The past few days, there has been some strikes and farmers protesting for better pay in the markets due to the free trade agreement Colombia made with the US and other European nations about 2 years ago. As a result of the free trade agreements, the local farmers have been priced out of business with cheaper imports and increased fuel cost. Therefore, the farmers have been on strike. At first, the strikes started in their local towns and as of Thursday, those strikes and protests are now in the center square of Bogota. Due to the protest and unrest, school was closed on Thursday and Friday for the safety for the students as they commute to school. Praise the Lord, we did not see or sense any of the instability in our part of the city. Please be in prayer for the government here as they try and settle the disagreements and do what is best for the country.

Sept. Update

Our heavenly Father continues to do a good work in us, transforming us into His image. This year’s theme at ECA is Service. What does it mean to serve? What is our attitude to be in serving? Who and how are we to serve? All these questions are what we will be addressing throughout the year. As it turns out, God is teaching us a lot about service as well, both at home and at school.

At school we have taken on roles to serve the needs of the school and students. Without a principal for the first month of school, Steve stepped in temporarily to fill many of those responsibilities. We both decided to serve as small group leaders and advisers for the new 9^th grade class. One of the girls in that class is currently undergoing treatments for leukemia. So we are learning how to balance service toward someone in need and not making them feel like a “special case” which many young adolescents fear to experience. Please pray for discernment and grace as we attempt to help this class navigate cancer while honoring and serving one another. We took advantage of a holiday weekend by having after school activities with our new group of students. Steve was able to have a great spiritual conversation with 2 of the guys after going paintballing. Please pray that the small groups this year will be a tool for the Holy Spirit to actively work in the lives of the 9^th grade students. This past month has been somewhat of a difficult transition of routines and discerning how to balance personal devotions, marriage, parenting, school tasks, and connecting with new students and teachers. Please pray that we will be able to find a healthy balance of home and ministry.

 This next month includes staff retreat and High school fall retreat. Please pray that God will use these events to bring unity to the staff and revival to the High School.