New year, new commitment!

Hello All

Well I have been back in Colombia for 2 weeks now and I think I have begun to thaw out! although it is the coolest part of the year here so in the evenings it can get a bit chilly! Despite the cold weather in the UK it was great to see many friends and family and catch up with you all, and eat lots of delicious foods that are not readily available to me here! I am now trying to diet in order to loose all the weight gained over the last month! 

Despite the extra weight, I was able to fit into my bridesmaids dress at my friends wedding on the 1st Feb, and was grateful for the jetlag enabling me to be awake and raring to go for the 5am start of getting ready for the 10am ceremony. Johanna was quite amazed at how awake I was, I even had breakfast ready for her and her mum for when they got up at 5! 

The Monday following the wedding it was back to work at El Refugio and getting to know the new team, I was pleased to discover our teacher has decided to carry on with us for at least this semester and our cook Esther is continuing on Fridays, so there are at least some of the old team around! I am also very happy that although Johanna has left for Peru, God has softened the blow by bringing back another best friend Rita, a crazy Latina from New York! along with her Colombian husband Franklin and their 3yr old daughter Isabella (Bella). We also have Lia, a Colombian woman who is working with us now also, taking over the a lot of the admin work that Johanna did, we are beginning to get to know each other and learning to understand each others way of doing things. Over the last 2 weeks we have had various times of team bonding with a day trip out last Saturday and going for a meal together on Thursday night too, and I think we are all going to gel really well.

In the meantime I am also going through the process of renewing my visa, getting all the papers done and paying the fees etc, please pray that this will all be smooth sailing this year as last time it was a bit of a nightmare! Also, YWAM Cartagena is having a retreat week in March which I will be going too.

All in all I am happy to be back in Cartagena, it's been great catching up with friends and seeing the kids again, and I am looking forward to all God has in store for me in 2014.

And the new commitment? Well to update this blog and send more newsletters as always!!! 

Many Blessings to you all

Petra