Hello from Bogota! Celia Allen-Graham, Jesus Becerra and myself, arrive around midnight on Wednesday in Bogota de Santa Fe, Colombia. Bogota is up high in the Andes, about 7,000 feet or 2,600 meters. Ani Pacheco is waiting for us with open arms and transportation outside of customs. Seeing Ani once again we know all is handled — Ani is our guardian angel for this trip. Celia and I have to switch on our Spanish minds which are a little rusty. Thank goodness we have Jesus with us — as at this hour we’re lucky we’re remembering our names and our passports much less the conjugations of Spanish verbs. We get to our hotel, 101 Park House, and settle ourselves into a lovely suite complete with a fireplace. We’re ready to get the fireplace going because it’s chilly here at night, around 40 degrees.

Thursday morning comes fast and we’re off to the S.E.D.E (pronounced Seidey) chauffeured by our dear friend Alberto Arango, who we nick-name, Don Arango (a former Bogota MSIA Rep). This is the Centre for Corporacion Movimiento Del Sendero Interno Del Alma.(M.S.I. A). This building is a combination of two houses that were renovated into one building that provides rooms for PTS classes, MSIA taped seminars, MSIA Services when staff comes, offices for MSIA staff/volunteers, registration room, waiting room with books, and a kitchen/dining area. We will be doing MSIA Services here, and the Blessings Of Your Ministry workshop and the Introduction to the PTS Masters Class will also be held here.

We are greeted South American style — muchas embracitos and basos — by Zarita, Ilse Arango, Ani, Yolanda, Sonia and lots more. Right away Celia and I get going with Services and Jesus meets with a group for their initiation talk. Lunch is grand because our friend and chef, Gustavo, has prepared a multi-course meal with our pick of steak or chicken. Yum. We look forward to a week of these scrumptious comidas. We finish the day with 6 ordinations, a little sopa (soup) and arepas (yummy corn thick pancakes) back at the hotel, do some email (watch a little CNN for a touch of home) and sleep.

Friday has us up and going. It’s another full day of Services, 5 more ordinations and then we begin the Blessings Of Your Ministry workshop. 45 ministers from Cali, Medellin and the greater Bogota area are participating with us. Our assisting team, headed by Ani as our team captain, is Zarita, Lucho, Yolanda and Leopoldo on sound. We fasten our seat belts and get ready to expand in our experience of our ministries and our ministerial blessings and the Traveler. It’s been a full day; we have a few emails to do (there are always details of the coming trips to handle while we’re on the road) and then to sleep and hopefully to dream with the Travelers.

Saturday morning starts at 7:30 a.m. We’re grateful for Spirit providing that special energy that gets us up and going! And what a treat to begin with spiritual exercises. Our day is full of looking at our ministerial blessings and the greater blessing in being a minister. During our lunch break we do 2 baby blessings, and right after lunch we get to listen live to John Morton doing an Internet Q&A from the Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens in Los Angeles. John even takes a question from one of our ministers in the workshop and we get to have our own special seminar as we listen to the answer. We end the evening with a taped seminar with John-Roger and head for our hotel. We’re just about ready to go to sleep, but not before getting some special tomato soup (that the chef makes just for us) and arepas, and, doing a few emails.

It’s Sunday and we’re up and running a little later because we’re starting the workshop today after the Bogota monthly ministers meeting. At the meeting, our ranks are swelled by 30 more ministers and the room is full as we all come together. After a little break, more arepas and te aromatica (tea made fresh from herbs) yum! We go until mid-afternoon with the workshop. As J-R on tape says “Baruch Bashan”, I am in awe of the grace and gift in each minister present and the loving and blessing present for me and us. We do lots of hugging and kissing and then go back to our hotel for a little siesta before heading out to dinner at Il Titino. This is a cozy Italian restaurant in the old part of Bogota. It’s our night with the assisting team and some key volunteers. The food is so good — I have a mouth watering tomato soup and a steak with artichokes and mushrooms. Oh the sauce is amazing. We laugh, tell stories on each other for several hours and even as we part for the night, we’re all still laughing.

Monday comes and I’m still laughing thinking of some of the stories told last night. Jesus, Celia and I each make our way to the gym. It feels so good to move after lots of sitting. Then we’re back at the S.E.D.E. for a day of Services. Celia and Jesus facilitate an Introduction to the PTS Masters Class this evening and 42 people attend. Participants seemed delighted to get an experience of what takes place in the first year of the Masters of Spiritual Science class called Creating Through Grace. Another rich full day under our belts, and yes, we go back to our home for the week and more tomato/asparagus soup and arepas and patacon (this is my phonetic spelling of these tasty plantain-y-type of pancake) in front of our TV. Then a few more emails and to sleep, per chance to dream.

Tuesday is the last day in Bogota for Celia and Jesus. Celia and I, in the morning before Services, visit a school for children pre-school age to 6 years. This school is run by Pablo Lipinsky. Adelaida, Pablo’s wife, directs a music school connected to Pablo’s school and they share resources. As I understood it, Pablo intended to have a school where loving would predominate in the teachings. He uses the Montessori system and loving expression is at the core. Children are taught how to send loving from their hearts, how to listen, to ask for what they want, to be responsible, among many skills. The atmosphere is very sweet and focused in joyful learning at the same time. Pablo drives me and Celia to the S.E.D.E. just in time for more Services. At lunch time I get to do another baby blessing with baby, Santiago, and his mom, Maria Claudia and Dad, Diego. Quite a little group gathered to share in the blessing, and Santiago relaxes and coos his loving and peace throughout his blessing to us and our hearts just melt. We do more Services and head home. Tomorrow is a travel day for Celia and Jesus to Caracas, so it’s a pack up night tonight.

Wednesday morning I get up early to say goodbye to Jesus and Celia. Alberto Arango arrives at 7:00 a.m. to take them to the airport. Ani Pacheco is already at the airport so they can breeze through check-in. Then Ani comes back to drive me to the S.E.D.E. and I do one last day of Services there. Lunch is a feast again and Gustavo make three different entrees and a sensational carrot soup. A little cafecita and back for the last half of Services. I bid Hasta Luego to Zarita, Ilse, Alberto, Yolanda, and Sonia who have been present throughout our whole week there looking after our every need. Ever present Ani takes me back to the hotel so that I can pack, do email and have one last sopa de tomate/asparagus (our new favorite combination) and patacon. Oh, I was so hungry I even ate Pringles and a Snickers bar to hold me over while watching CNN’s coverage of the Democratic convention, until my sopa arrives. Ah, bed is really looking good now, especially since 4:00 a.m. is just around the corner.

Ani is waiting for me this morning at 5:00 a.m. to go to the airport. She is like an ever-ready battery with ever-willingness. Ani also has this way of getting us through crowds, through the red-tape and at the gate way ahead of the crowd. Well, she is one of God’s little angels that watch over us when we’re out in the fields. I’m now on my way back to Los Angeles, very grateful for this time with our Bogota MSIA family, and very thankful for all the blessings along the way. As I sign-off here, I’m taking a moment to send Light to Celia and Jesus who are now with the MSIA family in Caracas which is having Services and another Blessings Of Your Ministry workshop this weekend. And muchisimo gracias to all who supported and assisted us in Bogota and now in Caracas.