On Our Way Home!

Leaving is bittersweet this morning. We all got really close to our translators, so it's so sad to leave. It's amazing how much we can grow to love a place in just seven days. We're just waiting for our flight in the Barranquilla airport right now.

We'll probably be rolling into the church parking lot around 8:30 or 9pm tonight. We could probably talk your ears off with stories from this week, so be prepared. :) We certainly have a lot to talk about. God did just so much more then we ever expected this week.

John 13:1-17

"This week has been nothing less than amazing, and God's involvement has been spectacular to watch. Today my group spent our morning at the church in prayer and worship, thanking and praising God for his movement over the areas of La Chinita and La Luz. I can't even begin to explain the incredible passion and loving hearts of the nationals that were with us. They truly stand as the light in their communities and it was an honor to be a part of their journey of transformation in Barranquilla. There came a point in the morning where both the church members and those from our team took turns telling stories of the extraordinary ways God had worked through and around us during the week. Towards the end, Pastor Alsidez invited Joel to close the time of sharing with his testimony. Joel approached the front of the stage and looked around for a moment before inviting three of the nationals who had been incredible men of God and key assets to us during the week to come and sit on the stage. Gradually they approached and sat down, no one knowing quite what to expect, but I can assure you that we were all surprised with what happened next. Removing his nice, button-down shirt, Joel knelt in front of the three men. He then proceeded to take off their shoes, splash his sleeve with water, and wash the dirt off of their feet. The entire room was silent for quite some time as we all watched what was going on, completely in shock of the situation of divine intent. It wasn't hard to picture Jesus kneeling in front of the disciples and washing their feet, a spiritual bomb (as Josh said) going off in the building and consuming the hearts of everyone in the room. Once Joel had finished and stood back up, Pastor Alsidez approached the mic once again and proclaimed that he had woken up in the middle of the previous night, having seen a vision of that exact scene happening and couldn't help but pour out thanks and gratitude to everyone and their obedience to God's will and their involvement in the community. We then came together in the center of the room with tears forming and hearts bursting with God's love, laying hands and praying for one another while savoring the last moments before we left the church one last time. I can speak for everyone when I say that God has touched something special within each of us and opened our eyes, causing us to leave Colombia very differently than when we arrived. I can't wait to see what God chooses to do with the communities we visited and I pray that I will be reunited with this world once again very soon."

By Kelsey Goodwin

Changing

Changing. That's the one word I would use to describe this week in Colombia. I think the experiences we had this week are changing me and I dare to say are changing everyone that came with me. Often when we hear about missions, we tend to think that as Americans we will go out and bless those in another country by doing things for them that they cannot do for themselves. I tell you my experience was quite the opposite. We are the ones who received the blessing. God really showed up in a big way this week. I saw the Lord's blessing poured out right before my eyes. This community sees Jesus in a way that I have never seen. The simplicity of their lives gives them a connection with God that most in America have never experienced. You see...that is the goal of the enemy...keep us distracted so we cannot focus our attention on the one true God and hear his voice. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.". The part of that verse that grabs me is the last part..."when you pray, I will listen.". The truth of the matter is He will listen and He does hear our prayers. We have to ask and we have to have a relationship with Him. The people of Mesalondia understand this and God connects with people in the simplicity of their lives in this place. How else can you explain tears flowing down my face as prayer filled the room for the two pastors in this community? Those prayers were in a language I cannot understand, but the Spirit of God was present here. He is working...he is changing the hearts of these people and He is changing me.

Yes, but didn’t I tell you to go and make disciples?

Our ASSIGNMENT yesterday was to go over by the school and clean all the rubble up in front of the wall so it could be painted and have a Bible verse placed on it. Our COMMISSION for the day was entirely different (I’ll get to that part in a minute).

We had our ASSIGNMENT, so off we went, with our little band of painters, street cleaners and trash picker uppers, to clean up the area and paint the wall. But what about your COMMISSION? (I’ll get to that). The wall was located at an intersection of several streets in a neighborhood and it was a pretty busy place. The area in front of the wall had the usual types of rubble in it, broken glass, plastic containers, dead grass and lot’s of unmentionable stuff. I didn’t mind cleaning it up, hard work is something I have done all my life. In fact I was thinking that there is a lot of dignity in work and I’m glad my parents taught me how to work.

All the time I’m working on the area at the base of the wall, I kept noticing over to my left that there was a building on the corner where a sizable group of men were hanging out and to make things more interesting they all had motorcycles. It just didn’t look like the kind of place that I needed to go to with my evangacube and talk about Jesus. Give me young kids, teenagers, and certain adults, but not BIG bad motorcycle riding tough guys. So with this thought running through my mind, I continued to work on the wall and every now and then I would look up and gaze over at the corner spot and it now looks like there are even more men than before.

