Fundacion El Camino

P.S....

By the way, I almost forgot... the answer to my trivia question: Colombia provides more than half of the FLOWERS sold in the U.S.

Also, be sure to check out the link to my El Camino Foundation blog. I have been updating the information about the individual children at the Foundation. The web link is located on the right column of the screne... just click on "El Camino Foundation." Enjoy!!!

I have also added a link to a YouTube video made by Pastor Carter Stucker of Oklahoma. He spent some time at the El Camino Foundation and created a great video about the home.

If you have any questions or comments, you may e-mail me at: sarita.butterfield@gmail.com

Also, feel free to leave comments on different posts throughout my blogs!

"Thank You" Doesn't Cut It, So... "¡MUCHAS GRACIAS!"

I just want to thank everyone for their prayers and support while I was away on this Colombian adventure. I seriously could not have done it without all of you!

I also want to thank all of my dear Colombian friends, new and old, for the wonderful time I had. I have never felt so at home in such a faraway and different place, and though I was very much out of my comfort zone, you took me in and made me part of your family.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog posts and looking at all my photos. It is amazing how many pictures one can take in two months, especially when living with so many cute children!!!

Thank you again and be blessed!


Yo quiero dar las gracias a todos para sus oraciones y apoyo cuando yo estaba en mi aventura colombiana. Yo no lo podría haber hecho sin ustedes.

También yo quiero dar las gracias a todos mis amigos colombianos, nuevos y viejos, para el tiempo maravilloso en que yo pasé. Nunca he me sentido en casa en un lugar muy lejos y diferente, y aunque era muy fuera de mi zona del Consuelo, ustedes me tomaron en y me hicieron parte de su familia.

Espero que ustedes hayan disfrutado leer mi blog y ver mis fotos. Es asombroso cuantas fotos una persona puede tocar en dos meses, especialmente cuando viviendo con muchos niños bonitos.

¡Muchas gracias y qué Dios les bendiga!

From 85 Degrees to 10 Degrees in ONE DAY!!!

This beautiful, young lady is none other than my little sister Jill. I was greeted at the Des Moines, Iowa airport by this glowing face. We contemplated reinacting the Gilmore Girl scene of running, embracing, and pretty much rolling on the airport floor (if you haven't seen it, you must), but at the last minute we changed our minds. There was a big embrace though!!!

A fun story about my trip home:

I had three flights: Cali-Miami, Miami-St.Louis, and St.Louis-DesMoines. On my second flight, I was sitting next to a young couple who were obviously from a different country, speaking a different language, but I didn't pay attention to which one. All three of us slept most of the flight, so I didn't speak to either of them until the end. Come to find out that they were from Colombia and had left on the 8:00am flight from Cali with me! AND their destination: DES MOINES!!! I couldn't believe this! So I asked them what they were going to do in Des Moines, Iowa, and they said that that wasn't there final stop. They were going to drive to FORT DODGE!!!! (For those of you who do not know, this is my hometown.) A very exciting meeting indeed! So we hung out with each other in St. Louis, and I led them around the Des Moines airport, too. God is SO cool!!!

* Note my awesome Colombia gloves and scarf that I found at a booth in the streets of Palmira. Yes, there are some places where it gets cool in Colombia. :)

A Dark Morning...

I woke up at 5 a.m. to say good-bye to the children before they left for school. It was horrible! Absolutely depressing!!! There were some who couldn't even say good-bye to me... they sort of avoided me until the last moment. I got to see them all loaded into the school bus and got my hug and kiss from everyone.

Piled into the school bus.

I spent my last three nights in Colombia, writing 23 cards in Spanish - one for each child. I didn't have any amazing Christmas gifts, but I decided to write each of them their own special message.

I did have some left over Mary Kay inventory for the women on staff at the Foundation and a special Spanish-English dictionary for Efrain. (This is why I'm laying Mary Kay bags under the tree.)

