Travels in Colombia & California Last week I returned to Central Florida from San Jose, California. Since then, I’ve been working on getting settled back into my normal life and work routine and taking the time to let you all know how it went. It was really great to spend the first 18 days of July in Colombia contributing to some valuable efforts to improve and standardize our Latin American training programs. I really enjoyed being with all the folks involved in that workshop – they are all godly gifted people. They sure kept me busy – everything that was said by the few gringos in charge had to be interpreted to Spanish and everything said in Spanish, from the devotionals to the presentations and the discussions, had to be translated to English for the gringos. As a result, I ended up talking all day long! I was reminded of one of my boarding-school teachers who was a little annoyed about how verbose I was in class. I guess the Lord decided that since I liked to talk so much, He had a good job for me! Some evenings there were documents to translate, although we also enjoyed singing together and even had a bonfire on the last night. The fellowship was warm, and the food was very authentic and delicious. Unfortunately, the shower water was cold! You may imagine Colombia to be a tropical country. Many parts of it are, of course, but we were in the Andes, above 8,000 feet, so it was long-sleeves weather for most of us, even sweaters or jackets until breakfast and after supper. In the second week, I got to visit with Latin American friends and colleagues, many of them former students who still occasionally call me “profe” (short for professor). One very special family even surprised me with an early birthday cake! Luis and Elizabeth work with the Nukak people who are making the transition from being nomadic hunters and gatherers. I also enjoyed a visit with Israel and his wife, Nidia. Israel does a lot of text translation and checking for us in addition to publishing the Spanish version of the daily Ethnos360 Prayer Bulletin by email and WhatsApp. He is also a former student of ours and a close friend. On the final Sunday, I was invited to take the sermon time in Petra Bible Church, pastored by the husband of a young (to us) lady who we have known since she was a child. She grew up with our kids in Fusagasugá. Edith and her husband Leo now have two young adult sons (Samuel pictured below). Time flies! I also got to spend a very lovely evening with an “arepa” supper visiting with her parents and siblings and their kids. When it came time to fly home on the 17th, I missed my 7:30 AM flight because I failed to hear the gate change announcement, but I was able to fly the next day. Then I had just a couple of days at home with Eida before flying to California to serve as caregiver for my mother, Mary Irwin. Mom and I enjoyed each other’s company (and my meal preparation) for the next couple of weeks. I had time to get some translation work done there as well as take advantage of the opportunity to visit Neighborhood Bible Church and some wonderful friends who have encouraged and supported us since the earliest days of our missionary career. Now it’s back to very warm and humid Florida. But we’re not complaining since our apartment and my office are climate-controlled, so we can enjoy the greenery through the windows. We are very grateful for your faithful prayers and support which make it possible for us to continue equipping Latin American cross-cultural church planters with resource material in Spanish. May the Lord bless and keep you all, Steve & Eida Irwin Ethnos360 Spanish Language Resources |
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