rain, rain, go away

As you can probably tell from the last blog, I had a great time with Sam! It was a lot of fun to be a tourist here for a few days, especially because I really hadn't been able to do that yet. It was so great to finally take some time to explore Bogota. The kids also loved all of the toys and candy from the US. Thanks again to everyone who sent treats to Colombia!

I'll keep you updated on things I might need for the Christmas season. Father Carlos and I are planning a clothes drive for Soacha for the internally displaced people who arrive there with only the clothes on their backs. They need jackets, pants, socks, sheets, etc... My grandmother (Toots!) is going to take the lead on this in her church. Let me know if you're interested and I'll have more information on that soon.

Father Carlos (Soacha) is in Quito until November, so I won't be able to work there for a few weeks. I'll start up again there on November 8th to talk about the health clinic that we are going to set up. The entire second floor is almost completely ready to go to house the clinic. It is really exciting to see this progress and I can't wait to get going in November.

Brittany and I have been patiently waiting for a clear day to start our project with the kids in Usme. The rain has been pouring down our past 4 or 5 times there. We have been using this time to go over key words in english (hill, dirt, shovel, etc..) and we even have a 'star chart' now. If they behave well, they get to put a star by their name. We just introduced it, and they all seem to understand, so we'll see how it goes.

We have also used these afternoons to go over our plans for the hill. The kids even came up with a name for the project: "la operacion de los pumas". We have huge trash bags and gloves ready for the kids. Phase one is trash pick-up because the hill is covered in trash. So, we have to clear it all out before we can start digging. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and we'll get started. Keep your fingers crossed!

Overall, I'm really enjoying Colombia. I just joined a gym with Brittany and Laura-Catherine and we're all pumped about the bodycombat and rumba classes that it offers. I'm even starting to become very comfortable with the transportation system here. Everything's going well and I'm really looking forward to all of the projects that I'm involved with here.

Thanks for all of the love and support!! Love, Kate

ps. The bishop just came in the office and gave me 4 lollipops. Two for me, one for Brittany and one for Laura Catherine. It pays to be the only one in the office right now ;)