There have been two books that have been on my family’s bookshelf for the majority of my life. They are The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz. For those of you that are not familiar with either of these books or with either of these men, let me tell you a little bit about them. David Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist. He is best known for his book, The Cross and the Switchblade, for being the founding pastor of the non-denominational Time Square Church in New York City, and for being the founder of the addiction recovery program, Teen Challenge. Nicky Cruz is a Christian evangelist, the founder of Nicky Cruz Outreach (an evangelistic Christian ministry), the former director of Teen Challenge, and prior to his conversion the leader of a New York City gang, the Mau Maus.
So what do these two men have to do with Colombia?
In Month 8, YOJ partnered with Ciudad Refugio in Medellin, Colombia. Ciudad Refugio is a holistic ministry focused on restoring individuals and communities. The ministry has recovery programs, feeding programs, homeschool, spiritual formation, microenterprise, and a homeless shelter. It is a hub for a variety of ministries around the city. Ciudad Refugio is run by Pastor Douglas, an Argentinian with Canadian citizenship that has connections with Teen Challenge. Here is how it all began:
The year was 1994 and it was a very violent period in Colombia. The church where we worked was located in one of the darkest and scariest neighborhoods in Medellin. The Saturday meeting with the church’s youth just ended. Sunday was almost here, a day of a lot of work for us. We call the weekends, the great marathon. We had five meetings with five messages to prepare and street evangelism. By the time it was done, we were dead. And on Mondays . . . it began again. In addition, I was single and feeling alone, a very painful situation when one is 25 years old. And on top of it all, I was unable to sleep.
Suddenly without forethought, I did something crazy. I made a decision and with a burden of depression on my shoulder, I left for the streets. It was midnight, I had been walking for about half an hour when I met 20 indigenes homeless. They were almost all sleeping with the exception of one who was surprised by my presence. None of the others paid much attention, especially because it was such an imprudent hour. The young man and I spoke of many things and finally, we spoke of the Lord. With tears in our eyes, we cried and prayed. What happened afterward, I will never forget. While we were praying, I heard noises all around me. I knew that I was in a violent country; I was alone and surrounded by people who were not very reputable. I was scared and I remembered that I thought my time had come. I tried to hide my fear, but my eyes waited for the worst. What I saw is difficult to express. Those that were sleeping had gotten up, and those that were half awake were focusing their attention upon me. One of the men close to me spoke for all of them,
“We want you to pray for us as well¨. Before I fully understood what was happening, the street transformed into a mini-church service. I shared with them the peace and the joy that God had given. I spoke in the past tense because just then my depression had left. We prayed all together and on the street corner in Medellín, they accepted the Lord. There were tears flowing from one side to the other, God is real!
I returned to the church joyful and that night I couldn’t sleep. I dedicated my life to prayer and to reading the Bible.
I opened the Bible exactly to Matthew 25: The judging of the nations. There Jesus tells us to be the voice for those that no one listens to, demonstrated with a love reflected in concrete actions. To those that are hungry, give them food; to those that are naked, clothe them; to those that are sick, visit them . . . God spoke and I listened.
This night birthed a ministry; this night birthed the City of Refuge (Ciudad Refugio).
(Excerpt by Pastor Douglas from the Ciudad Refugio website)
Every Wednesday night, people from the church still go out and minister to the homeless and the drug addicts. It was one of the most heart-breaking, eye-opening, and awe-inspiring ministries I have ever been apart of.
We would start with worship. We would sing loudly (in Spanish) praising how great our Father is. Then, we would get ready. We would put on aprons that the homeless people are familiar with, grab our tracts, and head out into the city. There is one street in Medellin that is known for being a safe place for drug addicts. This is what the street is like:
The street where Agua Panela takes place is dark in both the physical and spiritual sense; there are no street lights to illuminate the way. Men, women, and animals are just walking around aimlessly and many are openly using and selling drugs. For the most part, they are like zombies and not in their right mind. I cannot explain it in better terms than-it’s like walking straight into the pit of hell, despair and hopelessness all rolled into one small street. You have to be careful where you step because there are just piles and piles of people with their things just sitting or standing or others are walking around in a frenzy but with nowhere to go. There is an energy here that I have only encountered on this street and nowhere else before. (Excerpt by Merlin M. from the Ciudad Refugio blog)
The police in the area know that people are using and selling drugs on this street, and actively monitor it, but they do not make arrests unless there is physical violence happening. That is just how many people are on this street. Once we arrived on the street, we would take out the bread and agua panela (a drink made from panela which is derived from hardened sugar cane juice and hot water), and pray for God to protect us, our efforts, and bring people to us to talk to. And then we started talking. We would see who we felt God was calling us to talk to and then approach them. It didn’t matter if they were coherent, if they were possessing drugs, if they were using in front of us, or what they looked like, we just tried to make a connection, share the love of God, that there was so much more to life than drugs and alcohol, and that there was a way out if they wanted it.
Agua Panela is by far the most challenging form of ministry I have ever experienced. But the few times I got to go in Month 8, I was consistantly reminded of how important it is to be a light in such a dark, scary, lonely world. I am reminded of Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
In what ways can you let your light shine?
In what ways do you hide your light from others?
How can you offer hope to the hopeless?
How can you demostrate the love of Christ?
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are three simple ways:
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Also, if you are feeling called to support the World Race in a financial way, a couple of my squadmates are still in need of help. Click on their names below if you would like to know more about them!
