Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

Below is a snippet of Frieda Renee’s blog about Medellín, Colombia. Frieda is one of my squadmates and close friends. Her blog powerfully captures the past of this city and the impact that El Ciudad Refugio continues to have on that past.  
 
 
 
“He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
 
The name is not well accepted in most of the areas of Colombia— especially in Medellín. In fact, many people hesitate to mention the name out loud for fear of the reaction they might receive from those who hear. I have heard people joke and call him “Voldemort.” If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will understand the depth of the power in a name. However, in this case, the villain is not the fictitious powerful and dangerous wizard but rather a very real terror— Pablo Escobar.
 
The Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist in the 1980s controlled more than 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States— the US pushed for his capture and extradition. Escobar worked with a small group to form the infamous Medellin Cartel. 
Escobar unleashed his fury on his enemies in the hopes of influencing Colombian politics by killing thousands of people, including politicians, civil servants, journalists and ordinary citizens. His terror campaign claimed the lives of three Colombian presidential candidates, an attorney general, scores of judges and more than 1,000 police officers. In addition, Escobar was implicated as the mastermind behind the bombing of a Colombian jetliner in 1989 that killed more than 100 people. 
Escobar’s terror eventually turned public opinion against him and caused a breakup of the alliance of drug traffickers. In 1993, he was killed by Colombian police. Deeply scarred by one man and his murderous ascent to the top of the drug industry, Medellín is working hard to rebuild its spirit and long history of independence. Twenty-five years ago, Time magazine dubbed Colombia’s Medellin “the most dangerous city on Earth”.
 
This month, our entire squad has been working with an organization named Ciudad Refugio. Established in 1993 (did you catch that? Yes, it was the year that Escobar was killed. I am convinced that this date is not a coincidence), they have so many amazing programs:
 
•men’s homeless shelter
•recovery programs for men and women (residential restoration)
•youth development program
•agua panela outreach
•volunteer exchange
•homeschooling
•children’s feeding”

 

 

Do you remember my blog about the Light in the darkness? Well I believe that El Ciudad Refugio stands as a Light in the darkness of Medellín’s past. I believe that the Foundation, and all the people who are a part of it, is a major way God has been using and will continue using to redeem this city. 

Africa, more specifically Kenya, has been home in my heart since I first went 3 years ago. I have been so ready to go back since I got accepted to go on the World Race. And I never imagined that anywhere could hit my heart as deeply as Africa did. But Medellín, El Ciudad Refugio, and all the people here have come pretty close. I have no idea what my future holds (aside from the fact that my heart is to live overseas), but I pray it will include returning to this place and these people. Thank you Jesus for the way you’ve used this city and these people to touch my heart so deeply and for the mark that they are leaving on my heart forever.

 

UPDATE: Month 4, Rwanda

It’s time for Africa! I am currently sitting in an airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We are on day 3 of our travel from South America to Africa. But we only have one more flight!

As I mentioned above, I have been waiting for 3 years to return back to Africa, where I left my heart. So I’m very excited to see what the Lord has planned for the next 3 months!

On a different note, my team and one other have team changes for this month. Rwanda is “Manistry” month, which means all the men will be together. So for the girls of the two teams that had men on them, we will be combining to be one team.

Our team name is Soul Sisters so I have three new sisters this month. You can check out their profiles from the homepage of my blog or by clicking on their names below! We are excited to be a team!

Sarah Geis

Nicole Murray

Abigail Jernigan

 

One BIG prayer request I have is for my alumni squad leader Patrick. He was playing soccer in Colombia and broke his foot. After praying and talking to leadership, they decided the best decision was for him to go home in order to have the best environment to heal. Our alumni squad leaders are not supposed to leave until the end of month 5 in Uganda, so this was a lot sooner than expected. Please pray for all of us as we navigate not having him with us. And please pray for him as he went home a lot sooner than he thought. Please also pray for a miraculous and quick healing so he can come back out to us for month 5. 

 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me get this far already! The Lord has changed me so much in just 3 months, I cannot imagine what he will do in the next 8.

Love you all!

In Christ, 

Rachel

 

Below is my one (or two) seconds a day video from Colombia!