A Day on the Farm in San Pedro, Colombia: March, 2016
It’s 6:00am, time to get up. When I think about rolling back over, the energy I had the day before comes to my mind. I remember that I love days on the farm and I can’t wait for the day to start! I jump up to start my work out. I run about half a mile, then do 50 push ups, 50 sit ups, and 50 squats. Muscles burning and body pulsing, I’m ready to go.
It’s 7:00am, time to spend time with the Lord. I get my journal, Bible, pen, and blanket to keep warm. The Lord shows me this verse, encouraging me even more, preparing me for the day.
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you, and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13
It’s 8:00am, time for breakfast…my favorite meal of the day in Colombia! We just have to walk across the seemingly never ending field full of cow manure in order to get there…it’s worth it. We can do it.
We each get a pancake with syrup, papaya, white cheese, hot chocolate, and a cup of coffee. I get my favorite blue and purple swirl mug for the coffee; put airequippe (like caramel) in the bottom, pour the coffee on top and then add nine small spoons of sugar and lastly milk. Perfection in a cup.
It’s 9:00am, time for team prayer for the day. We all gather upstairs at the farm. Jordyn starts out letting us know our schedule for the day and then we each pray. We pray for the boys, their families, their safety, and their salvation. We pray for God’s guidance for the workers, patience for the boys, and actions and words that show the boys God’s love. Lastly, we pray for our team.
It’s 10:00am, time for devotional with Don Guillermo. Don Guillermo and Wanda came to Colombia as missionaries with Latin America Missions over 30 years ago. He talks about vision and the three lights to consider when getting a vision from the Lord: Prayer, The Bible, and Peace. He and his wife were given a vision for missions in West Virginia over 30 years ago and God carried it out one step at a time. Now they have a farm for boys that has been running for 30 years in San Pedro, Colombia! Thirty years of boys have had a safe place to grow up, people pouring into them who loved them, and an opportunity for a different life that their parents could not or would not provide.
It’s 11:00am, time to get to work on the farm. This month we are focusing on cleaning up the farm and painting the cabins in order to get their sanitation license so they can help even more boys. Some of us pick up trash around the farm, gathering it into one pile to burn and one pile for trash pick up. The other half of us gets to work on painting the interior of the three cabins for the boys. We paint every nook and cranny in two coats, the darker chimney color on the bottom and the lighter cream color on the top. We take the boys most prized possessions (pictures of family, letters, and cards) off of the walls and place them neatly on their beds until we complete painting their cabins.
It’s 3:00pm, time for the boys to come home from school. Now the fun begins. We play soccer and caballitos (horses) as we run around with them riding on our backs. We help them with their chores and their homework so we can do an activity with all of them. We play limbo with a stick we found. They can’t run around to go under it again fast enough!
Then, we play parachute. Neighbor boys joining in, we all circle around the parachute and throw a few balls on top of it, watching them bounce high into the air. I’ll never forget the sound of all of them laughing together.
It’s 5:00pm, time for snack. Airequippe and crackers, my favorite snack in Colombia. Each of the boys enjoys their snack; some run around the farm while some sit on our laps watching the sun set.
It’s 7:00pm, time for dinner. The boys eat first as they each sit at separate tables silently. Because of their backgrounds of abuse and violence, the boys can’t sit together during meals or fights may break out. As they finish, they hand wash their own dishes and put them to the side, then run off to play again.
It’s 7:30pm. “It’s time for your devotional, boys!” Daniella and Maria yell outside to the boys as they get off their bikes and skateboards and kick the soccer balls to the side. We go into the boys cabin and settle down with them in our laps for the devotional. Daniella reads the story about Jesus dyeing on the cross and then raising from the grave. She is very intentional, making sure they are paying attention as she asks them questions about the story. Leaning on the edge of their seats, they are captivated by this story, a story they have heard before, but a story that forever mesmerizes them. This is a love they don’t quite understand, but they want more of it. More and more and more of it. We kiss them goodnight and tuck them into their little beds.
It’s 8:00pm, time for team time. We give each other feedback for the day and talk about how each of the boys is stealing our hearts, each one in a different way.
I loved my life in Colombia. I wanted to stay with the boys and love them forever…and ever and ever.
