My 20 Year High School Reunion

I am so grateful that I was able to come home to NC for my high school reunion this weekend! My family chipped in to help buy my tickets. I had a great time and it was SO GOOD to see everybody again. I was telling my mom about it afterwards and I said, "Ya know, I don't have close or intimate relationships with most of them but I just realized tonight that I really love these people!!" And that kind of sums it up for me! I guess going through adolescence together kind of bonds you for life! We had a weekend affair...Saturday picnic, dinner and dance in the evening and a Sunday morning service to wrap it up.


At the picnic. To see more photos of the Saturday picnic and Sunday service click here:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58868&l=23636&id=588229391

With my friend, Lisa, at the dinner Saturday night. For more photos of the Dinner/Dance click here:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58880&l=5a295&id=588229391

Cook-out with the Neighbors

A couple of Sundays ago we invited a couple of our neighbors over for an impromptu cook-out.

Luis Felipe and Jorge get the meat ready to grill.

Conny and Luis Felipe.

Luis Felipe fanning the flame.

Luis Felipe and his wife, Carolina.

Carolina and her daughter, Catalina, take a bite of the grilled corn-on-the-cob.

Carolina and Gloria. Gloria and her husband are good friends that we have known since we first came to Cartagena 11 years ago and they live about a block away from us but they had never met our next-door-neighbors so we invited them over to get to know each other.

We took the table out to the back yard to eat lunch under the shade.

Catalina is a beautiful 7 year old who loves to sing and dance!

I LOVE TURKEY!

Turkey is a place the will forever be in my heart. One of these days, maybe I will share my Turkey story with you... for now, the short version. When I was 13 years old I signed up for a Turkish pen pal and became friends with FATMA DEDELER from Alasehir/Manisa. We lost touch after about a year of writing but I never forgot her! SEVEN years later I was on board the M/V Anastasis with Mercy Ships doing YWAM´s Discipleship Training School when to my complete and utter surprise, I found out that I had the opportunity to go to Turkey on outreach! Here´s the long story short part... I got to go to Turkey and spent time in ISTANBUL, ESKESIHIR and I also got to go to ALESEHIR/MANISA to visit Fatma and her family!! Saying that was a dream come true is an understatement!! I have no words to express how amazing that experience was for me!! So...the reason I am sharing this so out-of-the blue is because I just saw on my live traffic map that someone from ESKESIHIR visited my blog recently!! Wow, I couldn´t believe it!! I couldn´t help but wonder if it might be someone I met way back when...maybe Harkan or Ergun... Sabriye or Meryem??? I kind of doubt it. It was probably just a coincidence. But wouldn´t that be awesome if I could reconnect with theses long lost friends after so many years??? I think of them so often and wonder what has become of their lives...

Yearbook Yourself!

I came across this funny website where you can make old yearbook photos of yourself...I really got a kick out of it! Here I am in 1952:Click on the entry title above to see the rest of the collection.

Check out http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ to give it a try!

Enjoy! :)

Wedding Bells Are Ringing Today!!

Congratulations to Valerie Bourassa and Mike Ryan who are at this very moment getting married in Ottowa, Canada!! We wish we could be there! Val was on staff with us in Bocachica for 2 years and will always be a part of our family!

Hangin´out with Peggy

It was great having Peggy Pulido over for the night. Peggy (from England) and her husband, Victor (Colombian), work with YWAM in the city of Bucaramanga and they also serve as the national pastoral care team for YWAM Colombia. They´ve been with YWAM for a long time and have served in China, Tibet, Trinidad & Tobago as well as Colombia.

Adios Astrid...Adios Yolanda...

Yesterday we had a staff get-together to say ¨goodbye¨ to Astrid and Yolanda. We all went to the movies and then the gang came to our house for dinner and dessert and then they all spent the night.


Astrid has been on staff the last 3 years and has been in charge of construction projects such as the clinic and community projects like latrines and floors. She leaves tomorrow for Bogotá.


Yolanda was with us most recently for a month and a half, filling in for Conny while she was home on vacation and helping with the medical brigade. She left today for Bogotá.

Cleaning up after dinner.

Praying for Astrid and Yolanda.


Erika, Marley and Judith

Martin and Conny