It was nearly time for bed and I was walking around up on the 4th floor. I hear the chattering of people, so I look over the side of the balcony and my heart just broke.
Three floors down, I see a grid of mats laid side by side across the entire floor. Every single one was filled with a man who is currently homeless and living in the streets of Medellin, Colombia. There must have been at least 50 people.
My thoughts start racing:
Who am I to be so blessed as to not be down there?
Why has God chosen me to be where I am and them where they are?
I know I sleep on the same mat they do but at least I get the comfort of a teammates sleeping pad to cushion the floor.
Who am I to criticize my sleeping arrangements when they are sleeping side by side with strangers?
How lucky am I to not only have space between my mat and the next, but to also have belongings to put there?
Where is their family or do they even have any?
What is their story?
What brought them to this point in time?
What can I do for them?
Do they know Jesus?
What I have learned so far is that these individuals are not allowed to bring their belongings inside with them, it all must be left on the sidewalk. No alcohol, no drugs, no weapons. They can start coming at 6pm and have to leave by 5am. When they come, they are provided water, a shower, a mat to sleep on, and a blanket.
A stood there on the 4th floor humbled and heartbroken.
These men are people just like you and me. They have complicated twisted stories. Brokeness, hurt, sin, lying, cheating, deceit, pain. I cant imagine the stories that lie on that floor tonight and every night. Thankfully, in those stories, there is opportunity for hope, redemption, peace, healing, love, and grace through Christ.
Let their nights in the shelter of Ciudad Refugio be blessed and show the love of Christ and the provision for His children.
Furthermore, pray for the individuals living on the streets who aren’t in sleeping at this foundation tonight. Pray for a light to be shone. Pray for their addictions to cease. Pray for the darkness to hide from the light we are trying to shine as we go out at night and offer them food and drink.
These next three weeks serving in Medellin at Ciudad Refugio are going to be some of the spiritually heaviest ministries our squad has served to date, but that also means there is so much opportunity to see God do big things.
