Upon my first look at Medellin, it was beautiful. A HUGE city, but pretty.
There are tons of mountains, valleys, hills, and buildings that give it so much character. Upon closer look, the city is filthy. The smog is unreal (I miss my country air!). There is trash everywhere even though people come and rake it up each day. Trash bags are all over the streets for collection. The homeless are constantly digging through it to find items of importance (food, possessions, things to sell). I’ve been to town a few times and while riding in a vehicle or just passing by, I have seen homeless people laying on sidewalks in the middle of the heat of the day, a man with a bloody face, people dealing drugs, and a lot of hurting souls.
One of the first nights here, I was up on the terrace. It was getting dark. The houses on the hill were all lit up. There is a church with a cross shinning. The city looks beautiful again with the light.
This scene reminded me of my Creation experience. We had a candle lightening ceremony. We were on a hill and thousands of us started lighting candles. One candle was lit, and then another. Soon, that small light turned into a huge force and the darkness faded away. It was so bright and it made you feel hopeful.
Matthew 5:14-16 says this, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
This verse and the imagery I’ve been seeing reminds me of my squad and the others here sharing the hope of Christ. With just one small interaction with others, with one glimpse of hope, we can be such wonderful lights.
Our days have been full of prayer walks, ministering to the homeless, prostitutes, drug addicts, and transgenders at night, VBS for the kids during the day, providing messages at worship services, praying over people and so much more. We are living out our call to “GO” and share the good news!
God is the light in the darkness, the hope to the hopeless, and the peace to the restless. He is the God of this city (and everywhere!). And greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done here. (Lyrics taken from God of this City & modified). I cannot wait to see how much more of an impact we are going to make in Medellin in the next few weeks! We’ve only been here about a week and God is MOVING.
My challenge to you is to be bold this week! Reach out to someone and be a light! Take a moment to pray for someone, send a note of encouragement, make someone feel loved…you never know who needs to hear the good news! 🙂
