A World Beyond Our Backyard (Leverage Colombia Team)

It’s Sunday afternoon on June 10... Four hours until the prayer send off, 6 days until all our financial support must be in, and 13 days until we are in Colombia! I’ve started this “intro” blog a dozen times and at some point I’ll post the “long one” with all my thoughts. But for now I’ll save all that and just tell you how overwhelmed I am at the incredible opportunity God has invited our team to be a part of, to see Him at work in a world beyond our backyard. I’m pretty sure I can say that our team (with the exception of our leader, Steffan, who has been before) has no idea what we are in for when we arrive in Barranquilla, Colombia. I can speak for myself that the first time I heard the heart behind what e3 is doing in Colombia through evangelism, discipleship, and community development, I knew that was something I wanted desperately to be a part of. Not because it’s a new country to add to my list of “Christian Tourism.” Not because its a new experience to add pictures to Facebook. Not because of anything other than knowing I wanted to be exactly where God is at work and where He is moving in such a mighty way. And that is exactly what I’ve heard over and over from each person who has been to Barranquilla with e3. There is so much more to share: about our team that has been meeting over the past several months, about the incredible faith of the Colombian Nationals we’ll be partnering with (based on the stories that have been recounted to us), about the communities of La Chinita and La Luz that we’ll be serving in, about the expectations we have for the trip, about the ways we hope to jump in and be a part of God’s Kingdom work down there... and the list goes on. So again I’ll save some of that for later. For myself and the other team members to share. I’ll wrap it up by begging of you to PRAY. For our leader, Steffan, to lead with wisdom, boldness, compassion, discipline, and conviction. For our team, Jessica, Edbbie, Vincent, Jason, and myself, to serve and evangelize with humility, courage, trust, obedience, and passion. For us to encourage and support the local Colombian believers that we will partner with on projects they have selected to impact their communities. That they will share their love, faith, and passion for Jesus in a way that will be a testimony to their community and to our team. For the nationals we will get to minister to, that they will be curious to hear our story of why we are there and that God will speak through us in a way that each needs to hear. For our God to be glorified, plain and simple. - Emily