Month 10 meant Medellin, Colombia.
What a dream, a hidden gem. It is a massive city; beautiful, kind, bold, but also very dark.
The hills light up at night; reminded me of the lantern festival I got to witness in Thailand. We stayed lower in the city so the lights of thousands of Colmobians’ homes lit up what looked like the night sky. It was peaceful, it was beautiful, it told stories.
I worked at City Refuge in July. This ministry is a powerhouse. They are claiming territory for the Lord and it is so so good. They have a homeless ministry, rehab programs for men and women, and a vision for freedom for the people of Medellin. My experience in Colombia was one summed up by the sole fact that God’s grace is beautiful.
I found myself more fragile here than I have been in the past months. I have witnessed things I never could have explained if I wasn’t on this journey-thanks God.
It’s been an insane gift, but it’s also been hard. It has been so hard. I worked with homeless people, Venezuelan refugees, people addicted, people in recovery, people.
A big prayer I had for this year was for God to break my heart for what breaks His. Give me a passion for your people, help me see your children as You do, show me populations of brokenness. I wanted to witness His children the way He sees them- to give me fuel to push forward to share His goodness; urgency. I wanted to witness His goodness even if that meant seeing it in what seemed like the depths of Hell.
Hell on Earth.
That’s what I witnessed in Medellin.
We did ministry at night on a street called the Bronx. It is a street downtown blocked off by roadblocks where basically anything goes. Everything is legal between these borders. Cops ride by and make sure the crowd is maintained by the borders, simply because they cannot contain it otherwise.
What’s between the barriers?
It is the darkest place I have ever placed my feet.
A street run by drugs.
A strip of land filled with individuals completely strung out by crack, or whatever they can get their hands on.
Hundreds of people on a block. They are naked, dressed in trash bags, they are passed out in the trash, they are lighting up in the trash, they are lighting up under sheets. They are locals, they are foreigners, they are old, they are young.
I got out of the bus, called people over as we came to pass out ‘aguapanela’ (tea and bread), then began my walk through the street. It is honestly the only time abroad where I have thought that I was actually in a sense of legitimate danger. In the midst of fights breaking out, yelling, unfamiliarity- It didn’t bother me. It didn’t bother me because I know that God is literally walking with me, highlighting His people. We walked with aim of passing out tracts (information about the foundation, information about a safe haven), seeing if we can find people who are sober, who want rescue, who we can bring back to the homeless shelter with us. I talked to a few people with my gal Caitlin, and pressed forward. As we walked I felt like I was trekking through a movie scene. People smiling with crazy eyes, brushing against you, stumbling, lighting their pipes up, people with open wounds laying in the street, people with halo braces on their legs literally limping down the street, dragging their crutches next to them. People who seem so far removed from any worth of their bodies, so far gone.
It’s dark. It smells, people unaware that they own any worth, restless hearts. Restless hearts searching for something thought to be at the spark of a lit pipe.
It’s horrible.
I walked the street in disbelief the first time I was there. I was able to hold it together though. I was able to hold it together until I saw a mom walking down the strip. I knew she was a mom because she was pushing a stroller with a little girl over and around strung out, wigged out individuals passed out in the street.
My heart instantly broke. In what world would someone think it would be a good idea to take themselves down this street, let alone a child.
My mind trailed- it instantly took me to where this sweet sis would end up. How far will she make it? Will she be on drugs by the time she’s 10? What kind of future would she hold?
It broke me.
Some who witness this, or read this, might claim:
“What kind of god”
“What kind of god would let this happen- what kind of god would say he loves his children, but allows this?”
I don’t know that kind of god. I don’t believe in that god- that’s not God.
It is not an act of God that placed these people on this street, it’s an act of man listening to the voice of the enemy.
God is on that street. He is in constant protection mode. Fighting for His people. In the midst of what looks like a lost battle, I am reminded the war is over. My heart breaks because many of these individuals just haven’t heard the news of victory.
I praise this God. I praise a God of freewill. I praise a God who sees His children wayward but is in constant pursuite. He is calling people to this street to call out and bring rescue. He has shifted Medellin to be the drug capital of the world but surely it is being revived. From where it has been to where it is going, there is hope, there is hope in faith. Faith that light is being spread.
That night, a man came back with us to seek refuge off the streets, to lay his head confidently down knowing he is sought after. A man who was choosing away from the streets and looking towards light. A man I hope and pray will continue to seek refuge in the Lord and turn his sights from drugs to freedom.
I am thankful for these moments. I am thankful for raw perspective. I am thankful for the eyes of the Father. I am thankful He gifts me the opportunity to witness what breaks His heart in order for me to know how to act. In the midst of what seems hopeless, I will fight. I will act on these individuals behalf. I will get on my knees and pray. I will put on the armor of Christ and pray for the little girl I saw, for the man who came back with us, for the people who will come. May chains of a broken generation be obliterated in Jesus name. May they walk in freedom and not cast down by a lie of the enemy. I am confident His faithfulness will always see His people through. We have the capability to rest because we are found in Him. We have the capability to change our reality because we are warriors in Christ. We have power to partner with Him to bring His kingdom come.
In no reality would I look at a street like the Bronx and see hope except for in the hands of Christ. Pray for these people. Pray for their eyes to be opened, pray as they are passed out they are gifted sweet visions of Jesus, pray people continue to visit that street passing out bread and tea to share the news that they are being pursued. Pray this streets reputation ends through the work of the Lord. Pray for souls to be at rest on the foundation of God. May we hold confidant to truth and watch the giants fall.
If I have learned anything this year, it is that prayer if powerful. The spiritual realm is at war, may we battle for the goodness of God. Amen.
Believe this with me. Pray with me.
Ris
