La Casa Grande is was the home for 25 of us during our first two weeks of training. Waking up to the natural sunlight next to a stranger turned sister in no time, sharing 4 bathrooms, 1 petite kitchen and dining table that seats 4 with 5 men and 9+ other women. And just when you thought you had a moment to yourself in the restroom, that’s when you realize the open roof gave permission for the delightful company of the invasive vines dangling above.
The common areas are where most of our time has been invested sitting through many teachings, worship and team activities. Some of which began with leadership that walked us through events of our lives that brought both joy and pain then proceeded to push us into the presence of God to lay it down before him as the first step towards wholeness. Started to learn the value of honor, how the Lords speaks to us so uniquely and in various ways, that people pleasing is just about as fruitful as rebellion and not only are we commanded to submit to our leadership but also to each other as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ. What that looks like is a safe environment for each of us to grow in the spirit. To some this may sound a little foreign but WOW the God ordained freedom and unity this is cultivating is CRAZY!!!
Meanwhile, on the streets of Medellin is where we are seeing visions turned into realities, witnessing someone who feels unseen to be noticed for the first time. It’s where I learned of my love for freshly squeezed jugo de naranja (OJ), where I developed a growing familiarity of the revolving background noise of local gentlemen wheeling a barrels of avocados in the middle of the street yelling “Aguacate!!” It’s where taking a 15 minute walk can easily turn into a steep hike amidst lush greenery, and the saying “fake it till you make it” doesn’t actually do any good in translating Spanish speaking country. It just makes for awkward smiles and good laughs.
The beautiful thing is that there’s abundant life in it all. Life in the discomfort of sharing bathrooms with so many individuals, serving by cooking and cleaning for each other, confronting hard parts of your life individually but fighting for each other corporately, submitting to one another, praying and speaking life into each other, celebrating the value in my brothers and sisters and going lower and placing them before myself when it doesn’t seem natural as my flesh submits to my spirit. These last two weeks have been training to learn to live in unity according to principals of the Kingdom of heaven in a world who’s culture promotes independence.
We have now split up into our team of 5 ladies (#TeamSelah) and off to Bello, Colombia for our first day on the field. Please pray for clarity, direction and unity as we take the next couple days to pray for what the Lord has for our team and the people of Colombia within the next week in Colombia.
