I’m going to tell you a story that I am not sure how to put into words. The smells, sounds, and sights cannot accurately be described. But I’m going to try my best.
This month we are working with an organization called Ciudad Refugio in Medellin, Colombia. This ministry is multi-faceted. Their six story building functions as a bakery, a church, a parking lot, a homeless shelter (that all on the 1st floor), a mens rehabilitation facility (on the 2nd floor), a women’s rehabilitation facility (on the 3rd floor), a school (on the 4th floor), and apartments for staff( on the 5th and 6th floors). During our work here we have been partnering with the women and just living life alongside them. We eat all of our meals with them and do a daily bible study. We have church on Wednesday and Sundays, and a feeding program on Saturdays.
But my favorite thing we do is a street outreach, Wednesday nights after church. This outreach is called augapanella y pan. Augapanella is a cultural, warm, sweetened water and we serve it with bread. We go to a street that is filled with people that have made makeshift homes out of tarps and trash bags. The smell of cigarette smoke and marijuana fill the air. Trash liters the ground. People of all walks lie, sit, and sleep along the sidewalks. As we walk through the streets drug deals are made, cocaine is snorted and injected, joints are rolled, prostitutes are advertising, and hope is no where to be found.
Last Wednesday as we exited our van and began to go out in small groups to talk and pray with people, I was taken aback by all of the sights, sounds, and smells. We gathered to pray before we went out and then we went.
Amaris, Carla, and I wearily walked away from the truck, but were sure to always have it within eyesight. We saw this young girl standing on the side of the road only a few feet from our truck and approached her to talk. We introduced ourselves and she introduced herself and her girlfriend. Her name was Carolina and she was 18 and her girlfriends name was Deanna and she was 20. We small talked through broken spanglish to Carolina as Deanna made 5 drug deals right in front of us until we ran out of things to say and then decided to move on. As we walked away I felt like we weren’t finished, but didn’t know what else to do, seeing as I don’t speak Spanish. We talked and prayed with a few other women, but found ourselves drifting back towards Carolina and Deanna. It had begun to rain and we found them seeking shelter under a tree. We approached them and greeted them yet again. We officially introduced ourselves to Deanna and began a conversation. We asked about their families, their schooling, their hopes and dreams, and of course if they knew Jesus. Carolina told us that she had an 8 month old baby. Deanna told us that she had a rough family life and left her family. She said she found Carolina when she was 2 months pregnant and took care of her and lived with her. Carolina told us she never finished school, but Deanna finished high school. Deanna went on to tell us that she desired to go to the US and study. She said she didn’t want another job because she made a lot of money as a drug dealer.
As I stood there talking to these two girls, who not once let their business stop, my heart broke. My heart broke because I could see their beauty and their potential. My heart broke because I know that the Lord loves them and sees them and wants them out of that life more than I ever could desire. We talked about Jesus a little with them, prayed for them, and then left. In my mind I wasn’t sure if I would ever see them again and honestly felt like I hadn’t made any difference.
Fast-forward a week, to today. Today we did a bible study with the women on prayer. At the end of the Bible study we practiced listening prayer and taught them what it looked like to listen for the Lord to speak. As I lay on the roof, listening for the Father’s voice, I get a picture. At first I thought it was for on of the girls in the program, but something made me hesitate to share.
After dinner we had church. Church was on fire. The worship was amazing and the Holy Spirit was present. I shared a testimony and the pastor preached about suffering producing glory. After church we loaded up in the van, put our orange, “bulletproof vest” on and headed out. We exited the van and prayed. Immediately Amaris pulled me aside and said, “ Let’s go find our girls.” I responded, “ YES!!” We recruited Jackie, our lovely Mexican teammate to translate and Lindsay and headed out.
We found Deanna and Carolina in the same place they had been the previous week, sitting on the curb, under the tree, dealing. When we first saw them, they were surrounded by people, so we waited. When the small crowd was done purchasing their drug of choice, they cleared out and we stepped in. Deanna recognized us and greeted us, “ Hola mis amores.” We sat down with her and asked her how her week had been. She was very distracted with many exchanges occurring as we spoke. When it seemed like she might leave, we told her that it was our last time coming and she quickly sat down to continue talking with us. We asked if we could pray for her and she agreed. Amaris sat next to her and she held her hand and prayed as Jackie translated. As they prayed, I interceded on her behalf. While I was interceding the Lord clarified who my earlier vision was for; it was for her. When we finished praying, I told Jackie that I had a vision I wanted to share. I began, “ I was praying earlier and the Lord gave me a vision for you. I saw you in a beautiful, purple dress, dancing in a field of wildflowers with Jesus. He was telling you that He loved you and saw you. I then saw a fork in the road. One side of the fork was the path that you are currently on, dealing and being in the streets. This path was the path of the world. Everything in this path looked good and fulfilling, but really it would all fail you. Everything in this path was bad and would ultimately lead to death. The other side of the path was Jesus. If you choose this path and choose to dance with Jesus, He will fulfill every hole in your heart. He will fill every desire and dream. He will love you and never leave you. This path is life. The Lord loves you and He wants you to choose Him.” Deanna looked up, with tears in her eyes, and said, “ You make me want to cry.” We all responded that it was okay to cry and that she was not alone. We prayed with her and gave her the information for our ministry. We told her she was welcomed her any day at any time.
As we walked away, my heart shattered. My heart shattered because all I wanted to do was take her with us. All I wanted to do was protect her and tell her she didn’t deserve this life, that she was better and could do SO much in life. I wanted to reassure her that Jesus loves her and will never stop loving her. I wanted to hold her and wipe away her tears. I wanted her to choose the path of life.
But I had to leave. I will probably never know what comes of her life. I pray that she chooses the path of life and I will continue to pray for her as I leave. When we entered this ministry someone told us not to expect to see the fruit of our work. He said that when we go into the streets that the people have hard hearts of stone and the only way to change them is continually going out and being a drop of water on the stones of their hearts. He said we may be the first drop of water or the hundredth. But we must just keep going and keeping watering the seeds that the Lord has planted.
I pray this for Deanna. I don’t know what number water droplet we were in her life. But, I pray that there are many more water droplets that lead to her having a softened heart- a heart that know the Lord and know her worth in the Lord.
Please pray for Deanna and Carolina. Pray that they can get out of the lifestyle that they are currently walking in. Pray that they choose the path of life and dance with Jesus in that field of wildflowers.
Psalm 126:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
5
Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.
All I can do is tearfully bring my request to the Lord and trust that He will reap the harvest!
Please keep Colombia in your prayers. Colombia is one of the countries with the most internally displaced people. There are thousand on the streets, seeking worth in emptiness, and they need Jesus.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Gabbie
