Hello to all of you. I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and gearing up for a gleeful Groundhog's Day. Life has been quite adventurous the past few months. Some major changes have been made to the orphanage (from now on it will be called The Beehive). About 3 months ago, Catherine and I decided that it would be best for the orphanage and for us if we moved back to the States. For work reasons we decided I could best serve the orphanage by moving back home and fundraising part time, while Catherine and I find work and begin a new phase of life in Portland. The following will catch you up to date on what is happening with the Beehive and our transition back to the States.



The Buzz
The girls in The Beehive had a wonderful Christmas break, starting with a series of Novenas (which is a Latin American tradition), which included two nights of festive parties with singing, dancing and eating traditional Colombian Christmas food. The motive of the parties was to invite people (many of whom were representatives from big businesses) to the orphanage to meet the girls and get involved in supporting the orphanage. We choreographed songs and dances that the girls performed (pic to the right is of the girls striking a pose in their festive outfits) and I made chocolate truffles for the guests. There were about 4o guests between the two nights and many expressed interest
in getting their businesses to help sponsor the orphanage during 2009. The night after we had our Christmas party with the girls and they were so excited to open their presents. I think it was the first Christmas anyone of them had spent in a warm home with presents and food and no drunk relatives. (The pic to the right is of a very excited Nataly and Sarita, who fell asleep in Santa Claus's arms.) Thank you to the Timberview Church small group for donating money to purchase the gifts.


One of the changes that will come about is that we will be adding 8-10 girls to the orphanage over the next few months and this will be an adjustment not only for the volunteer staff but also the girls who are currently living in the house. We continue to rely on God to provide for these wonderful little girls as he continues to surprise us with the people he brings to us.


My work with the church and the orphanage will continue but will take on a different role. I will be visiting churches and speaking with people about our plans to developing the orphanage into a self-sustaining home. If you would be interested in hearing about the orphanage and how we are working towards self-sustainability please write me at grady.jacob@gmail.com



Seeing Colombia


Before Christmas Catherine and I went on our long awaited trip through northern Colombia. We had been planning this trip for months and due to both our demanding jobs we had seen very little of Colombia. The church paid for our tickets to and from the coast as a wedding gift, which was a huge blessing. We had a wonderful time first spending a week on a remote island in the Caribbean called Providencia (the first pic) and then traveled up the coast passing through Santa Marta, Taganga, Cabo de la Vela, Parque Tayrona (second pic) and then ending up in Cartagena (the third pic) where we first fell in love... aaaaaaaah, I know 'how sweet'! It was a wonderful trip and reminded us both just how beautiful Colombia really is. I would encourage anyone to travel through Colombia; in my opinion, Parque Tayrona is one of the most beautiful places in the world (oh, and there is a 17,000 ft peak that comes right out of the ocean, which is breath-taking that close to the ocean).









Starting Over


The familiar chatter of people discussing relationships, politics or classes fills the coffee shop in north Spokane. Despite that everything is in English and it's freeeeezing outside, its the little things that remind me most that I am no longer in Bogota, Colombia. For starters: searching for the trash can in the bathroom and then remembering its totally acceptable to throw the toilet paper in the toilet. I also notice how everything is so much bigger (roads, cars, houses, people etc.). I was at a gas station the other day and instead of getting back a handful of colorful bills, they were all green and much longer. Oh, and the smallest cup at the station's soda fountain was 24 oz. (again, everything is so much larger).


It's good to be back though, and life continues to be a wonderful adventure. One thing I have been thinking a lot about since being back is how I am going to keep the orphanage fresh in my mind. How I continue to remember the girls in the orphanage and maintain the passion to work for the orphanage while dealing with my pressing current situation of starting over again, finding a place to live, starting a business and on and on. Both Catherine and I are committed to working with the orphanage for 15 years or longer if God desires, but what that will look like when my job isn't exclusively working with the orphanage, is something we have yet to discover. However, two days ago I read the following passage in My Utmost For His Highest, and it reminded me of the very important lesson I learned while working in Colombia, that still applies to me today.
"If I am devoted solely to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will waver and stumble. But if I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity, even though people may treat me like a 'doormat'."



I will continue to update this blog and keep you all informed on what is happening at the orphanage. Thank you for taking time to read this and being apart of this ongoing process of transforming lives.