B-Real

Last month my son, Nathanael, and I visited Bocachica. It was a blessing to spend time with just my son, as you can imagine, alone time with one child out of 8 kids is a treat in itself. He was ecstatic when we purchased the tickets and found out he'd be joining me on this trip. He couldn't wait to see his childhood friends, sleep in his old house, love on his pets to whom he had to say goodbye, and of course eat the Colombian cuisines.

Crepes and Waffles! 'Than's favorite restaurant.

'Than with Marcus. His family takes care of our house while we are in the States.

This was a hard goodbye. Marcus cried himself to sleep this night.

Back in March of 2019, our close friends, Emily and Ausberto, shared with us a vision of theirs. They want to open a Christian sports studio for the youth and young adults on the island. A place to train in sports at the same time as being mentored spiritually. They already have land where the studio can be built, but there are a lot of aspects that go into making this vision a success.

We later shared with vision with other people and when Juan David heard it he wanted to help. He put a team together and they came up with the weeks agenda. Juan David has a heart for Bocachica. We first met him in January of 2012 on his first mission trip to Bocachica. Since then, he has been to the island numerous times and our family has been able to build a close friendship with him.  Juan David mentors two young adults from the island. Not only does he spend time with Papo and Yaikder, Juan monetarily supports Yaiker making it possible for him to study at a private school in Cartagena. 

Yaiker, Juan David, Papo

"Than and I had the opportunity to cheer them on during a race that was held in Cartagena, Colombia

Yaiker ran 10K and Juan David and Papo ran 25 K

3,000 people ran this race

Not only was it a special trip due to sharing it with my son, it was also special to spend the week with a team from Bogota. Three of the team members we know well. I have missed each of them dearly. I loved reconnecting and hearing about how the Lord is working in each of their lives. I also had the opportunity to meet new team members who were amazing! It is honestly one of my favorite things about doing mission work. Meeting new people and hearing about their lives. I am so thankful to know God made us relational beings. I am thankful to have worked along side each of them.

B-Real team 

This week was dedicated to see what kind of interest the island would have for a sports studio. The team offered a week long clinic that focused on boxing and cross fit.  The clinic was for ages 12-25 years of age. The training was intense, but the youth embraced it with enthusiasm. In one of the sessions I noticed an older gentle man standing against the wall. I thought he was watching his child train. After talking to him, he shared with me that he wasn't watching a child, he was interested to see what was being offered and thinks this is exactly what the island needs. He said the youth have nothing to do with their time and energy. They often get into trouble which can include drinking and doing drugs.

Boxing training

The man against the wall thinks this studio is a must!

The ladies loved this! Even older ladies in the community want to participate.

During the week we had 297 young people who came to the camp. The last three days of the camp the team held cross fit competitions for each age group. This competition was comprised of numerous, high intensity, timed exercises  which narrowed the competition down to 40 competitors who advanced to the grand finale. The grand finale was held at the beach where friends and family members could come and cheer the competitors on.

The winners of the cross fit grand finale

This week was confirmation that the island would benefit from a Christian arts center. The locals want something like this as much as Emily and Ausberto do. It was a privilege to come along side Emily and Ausberto to see their excitement and desire to help the young adults. The youth need avenues where they can focus their time and energy into something positive at the same time being mentored. Please pray as they go forward with making this vision become a reality. There are a lot of aspects that go into making this center successful.

 There is big news on the island. We have gas! This was promised for years and it's finally here. The funny thing is the company which was installing the gas lines and meters installed 200 meters into various houses and thought that was sufficient. The Bocachicans took it upon themselves and told the government officials if the gas wasn't installed like promised they would protest by closing off the canal making it impossible for the cargo ships to pass through. Companies and the government would lose a lot of money if this protest took place. Needless to say, all house on the island are suppose to get gas before the end of November. This posed a problem for the school. The company would only install gas lines and meters to houses that had functional kitchens. If the school didn't have their kitchen done by November they would have to pay the company 1,500 US dollars to get it installed. Since the school did not have a kitchen we started on this right away, and thanks to donors like you, we were able to send funds down to get the kitchen in place. I received an update yesterday and they have the walls up and the roof ready to be installed.

Kitchen walls are up and stucco has begun.

During the week we also painted the 5th classroom of the school. This classroom will be in operation in January of 2020.  This was a nice way to unwind and enjoy the teams company. The team enjoyed seeing the school, hearing classes in session, and spend time with the kids during recess.

5th classroom being painted

'Than above and Karol below, enjoying recess with the kids.

Please pray for Bocachica, October starts the rainy season. This makes normal living on the island more difficult. It is an art to walk on dirt streets with rain. Not only is walking hard, rain means the chance of losing electricity increases. Rain also brings the mosquitoes. They recently lost a 5 year old little girl to Dengue fever.

The hill to my house. This was just a morning shower. Imagine it after a full day of rain.

Look how cute this family is. Rain water means bath time!

Why not play in a puddle?

This was another great trip to Bocachica. As a parent it is rewarding to see your child spend a week in harder conditions then he's normal to and hear his heart on wanting to stay longer. It was a blessing to know after living in the states for almost 4 years and seeing how life is so different here vs. there he never once complained. The heat, the rain, the noise, bucket baths, losing electricity, he was able to adapt. He even asked his dad if he could start working with him to save up money for another trip... (we will let him be a kid a bit longer before he has to go to work) I pray he continues to have a heart for people. That he can see people for who they are not what they have.

Thank you to the team for your time and dedication to the project. The week was a success and very enjoyable. May the Lord bless each of you for your hearts.

Thank you readers, for your prayers for Bocachica. The school, the sports studio, the church on the island and of course the people.

Blessings and love,
Tara