Hola from Quito, Ecuador! We have been here for about a week, and I cannot believe it’s already month 11.
Colombia started with a four day debrief in the large city of Medellin. We spent time processing the last nine months, time worshiping, and time looking ahead to the next two months with a lot of excitement.
After debrief, we took four days as a squad to have “Ask the Lord” (ATL) ministry. We’ve been preparing ourselves the last two months of what going home will look like. One thing we’ve learned, or at least become more aware of is that ministry is life & life is ministry. This means that although I may not be serving within the walls of a church, I can still love like Jesus. Or if I’m at the mall, nothing should stop me from praying for the person I walk by in a wheelchair, etc.… When I get home I don’t have a lot of concrete plans, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use every day as an opportunity to love those around me. That’s the importance of Ask the Lord ministry while we are on the race. It gives us a chance to seek out what God wants us to do every day, just like I’ll be doing when I get home.
After ATL my team Level up and I boarded a bus and headed 7 hours south to the small town of Filandia, Colombia. There we were partnered with a World Race alumni Karson and her Colombian husband, Eyson. They have been working for the past two years in Filandia, providing a safe space for kids to learn more about Jesus, find friends, and get homework help.
For our ministry, we taught in farm schools on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. We focused on teaching English, different bible stories, crafts, games, and some PE classes. We ended most classes in a game of hangman so the kids could practice their English! Wednesday – Friday in the afternoon we would help at Karson and Eyson’s Foundation. We helped with an afterschool program. On Saturdays, we either helped with a small community event where we shared a testimony/word of encouragement and led the kids and adults in a craft project. Or we would go into the nearby town of Armenia and help guide a young adult night. We had a time of Spanish Worship, a testimony, teaching, and then we broke into smaller groups to talk about community & peer pressure.
For our adventure days & Sabbaths last month I didn’t do much, I found complete satisfaction in checking out nearby cafes! The town of Filandia is pretty small, so we didn’t do anything for adventure as a team either. We did, however, get to be there for Colombia’s Independence Day!
We had pretty nice living arrangements last month as well. We had a kitchen where we were able to prepare breakfast for ourselves. Lunch and Dinner were made for us by a local restaurant that prepared us excellent local Colombian food. The Empanadas were my favorite! The 7 of us shared four rooms in the home we were staying at, so I shared a room with my teammate Brynna.
Overall month ten was one of my favorites. Over the month, our squad raised over $4,000 to help Venezuelan refugees. If you aren’t aware of the crisis happening in Venezuela, I encourage you to research it a little. I will attach some videos at the bottom of this update. We’ve been able to steward that money with the help of local ministries to help different families all over Medellin. The leftover money from that initial campaign we are using to host an event for Venezuelan families here in Quito.
This month is completely Ask the Lord. With that being said, we walked into this month with no plans and no ministry assignments. God has been providing in so many ways for our squad. We have been staying at a nice Hostel for about a 50% discount so we could stay in our budget. He has provided us multiple contacts of people willing to help our dream of hosting this Venezuelan event, and I’m being blown away daily of all the beautiful things happening.
Thank you so much for reading this update, your prayers, your encouragement, and all the other support you have given! It is an understatement to say I wouldn’t be here without such a fantastic crew having my back the whole time. Thank you. I am eternally grateful. See you in TWENTY SEVEN DAYS MINNESOTA!
Make sure you check out my Colombia recap vlog here!
Ashley
Here is a video explaining the collapse of Venezuela
Here is a video of what is happening at the Venezuelan/Colombian border
