February 3-9 Shaking in Bogota

Early Monday, workmen showed up first thing to tell us they were on their way to Home Center to purchase new light fixtures - the one Mike was holding in the picture in last week’s post. The funny email did the trick. The head of the work crew had seen the email and thought we were seriously suggesting the $20,000+ chandelier as an option. Too funny! Sometimes we have our return taxi drop us off a mile or two from the apartment so we can get some exercise. We did that after work Monday and took advantage of the walk to buy a new charger for our office cell phones. Our office landlines are configured, because of cost reasons, to not allow calls to cell phones. Since we do so much outbound calling for PEF, we have five cell phones in the office with unlimited minute plans. Unfortunately, all but one of the chargers has been lost over the years. We noticed a street vendor with hundreds of charger - cords for sale and decided to check it out. We stopped, showed him our phone, he pulled a charger off his little board, plugged it into the phone, then bent down and retrieved a canvas bag. Unzipping the end of the bag, he revealed a portable battery, which he then plugged the charger into to show us that it indeed worked. The cost of the charger - $3. Down the sidewalk, we saw something new - a full-sized grill welded onto the back of a bicycle. It was attached to the back fender and supports extended down to the wheel hub. The vendor had it fired up and was cooking some kind of meat. The cooking surface was very large and we wondered how he navigated that thing through the streets at the end of the day. Very creative!

Installing Our New Lights

  

Tuesday's ride to the office took longer than usual, as we lucked out with a second-day-on-the-job woman taxista. She didn't seem to know where to go and went in circles for a while but we finally directed her to the right place. The Self-Reliance Training Curriculum Committee held a conference call this morning from Salt Lake City. As we gathered online from offices all around the world to discuss our work with the temporal welfare of our church members and others, I was reminded of the miracle of technology and recognized God's hand in inspiring and enlightening the minds of men to create such systems. The very best part of the entire day was when we arrived home to find our elevator repaired and running! We had the taxi drop us at the store for groceries and as we were dumping our heavy loads inside the front door after walking home from the store, Mike stated that if the elevator had still been out, he couldn't have carried the groceries up the stairs. He was that exhausted. It's the combination of: 1) 9,000+ feet of elevation that makes anyone gasp a little more for oxygen, 2) we probably have been overdoing it with our hours per week and then coming home and working until we go to bed, and 3) the street noise that goes all night (I wear ear plugs but he can’t stand them). And we thought this assignment was going to be a piece of cake. When every little job becomes an event, it takes it out of you. The man programming the phones was supposed to come today, but never showed up. Peru previously sent an email to all the PEF participants that our 1-800 number would be working by February 1, so the emails have been flying fast and furious from students saying they can't get thru to us. We feel bad for them, but one does learn to be patient as a result. Mike just rolled his eyes today when he saw the caulking job done on the inside of the front window. It looked awful and we wish we would have done it ourselves. I went outside to pick up the garbage in the afternoon and decided to sweep up the pieces of glass from the broken fluorescent tubes that assuredly came from our office. The broken end pieces were stuck in the street drain and I didn’t want our garbage littering the street. The rest of the people in the office shake their heads when I do stuff like that, but you all know my nature! 

