Happy Anniversary to me!

One year ago, I moved into Torre Fuerte! That's the longest I've lived anywhere other than my parents' house up to this point. It's been a year full of changes.

One year ago, the night we moved in, our living room looked like this:

Now, it looks like this:

This was my bedroom a year ago:

And this is what it looks like today (other than the desk is much neater in this photo)

Definitely an improvement for the better.

Of the five of us who originally moved in, I'm the only one left. Then, there were the others who spent some time living here- the boys lived with us for 2 months, Abi spent about 6 weeks with us. My new housemates started arriving in July when Rae Ann moved in. Peter moved in in October, and Jessica moved in last week.

I've loved this first year of turning a house into a home and having a place to show hospitality. Countless lunches and dinners with friends, many unplanned, overnight guests, parties, hosting women's Bible study have given me a sense of belonging, right here, despite the endless traffic noise, the drunks outside my window, the homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk.

Today also marks another anniversary- 2 years since I arrived in Bogotá! Somehow it seems like it's been longer than 2 years (probably because our 3rd school year already started), but in other ways it's hard for me to believe it's already been 2 full years.

Here's to another year full of learning, loving, and serving!