At Fresh Wind Children's Center

This little girl goes to Fresh Wind Children's Center in Medellín, Colombia. (Photo by Jen)

November 18 was our second full day in Medellín.  We spent much of the day at Fresh Wind Children's Center.

We started the day with a devotional with the staff.

Our mission team and the staff at Fresh Wind Children's Center worship during a devotional before the work day starts. (Photo by Jimmie K.)

After that, some of the girls did a dance routine, and the boys did an acrobatic circus for us.

Some of the girls perform a dance routine for our mission team.  (Photo by Jimmie K.)

One of the boys jumps through "flaming" hula hoops during a circus they performed for our mission team. (Photo by Michele)

Later, we went into the courtyard.  There, the children sang and danced outside.

We have more adventures for today, but so far my roommate and I prayed for most or all of the children at Fresh Wind Children's Center. We've prayed for nearly 100 children! In this photo, the children are singing and dancing to some songs outside.

In a neighborhood like Niquitao where there is rampant prostitution, drug abuse, and violence, this children's center is a refuge.  At-risk mothers and families can take their small children to this day care, and these little ones get fed most of their nutritional requirements.

That afternoon, some of us prayed for the kids.  Admittedly, I must have prayed for around a hundred children.  I even fed a few!  It was such a blessing to minister to all these children, and to see such smiles.

Some of the children at Fresh Wind Children's Center show us their masks.

Jimmie, Abby, and I help a staff member feed the babies at Fresh Wind Children's Center. (Photo by Jen)

Helping an Ex-Murderer

I'm helping an ex-murderer with a cement-covered shovel. (Photo by Jen)

So this guy grows up in La Sierra (translated "The Saw") neighborhood in Medellín.  It's one of the most dangerous places to be in the city.  It's a poor community, and many people are connected to the mafia and to gangs.  Drug use in Medellín is rampant, but here it's at a level many people haven't seen.

This guy becomes pretty important in the gangs and mafia for the neighborhood.  He becomes one of the leaders.  He kills kids for a thrill.

His mom prays for him and tells him about Jesus but he resists.  Then one day, he's about to kill some teenager when it suddenly occurs to him that this is wrong.  The kid lives.  He goes back to his mother, and she leads him to Jesus.

He changes the way he lives.  He starts a youth program that keeps kids out of the mafias, gangs, and drugs.  Instead of demanding the largest plate of food, he makes sure that the kids around him get fed before he does.  One teenage boy needs socks to go to school.  He takes his off and gives them to him.

His home needs a new door and a new window.  His mom tells him that he's cheap for not getting new ones and getting them installed.  He can just barely get enough food for his mom, grandmother, and others close to him.  He asks God for help.  God tells him that foreigners would do the work for him.

Five years later, a group of people from the United States go on a mission trip.  One of their goals is to give him a new door and window, scrape the mold off the wall, and seal the ceiling with cement on November 17.  Before they arrive, he asks the mafia permission for them to be in the neighborhood and requests their safety.

While we had lunch, this ex-murderer Felipe finally told us what he asked God for, and how God met his need.

Felipe, standing next to his mother, tells us his testimony, translated by Miguel.

One of his distant cousins, Carlos, managed the whole project and showed us what he wanted done.  Carlos got saved while we were working.  He was the first person who asked Jesus into his heart while we were in Colombia. 

Jimmie K., Dave S., MJ, and Jim T. pray the sinner's prayer with Carlos. (Photo by Michele)

What an amazing day!  God can change the heart of a murderer into someone very gentle!  No one has sinned so much or so badly that God cannot forgive them and make them a new creation in Jesus.

Before we left we prayed with Felipe.  If this story doesn't make you go, "Wow!" I don't know what will.

We pray with Felipe and one of the kids in his massive youth program.  We understand there are about 400 kids in it. (Photo by Jen)

On a Mission Trip to Colombia!

November 15-24, I went to Colombia with a group of ten other individuals.  Although I live in the Seattle area, they were all from around Milwaukee.  I ended up being the youngest guy on this mission trip, and I turned 35 the day I arrived in Colombia!

