I went in to this month not knowing what to expect and keeping my expectations in check just in case we were in for a rough month. This is a longer post so bear with me, but I have some stuff I want to share with you all.
This past month was absolutely incredible in every way and I’m incredibly blessed to have such an awesome team to do ministry with. Whether we were just getting to know the guys in the program, playing futbol, doing VBS, teaching English, or just loving on the locals, I will never forget the beautiful people of Colombia and their amazing stories. It was also great to be able to come together as a team after our days were done and share stories as a team and get to know each other deeper through our testimonies. We also had a group of Germans that were helping at the foundation that we were able to get close to as well and build good relationships with. We were fortunate enough to have them teach us some Spanish as well!
I told you in my last blog I would tell you about the ministry we did on Wednesday nights called Aguapanela. This was the foundation for how Ciudad Refugio got started more than 20 years ago. Pastor Douglas came here with nothing and started by simply handing out bread and sugar water to the local homeless population. So, when I heard we would have a chance to do this, and get to see their world face to face I was excited. Wednesday night comes and we all load into the back of a covered truck with our bucket of sugar water and bags of bread. I would normally like to show you picture of what we do, but due to the danger of the area I couldn’t bring anything with me.
I was riding in the back near to back of the truck and was watching the landscape change as we got closer and closer, and I began to see the area around me getting rougher and darker the further we went. We get to our destination and get out of the truck and immediately people start rushing in from all around us to line up to get their bread and water. There was probably around 100-150 people all gathered in this street area where they would do their drugs of choice, mainly cocaine and heroin. The scene around me was nothing I’ve never seen before in my life. Some people were so far gone you couldn’t have a conversation with them in any language. I walk around for a bit just to take this all in. I was wondering how I was going to get through to any of these people and just praying God would lead me to somebody I could help.
As I’m walking toward the outskirts a man calls out to me, something about speaking English. I walk up to him and ask him if he speaks English and he does. So naturally I immediately lock in on him. He tells me his name is Jorge and he used to live in the US. He has family in New York and wants to get there soon to see them but is battling substance abuse as he motions to a rolled up cigarette with what they call “bazooka” which is a cheap, rough form of cocaine they either smoke or snort. I told him I am working with a great organization that has programs specifically for men battling drug addictions. He seems somewhat interested which is surprising. We talk a little more but have to leave so myself, Carlyn, Kat, and Johnny gather around to pray for him and we went on our way. I’m thankful I could at least pray for somebody and talk for a bit. I was hoping I could see him again but wasn’t expecting to.
Fast forward to next week and we go out again. This time we stopped off at another place first. It’s similar to the first location but with more kids, which is just heart breaking. I saw a young boy who was around 12 or 13 with a coke bottle full of shoe glue he was huffing on. This is very cheap and easy to get so it is a huge problem. We finally get to the same place we were last week and I’m immediately looking for Jorge. Carlyn said she thought she saw him, so when the truck stopped, I jumped out the back looking for him. Sure enough about 20 feet from where the truck stopped I found Jorge. I was excited to him and he was equally surprised to see us again. I had been praying for him since last week so to see him again was awesome. We talked more about him wanting to get clean. I told him to come by the foundation tomorrow and gave him directions. He said he would try to come by around 2:00 and I told him I’d be waiting with open arms. I prayed that night that God would show me something and bring Jorge if it was His will.
1:30 the next day, I’m waiting in the bakery that is attached to our foundation with Katy. We wait and wait until about 3:30 or so then go back to our rooms. About 4:00 or so one of the workers at the foundation comes to me and says some guy named Jorge is out front waiting for me….
I couldn’t believe it, so I ran down the hall as fast as I can and threw the door open. Sure enough, Jorge is standing there with a faint and timid smile. I immediately just go straight for a hug. I couldn’t believe he walked all the way here. The people at the foundation say that hardly anybody ever comes in from the street on their own like he did. We go down to the bakery to buy him some food and talk for the next few hours. In order to get into the rehab program they want you to come stay with them a few nights so they can get to know him. I get him in line ready to go in for the night and told him I’m going to stay with him so he feels more comfortable.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell the whole story because it doesn’t end how you expect it to, but here it goes. I told him to wait for me to eat dinner, and I would be back in 5 or 10 minutes. I ate and came back to check on him in line with all the other guys. There is no sign of him. There is no way this is happening… I go back and scan the line again and again and again. Why would he leave after walking over an hour and spending HOURS talking to me only to leave at the finish line? I went around and searched the streets around for him but with no luck.
For the next couple days I was really down and wondering why God would seemingly answer my prayer only to leave me empty at the end. I was looking for an immediate answer to my prayer but it doesn’t always work like that. We are on God’s time, not our own. I’m thankful for all the time I got to spend with Jorge and I know I left a seed planted in him. I hope he finds his way. I know God will continue to work on him and all I can do is pray in the meantime.
In closing out this story, please keep Jorge in your prayers. I learned through this to be thankful for these experiences, learn from them, and don’t get discouraged when things don’t seem to go your way. Keep your head up and keep doing God’s work for His people.
Here are some pictures of my team before church and at El Penon de Guatpe, which is a large granite rock you can climb up, 750 steps later:
Thank you for reading! I can’t wait to see what Ecuador has in store for us. I’ll update you all soon. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Thanks to you, I have just $945 left to go for my next deadline at the end of this month. Feel free to share this blog and my website with anybody you think would be interested. Take care!
