My mom's quick trip ended on day 4 of novena..just when she was starting to get some of the songs down. The kids brought in new noise makers, including maracas made out of beer cans, and were encouraged to sing as loudly as they could. There was an 'angel tree' program at the cathedral where the congregation bought a special present for all of the kids from the poor neighborhood. Unfortunately, we missed the gift-giving night because we were in Soacha (dec 22), but it was big success, and there were lots of happy kids!
It was sad to see my mom leave Colombia, but I'm so glad that she was able to share some of the novena with me. Brittany and I decided to see her off at the airport..and it's a good thing we did. With all of the snow in NY/DC, we had to reroute her cancelled flight. Then we realized that they never stamped her passport when she arrived. We had to help her get a stamp, a tax exemption, and finally...a boarding pass. And not just any kind of boarding pass...the computer was broken so it was handwritten (without a date/time...amazing):
here are a few quick 'non-novena' highlights of mom's trip:
walking along calle 53 to find wrapping paper and ribbon to wrap the kids' gifts; skyping to family and friends back home; long, crazy bus rides to the missions, watching mom and clemencia (padre jose's sister) become friends...even though they don't speak the same language; watching all of the kids ask her questions in spanish; christmas shopping at an open market; coffee downtown at juan valdez, taking myriam and oscar out to dinner, with Brittany and Andrew, to say thank you for being our parents away from home.
Days 7/8. December 22/23. Soacha.
Having spent a weekend at Father Carlos' home before, I was so excited when he invited Brittany and me to stay there during novena. We met him at Soacha's novena on the 22nd. With such a small group, he really gets everyone involved. He asks lots of questions and really gets into the different topics of the novena.
After novena, we went back to his home. It was great because we only had to spend an hour on the bus (instead of two), and we were able to spend some time with his amazing family. That night, we had a big dinner and then left to go see the lights at a park nearby. The next morning we went on a long bike ride and then spent the afternoon coloring with the kids. We left early to go make some home visits in Soacha and visit a lady who just had surgery and was stuck in bed.
After the novena, all of the kids went upstairs for a little Christmas party. Laura-Catherine had picked up a pinata and they were so excited! We lined up the kids from shortest to tallest and gave them the end of a broom to take a few swings. When it finally broke, the kids went wild. Also, when my mom was here, she brought lots of gifts for the kids from the states that my Aunt had bought at a closing sale at an amusement park (t-shirts, bugs, dinosaurs, etc...). Thanks Aunt Kendel!! We came up with a great plan to evenly distribute them between the three churches. After the pinata broke, we handed out the shirts and toys. They were so grateful and excited about their gifts. It was a really special night.
We're going to Usme tonight celebrate the last night of novena. Merry Christmas Eve!
Love, Kate
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