I thought I left the hard goodbyes behind in the U.S. I’m now realizing that this year is going to be full of Jesus, love, and adventure as well as a ton of painful goodbyes. I’m going to have to cling to the adage “Don’t cry because its over; smile because it happened” or I’m not going to make it through this year.
Saying goodbye to Ciudad Refugio was incredibly hard. I knew that incredible relationships could form in a month (I’ve formed incredible relationships in as little as two weeks at summer camp) but I just couldn’t fathom how hard it would really be to leave. My heart is aching for all the people that I left just hours ago. I truly love these people and they have taught me so much about what it means to love like Jesus. As you talk to the Lord tonight or even over the next few weeks or months, I ask you to add a few of these names to your prayers and just ask God to bless each person.
Our kitchen crew:
• Lillly- a volunteer from Israel who left a few days before us. She was our neighbor and did a little bit of everything from working in the kitchen to helping with homeschool to children’s ministry.
• Poala- a Colombian volunteer that lives full time at the ministry and also helps with teaching at the homeschool and with children’s ministry.
• Mayra- one of the ladies who speaks a good amount of English and wakes up at 4 am every day to pick up all the kids for school and still has enough energy to help with long Saturdays of children’s ministry.
• Michel- She was always joking with us and making us laugh. She has a great voice and can play the ukulele.
• Romena- A grandmother who volunteers in the kitchen on some mornings. She is so sweet and tells us how beautiful we are all the time.
• Claudia- A young woman who has had a tremendously difficult life and is still discovering what it means to have a relationship with the Lord. She always says we’re “chicas locas” (crazy girls) but she knows she is included in our craziness. I pray that she truly feels the incredible love of Jesus and desires a strong, personal relationship with him.
• Daniela- She came to the foundation about a week ago and she made a huge impact on us in just a week. She has a huge personality and is the life of the party.
• Alejandra- She has an incredible voice and an even bigger heart for the Lord. She has an inspiring story of coming through the program and being rescued from addiction by the grace of God. She is a teacher in the homeschool program, helps in the kitchen, and helps with children’s ministry.
• Gicela- Sweet woman and wonderful mother to her daughter Vanessa who lives at the foundation and attends the homeschool. We love both of them and I don’t think I have ever seen a smile as big as the one she had on her face when we put on our women’s event.
• Mama Nena- Boss lady of the kitchen. She is tough to please but she is overflowing with the love of Jesus. Her women’s ministry is inspiring and she definitely has a place in all of our hearts.
Men in the rehab program– Since we did not really get to interact with many of them, I ask for general prayers for the men in the program who are recovering from powerful addictions. At Aguapanela, we have heard people tell us that the drug’s are stronger than the love of God but the men who are in the program know that that is not the case. However, they still have difficulties and I just pray that they know God is fighting for them. Here are a few of the men that I had the chance to meet:
• John- The master bakery who makes or oversees the making of all the pastries in the bakery. We met him at the airport when we first arrived and though he is quiet and always hard at work, he gives us a smile and wave whenever we see him.
• Nestor- He is the head chef in the bakery and makes all of the non-bread food. He speaks a little bit of English that he enjoyed practicing when we would go to the bakery (so basically every day for me). He has a big heart and loves the Lord.
• Adiel- Barely a year older than me, he also works in the bakery and was almost impossible for us to understand but he would always greet us and serve us.
• Carlos Andreas- We had the chance to meet at Aguapanela two weeks ago. His story is a powerful testament to the love of God. He struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and spent about a year and a half living on the streets near where we go for Aguapanela. I asked him if it was hard for him to go back to that place and he said no because he has no desire to go back because the love of God is so much better. He said that he wants to use his story and experiences to help the other people on the streets in similar circumstances. At our last night of Aguapanela, the whole group sang a few songs and we sang the chorus of the only song we knew in Spanish and then he carried us through the entire verse in Spanish until we all joined in at the chorus again. He is someone that God has put on my heart and I know I will never forget.
