Hello from Medellin, Colombia!
I have been in country for exactly one week now and it’s time for an update!
As many of you know, I left home on Thursday Oct 3.
After spending 4 days in Atlanta for more training and preparation for our first country, we began our first travel day on Monday Oct 7.
After approximately 17 hours of airport navigation, flights, layovers, more flights, and a final bus ride – we arrived at our ministry site in Medellin, Colombia at about 3 am on Tuesday Oct 8!
Many of you have heard me say that leaving did not seem real to me.
That feeling remained true all throughout launch. The days spent in Atlanta felt like a mere extension of training camp, amazing sessions that would ultimately end with me putting all my things back in my pack and heading home. But on travel day it finally hit me.
As the plane ascended and I could see the Atlanta skyline fade behind me, the reality hit: I’m not going home. I am not going home for a very long time.
It was a very strange feeling to truly (TRULY) realize that I will not be home for a year.
To realize I will truly not see my family in a year and that the things I was carrying at that moment were the extent of my possessions. All of these are clearly things that I knew previously, and yet things that were not truly graspable until that very moment.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” – Isaiah 43:19
This first week of ministry has been beyond anything I could have imagined, and honestly beyond anything I can truly put into words with any sort of accuracy.
This month we are working with Ciudad Refugio, a ministry in the heart of Medellin.
As many of you may know, Medellin has a long history of deep involvement with the drug cartels and violence. Although the city has greatly improved over the last several years, the city is now left to deal with the drastic effects and lingering consequences of its former identity. These include unimaginable amounts of broken homes, addiction, violence, homelessness, and lack of access to education.
Although improving, Colombia remains the #1 producer of cocaine in the world.
Colombia also has the largest population in the world of internally displaced persons.
The country’s 50+ year civil war and ongoing clashes between military, leftist guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitary groups leave hundreds of thousands annually fleeing their homes and migrating to urban centers in search of shelter and economic opportunity. Few find work, those with the courage to register themselves receive government support, and others fall victim to gang and drug activity on the city streets.
Ciudad Refugios mission statement in the middle of all of this is to be a team of passionate people committed to loving God and serving the needs of others, offering holistic assistance and opportunity to Colombia’s most vulnerable populations.
They offer housing programs, children’s programs and education, and an incredible addiction restoration and transition program that not only helps victims of drug addiction get clean, but also helps them transition back into society by providing them with skills, education, and job opportunities.
Practically, this week has looked like leading bible studies for the women in the program, teaching and preaching to the at risk youth that meets at the foundation, leading a children’s camp, and listening as people of all ages poured out their hearts and stories of hurt that go beyond anything my mind could comprehend.
This week, I have met children that started using drugs at the age of 9, children that didn’t want to leave camp because of the abuse and violence that their daily lives consist of, and men and women whose lives have been so overtaken by the enemy that they could no longer see the light.
But I have also seen the hope that Jesus brings in the midst of these situations.
I have had a child that was physically and sexually abused by three different people before the age of 11 look me in the eyes and say that he knows that if he ever met the perpetrators again he knew God would give him the strength to forgive them.
I have had a man that lost everything due to drugs tell me that he now has more than he ever did because Christ gives him all he needs.
I have seen the scars of a child that tried to commit suicide twice, but now knows that regardless of his circumstances God has a greater plan for him.
It has not been an easy week, but God is working in powerful ways here.
The city is incredibly beautiful but the brokenness is real and the hurt is deep.
In this I ask if you would pray for this incredible city. Pray for souls to be healed and hearts to be filled with the knowledge of a savior that transcends all circumstances.
I ask for strength for my team as we pour ourselves out to them that they may see a light through us.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2
All my love,
Em