I've wanted to go on a mission trip to Colombia for about a year and a half.  I finally found one in August 2014 that I could afford, and I immediately got involved.  Even though I had to front all of the money out of pocket, I created a fundraiser website to help me along, since I was on a tight budget.

The fundraising was completely wonderful.  In two months' time I raised enough to equal what I had paid already.  It was such a blessing that others were willing to help me.  Soma of Christ Church in Tuscaloosa was a major contributor, and I am so grateful to them.  I haven't ever been to their church, but they chose to partner with me on this adventure.  I look forward to visiting their church in the future and talking about my experience in Colombia.

We went to the city of Medellín, a city that has approximately 3.5 million people in the metro area, like Seattle.  Where I live is more spread out though, so there are fewer people per mile than in Medellín.

The city is renown for their Christmas displays, the largest escalator system in the world, and their business innovation.  They use the Colombian Peso for currency.

I left Seattle International Airport on November 15 and went to Los Angeles International Airport.  I stayed the night there. On November 16, I flew from LAX to Panama City, Panama, where I met the rest of my group.  From there we went on the same flight the rest of the way to Medellín.  We were met at the airport by Jen, who with her husband Tom, manage Fresh Wind Children's Center.  We took a passenger van from the airport in Medellín to our hotel—The GHL Comfort Hotel San Diego.  Locals just know it as Hotel San Diego.  It's within walking distance of two shopping malls.

When I checked into the hotel, they looked at my passport.  Later that night, the bellboy came to my room and gave me some banana bread and ice cream because it was my 35th birthday!  It was a nice end to the day.

We were going to have a lot of adventures. 

Continue reading about my adventures in Colombia.

Fair & Festival

The Washington State Fair was from September 5-21 this year, and I got two free tickets from work.  Jean wasn't able to go with me, so I went by myself on September 19.  I really wish I could have been there for at least a couple days because there were so many things to see and do, that I certainly didn't have enough time to do them all in one day.

Once I got there, I saw the photography.  I noticed that people are getting away from more natural-looking photography and going toward obviously Photoshopped photos.  Don't get me wrong—many of them were very artistic and quite beautiful—but photography is becoming heavy on post-processing.

I went through the booths at the fair where you can buy many odd things you just don't see in the store.  I had to taste the huckleberry popcorn (it tasted great, by the way), and check out the various wares and businesses represented.  For myself, I got a wick-less candle.  I don't have very much space where I live, but it now has a Made-in-Montana wick-less candle.

I didn't really figure out their food vendors very well and chose poorly.  I had an awful burger and an unappetizing glob of fries cut in a rectangular cube.  I think I'll be careful of that in the future. Why do onion rings go on burgers now?

After looking around the animal barns, I was quite impressed with the Belgian horses.  I hadn't seen one that I can remember, and I was intrigued by their great size.  I think I liked the goats the most however.  I was particularly captivated by the Lamancha goats.  These are goats that have very small ears.  I hadn't seen this goat before, so I asked one of the owners if the ears are clipped or if they were bred that way, and that's how I learned a little about this distinctive breed.

Lamancha goats have very tiny ears!

I didn't realize when I left that evening that there was fireworks, and I ended up missing that.  I hope the animals do alright with all that loud noise from the fireworks for two weeks during the fair.

Next year, I'll have a better idea of what I want to see and do there, and maybe by then I'll know more people that will have a schedule that will work with mine.

October 5 Jean and I went to Salmon Days for the afternoon.  This is kind of a fun festival held in Issaquah, only about five miles from where Jean and I live.  While we were there, we walked through most of the vendors and bought some Christmas gifts and some honey for ourselves.  Jean had to help out at her workplace's tent, so I got myself something to eat.  Fortunately, I discerned a much better meal than last time and was quite satisfied with dinner.  Jean and I had shaved ice for dessert.

The Issaquah Salmon Days Festival

Salmon swim in Issaquah Creek.

About 6:00 p.m., there was a dog jumping competition.  The dogs were competing for the farthest jump into water.  It was neat seeing the different methods people used to train their dogs.  I think I took a couple good photos of the event:

I'm getting ready for another major adventure in the next few days.  Keep your eyes out for my next blog!