Hey friends, I am determined to get caught up on blogs this month, so let’s talk about Colombia!
Where were we in Colombia?
We stayed in the city of Medellin Colombia this month. Medellin is a stunning city, filled with tall brick buildings, completely surrounded by mountains. The city is very large & very alive. Medellin has a veery large homeless, drug addicted population. It is has a very large population of refugees from Venezuela, some staying & some walking thru to Ecuador, Chile or Brazil seeking to escape poverty.
What did Ministry look like in Medellin?
We had another all squad month in Colombia, but we split between two different ministries. So the first & last week my team & I spent our time with Ciudad Refugio (or City of Refuge in English), which is a homeless shelter, drug rehabilitation center, housing for at risk youth, church & of course bakery. Here our ministry looked different every single day. Ciudad Refugio does an amazing job at seeing the needs of the community & stepping into the jobs that no one else is willing to do. We would do anything from visiting the elderly homes in the area, simply brining a little bit of joy to their days, to going out onto the streets & meeting with the homeless & drug addicted in the community. We also got to help in the bakery, which is the face of the refuge, because no one wants a homeless shelter on their street, especially not in Colombia. We had the joy of working with the women in the drug rehabilitation program, leading bible studies for them, & helping them in the kitchen. The youth in the program were also a huge ministry. We were able to come alongside them & just deeply love them, seeing as they have all come from homes that are incredibly broken. We had so much fun leading their out programs & children’s churches, genuinely seeing the difference the foundation was making in their lives. Lastly, we also did small work projects like packing spices to sell & flowers to for local selling, as a means of income for the foundation, as well as work for those in the program.
Our week in-between working at the refuge, we went to the church in the mountains. Here we stayed with Pastor Willie & his beautiful wife Christina. This honestly ended up being a little break in the midst of the heaviness that Ciudad Refugio brought. Here we were really just poured into with teachings on Holy Spirit & given a space to take a step back & rest. Our only real ministry events here were helping with a youth group/children’s ministry event, as well as participating in a vigil. This was my first vigil, so we were able to stay up with the church body & thank the Holy Spirit from 9pm-5am. One of my teammates ended up sharing a great message at 3am, but other than that we just got to praise, dance & rejoice with the church body. This ultimately was a little breath of fresh air in the midst of a month that was full to the brim.
(Go check out my Facebook page to see a tour of the refuge building, as well as get more insight on their ministry.)
Where did we stay?
While at the refuge, we stayed in building where all of the ministry took place. Our rooms were separated, so it was totally safe, but it truly made it so nice to connect with the women & youth in the program. We stayed on the third floor of the newest addition to the building. So we spent a lot of our month moving from room to room, as they were still doing construction throughout our floor. We had bunk beds, showers, all the luxuries really… well except warm water, but we got over that really quickly, seeing as that’s pretty normal these days!
Where did we go to church this month?
The refuge is built with SO MUCH INTENTIONALITY. The same floor that homeless men come in & sleep on every night is the same floor that hosts several church services each week. This is one of the only churches in all of Medellin that both the homeless & upperclass attend. Most of Medellin is very segregated by class, but the Holy Spirit has fostered such community here that the actual least of these are able to come together with those who are seen in high esteem in the community. Friends, everything about this is the gospel. From the use of space, hosting both the homeless & the saints, to the community of God doming together in one accord. This is what the body is suppose to look like, this is what true love looks like.
What was my high & low of Colombia?
If I am being fully honest with you, Colombia was one of the hardest month for me. Our ministry was incredibly heavy most of the time, & that just has a way of brining up past trauma that hasn’t been dealt with yet. I honestly deeply missed my community at home this month, just wanting someone who knows me well to process everything with. But, with that being said, I was very grateful to be able to call people from home & still have support throughout this month. However, my high was hands down seeing the gospel & love of Jesus lived out so evidently. Everything from that staff, most of which were formerly in the program, coming alongside those in the program & fighting for them, to the deep community & sacrifice that was intentionally played out. It was so beautiful to watch such love & intentionality being continually cultivated.
Well, there is so much more to share, but I am going to cap it for now. Thank you guys so much for staying up to date with my journey & for always encouraging me! I am so excited to see all that Abba is going to continue to do!!
Love you tons,
KEN
God Bless you, Kendell. What amazing experiences.
You know the Holy Spirit is so present with you every second and knows every event of your life. You can ask Him anything. Ask those hard questions about events that bring up your past. Ask. He cares so much for you. Sometimes we look outward for answers from others while all the while the Holy Spirit is waiting right there with just what we need. Don’t miss this opportunity for Him to give you really deep and freeing answers in your spirit and in events and people around you. He’s there to wrap His arms around you and speak words of life to his Kendell.
Awe, thanks Joan! I have been asking Abba so many questions & he has been showing me so much about his goodness & love! Thank you for your encouragement & for keeping up with the journey. It honestly means more than you know!
God has a way of allowing present day issues to bring up past unresolved issues at a time when we actually have the tools to deal with them. In so doing, we kill 2 birds with one stone – deal with the past and the present simultaneously.
Thank you for all of your counsel & care Char! You have been so helpful & I am so grateful for you!!