Birthday in the Bogota CAS - Hermana Cely

The Elevator Finally Works

A tender moment on Wednesday reminded us of why we are here. While the receptionist was at lunch, the gate buzzer rang and I looked out the window to see a very ragged looking man peering in through the gate, one hand clasped around the bars. His humble dress bespoke his difficult circumstances. I buzzed him in, welcoming him to the Center and shaking his left hand, the right was obviously missing. He voiced hope that we had a job for him. He reached into his backpack and produced a Bible our young missionaries had given him. He told us they had sent him to us for help. I invited him into our office and Mike patiently explained for the next ten or fifteen minutes that our Self-Reliance Center does not have jobs to give. Instead we offer resources, free of charge, to help people in their own search for jobs or in starting a small business (things such as computers and the internet, a jobs website, volunteers to help navigate through the resources, workshops on various subjects, etc.). He talked a long while with us and seemed intelligent, even throwing in a few English phrases here and there. He presently works as a security guard, but the shifts rotate through a group and the hours he receives are not enough to sustain his basic needs. He had an email address and cell phone, so Mike promised to pass on any job openings that came through that sounded like a good fit. We offered him a drink before he left. He took it gratefully and sipped the cool water while sitting on the bench in the foyer. We thought he left, but five or ten minutes later, Mike called to me from his desk and with tears in his eyes told me to look through our office window to the foyer. I looked and saw the man standing with his back to us, silently staring at the large painting in front of him that dominates our waiting room - a painting depicting Christ teaching the Sermon on the Mount. In the painting, one crippled man sits front and center looking up anxiously at the Savior, elbows leaning on the rock, face resting on his clasped hands, a crutch near his feet. “. . . His disciples came unto him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:1–3.) "We are here for everyone, right? We don't turn anyone away," my husband whispered softly. "That is right honey," I said, as I kissed the top of his head. Mike's computer is on the fritz. It gets too hot sometimes, the screen goes black, then shuts down. And it is getting worse. Bad news. After work, we had the taxi drop us off at a little computer shop we scouted out two or three days before. They assured us the repair could be done in two hours, so we walked to the Andino Mall and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe Bogota. I had a small burger and a salad and Mike had fajitas. I really haven't eaten anywhere that made me close my eyes and think I was home, but this food was close. The restaurant itself needs some work. Oh how the mighty Hard Rock Cafes have fallen on hard times. On the way to the mall we passed a huge “technology commercial center”. One thing we have noticed about Colombia is that their retail tends to cluster. If you want a bicycle, you go to the bicycle streets, maybe eight or ten square blocks that are loaded with bicycle shops. It also applies to shoemakers, auto parts, sports equipment, and so on. Here, we saw hundreds of small businesses selling everything technology. Outside on the street, people were hawking pirated software, calling out “get your programs!" and waving printed lists of software and games for sale. I'm sure I could have bought Microsoft Office Publisher for $10.00 or less. The police, government, nor anyone else seems to care this is going on. It is done right out in the open. One enterprising gentleman set up a computer parts shop right on the sidewalk. We watched as he tore laptops apart, keeping the good parts to resell and stacking the ripped up leftovers by a nearby tree. Another young man sat nearby with an electric wheel spinning rapidly, as he applied some sort of polishing compound to the screens of used iPads, tablets, notebooks, etc. and buffed the scratches out. Mike and I walked through a series of booths in one giant store where every conceivable brand of laptop or parts for a laptop were for sale - hard drives, cords, chargers, battery covers, etc. Every part you could use on a computer could be found there. After dinner, while walking back along a different road to retrieve Mike’s laptop, we discovered a "sastre" (tailor) cluster and a fabric store (a first). I wondered if I would ever see one. I want to get some fabric to make a draft doggy to put in front the door next to my desk. It is an outside door that is padlocked shut (the key is nowhere to be found), but is never used anyway. A one-inch gap between the bottom of the door and the floor lets the dust just pour in. Every morning, all my papers, my working surface, the mouse pad, computer keyboard and computer are covered with a thin layer of gritty dust.This day was a two-birthday event for Mark and Henry, so we FaceTimed with them for the traditional singing and cake cutting. The green, garbage- truck cake, cleverly created by Laurel especially for Henry, was a hit. Our family boasts some very skilled cake makers that can rival any Pinterest post!

Recycling Laptops

The Buffer Man - Done While You
Wait in Your Car!

Thursday was phones, phones, phones day. They finally arrived and were installed, so we had a little class on how to use them. It was suggested the answering machine be programmed with a "For english, press #2" option. So guess who got recruited for that? Now, should you call our office, you will hear my voice, since I assume you would press #2 :) Here is my script, which is now etched in the annals of history: "Thank you for calling the Bogota Self-sufficiency Center and PEF Help Center. Our regular hours are Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (that's a joke!). If you know the extension number of the person you wish to speak with, dial it now. If you need the operator, dial "0" “. Pilar, who did the Spanish version, and I, had a few stops and starts with giggles, but we finally got thru it.

Telephone Training

Recording the Message

The Streets Here Are Pretty Bad - This is the First
Repair Crew We Have Seen Since We Arrived

Friday came and went again! The weeks just fly by. Monday was the middle day of our mission, so we are now on the downside - unbelievable! Mike said he does not have enough shirts to burn one. Two sisters from the Villa del Prado ward came into the office today to speak with Mike about a business fair they would like to hold for their ward. The most exciting happening of the day was the earthquake that rattled us at 3:47 p.m. It only shook us slightly for a few seconds, but we definitely felt it. Checking the National Earthquake Information Center website a little later, we discovered the quake was centered 166 miles NNE of Bogota and registered 5.5 on the Richter scale. We were too tired to cook dinner, so we walked a short block to the Embassy Suites, our new favorite, for dinner. It's actually a very reasonable place to eat dinner. Mike raved about his pumpkin-spinach soup and I opted for chicken vegetable, as I felt a nasty cold coming on.

I stayed in my jammies all day Saturday coughing, wiping my drippy nose, and feeling less than chipper. Mike went out and did errands (he walked 13,000 steps!), while I took a nap. I also went to bed really early and slept through the night.

The apartment was silent when I awakened Sunday morning. I must have been in a deep sleep when Mike left for an 8:30 a.m. meeting at the institute, as I didn't hear a thing. He and Edgar Gomez gave a small presentation on Self-Sufficiency to the Coordinating Council for the stakes and districts within the limits of the Bogota South Mission. They then delivered handbills to several stakes for our upcoming open house. By the end of Sunday I felt 100 times better. The power of chicken soup and rest!

Mike's Ad Hoc Computer Cooler