We break for lunch, the area at the wall is almost finished and we all retire to the local church for a much needed break and some food. After lunch the game plan is to go out into the neighborhood and evangelize. As we head back, I’m thinking, “may be they will just not be there when we return‘.

We eat lunch and return to the wall and wouldn’t you just know it they are still there. Rats! Now I have a problem. I obviously know they are there and I’m about to go out and evangelize and I sure don’t want to go over where they are. I sure hope God doesn’t prompt me to go over there. Surly he knows I’m best at speaking with just about anyone except mean, tough looking, motorcycle riding guys. I remember my COMMISSION which is, “Go And Make Disciples.”


We break up into teams and get our area assignments and all the while I’m thinking, surly God would not do this to me, but he does. Sure enough, we (my translator and Colombian national team), are assigned the very corner where the tough guys are.

As it turns out all the men are private taxi drivers. Try and not think about car taxis but motorcycle taxis.

The agreed to hear my testimony and listen to our avangecube presentation. During the time of my presentation I noticed that two of them were actually misty eyed and very attentive. Unbelievably no one came up for a taxi during our time with the drivers and these big burley taxi drivers actually began to look rather friendly. In fact they were very friendly. And all this trumped up felling of fear and rejection was just all in my head. Besides God has already given us the victory

Long story short....9 taxi drivers became my spiritual brothers that day and I learned a great deal about fear and trust in the Lord.

Danielle's Pictures From Today

In the Chaos, You are Sovereign Still

It's hard to explain sometimes how I know that God called me to Colombia. We have thoughts all the time, but how do we really know when it's God speaking and when it's just us? I have searched for a way to explain it and haven't really been able to until this week. I heard the story of a man who said, "When you see the truth, you just know it's the truth." How do you really explain that except to say that you just know...and what am I supposed to do but follow His lead.

Leading up to and during this trip I have prayed that God would show up. I mean really...who am I that He would ask me to go to another continent that is thousands of miles from home to tell people about Him when I have barely done that in my own country? I could never do this on my own. Why would God choose to use such ordinary people to spread His kingdom? I have often asked myself that question over the years. Wouldn't it be easier to use someone famous that people would listen to? The truth is, God uses ordinary people like you and me because that's the only way He will get all the glory. The Holy Spirit shows up in our weakness at just the right time, at just the right place, and with just the right people, to profess He is Lord.

During this week I have witnessed poverty unlike anything I have ever seen. We have poverty in America, but this is on a completely different level...so much that a stream of sewage runs through the middle of the streets because there is no plumbing to take it away. I sat and talked today with a 68 year old woman who was worn and tired with the years of struggle she has had in this life. Her home has no windows, no door, no electricity, no running water, and a dirt floor that has been built up to try to keep the water out during the flood that happens each year. For 33 years she has struggled to survive with her family in the community of Mesolandia, just outside of Barranquilla, Colombia. Those 33 years have aged her to the point where she appears much older than 68. Years of strain have taken its toll on her. Each year during the rainy season, the water breaches the levy and floods the streets and virtually every home in this community. Perils the likes of Katrina happen every single year. This woman's family has to live on the roof during this time. However, due to her health, she cannot get to the roof so she lives for months at a time in waist deep water. In America we can't imagine a life like this...we're blinded by our air conditioning, iPhones, satellite TV, and computers. Of all the people we have talked to this week, this woman will forever be imprinted in my mind. After we shared the gospel, she prayed and professed Jesus Christ to be her Lord and Savior. Her facial expression and words echoed in my mind as she hugged me tight, kissed my cheek, and whispered in a broken voice, "Muchas Gracias Señor".

I prayed for God to show up here in Colombia and He has done so in a big way. I have witnessed more people come to Christ this week than in the other 35 years of my life combined. How is that even possible? Maybe I just haven't been paying attention or maybe we sometimes find our worth in what we have, not who we have in Jesus Christ.

I'm starting to wonder if God breaks us down to show us that we're chasing the wrong things. Sometimes it seems like a never ending cycle. In America we call it the rat race. Why do we do this to ourselves? He was crucified to set me free. Now I live to bring Him praise. I'm humbled that He would ask me to be a small part of His work. The world is a broken place, times are tough, and people are hurting, but Lord, in the chaos you are Sovereign still.

I feel like today was a difficult day for many of our team and so I want to write this to my own team tonight...