Other Staff and Volunteers:
• Celia & Lydia- German volunteers who arrived shortly before we did and will be staying at the foundation for a year. They were also our neighbors in the foundation and we spent a few off days exploring together. We got to help them teach English a few times (and even German once) and we are thankful that we got to know them.
• Harry & Margaret- They did so much for us during our time at the foundation. They are a beautiful family with two daughters, Ashley and Ashira who translated for us and helped us in so many ways. We got to go to their home and have an incredible Indian dinner all homemade by Margaret. They are incredible people and have been in Colombia for 8 years.
• Don Jorge- He was the first person from the foundation that we met when he picked us up at the airport. He is an incredible man with a heart of gold. He is an alumnus of the rehab program and stayed to help work at the foundation. He does a little bit of everything and we saw him most often when he was driving us to a bus station or working in the bakery. He knows exactly how we all of take our coffee (I like mine cold and in a glass bottle labeled Coca-Cola because I don’t drink coffee).
• Flor & Dr. Evelyn- These women are part of Times Square Church in New York and came down to visit. We got to spend a decent amount of time with Flor in her two-week stay and then Dr. Evelyn, a psychologist, actually ended up extending her stay through the middle of September. Both were full of wisdom and poured into all of us.
• Gustavo- A missionary that was supposed to be in Colombia for 3 months but has been there for more than 2 years now. He also has a big heart and a great personality. He has a way of connecting with the teens that makes him an incredible teacher for children’s ministry.
• Lennon- Another person that definitely has a special place in all of our hearts. We met him on our first day at the foundation. He spent two afternoons walking around the city with us and helping us buy three guitars and a ukulele. Then, when we left, he gave each person who bought an instrument a book with chords and some basic worship songs to learn. He has a huge heart for the homeless and works with the shelter every night. The two of us often joke that we are going to fight but we’re kidding of course (but I would win).
• Martha- The sweetest little old lady in the entire world. She is suffering from the beginning stages of Parkinson’s and uses an oxygen tank but she loved us so well. She was always so happy to see us because she has limited mobility and doesn’t spend a lot of time out of her room. Oh, and did I mention Jesus is her boyfriend?
- Sophia- Director of the children’s ministry. We worked with her a lot and she is definitely one of the most hard-working people I have ever met. She also loves all of the kids in the homeschool and especially the kids from Manantiales so well. She is originally form Mexico but followed God’s call to Colombia and has been at the foundation for about a year.
• David & Erika- This young couple does a lot at the foundation from teaching to maintenance and electrical work but they also serve as the youth ministers and we got to spend a good amount of time with the youth group. They are both sweet and soft-spoken but love the Lord and those kids so well.
• Pastor Douglas- He and his family were always in and out of the foundation and we got to spend a good amount of time with his son John Mark who speaks a little bit of English and is a huge jokester. I ask for special prayers for Pastor Douglas as he recently severed his Achilles tendon. He designed the entire building of Ciudad Refugio and has grand plans for the upcoming expansion project so hopefully this injury is not a huge setback.
• Jose, Matteo, and Heyder- these three boys (13-14 years old) live at the foundation and attend the homeschool. The foundation is helping to raise them as good Christian men and they help tremendously with children’s ministry at Manantiales on Saturdays. This program is how they got connected with the foundation in the first place and they enjoy giving back. Pray for them as they grow and mature in Christ and give them comfort when they miss home.
• Rebecca- Our wonderful host for the month. Rebecca is an incredible woman with a heart for Colombia. She is originally from the U.S. and has done mission work in many different places but Colombia, specifically the foundation, was the first place she really felt at home. She has a heart for discipleship and was a great mentor to us this first month. She also has a beautiful baby girl, Isabela who is the cutest baby ever.
There are so many people at Ciudad Refugio that are incredible and doing great things for the Lord. Please keep this wonderful place and all of these people in your prayers. As Harry told , everyone in the foundation is a little bit crazy but I’m sure that’s why we fit right in. Just like Rebecca, we felt so at home in the foundation and I know God has incredible plans for the next ten months but it is going to be very difficult to beat this month.
