Hola!
First of all, we made it to Medellín, Colombia safe and sound on January 12. It was a great flight, with some great community building conversation over our last American meal for the foreseeable future. It was great to be able to have that foundation before we all left the country. We met up with two of our international squadmates after we landed in Colombia and took a bus to get to where we’re staying. We are definitely being spoiled with good food, nice beds, and a wonderful house where we can all draw closer to God and each other in a comfortable environment. Considering what we’ll be doing this next 10 months is going to be no where close to comfortable, it’s nice to have some of the comforts of a home before we head out into the unknown of the mission field.
We have had some opportunities to minister to people through certain exercises that our leaders have given us. One of the most important tools for this year is being able to practice Listening Prayer well and that means we are able to communicate with God on a whole new level; a concept completely new to me, and very intimidating for me. We had to practice this one day where we were told to go purchase a bottle of water, and give it to someone who we felt like God was telling us to give to them. We had to pray about where God might be calling us to purchase the bottle of water, and then pray about who we should give it to. My partner and I met these two women who were students at a local university (we think. Our Spanish is not great, so we are not 100% certain how the conversation went, but it was a good exercise!
We had another ministry opportunity that involved us hiking up to an area overlooking the city. It was quite the hike up, but totally worth it! I’ll post some pictures with this blog from the top. It’s breathtaking. While we were up there, we met a family with 3 daughters ages 9, 7, and 5. After talking with them for about 45 minutes, we all exchanged social networking information and later on that night, I got a message from the mom saying that she was really glad to have met us and that she thought that the work we were doing was important, and that is how she wanted to raise her daughters. They were all so sweet, and we plan on keeping in touch with them as well as we can given the language barrier.
Our squad is comprised of absolutely amazing racers, leaders, and mentors and we could not have hit a bigger jackpot with all of it. We are well aware that the next 10 months are going to be very hard, but we are certain that God is going to work and through us individually and as a group of missionaries to help bring the Kingdom a little closer to home. What a gift that is, and none of us on this squad take it lightly. We are all a family now, and as a family we will do our best to play our parts as members of a squad, a team, and as a member of the Body of Christ. We are looking forward to the adventures ahead of us, because when you have a “Yes” in your Spirit, the adventures with God are endless. You just have to take a step out in faith and say “Yes”. This year, we have all said “Yes” not only to each other, but “Yes” to God. We look forward to the year full of adventure ahead of us!!
That’s all for now, folks! Talk to you again soon!
