As I’m sitting here in Ecuador on the last month of the trip, I want to start this month by catching you up on what happened over the past 2 months in Panama and Colombia:
Panama
For the month of June we worked with Navjeevan House of Prayer in Panama City. Our hosts were Pastor Shibu, his wife Lilly and their kids Leah, Timothy and Sarah. Shibu was born in India and is passionate about reaching out to the Hindu population in Panama.
To start off the month, we had an all-night prayer service at the church. We attended a Hare Krishna festival and talked to a wide variety of people about their devotion to Krishna. A few days later we visited the local Hindu temple where we met the priest and his wife. He gave us a personal tour or the temple, answered some questions we had and allowed us to pray for him before we left. We are believing for the one true God to speak to him through dreams or visions and also praying for him and his wife to conceive a child!
We spent most of our time going out on the streets or to the malls in town to pray for people, answer any questions they may have had and invite them to come to church on Sundays. We prayed for healing and saw God heal on multiple occasions! We had lots of encouraging conversations about faith, passions and life in general. We shared meals with new friends. We shared Jesus at the skatepark. On the last Sunday, we had a FULL HOUSE at church and saw a great increase in attendance and excitement in the fellowship.
It was hard to say goodbye to the Appukuttan family. They welcomed us into their home and made us feel so welcome. By the end of the month, I felt like a big brother to Leah, Timothy and Sarah. Shibu and Lilly were so loving and sacrificed a lot to make us feel at home.
Colombia
For the month of July we worked with City of Refuge in Medellin. City of Refuge (Ciudad Refugio) is a large ministry with many different programs that are uniquely designed to meet the specific needs of its target population.
I would start my days with coffee and quiet time at El Refugio, Ciudad Refugio´s on-site bakery and cafe. The bakery provides income for the organization and skills training for program participants, helping increase their employability. In the mornings, we would work alongside the program participants in Manos que Obran. Manos que Obran (Hands that Work) is an initiative that provides local companies with quality manual labor services at reduced costs. In return, program participants receive job training and the organization generates another source of sustainable income.
The “program participants” that I keep referring to are the men and women that have chosen to live at Ciudad Refugio to experience freedom from substance abuse or other issues. We had daily Bible studies with the men, played soccer with them once a week and would try talk to them about life as often as we could. In the evenings, Ciudad Refugio opens their doors to around 60 homeless men per night. They receive a safe and dry place to sleep, low cost food, and showers. Cody and I opted to sleep in the shelter one night to get to know the men who considered it their home.
I cannot write about my month in Colombia without writing about our weekly visits to the Bronx. The Bronx is a city block that is full of hundreds of people that are openly selling and consuming crack and other drugs. I had never seen anything remotely close to this. During outreach at the Bronx, we would provide these people with bread, a warm drink and information about Ciudad Refugio’s shelter and recovery programs. We would tell them that Jesus loves them and pray that they would start to see themselves the way God sees them.
Ecuador is shaping up to be an incredible last month. We have formed a new team that is focused on the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis. More to come!