Team... This trip, although meant to fun, is meant to change our lives just as much as we are helping change the locals here. We are supposed to be challenged. And because of the nature of our visit, we have an extraordinary new level of complications that we are facing. But, God knows what he is doing, and I promise that each one of us will be placed in a very uncomfortable place on this trip, and more than once. All that we can do to overcome this discomfort is to pray and press on. 

Sports may be a loose link to what we are doing here, but I had a coach tell me once, after I complained about being matched up with the biggest and best players on the team (repeatedly), that "we do not get better by playing with players on your same level or lower. You only get better by getting your butt kicked, because next round if you don't quit, you will hit those players even harder than they hit you... because you know how hard they hit and they anticipate your weakness... and you will win the battle and have risen to their level and surpassed them by doing this." (or something like that) 

What I am saying is, if growth is what we wanted from this trip, we must accept and rise to the challenges that are placed in front of us. God knows if you feel more vulnerable in front of a group of children than in front of peers. So, it is my understanding that He will make sure that you get in front of those children... and by doing so He will make sure that you grow where He deems necessary, whether it be directly related your faith, your walk, your habits, or something that you think is completely unrelated to the church and to the mission that we are trying to accomplish! Think of it like this... theoretically speaking, if your wife ran childcare for a church and you wanted to surprise her one day with volunteering in the childcare, this trip would then provide the perfect training for that by placing you in front of kids and forcing you to get over that discomfort while helping you grow your faith in Him, and getting you past that barrier that you may not have ever jumped over outside of this trip! (Sorry brother if this offends you, I think you can handle it though...)

 So have courage, keep strong, and when I get down remind me that I wrote this!! :) I know that my discomfort is coming and I hope that all of you are there to support me as I get through it! Isaiah 41:10 says "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." For the entirety of this trip I have been leaning on this... I have never shared my testimony with anyone outside of our small numbered group and these locals, and I have never prayed publicly, mainly because I was raised so differently... but it is intimidating to me and when I try my mind goes all blank! I would rather sing karaoke in front of the 11 O'clock service on Sunday than to pray publicly... but as I am having to do it individually I am growing in my Faith and in my walk, and I know that God is doing that to me, putting me in uncomfortable situations to allow me the opportunity to grow. So I will close in saying, good night! I am so tired I am drooling on myself as I sleep in between sentences...  Tomorrow is a new day and I hope and pray that it goes better than today felt like it went!!

Sensory Overload

As I sit here, trying to think of something grossly profound to type, I can't think of anything. My body is exhausted. My senses are at capacity from my experiences in Barranquilla. It's a strange place. Nothing is familiar. The music is foreign. The climate is hot. As I look out the window on the bus rides, my eyes and heart soak up the realities of an oppressed region of an oppressed country. Sewage in the streets. Barefoot children walking in trash heaps. Street dogs that look like skeletons. Wrinkled and broken faces stare at us and scream the story of the difficult life lived in this area. As a sensitive person, I quickly reach the threshold of my capacity. It breaks my heart to see the hopelessness of thousands as we walk through the streets. I have been to Colombia before, and have grown to love the people who live here and the culture that they hold so close to their hearts. Their smiles are genuine and warm. Their greetings are loving and sincere. This all makes it more difficult to catch yet another glimpse of their reality. 

After working alongside the locals in the park this morning, we took the opportunity to go through the neighborhood and share the gospel with families and people in the community. My translator and I sat with a woman and spoke with her for about 20 minutes. Her story was difficult and her situation was desperate. She was hopeless and in the burden of her situation was heavy. She prayed with us to receive Christ. We spent time with her and prayed further for the specifics of her situation. When we left, I got alone and prayed, "God, I often sing and pray for you to break my heart for what breaks yours, but I'm not sure I can handle even an fraction of the burden that you feel for your people." So often I pray with great intentions and a heart/mind that really desires for my prayers to be answered. As sincere as my intentions are, I realize that I cannot handle the burden and weight of hopelessness. I can't take what God takes. My heart cannot handle the burdens that God bares for each of us. I can't take what breaks God's heart. Even catching an inkling of that hurt today reminds me of my need for God. 

While my perception of the situation of the people of Colombia is that they are hopeless, I am constantly encouraged by them. As I hear them pray, and watch them share the gospel with the lost, I am encouraged, and God fills my heart with appreciation.  I am reminded of what I should be thankful for. They are resourceful people who are grateful for community and family. The Christians in this country are thankful for the things that matter. They are thankful for salvation. They are thankful for God's word, the Bible. They are thankful for the Holy Spirit. They are thankful for the strength, peace, joy, and love that is given by the Holy Spirit. They are thankful for the opportunity that they have been given to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their communities. They are thankful for the opportunity to participate in the great commission. 

