Colombia-where the Lord changed my heart. Colombia-where My heart grew so much for people I had never known before. Colombia-A place I will always call home and will always have a family.
The month we spent in Colombia was special and impacting for so many reasons and I wish I had the words to share all those experiences and the way it changed me.
The first day we arrived in Colombia, I started loving it. Something in me just wanted to slowly take in everything this month. It was beautiful- the country, the culture, the language and the people. It was a contagious thing that quickly set inside me.
We were coming from Africa and the travel was long and tiring. We arrived late and the city of Bogota was dark and cold. It was a strange place, but as soon as we arrived at the Pineros home, our host families, it all changed. We were welcomed into their house by their smiling faces and a warm meal and from then on it became our home and our family.
The Pineros family loved and cared for us well. The mom, dad, and the three girls took us in like their own. We weren’t strangers anymore but family. They cared for us and spoiled us. We had water boiled for us to have hot showers. We had real Colombian food for each meal. They taught us Spanish and we taught them English. We played games with the girls and spent so many fun times just hanging out with everyone. We were family.
It was a whole new view of community. From the family, the church, and the local community, we could have been easily treated like outsiders, but we weren’t. They wanted us around. So many people would take time out of their days to spend time with us.
Part of our weekly ministry was going into the schools and teaching their English classes. We prepared activities, lessons, shared the gospel or read encouraging scripture with the students. We were given the freedom to share whatever we liked. The kids were very receptive to what we had to say. They always welcomed us and even wanted to hang out with us outside of school.
The other part of our ministry was working in the church and with the Colombian church family. We were welcomed and wanted. We participated in the youth services on the weekends. They just wanted us to be a part of the ministry in any way we could. With music, the message, activities or just conversations after the service, these were the times that really meant so much to me.
I was asked to sing worship with them for the services and it was something that really impacted me. It didn’t matter that spanish wasn’t my first language, whether it was english or spanish they wanted me to serve with them. I quickly picked up the spanish lyrics and was able to sing a few songs with them in the services. It was so amazing. Watching them worship with their hearts being poured out through music just really hit me. They had so much love for the lord. They lived their lives in that way. It wasn’t just a thing they did on sundays but it was all through their life. They worshiped with their hearts. And they wanted me to be a part of that. Because in Christ we are all one. No matter the background or culture we are one family in Christ. They encouraged me in learning spanish, and using my voice to worship the Lord more. It was one of the coolest things to be able to lead worship together.
We made some lifelong friends in the short time we were in Colombia. Every Sunday, we all went to the park with the Pineros family and the church family. It was what I looked forward to every week. We were able to spend time with people our own age and build relationships through just playing outside. From soccer, basketball or us teaching them american football, we built these bonds and friendships. We were all friends. Everyone was welcomed. Everyone was included. We were one big community.
Today i received a message from Carol, the youngest sister of our host family that said “eres en mi Corazon.”
I don’t think I have really felt that much love and feeling of community. We weren’t strangers or outsiders. We were family. We were friends. It became home. It will always be home. And that will always be family.
