The Colombian Twin

I’ve heard it been said that everyone has a twin some where in the world.  I’m starting to believe it’s true.  We met Rick’s Colombian twin in Cali… he lived across the street from the house we stayed in.  His name is Juan Carlos and even without communicating very well, he and Rick were up to mischief from the get go.  They both love soccer.  They both think they are good at soccer… but Juan Carlos has videos to prove his story. 

We taught Juan Carlos and his kids how to play Ticket to Ride one evening.  Juan Carlos “helped” Larisa by illegally putting her trains on the board when no one noticed.  Later he got the Spanish/English dictionary and thumbed through it for some time before he came out with the accusation against the other players, “They are deceitful.”  See?  Rick in another body!   Larisa was winning for quite a while and he said it was because of his help.  When she ended up losing, he said she didn’t listen to him. 

Both Rick and Juan Carlos love Mexican/Colombian food.  The foods are so similar… the only difference is that the Mexicans use tortillas and the Colombians use arepas.  Juan Carlos hooked us up with some sumptuous food more than once…. SOOOO something Rick would do!  He also invited us to go with he and his wife to the neighborhood fiesta.  He tried to teach Rick to Salsa dance….. later he gave Rick a Salsa dancing video.  I guess his teaching skills require students with promise.

We didn’t just gain a daughter in Colombia.  We gained life-long friends (and cohorts.)

Neighborhood Group

We have recently joined a neighborhood group that meets every Sunday night… and it is so refreshing!  We have never been involved in a discussion/fellowship/party group before with people who live so close to us… in our neighborhood!  Imagine! (hence, the name!)  There are seven families who attend regularly ranging in age from 3 months to 80s.  I LOVE the cross generational mixing for our kids.  With our homeschool groups we tend to stick with people who have kids the same ages as ours, obviously so they can be taught together.  All the more reason I’m loving this group… a brand new little baby girl was there tonight.  So sweet.  Takes me back.

The stories that have come from the neighborhood groups at our church are truly remarkable.  We’ve met so many people at church who are there because a neighborhood group reached out to them when they had a need.  One couple was out of work and had a newborn.  The neighborhood group in their area didn’t know them, but heard about their plight.  They supplied the couple with diapers for six months straight.  It doesn’t seem like a huge deal… but diapers are expensive, even when you have a job.  They folks had never gone to church before… now they do… because of the neighborhood group.

Before we joined this group there was a family in our neighborhood whose child fell into a campfire and was being treated at a burn center in town.  They also had two other small children at home.  So the neighborhood group sent out an email and for twenty-one days straight, dinners were delivered to their house.  What a blessing!  To the giver and the receiver!

We’ve never really made it a point to meet the neighbors that live more than two doors away.  We are in a cocooning society, where everyone drives up to the their house, into the garage, the door goes down and you don’t even know what anyone really looks like!   Sad!  I’m not pointing fingers…. I have never seen the woman who lives next door.  They moved in over a year ago.  What a great neighbor I am!  My goal this week is to go over and knock on the door and introduce myself.  I’m usually home, so if she ever needed help for some reason, I’m here…. but she doesn’t know what I look like either.  ENOUGH!

It’s time to be neighborly.  Join me, if you will.