Back from Bogotá

I got back home from Bogotá Monday night around 9. It was a very productive and very busy eight-day trip. Thanks for your prayers. There are two main things going on in Bogotá: (1) the MTW church planting team, and (2) the Apprenticeship Program for new missionaries that I’m doing in conjunction with that team. Here are some of the things that happened during my visit:

1. I led the church planting team in a discussion of philosophy of ministry, and they were able to agree on a general one that will help them develop more specific ones in their various places of ministry. See this article for the difference between general and specific philosophies of ministry.
2. I helped the first apprentice (Nathaniel) get oriented to his program and went with them to choose a language school (for Alicia. Nathaniel already knows Spanish). Ideally I would be there full time, but he joined the program unexpectedly before I had planned to be there. So I’ll be making frequent trips for now.
3. I talked with the pastor of the church in the context of which we’ll be doing most of the apprenticeship program. His name is Andrés and his wife is Carolina.
4. Two other couples who will be in the apprenticeship program came down to look at the language schools and housing (Josh and Emily, Nate and Nikki). They chose which language school to attend, and found areas where they will look for housing once they arrive–probably in August.
5. The MTW team (Rick Box is the team leader. Other members are: Harrels, Parsons, Browns, Bolings, and Luptons) asked if they could all be part of the apprenticeship program. What I’m offering is something they all wish they had received. So now the two things going on in Bogotá have for most practical purposes become one. For now I will be guiding them from afar and with frequent visits. Eventually Phyllis and I will be moving down there for a while. Probably in the fall of 2013.

I’m very glad Phyllis got to go. She was a great help with her friendliness and thoughtful insights. The wife of one of the new apprentices-Nikki– told me, “I really like Phyllis. I’m looking forward to learning a lot from her.” And so she should. Below is a picture of us with Nate and Nikki. Most of the people I’ll be working with are in their early-ish thirties. All of the apprentices and their wives are, and some of the MTW team members. The only exceptions are: the Boxes, the Harrells the Browns and the Bolings. Rick Box and Joe Harrell are both my age. Joe and I were in the same class at Covenant College and we were both on the soccer team.