Hi all!
I hope this finds you all doing super well. For those of you in GR and Chicago, I hope y’all are enjoying the 25-28 degree weather. It’s a solid 70 degrees here, and we’re sweating. Last night I wore shorts for the first time and it felt so strange to wear them in January. I’ll take that over being able to see my breath any day. Although, there is something special about shoveling snow and watching it cover everything. You may not see that now, but once you get away from it, you realize you kind of miss it. So, if you feel lead, please send me some pictures of snow and I’ll send you pictures of mountains, beautiful flowers, and all of us wearing shorts and t-shirts. (Sorry not sorry).
We’re wrapping up our 22 days in Colombia this week as we have finally finished training camp and have launched our ministry during the remainder of the time we’re in Colombia. Our squad has split up into smaller teams. My team is comprised of 3 other women and our team leader. It has been great to get to know them on such a deep level and going on adventures with them. I’m looking forward to the adventures that are yet to come with them as I’m sure there will be quite a few in our time together.
It’s been a very chaotic few days, but they’ve been good. We have traveled A LOT! We’ve gone from Medellín, Colombia to Pereira which was about a 7 hour drive from Medellín, and stayed there for a few nights until we took an hour bus ride to Salento, Colombia. On the way to Pereira, God provided for us in an unimaginable way. Just that whole travel day was unbelievable. STORY TIME!
Half way through the bus ride, there was this couple in front of me who was speaking English and I made some comment like “It’s so nice to hear someone speaking in English for a change.” That struck up a conversation with them and this was the conversation:
Them: So where are you from?
Me: I grew up in Chicago but have been living in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the last 5 years going to school.
Them: We’re from Grand Rapids, too! Where did you go to school?
Me: Have you ever heard of Calvin College?
The Wife: That’s crazy. He went to Calvin!
The Husband: I graduated in 1974! I worked for the seminary for a number of years as well! This is so crazy!
Me: *feeling extremely giddy at this point started to ask if he knew all those people. He did…
Somehow we got on the topic of church and I told them that I went to Thornapple in Cascade. They said they had been there and had attended one of the conferences they put on. I was blown away. I thought it was the coolest thing to make Calvin connections and the life I live back home in a different country. It turns out he was working with a local church in Pereira. We got each other’s contact information and it was not long before I used it to ask if he knew of any ministries in the area that we could help out with. He connected us to this pastor at the church he was working with and we were invited to attend church on Sunday. My team and I felt incredibly welcome and were able to meet with and chat with the pastor and a few of the members of the congregation after the service. It was so crazy how it all turned out. We will hopefully get together when I get back to Grand Rapids.
When we finally got to Pereira, we took an uber to the place we were supposed to be staying, but some wires got crossed and the driver thought we were going to the airport so we were very surprised when we got there. After 45 minutes or so, we got to where we were supposed to be staying and again, wires got crossed and the person we communicated with said that they no longer wanted us to stay there for whatever reason so we found another place. We took a taxi there, and got dropped of. We asked where the address was and one of the people we talked to said “get on that bus and it’s in Santa Monica”. Luckily, they were wrong and we were right across the street from it. We got settled and were able to go out into the community to do some ministry as well as do some ministry within to the house to a few of the people living there. It was an interesting experience, but a good one.
Not only on our way into Pereira and Salento, but ever since being in Colombia, I have a been able to see a snapshot of the true beauty of God’s creation. From the rolling hills and the vast expanse between the valleys, to the Colombians we have been able to meet in every place we have been to, to the work He’s done in my team and the people he’s put on it. I’m so thankful to be on this trip to be able to experience that. While it is difficult to be gone for such a long time, I’m thankful to be here and I’m thankful to all of those people who have been so supportive of me embarking on this journey. Thank you to my family, friends, housemates, and so many others for encouraging me to go on this adventure.
Even though I’m still shocked at how things have turned out with running into the people on the bus, to the places we’ve gone and ministered in the seemingly ordinary place like the park, God’s mission field is everywhere and there is an opportunity to minister anywhere. There are no coincidences. It doesn’t involve luck in any way. It’s all 100% God. From the people we meet, to the experiences we have, to the places we go, it’s all Him.
Now we’re in Salento, Colombia camping and it’s been great. We got in yesterday and met up with a few of the guys from our squad also camping here. We do different ministry, but we’ve been able to do some ministry here as well, and today we decided that the team just really needed a sabbath and we took one. Tomorrow we will start back up with going out and ministering to people and listening for where God wants us to be/go and what God wants us to do.
Later in the week, we will (probably) be going to Armenia and then meeting up with the rest of the squad on Saturday to make the 10 hour trek into Ecuador. There, we will be debriefing our first month on the field and then go out and do ministry the rest of the month. It’s hard to believe that our first country is almost done, yet it feels like it’s been 100 years.
If you’re still reading at this point, thank you. I know this is a long post, but a lot has happened, and not all that has happened has been mentioned in this blog post. There is just so much. If you’re interested in hearing way more details, I’m sure there is going to be a lot to tell by the time this trip is over, so let’s grab coffee or something.
Until next time, my friends…enjoy this picture of our journey into Salento. There are more to come so stay tuned.
My team and I on our way to our camp site. In the back from left to right, there is Grace, Kylee, and Kate, and next to me is Christazia. This team is dynamite. I love this team. We have a good time together, and I look forward to the adventures that God has in store for us in the months to come.
See you in Ecuador! Adios, amigos!
