Lenna's Turn

Buenos dias amigos,

It's Friday morning and we have finished breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs "con tomates y cebollas" - with tomatoes and onions. Everywhere we eat, it is customary to be served some kind of fresh fruit juice. It is thicker than the juice we are used to in the states, and it does have sugar added, but it sure is delicioso! The hotel we are at in Neiva only includes breakfast for us, so we have to go out for lunch and dinner. We are having a great time trying out different places to eat, which are very different from what we are used to. There's no air conditioning and many of them are outside. But the food is great. Believe it or not, there is a Mexican restaurant (Colombian food is quite different from Mexican food) about a block away and they serve amazing food. We have been there for at least two meals so far. Last night we went out for pizza because we wanted to know how they eat it here in Neiva. Well, it was quite good, but they do not use any tomato sauce on it. What they did have on it was fresh cheese. Apparently, there is a cheese factory right here in Neiva. Mmmmm....!

Okay, enough about food. We are constantly amazed at the politeness of the people here. They love to serve and it shows. The hotel we are at (Hotel Pacande) is often used by adoptive families and the staff clearly enjoy playing a part in the adoptions taking place. When Yamile arrived, they congratulated her and talked to her about her new family, giving her special attention. It was very dear. There is another family here with an adorable little Colombian boy who is 27 months old. They are Italian, so we sort of use Spanish mixed with their Italian to try to communicate. Muy interesante! (Very interesting!)

The hotel we are staying in here in Neiva is quite comfortable. We have a suite with a queen sized bed, another "small" queen sleeper couch, and a twin bed. There is an outside patio with table and chairs. The bathroom is enormous, with both a spa-style tub with jets (big enough to swim in!) and a shower with lots of interesting gadgets. We can adjust the water to come out from about four different directions, and we can add steam if we feel like using it for a sauna. The water can come out from directly overhead- like a rainshower; it can come out of a regular shower nozzle; it can come out on your entire torso, so you can use it for a back massage; or it comes out in something we aren't quite sure what it is, but you can remove it from the wall and put it at your feet. There is a built in remote in this amazing shower that we haven't even completely figured out, but we know we can use it to light up the shower stall, or even pipe in music. So...not to worry. We're all keeping very clean!! :)

Before we traveled, I managed to get ahold of a couple of bilingual children's books and a Children's Spanish picture Bible. I am so wishing we had brought a whole pile of books, as we have discovered that Yamile is a lot like her big sister, Rebecca. She absolutely loves to read, and she is good at it. She picked up her children's Bible and started at the beginning. I think she is about 3/4 of the way through it already!

Again, like her big sisters, Yamile appears to be capable of handling electronics very well....at least....my ipod! She's getting familiar with the game of Tetris. And she gets a kick out of the Spanish kid's music we downloaded for her.

Much to my surprise and delight, Yamile's foster mother prepared a little photo album for us and Yamile. I could harldly believe my eyes when I discovered a photo of our daughter when she was only two!! It's the only one of her when she was little, but it is one we will treasure. It's clear to us that Yamile has been cared for and loved by the people who have been involved in her young life. We are so thankful to the Lord for this. He is so faithful!

Geof and I want you all to know we love reading your comments. Keep them coming! It helps us feel connected. Our love to you all.