This week was mind blowing, hard, and yet refreshing. We went to Palenque ( Pa-Len-Kay), Colombia. If you’ve heard of this place you know your history. Palenque was the first town to gain their freedom from slavery in the Americas. The town takes pride in their culture so they still have dirt roads, the pigs are pets, and they take baths in the river. The community speaks Spanish and their native language Palenque. Transportation consisted using your God given feet, horses, and motorcycles. We used our feet for the most. The food…well let’s just say I’ve had enough cow stomach to last a lifetime.
1. The people were in complete shock that I didn’t know Spanish that well. They quickly realized I wasn’t from Palenque. The women would grab my face and kiss me saying, “Beautiful black girl. You look like us. Talk to me.”
2. Everyday we were greeted with “Buenas” or “Chow.” So if you ever happen to visit…remember those words and know your Spanish. I haven’t met a rude Colombian.
3. Every juice we had was made fresh. Kool-aid, crystal light, and your grandma’s homemade sweet tea had nothing on the sugar cane used to make our beverages.
4. We survived off of just about 36oz of water in the blistering heat. The Lord sure knew when to send the breeze and a quick rain shower.
5. I’m convinced that they don’t really like vegetables there. The closest thing we had to vegetables were chopped peppers, shaved carrots, and corn on the cob. Best corn I had in my life!
6. After my stay I’m just not sure that I will ever see a pig the same again or be able to eat it.
7. The day begins at 4:00 a.m. with the rooster as the alarm clock. I really wanted to run and chock the rooster most days but the rooster was helpful when we had prayer and intercession at 5 a.m.
8. There are no street lights so a lot of times we walked by faith hoping we didn’t step in the manure our friendly animals left everywhere.
9. Bug spray and baby wipes are a necessity. The mosquitos are viscous there.
10. The closest thing to air condition is God blowing His breathe of a breeze and a medium sized fan.
I remember riding to Palenque (3hr ride) on a packed bus and thinking the missionary life just got real. This was going to be a long week. I knew this was a week I would never forget. After getting off the bus and arriving at our our host home she mentioned we could just take a shower in the river in the morning. THE RIVER?! Wait a minute. I can do a bucket bath all day long but a river shower?!!!! Some of you are probably thinking taking a shower in the river isn’t half bad especially in this summer time heat. Well my idea of a shower did not include the river.
I’ve never felt more dirty in my life than this week. It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings ever. When walking down to the river I almost face planted in the mud. I’m mentally loosing it. I’m thinking about all the particles in the river that would touch me, the dirt, stepping on unknown things, and the little creatures my eyes failed to notice.
Embrace the culture Candace. Die to yourself. I surrender all. Remember why you are here Candace. I surrender all.
Did I survive?
The washing in the river wasn’t that bad! I recognized when drying off…there was still dirt on me but it was too late to go back in. If you’re anything like me when you see dirt after you have washed you just hop back in and get it ALL but I had to keep it moving and use a baby wipe. Well the days went on and even though I was able to use more baby wipes and take a bucket shower I still felt dirty. I needed to be surgeries somewhere. The baby wipes really wasn’t working and I’m a girl that likes to be clean and smell good. Febreeze did not cut it because there was still a stitch in my clothes. I didn’t have a mirror to look at and frankly I don’t think I wanted to. I was completely over it when I started sweating one day and dirt dripped off. How disgusting. I’m still grossed out by it.
You ever look at your walk with the Lord and realize we get clean enough just to get by. We go to church just enough to feel good about ourselves. We do community service and join a ministry to say me and God are good but we never really get rid of the dirt in our lives that allows us to walk in who God has called us to be. We start recognizing that barely cleaning the dirt or washing the dirt in obvious places that are easily accessible won’t work. The stench starts to grow and the dirt becomes more apparent in our daily living. People start smelling you and it becomes embarrassing because what you thought you could control is no longer controllable. We can’t hid behind the perfume of playing the role of a Christian but not living the life. How long do we wait to be washed in the river by Him? God wants to clean us in the hidden places, the creases, and the places in our heart that no one sees.
The beautiful thing is that when we go to the river to be washed by God his hands are gentle but He cleans so that residue isn’t left behind. We no longer hide behind the role of a Christian but we start living it out daily. We become quicker in running to God to get rid of the dirt and walk in our freedom. We no longer remain comfortable in our stench.
What dirt in your life is God calling you to wash away?
Ezekiel 36:25 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.”
Extra Extra: We hadn’t been in Palenque for a hour and we went to our host mother’s house. She greeted us with kisses and big hugs but little did we know a prayer for healing of her knees would lead to her accepting Christ as her savior at 80+ yrs old. And she was healed. Never pass up the opportunity to pray for someone. Sometimes that prayer is their first encounter with Christ.
P.S.A. We are still short of being fully funded. $6,900 away from that. Do you want to hear more stories like this? By September we have to raise $13,000 and I’m about $2,345 short of that! Share this with everyone you know! Thank you to all who have joined the journey. If you want to continue making monthly donations you are more than welcomed.
