Stepping off the plane I felt the heat, smelled the air, all the signs that I was no longer in America…(literally, cause the signs are no longer in English) It wasn’t morning but it felt like it. The magic of airplanes thwarts all understanding.
After 36 hours of travel, the fact that I was in Colombia, starting the World Race, was a hard concept to hold onto. But then the fog lifts over the hills, the sun rolls out of the clouds and shines a spotlight to the center of Medellín. A hypnotizing moment.
A feeling of belonging to the present time finally hit me.
A spotlight to the center of the enormous city, drawing my focus.
A dramatic moment that I keep returning to in my head when I remember my purpose here.
Medellín is not a city of scars, but a city of open wounds from principalities and rulers of darkness in the world.
Resting at the base of all love is someone who is paying attention.
If you pay attention in this city, you can heal its wounds.
“Love your neighbor”
Time to meet my new neighbors.
The ministry where the squad and I are staying is sandwiched between dangerous drug and prostitution neighborhoods. To the hillside you’ll find a portion of the largest number of internally displaced people in the world. Either direction down the main drag, you’ll find industrial blocks that the homeless make into their “home” at night. Those same blocks become open drug markets, to promote addiction.
My neighbors are not payed any attention by the majority, shoved deep, in an attempted cover-up. The two that came before the good Samaritan attempted cover-ups. The good Samaritan proved to be a good neighbor because of his mercy.
The ministry we are partnering with has shown that exact mercy to this city and it has been a privilege to work with them this first week.
Stay tuned! I’ll be posting soon to explain these ministries! It’s good stuff.
