Hi! Long time no see! Life is so sweet here in Colombia. My group and I have been here for just over two weeks and we have had the opportunity to be involved in so much.
A WEEK IN MINISTRY:
Sunday:
- Church in the morning (some of us help with children’s church)
- Childcare after church
- Squad Church in the afternoon, where we worship as a team and someone brings the word!
Monday:
- Women help in the kitchen until lunch/ men help with construction
- After lunch, women hang out with the women of the ministry and plan activities with them/ men do more construction or play soccer
- Monday evenings, we lead a women’s workout class/ men attend a Bible study
Tuesday:
- Women help in kitchen/ men do construction/ four people go to refugee ministry until lunch
- Women go off campus with the women of the ministry/ men process donations or do construction
Wednesday:
- Refugee ministry where we prepare a skit and message, afterwards discussing the message and building relationships with the people who attend
- Wednesday night service!
- After Wednesday night service, we go to The Bronx (which I will explain later)
Thursday:
- ATL DAY! A day where we ask the Lord to point people out to us that we can talk to and pray for! Intentional evangelism day!
Friday:
- SABBATH!! Resting in God and his promises. He sustains us daily and this is a sweet day where we get to rest and remember that He is in control.
Saturday:
- Kids ministry/ women’s ministry in the morning!
- In the afternoon we have the opportunity to sit in or teach a bunch of different classes! I have been helping with advanced adult English classes and basic English for adults!
- Youth Ministry in the evening!
Click this link to hear more about Ciudad Refugio from the founder!
In a very condensed version, this is what my weeks look like. Everything that we do is subject to change, so I am learning to hold plans very loosely.
WHAT IS THE BRONX?
It’s my favorite part of the week.
In Medellín, there is a large amount of people who are homeless and a large amount of people with drug addictions. Nights here can be very dangerous if you find yourself alone and in the wrong spot so all of these people without a home, gather together in one concentrated area- The Bronx. So on Wednesday nights, we all hop into our big truck and drive down there in order to hand out aguapanela con pan, which is basically sugar water and bread. This is often the only meal that people get to eat, and you can tell because people begin lining up behind our truck before we can even park.
Only so many people can hand out aguapanela con pan, so the rest of us walk around the streets (in groups) and get the opportunity to hear peoples stories, pray for them, and tell them about our ministry, Ciudad Refugio, whose aim is to help people get off the streets and out of their drug addictions. I have heard the most heartbreaking stories of why people are there and why they feel as if they cannot leave, but I also have seen the hope of Jesus as people we have gotten to pray for begin to show up at the doors of Ciudad Refugio in hopes to turn their lives around.
The people of Medellín are hungry for the Gospel, and I am honored to get to participate in sharing the Gospel, whether by peeling ginger in our kitchen or praying for vendors on the streets.
This is just a glimpse of what my life has looked like for the last two weeks. Please be praying for Ciudad Refugio, for our visits to the Bronx, and for my team as we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever we go.