Last Night of Devotions

A bittersweet ending to a wonderful trip.




At the end of devotions, I said a few words since it was my last night with them. Not exactly the happiest moment, but I tried to keep it upbeat. It was hard to even just tell them how much fun I had with them and how special they were. A very sad evening...


But on a happier/funnier note: If you look on the left side of the photo, you'll see a child standing up. That is Felipe. He ALWAYS falls asleep during devotions, it's like clockwork with him, and he is 13 years old. So in order to break that habit, we had him stand up during devotions! :)

Mi Hermanita, Jesiquita

December 8 was another Monday holiday in Colombia. There are so many holidays in Colombia that most of the people have no idea which holiday it is. On this particular Monday, I decided to spend one last day with my little sister Jesica.

She absolutely loves the movie Madagascar 2, so we piled into Orlando's little car - six of us - and headed out to the mall - La 14.

Gabriela's niece, Maira, joined us. A very full car!!!


Maira and my little sister Jesica

FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIESTA!!!

IT'S PARTY TIME!!!

Our hostesses for the evening: Joy, Alayna and Natalie of Connecticut

Paulina, Natalie, Eugenio, and Sarita

Bring on the pizza!

Before it was time for gifts, there was a special time for honoring Gabriela. In this picture, Joy is washing Gabriela's feet while Orlando read blessings over her from the Bible.

The children took their turns giving their cards and flowers to Gabriela.
Esteban

Fabian (I love that smile!!!)

Ester Maria, giving her flower to her mama.

Each child got their own bag: a complete outfit, new shoes, and some toys or items that were personal to each child.

Just goofing around...

Three choices!

Brayan and Emilio (and Hermano Wilson) put on a little concert for us. They were amazing!

Fabian was the sound man.

Pinata #1 was for the younger kids... Alexandra, Winnie, Joy, and Leidi.

Look at them go!

Brayan, winding up to take a swing.

CANDY!!!

A big job of clean-up.

Empanadas!!!

What is an empanada???

Probably the best Colombian food ever!!!


A deep-fried shell, full of beef, potato, and other wonderful goodness!

Alexandra and her sisters-in-law, working hard on our special meal.

The amazing process...



Waiting... patiently... for my empanadas!

Luis Miguel and Marcos, showing off the fact that they have empanadas and I don't.

Kevin and Luis Alfredo also enjoying their empanadas.

When Obstacles Come Our Way...

A FLAT TIRE?!?!?!?

Good thing Orlando has done this before. From what I've been told, he's had to change several in his travels with Eugenio and Paulina throughout Colombia.

Eugenio was a big help. haha!

Pastor Francisco did a great job of stalling until we got there.

Eugenio and Orlando, doing their thing

Praying for the people.



Pastor Francisco's little girl.

Un Regalo Especial

A special gift...

Pastor Francisco is one of my loyal readers and saw my post about my visit to the Paradise House in the mountains of Colombia. [See post titled "Relaxing in the Mountains".] After the service at his church, Pastor Francisco gave me the book Maria, which is based on the true love story that occurred at the Paradise House.

Pastor Francisco lived in the States for awhile and is now an English teacher at the Christian school that the El Camino children attend. He has also been a translator for Eugenio at some of his services.

MUCHAS GRACIAS a mi Hermano Francisco!!!

English Lessons

The children weren't the only ones learning English and studying under my tutelage. Efrain has also been practicing his English whenever Americans come to visit, so we studied quite a bit while I was there. He's really doing a great job, considering most of his studying has been on his own.

More Fun @ El Camino

Bubbles & Sidewalk Chalk!!!

Kevin

Ester Maria

My little sweetie, Fabian, wrote this on the sidewalk. There was also a heart that did not fit in the picture. He was definitely one of my special little friends.

Pool fun!


It's amazing how cold it can be outside of the pool when it is 85-90 degrees in Colombia. This is Katherine, by the way. Absolutely adorable!!!

Hanging out in the children's "dining room."