On the surface, Barranquilla looks desperate and hopeless. The reality is quite the contrary. There is hope in this area, and it is beginning to spread through the streets of the city and neighborhoods. The Christians in Barranquilla love Jesus, and they love their communities. They are beginning to work together to reach their communities with the good news that God cares for them, He can bare their burdens, and he sent his Son to die for their sins and hopelessness. Without Christ, we are all hopeless. No matter the level of our bank accounts, or the neighborhoods that we live in. No matter what car we drive. No matter what our retirement portfolio looks like. No matter how many comforts we are so very fortunate to steward. Without Christ, we have no hope. 

My prayer for the Barranquillos is that God would release the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who He is to the believers in this area, and that they would know the love of Jesus in an experiential way. That the Holy Spirit would flood the streets and homes of these neighborhoods, just like the water that floods those same streets and homes in the rainy season, and bring healing, hope, and salvation to these precious people. I hope that you will join me in praying for these incredible people.

OMD!! this is this is the Colombian OMG... it stands for Oh My Dio! :) I have to say, to anyone reading this that supported myself or another member, thank you. Today was our first experience REALLY digging in with the locals... I mean this both physically and spiritually! My team, Team La Chinita, transformed a local park and rebuilt it! The hardest part today was cutting the grass with "machete's as sharp as 2x4's" and flat head shovels. But we were working along side 25-30 local community members and church members HELPING them to fix their problems. Our main goal here is to not give them anything that would only fix a problem temporarily, but instead to help them realize that they can make a difference on their own, and can keep doing that, with the power of God and his Son walking and working right beside them. Ths playground/park is in a peculiar spot, right next to a road alot like Ga20 (in Gwinnett) or 278 (in Covington) and had a police department right in the middle of it. We painted as we repaired, we hung lights so that the illegal activity and the promiscuity that was taking place would be more visible, making the park a less attractive place for "unwanted's" and more attractive to the children!!
Speaking of children... As most of the supporters know already, the area that we are working in is full of kids! I found out that the most popular age for having children here is 16... in the USA, although it is becoming more of a regular occuance, 16 y/o mothers are still looked down upon! So that was a major learning moment for me today... which leads us into one of the main ideas that the local churches are trying to instill in people, and that is an idea of self value, and values in general! hopefully our evangelistic outreach will assist them in changing their way of life within the specific community!
As far as I go, my day was tiring, but it was also quite rewarding! After the work part was down, the talk part began.... myself and team member Bon Qui Qui Kelsey and our translators headed over to a family that was sitting on their porch. They had sent one of the younger girls over to tell us they wanted to talk with us. We are finding that many of the locals want to talk to us simply because we are white, and because our eyes are different colors than theirs... but this is our way in the door that! so we spoke with this family for about 30 minutes, finding out that they are a believing family. One of the girls, Estephany (13) told me that she leads a study group for her and her friends every saturday. This blew me away because most 13 yo's dont have the courage or the knowledge to minister to their friends... so I gave her my "evagycube"... I actually helped this girl minister to a younger neighborhood girl a little later in the day! The younger girl said that she believed in God at first, but came back after Estephany had spoken to her and asked me and the translator to pray for/with her because she wanted to be a true believer and Christian, following Jesus and being a child of God. With her, we prayed for 4 or five other children about 10-13 y/o. As I was describing the pictures and asking the little boy in front of me if he understood who Jesus was, and if he wanted to pray to recieve Christ as his Savior, an old man, who had originally been asking for food and money, raised his hand. I hope I paint a really good picture of this old man because in the USA you will never see this. This man had a tumor that covered 4/5's of his stomach, and as a begging tool he showed it to everyone. His right eye was all but gone.. it looked like a grey blue marble sitting way too far back in his head to even be an eye! His hands were crippled and dirt covered him from head to toe.. But he raised his hand, asking to be allowed to pray with us and the children, to be a Christian believer in the Love of Jesus and the salvation that he offers. so I grabbed three translators and together we brought them all "to the good side!"...

walking through the hood.

Capt. Kelsey Bon Qui Qui

local house/business-mechanic

cutting the grass at the park

painting the bench after replacing the bottom four slats

a couple of local kids interested in Americans

the local pastor cooking us lunch

the translator nicknamed Kevin Queen!

 Estephany explaining to the little girl about Christ  (she is right in the middle of the picture on the right side with her hair pulled back)

...We hopped a bus and headed back to the hotel, promising to return to the neighborhood tomorrow, which we will... We will be painting a couple walls that are covered in grafiti and gang affiliated markings, painting bible versus over them to help remind the children of the community about the churches that exist within their neighborhoods. These paintings will be childrens storys from the Bible and I think will list out the values that the community leaders have decided to prioitize. Again, I will add some pictures of the days events, so I hope everyone that is reading this will be able to experience what I am seeing and living right now, through this blog. Adios!!

