This past week was filled with different ways we served the community of Medellin. Last Wednesday a few of the women from my team woke up at 5 A.M. to help the ladies who have been preparing the food for our team and for the men who are a part of the program at Ciudad Refugio. After working with the ladies for a morning, we walked away with a deeper appreciation for the food being served to us. They work hard to provide each meal! We found out a few days later how grateful they were for our help ( I felt like we did little compared to what they were doing!) because they had just recently lost two helpers. They do such an awesome job of feeding us well. It has been a little hard eating the food everyday. We definitely enjoy the days we can eat something off the Foundation, but are grateful when we are eating the food they prepare. Below are some photos from our volunteer day in the kitchen:
Wednesday evening we had church and afterwards we did a thing called Aguapanela. This is something the ministry does every week where they go to a street that many of the homeless gather. We give them sugar water and bread. The street we went to reminded me of how Hollywood displays homeless in cities. I personally have not been around the amount of homeless we witnessed this night. There were people doing drugs and young women/girls walking around. Prostitution is big here. I walked around with a group of people and we handed out pamphlets to ones who were interested in going to Ciudad Refugio.
It was hard not being able to speak the language well this night. I walked away from the night not feeling impacted. Or at least I thought it did not impact me. It bothered me that my heart was not heavy like some of my other teammates. Part of me thought maybe because someone close to me is dealing with similar issues, I have distanced myself from feeling it so I would not hurt for her. Which may be in part true, but God showed me hope on the street that night. I saw His eyes in people we encountered. I saw His love for them. He is at work on this street and He is drawing His children to himself. We get to be a part of that process, but He showed me He was already there on that street. The eyes that I made contact with were beautiful. Tomorrow we have the opportunity to go one more time before we move on to the next country. My hope is to meet more eyes like that again, but to also be a vessel of hope to others there.
Thursday we were able to break into our teams and serve in different areas for the ministry. Some of my team was able to go to Manantiales, a place up the mountain, and be a part of a women’s Bible study. I was a part of this group and I gave my testimony! It was interesting because I had a translator and I felt like I was not able to get across what I needed to, but I believe God used what He needed from what I shared. It gave me insight on how to prepare my testimony for translation. It was really neat being a part of the study. We were crowded into a house, and it had taken us a little bit to get there because of traffic, but the women waited so patiently for us to arrive. I loved seeing their hunger for God. That is one thing I have noticed being in Medellin and a part of this ministry, the people are hungry for God’s presence. So beautiful to see! It was encouraging for me to see how He has been wooing me this past few years, He has been doing here as well! Our God is so Great!!
Friday We had an easy day of ministry, we got to go be part of an English club so that was nice being able to speak English for an afternoon! Saturday was similar we had an English class at the Foundation. We got to practice with adults for an hour and then with children the second hour. After we did the English class, we helped out with a kids program they have on Saturdays. It was neat because we got to see some of the kids we had the previous week for the Kids camp. The first hour I played soccer with them and it was so much fun! I have not played in years, but it was fun remembering it and seeing that I was able to play and keep up with the kids!
On Sunday, We had church…and it was my birthday! I woke up to a sweet surprise trip to Starbucks…did not realize there was one here, but the reason for going was the pumpkin bread. If you know me, I love fall and pumpkin! It was a sweet surprise and one of my teammates read one of my favorite scripture there to me. It was so sweet! This was a very sweet birthday. I was loved on so well by my team, it was a first one in a long time that made me feel special. So it was nice beginning my last year of my twenties in Colombia!
And to finish out the week, yesterday was adventure day and I went to a coffee farm. 🙂 I LOVE coffee so this was a very much anticipated trip and it was so worth it. It was an adventure to get there, but once arriving I love it from the get go. We got to learn the different types of coffee, learn how to taste it, and got to learn the process from the picking to the roasting. I have grown in appreciation for how coffee is made and what it takes to get to us in the U.S.
This is a quick summary of what my second full week looked like in Colombia. I am not sure that all my blogs will summarize a whole week, but I would love to be able to give you a glimpse into what my week looks like, even if I do not have pictures to show it!
Thank you for taking time to read this week:)
Courtney
