Wow! So much has already happened in the short time of a week that we have been here. Of course we’ve enjoyed our time and had fun in appropriate times. We’ve seen the city, we met a talking parrot, we’ve worked out, and as a team we’ve given each other feedback every day and came together in fellowship and at the breakfast, lunch, and supper table.
We have been learning dances and skits with the youth of the church to share the good news of the Kingdom and the gospel of King Jesus. With that space has come the opportunity to disciple and love the youth of the church as well, not just those that we’ll be ministering to through skit and choreography.
This past Saturday I was honored to be able to facilitate with my partner and squad mate, Brooke Landt, a worship session with our two teams. She’s been killing it learning the ukulele! We opened with a reading of Ezekial 37, and entered into a time of open spontaneous worship for everyone to sing out there own cries to the Lord and declaring prophetically over the city. Medellin sits in a valley, just like the dry bones of Ezekial 37. We cried out for those dry bones and dead hearts to come alive so that an army may rise for Gods name to be glorified and worshipped through all the nations. Life breathing life, the Spirit inside us exploding into Medellin, that is our desire and prayer while we are here.
During this worship session Oscar came to me asking if it was okay to take a few other people from our two teams to pray over a place that he felt there was darkness and the presence of spirits not from God. Of course I allowed it and as soon as he left to walk into the place God gave me vision and a word of what had taken place to invite those Spirits. I was hoping I was wrong, but before speaking of what I had perceived if the situation, it was confirmed by several other people that that’s what had taken place. Later that evening the few that had went to pray during the day and myself went with Pastor Willy and Cristina to the place to pray over it. The spirits spoke lies, God spoke truth and light into the atmosphere and we declared victory over the situation that had taken place and we declared peace in the place it occurred, and expelled the evil Spirits from there.
Yesterday, we went to the northern San Pedro with the youth of the church and went on a walk down a dirt road, through luscious green pastures that looked like ocean waves, picked flowers, and arrived at a waterfall where we enjoyed fellowship, hopped rocks across a stream, and ate together. I also got bug bitten like crazy and sunburnt, but it was all worth it for what is about to be shared next…
While at the falls Connor called me over and told me about a girl at the church,for the sake of privacy I’ll be referring to her as Karla. Wesley had been talking to her, and she had been asking him stories about his testimony, about heartbreak, about what clothes were appropriate if you were a Christian and about drinking. Connor knowing that my heart is to shepherd women and mature believers encouraged me to engage with her, so I did. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. She’s been attending pastors church for three months, and comes from a Catholic family but has been living with her friend. That friend’s mom has become like another mom to dear Karla.
I had asked Karla how long she had been with Jesus? She said she wasn’t. I asked what she believed and she said she was not Catholic nor Christian, but she wanted to be a Christian. At this moment I quickly realize my broken Spanish was not going to cut it for this important conversation. So I called Oscar over to help me translate. I realized her questions she had been asking Wesley were her hesitations to surrender her life to Christ. In response to that, I told her Jesus wants to give life and freedom, not take it away from her. She told me that so many people had told her different things so she didn’t know what to believe. So I pointed her to the authority, perfection, and infallibility of the Bible. Because it is breathed out by God, and God is not a liar, the Bible tells truth. People are not perfect, and when you enter into a relationship with Jesus, his Holy Spirit lives inside of you to help you understand the Bible (Little did I know until later that Wesley had also pointed her to the authority of scripture).
I then shared with her that the bible says that Jesus fully human and fully man lived a perfect life, died in our place for our sins, He rose from the grave to Heaven and will come back for those who believe. After you choose to follow Jesus, Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of you to help you understand scripture and to know what is right and wrong. Then I asked if she believed that. She said yes!
I told her that that was it, now it’s just a matter of talking to God telling him that she wanted to leave a life of sin behind, confess that she had sin and surrender her life to Jesus. I told her that God is a father to those who have no father, a husband to those who don’t have a husband, a friend to those who don’t have friends.
We explained that we didn’t want to pressure her, but it was an important decision and that Oscar and I both could testify that following Jesus was the best decision we had ever made.
She began crying, saying she didn’t have words to pray. But she just felt the need to cry and didn’t know why. It was clear that the Father was drawing her to Jesus.
It’s more likely for me to push people to make a decision in the moment but knowing she wasn’t ready I didn’t want to do that so I asked Oscar what he thought we should do. And we went with his suggestion we asked if we could pray over her and continue having this conversation and if she needed us at anytime of day or not we were here for her.
Later on Maggie felt Holy Spirit posing the question for Karla “who is Jesus to you?” So I asked her that and Maggie reemphasized. While she is still processing through that, Jezie in the end was able to help me translate.
The way God used almost every person on my team to continue drawing this girl to Him through the Spirit that lives inside of each of us was amazing. Pray for Karla that she will submit and surrender to the Lord soon. I have every confidence that she will.