Today was an awesome day! We started off with a meeting and breakfast where I was put on the spot (quietly at least) and asked to share about myself and my story to the leader and organizer of the trip. I have a feeling I will be getting put on the spot by many people throughout our time here, not that I mind too much on a one to one level... But the reason it was so awesome was because our first adventure of the day was to the "barrios" or neighborhoods that we will be working in. We got to experience first hand what a local church here looks like! I have to say, I was in shock, I didn't expect them to have a microphone or speakers... and that would be my judgmental side coming out. I got to meet the local pastor and I had the pleasure of talking to the congregation about where I came from, as did the rest of the team. This was motivating because it was our first time meeting these people and using a translator to tell our message and how we got to be standing in front of them. Their gratitude and hospitality is amazing, making the work we do here that much more enjoyable! I got the feeling that the people here REALLY get what it means to be Christian. If I am not able to teach them anything while I am here, the trip will not be a failure, because I know that I will learn so much and grow in faith even that much more because I am here!

We also met with and ate dinner with our translators today! I asked mine kind of early on how long he had been a Christian, and he responded saying 2 1/2 years! I said that's great! and then I found out a little later that e wasn't exactly telling the truth... But I have made a personal vow to see that I give Wilfredo Pabon (my translator) every ounce of energy that I can muster, to get him to where he needs to be with God. I know that our mission here is much easier than other places in the world, but I still anticipate some hardships. Luckily for me, I have caring friends that give me gifts!! In my devotional book, I found a bible verse that fits us so well right now! We are all a little nervous about tomorrow, and knocking on doors to talk to people, but Exodus 4:12 says, "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Because of this, I don't have to worry. My team will also be helping clean up a park that is over run with garbage and drug dealers and things that are not safe for children and families. We are going in with the community leaders, but we will still be in somewhat hostile territory just because of who is usually hanging out there... so pray for us people! If your reading this, tomorow will be a trying day and we can't do it alone. But I just realized that it is midnight and we have to be up at 6am so I gots to  go!! but I'll leave you with some pictures of the day... Enjoy!!

Gabby's thoughts on today

haha... we're a little loopy because we're so sleepy, but nonetheless Gabby pulled together to write a little about her day.  We received a lot of training today to get us ready for a full week of ministry.  We head out to the barrios tomorrow morning.

"Today was a very long day and I mean a long day, full of powerpoints and instructions but it's all worth it after I received kisses and hugs from the kids of Lachinita. My feelings, emotions and thoughts fall under my expectations to see how God its working in me and through me little by little. There isn't much I can say for today just that I am happy to be in Barranquilla. :)"- Gabby

Kelsey's First Impressions

"Stepping off the plane in Barranquilla, it isn't hard to recognize that we're no where near home. The humid wind hits your face immediately, sending you back to summer vacation, but it is far from the same. After getting teased by the extremely friendly Colombian airport staff for not knowing Spanish, we headed out to our brightly colored bus to take us to our hotel. Now when I say brightly colored, I don't mean the bus was simply bright green, but completely decorated in a rainbow of trinkets stringing all around the bus. Settling into our seats, we had reached the beginning of our immersion into a new and extraordinary culture. Swerving around crowded streets of buses, taxis, and motorcycles, your eyes can't help but be captured by the array of colored buildings and the chaos inhabiting the streets. There almost seems to be a pulse in the air that carries you through the town and touches an adventurous spirit deep inside of you you may not even knew existed. They are so full of life and thrive off of impulse but have kindness and patience towards us that I am very thankful for. It makes me excited to stay enveloped in a world far from my own and simply be lead by the impulses of God. He has uplifted all of us and I can tell already that this will be an empowering week."

By Kelsey Goodwin

No Really... We're suffering. Don't be jealous.

But really, we just had a delicious dinner in a Restaurant called Crepes and Waffle just down the street from our hotel, and it was SO GOOD. We're all pretty exhausted but happy.

Airport Time!

Good Morning! We woke up early this morning and met in the church parking lot at 6am. We'll get into Colombia after 5pm this evening and we're so excited to be there!

Fundraising is complete, bags are being packed and last minute preparation is underway for the team's departure on Saturday morning, March 10th, for Barranquilla.  More specifically we will be serving in the communities of Lachinta & Mesolandia.  Our team will be engaged in evangelism and discipleship, but also working with the Colombian believers on a number of projects they have selected to impact their communities.  Please pray that God will bring the people and leaders to participate and serve with us.