewer people per mile than in Medellín.
The city is renown for their Christmas displays, the largest escalator system in the world, and their business innovation. They use the Colombian Peso for currency.
I left Seattle International Airport on November 15 and went to Los Angeles International Airport. I stayed the night there. On November 16, I flew from LAX to Panama City, Panama, where I met the rest of my group. From there we went on the same flight the rest of the way to Medellín. We were met at the airport by Jen, who with her husband Tom, manage Fresh Wind Children's Center. We took a passenger van from the airport in Medellín to our hotel—The GHL Comfort Hotel San Diego. Locals just know it as Hotel San Diego. It's within walking distance of two shopping malls.
When I checked into the hotel, they looked at my passport. Later that night, the bellboy came to my room and gave me some banana bread and ice cream because it was my 35th birthday! It was a nice end to the day.
We were going to have a lot of adventures.
Continue reading about my adventures in Colombia.
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