My squad and I arrived in Medellin, Colombia this past Monday after a pretty bumpy ride. My team which consists of six other amazing women named Kirsten, Kenna, Kaitlyn, Erika, Paxtyn and Lyndsee. We call ourselves Redeemed and Remade. We stayed in Medellin while two other teams went to Bogota and Armenia which are different areas of Colombia. We were in awe how beautiful the city of Medellin is. It’s a city created in the valley of a mountainous area.
When we arrived to Ciudad Refugio which is a six story facility that serves as a homeless shelter, drug & alcohol rehab, school, church and bakery(hoping I don’t gain 10lbs) in the heart of the city. You truly see God’s hand in the hands and feet of this facility. A man named Douglas came to Colombia from Argentina with a heart to help the homeless. He came here with nothing and saw how poorly the homeless had been treated. So he decided to go out on the streets and give out Aguapanela which is a sugary water type of drink that you drink warm and bread. Still till this day every Wednesday to be exact they go out and give out Aguapanela and bread.
So, this past Wednesday we experienced our first Aguapanela night. They tried to prepare us mentally and spiritually but it was nothing I had ever seen before in my life. Hundreds of homeless people living on this one street. Basically running rampant using drugs amongst other things. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was real. I attempted to go out with two other volunteers to pray over the homeless out in the streets. But we were only allowed to go so far while the rest of the volunteers handed out Aguapanela and bread by the van. Just as I was about to go out I heard the Holy Spirit tell me not to go but I really wanted to see up close and personal how some of the homeless live. So I ignored that still small voice and went anyways. After praying over two homeless people I heard that still small voice again but this time I listened. I told the volunteers that I wanted to go back by the van and left. I finished helping handing out cups and once the Aguapanela was gone we had to leave because they said if we don’t have anything left to offer the situation could get dangerous. So once it ran out we all got in the van and headed back to the foundation (that’s what the call ciudad refugio). Once we got back we prayed as a team and expressed how we felt about what we saw. I truly believe the Holy Spirit was trying to protect me when I heard that still small voice to go back. There’s a beauty to not knowing and trusting the steps God lays out for us. I encourage everyone to pray to take that step in believing to be able to hear Gods voice.
Until next week Aguapanela….!
