Thanksgiving in Colombia

It has been nearly three years that we have lived in Colombia, and Liz and I have just made it to Cartagena (probably the most well-known and visited Colombian city). As of this moment, I am sitting in the little jardin of our hotel, which is called Casa La Fe (House of Faith). At this moment, I am typing and enjoying some fresh squeezed orange juice and Liz is reading by the pool. We are leaving today, but we have enjoyed our stay here. Cartagena is truly a jewel.

On Thanksgiving Day, when our home country gives thanks and celebrates the founding of our country, we walked the top of the stone wall surrounding Cartagena that was built by the Spanish 200 years before our country existed as a fortress and protection.

We walked streets and saw architecture that wore its years and its beauty so well.

However, there are many gringos here, and Liz & I found ourselves being a little shocked since there have been so few gringos everyhere esle we have travelled.

Liz & I are thankful for this opportunity to be here. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit La Boquilla, a little beach village that seems very poor but full of life and laughter. We are thankful for two & a half years of safe keeping in Colombia, and we are very thankful for our families back home whom have prayed for us, supported us, and called us.

So I find myself in the house of faith being thankful.

The Next Race

This past Sunday, Liz and I competed in a 10K race in Bogota. Nike scheduled in many major cities a 10K race that would start at the same time and have over half a million people running. As a part of Liz's October birthday, I arranged for us to race, figuring that we had plenty of enough time to prepare. Liz ran this race last year, and I haven't ran competively for three years.

Nevertheless, we ran and enjoyed ourselves. It was truly amazing to see so many people running, walking, wheel-chairing (is that even a word?), and cheering. We met people from our church there as well as from our school. We talked with friends and met new people. It was a joyous occasion.

But, there was one thing that Liz and I both commented on after the race...how much fun it was to be with friends. This got us thinking about our friends back home whom we ran with and shared times with daily. We started thinking about our friends here, some will leave after this year and others will stay. In this big race, we were able to see the beauty of God and how we are all connected to each other in some way or another. We are a part of His plan, and that made us smile.

So today I write. My muscles ache as I walk up the mountain to my classroom. My wife wants to get out there and do it again, but this time faster. And, we both smile as we see a small part of God's grandeur.

Or, maybe I am on an Andes mountain high, or runner's high. Nevertheless, God is good.

Done!

Finished.

Today is Friday, November 3rd.

It is my very last class of my very last course in receiving my graduate degree in Teaching.

It has been a little over two years in the making.

10 classes

16 research papers

10 projects

1 degree

Good times.

Thank you Liz for the support. Thank you "The Brits" for the laughs and fun times. Thank you professors for coming and teaching. And, thank you Alabama for the Master's Degree. And thank you CNG for paying for it.

I will never be one...

But, I will always be a gringo here in Colombia. I had a brief minute today to do some reading in the midst of labs and graduate classes. I found this article from a man living in Korea teaching English as a second language. I read it and found a connection with him.

After reading the article, I was talking with a couple of my students. They were asking me if I like Colombia, (this is a topic often brought up by Colombians) and if I was going to live here forever. I replied that forever is a long time and that I love Colombia. This place is in my heart. Yet, no matter how hard I try to fit in, there will always be tell-tale signs that I don't belong. I am an alien in this land. This may be my home now, but I wasn't born here. I am gringo. I am gringo gigante.

I have never been one to fit in with the crowd, but I have never felt like a minority. The fact is, here in Colombia, I am a minority in appearance, language, and style. And it isn't easy to fit in. I am accepted, but I am not in the inner "circle of trust." There are millions of minutiae that I do not understand and probably never will. Yet, this is a lesson. It is a lesson for me along with other minorities and other second language learners. It is a lesson of love and hospitality. Moreover, it is a lesson of the beauty and diversity of His creation.

We are all minorities in some way or fashion. We all don't fit in somewhere. But His door and His banquet hall is open to all...

So, do I love Colombia? Yes. Will I live here forever? No. But, I am grateful for the experience and the lessons of being a gringo gigante in a foreign land.

Please check out this article that began this conversation. It is worth a look. See the link:
http://relevantmagazine.com/life_article.php?id=7307