Our second day in Cartagena was full of challenges, but a lot of things that made struggling through those challenges worth it. We sped across the sea to Boca Chica early in the morning. I remember that when we arrived, Samuel Siza commented, “Now it feels like a mission trip,” which fully encompasses our feelings when we saw the fullness of the poverty these people were living in.
As the day continued, we ate breakfast and went on two different hikes around the island to two forts. We took our time here to learn about the history of the island and then took time to pray for the city on the top of the hill. Then, we were able to go into some of the tunnels that went under the fort, and which they had for communication and easy transportation. After taking a quick break for lunch and an afternoon nap, we went back out – this time to a fort on the farther side of the island, which was much bigger and much more like a castle. We took some amazing pictures and bonded further as a group. We then walked to the beach. As the sun set we all dipped our feet in the sea before heading back to eat and then have our first session to serve. After beginning with a rocky start we soon got the hang of it and started to really bond alongside the kids. Mr. Vargas gave a wonderful talk alongside his assistant, Tom, and had the fussy kids engaged for quite some time. The kids then started to play, along with some guided activities, and we ended the night with one last song before saying goodbye to them. On to the next day!
