In Colombia the second largest group of displaced people is in an area called Manantiales. This month we are spending most of our ministry time here. In Manantiales all the buildings are dilapidated. The houses are one room buildings and are either made out of wood and tin or brick. Most people have small shops selling candy, food or pharmaceuticals products. In Manantiales there is a teaching institute. This institute has tons of classrooms, two soccer courts, an auditorium, a pool and a house. This is the base for our ministry in Manantiales. It is such a blessing to have because something this nice should not be in this area and we feel so fortunate that we are able to use it. For our second day of ministry in Manantiales we held a kids camp, ages ranging from 2 years old to 16 years old. The purpose for this camp was to provide a space where kids could have fun and get some food, but it was also a camp to help inform kids about sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is very prevalent in this area and has become a normal thing in some kids lives. We wanted to teach the kids that it is wrong and that it doesn’t have to be their normal.
After the lesson on sexual abuse it was time for lunch. I got the job of passing out the sandwiches to the kids. One by one the kids would come onto the soccer court where the food was being served and would get in line for the food. All was going well and the children were enjoying the sandwiches until I had served around 70 kids then I started to run low on sandwiches. I soon realized that we didn’t have enough sandwiches for all the children. When I did finally run out of sandwiches there was 5 kids left in line patiently waiting for their food. Someone ran to the kitchen to get more food, but the only food that we had left were some hamburger buns. But we didn’t have enough for all the kids to have the whole bun so each kid got half a bun. This broke my heart. It broke my heart knowing that this was probably the only meal those kids would get that day. But what really got me was that the kids didn’t complain. There was not one cry about why they were getting less food than the rest of the kids. They didn’t say that it wasn’t fair, they didn’t cry they just accepted what they were given and walked away. When I was younger I would cry and complain until I got what I wanted. My mom used to tell me that the world isn’t fair whenever my sisters got something that I didn’t, but the thing is my world was fair. Even if my sisters did get something that I didn’t get I would get something else to make up for not getting what they got. I grew up in a fair world where everyone was equal. The fact that these kids accepted inequality without a second thought made me realize how deeply rooted the brokenness that these kids lived in was.
Seeing this broke my heart, but it also reaffirmed my faith in God. In a place of brokenness, in a place of inequality these kids still have something so valuable. They have the love of God. But they may not know it. I want these kids to know that they are loved wholly and completely by God. I want them to know that they are God’s creation and that God loves them just the way that they are no matter what their circumstances in life are. This is why I’m here. This is why I am in Colombia, abandoning all the comforts from home just for the possibility that these kids can know the love of God.
