Termales el Otono (“Autumn”) – Hot Springs

Wow, only a few more days left here in Manizales, well actuall y about 1 full day. We have purchased our tickets back to Bogota for Thursday morning. 1 final day to prepare our kids for their first plane ride, their first time leaving their city forever. This brings tears to our eyes, we have to tell our kids that we will return here someday together again, just not in the near future, they won’t understand, they are excited, they are full of anticipation of saying hello to our country but I don’t think their little minds have got a clue as to what it will be like to say goodbye to the only city they have ever known.

Now, we are very excited about coming home but don’t hear us wrong, we LOVE this place, we kind of feel like this is home, the room service would be nice to keep, maid service, and cooks also help this feel better than home most times. But, as I was talking with our translator today, she said, its funny that you guys are very relaxed and enjoying your time here and it seems to have flown by, and moved quickly.

Yes our time has flown by but we will have to work through the pain and emotions involved in saying goodbye, (as Patty Loveless said in a classic song that I love, “… how can I help you to say goodbye, it’s okay to hurt and it’s okay to cry, come let me hold you and I will try, How can I help you, to say goodbye?” Maybe the kids will not even react because of the excitement of what is to come, but we know that it will come and we will be here.

Being a parent has made me ever aware of who our God truly is, being a father the last few weeks has truly given me insight into my stubborness, my weaknesses, my shortcomings that God must sit and say, “Te Quiero, Jose, I Love you so much even though you still don’t listen to me and jump on your bed and crack your head, or you can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes just to listen and be with me. All you are, I LOVE YOU.” That is what I feel like with my ninos at times, and it is truly amazing to see God work in my life.

This photo was taken today on our, we think will be our final day trip in Manizales and it was to the Thermal water pool just outside the city. The water you see here is a cool 107 degrees farenheight…Meg tells me that they have to cool the water down from the natural spring which pumps it out about 200 degrees farenheight…it was fairly warm ohhh and salty…no head bobbin hear…but thank goodness for the nice cool shower station just outside the pool…The rest of the resort/hotel/tourist attraction was surrounded by mountains and the beauty that we have come to see in Colombia. We will miss this place, and we will be back. Tomorrow is our final day and we thank the Lord Jesus Christ for caring us on this long and rewarding journey…and we thank you for walking in the dirt with us…see you all soon….