One of the men on my squad, Rob, wrote this blog, I think he did an incredible job in capturing what Augapanela con Pan is. Once a week, we have the opportunity to do this ministry, Wednesday nights. Tonight a group will be going out, please be in prayer for them.
As 12 gringos and 8 translators pull up to a homeless community in Medellín, Colombia, our training earlier that night was ringing fresh in our minds. “This is a dark place with a lot spiritual bondage.”
On the bus ride, there was nothing it of the ordinary for Medellín. But as soon as we pulled onto the street we would be serving on we were greeted by an unexpected scene. Here, where we had plans to hand out Aquapanela (a sugar cane drink) and bread is where a lot of homeless people call home. The scene is set by a dark, dirty, and damp street which is barely visible as it is being blocked by around 100 homeless men and women crowded into the first half of the block. And even more are dispersed throughout the rest of the block.
As the shock of this new scene started to wear off, the faces of the men and women began to stand out. Humans just like me and you living in these conditions. But the reality of the situation had yet to be experienced. As we got out of the bus, we prayed first as a group. After that, we set up our station and had a few volunteers to hand out the aquapanela con pan. The rest of us split up into smaller groups (a few gringos with a translator) to walk up and down the block. As we walked, we saw these people trapped in this place because they believed there was no way out. One man stood in the middle of the street staring up at the night sky saying something unintelligible, another with crippled legs selling drugs, another with a band around his arm and a needle in the other hand we continued to walk as we watched him inject this foreign substance into his bloodstream. Another woman stood off in the distance with her shirt only half on her body, another woman was dancing, and as I watched this scene unravel before my eyes, I wanted so badly to bring hope to these people! You see, they all had something in common: pain. They were all trying to ease the pain they were experiencing via a foreign substance.
Pain is part of this life and we all choose to deal with it in the way we think is best. Unfortunately, some ways are just a temporary fix. As we learn to numb out the pain we are experiencing, we find ourselves also numb to a lot of things we want to feel; happiness, joy, love, peace, etc. I know this numbness because I’ve been there. I used lots of things to numb myself; food, sugar, pornography, the praise of man, sports, and the list goes on. But I encountered a problem with all these methods; the pain ALWAYS came back sometimes with increasing intensity! I felt trapped in this cycle of addiction to numbing. Until one day when I reached what I thought I had wanted; complete numbness. I was unfulfilled and unsatisfied. I was believing a lie: that what I was doing was going to satisfy. When I reached this point of numbness, I finally asked for help and I found it. I found hope, love, fellowship, and true freedom in community. You see, these people in Colombia are feeling alone on that extremely crowded street.
HOPE!
As I walked this street in Medellín, that was the very thing I wanted to give away. I saw so much hopelessness because of the lie that these people believed; this was the best way out of the pain. I got to have some conversations about pain and healing. I will write another blog on the specifics of those conversations.
For now, I would ask that you pray for those homeless people. The ministry goes there every Wednesday and they need prayers!
* That they would have hope in the truth that can shatter the lie they are believing.
* That they would leave the situation they’re in and find true community.
* That God would break the pattern of pain and addiction in their lives.
* That those who go would humbly use the weapons God gives to tear down any strongholds.
* That God would send out truth among all those lies.
* And that some might hear the truth and find freedom in Christ.
P.S. I think God has something big planned for this week in the homeless community because I’ve been fasting and praying and today I had intense stomach pain, chills, sweats, nausea, and nervous issues. Some men prayed for me a few times and I experienced complete healing right after the prayer. I can’t see that as a coincidence I see it as an attack. So prayers for safety are welcomed!
