Arrival in Colombia

Hello friends,

Welcome back to my blog. I apologize for the late update, so this will be a catch up of traveling and the last two weeks of me being here in Colombia.

So my squad and I arrived late at night on October 4th. It was a very long travel day, but it was so worth it. We flew from Georgia to Houston, and then Houston to Medellin, Colombia. We are staying right in the city, so we only had a 30 minute drive or so. We are working with and staying with a foundation that serves to help those who are struggling mainly with drug addiction. This foundation also has several other ministries that they provide. We are very fortunate with our living conditions. All of us are sharing rooms with each other, and we have beds which has been such a blessing. After living in a tent for a month, I have started to realize how much I take beds for granted. I am sharing a room with one girl and it has been so great to connect with her. That night we basically just settled in and unpacked our stuff. The following day was Sunday, and we had church at 9:30. I only got a few hours of sleep that night, but was so excited to worship the Lord the next morning. My squad and I head into church, and every church service is started with prayer. They call it “Tiempo de Oracion” which translates to “Time of Prayer. It is such a renewing time spent with the Lord, and really focuses our minds and spirits to hear the Word. All of the music was in Spanish, but that did not negatively affect my time with the Lord. We sang this one song called “Como David” and it is such a hype, up-beat song. We were all singing, dancing, and clapping together. It was an awesome moment to see so many people from different backgrounds coming together to praise God. After we sang a few songs, then came the sermon from the pastor. That was definitely a learning curve for us, since the whole sermon was spoken in Spanish. We were told to bring earbuds so we could hear a live translation of the sermon. It was very difficult to understand, but I know that this man loved God and he was very passionate about his Faith, which gave me peace that I didn’t fully understand what he was saying. That afternoon was just a day for us to rest, and the following day was our Sabbath. The way our schedule works is that we have Sabbath on Monday’s and Adventure Day on Thursday’s. Sunday is also half Sabbath, because we have church, and then we clean our apartments. The foundation also provides us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is so crazy to see how this place ministers to us too. It is such a statement to how much God is doing in this place.

For ministry each week, each team is assigned a different one. There are so many different ministries here, which is  just so awesome to me. The first week there, my team’s ministry was the kitchen. We would serve in the kitchen every day from 9 am to 12 pm and 4pm to 6pm. I went into this ministry expecting that we were going to be cooking, but it was a little different. I kinda learned to just show up and be ready to see what the Lord has in store for me that day. My team did a lot of vegetable cleaning, and wow was it something. A few days out of the week, some of the guys who work in the foundation go and collect veggies from the city. All their vegetables are donated, so its conditions are interesting to say the least. Some of the other ministries are kids, youth, vegetables, recycling, homelessness and so many more. Later that day, we had worship, before my team and the guys team went to the Bronx. This is an area in Medellin where the homeless go to basically do whatever they want. There is lots of alcohol in drugs. The foundation we are working with goes there to provide the people with bread and water. We also would split into smaller groups and walk around the Bronx to try and spread the Gospel or just pray in general. It was the most devastating thing I have ever seen. The women there were so vulnerable, and willing to give their whole bodies away for validation, drugs, and alcohol. It was very hard to go around and pray for the people, knowing that not much was going to change. We were the first group to go, and after a few weeks, I cannot wait to go back and minister to these people, even if they just get a drop of Jesus’s name. Every night, homeless men wait outside the Foundation for beds to sleep on. In the lobby, the foundation sets up beds for the men to sleep on. They leave in the morning, and the same thing happens every night. This foundation is really doing a great job of ministering to God’s people. The next day was Thursday which means that it was our first adventure day. I was so excited to explore the city, and also try COFFEE! Since it was the first adventure day, our whole squad chose to make it a more relaxed one. I went into the city with a few girls from my team. Going out into the city was so cool. We explored, took in the scenery, and then we found an awesome cafe. This cafe was so cute, and it had wonderful coffee. Colombian coffee hits different. It is just so delicious. I also had an amazing egg omelette. I definitely saw God in my coffee and omelette that day. On Friday’s, our squad leaders take the day to have catch up calls with the mentors and coaches, as well as do logistical related things. We are all so close with the leaders, so having a day without them is always very hard. That was our first week in Colombia, and that is how a normal week goes. The following week, my team was in the youth ministry which is on Saturday nights. Since the youth ministry is only one day a week, the rest of the week was spent cleaning, and recycling. On Wednesday, since my team already went to the Bronx, we stayed back and interceded for those who went. My favorite day of the week was Friday because my team got to go to a nursing home. There were probably 10-15 elderly men and women there. A lot of them had a hard time hearing, and reading; so the language barrier was difficult to work with. Since we couldn’t really talk with them, my team and I chose to serve them by our actions. A few of the girls on our squad came and brought guitars to sing some worship music. The men and women were so excited to hear the music, and a few of us started dancing with them. I danced with this one man for basically the whole time and he was so happy to be dancing to music. It was so inspiring to see the joy of God in these people even if they didn’t know it. We get to go back again tomorrow, and I am so excited to see them again.

These past few weeks, I have wrestled with the Lord a little bit in seeing what I came here to do. As I continued to minister to this foundation and the people in Medellin, I realized that we are not here to fix every problem we see. We are here to spread Jesus’s love to others and that might only be planting a seed, which is okay. God has also been working in my heart to see all people the way he sees them. Especially seeing homeless people not just for the sins they have done, but instead to see that they are also children of God. I cannot wait to see how much more God is going to work in my heart, as well as the squad as a whole.

Some prayer requests:

• My squad (health, safety)
• My team (Teshuva)
• Ciudad de Refugio
• Medellin, Colombia (people)
• D Squad in Swaziland