Matthew West

Its been a long, but productive first day here in Bogota. We have just completed our 3rd and final drop off, and our team is all crowded back into this van that is becoming my least favorite part& We have about an hour drive back to the hotel, and I hope I dont lose my lunch& the shocks must have been optional on this thing& But it would take much more than an upset stomach to sour todays rich experience. I will not soon forget the children I met today, and the smiles on their faces. I got kisses on the cheek from little girls that werent my daughters, by my heart sure melted for them as though they were. I cant remember ever being face to face with such poverty, and the crazy thing is, I know Bogota is a far cry from the poorest cities in the world. Still, the differences from Bogota to the U.S. are noticeable from the time we landed here, and have only become greater as the hours progress.

Our last visit was on the 3rd floor of a church building. The smell of urine was pungent and difficult to ignore, but the kids didnt seem to mind. I found myself counting the minutes until it would be time to head back to a more pleasant smelling hotel room, and then it dawned on me; this is their reality. These smells, the trash everywhere, this is their life. I saw cows eating out of the road side trash. I saw almost as many stray dogs as people.

And in a few days when i return to my lush, privileged, better smelling reality, these children will still be here. They will still be the sons and daughters of a prostitute of a drug dealer. They will still be poor. They will still have the stench of urine, and the violence, and shacks to live in. This is their reality. And Im hoping our visit can add a little love to their reality.

-mw