Blessing People

Our mission team did much of the same things on November 20 that we did on November 19.  Some of us delivered food to the mothers of the children that attended Fresh Wind Children's Center, others of us helped the staff with the kids and prayed for the staff themselves.  As well, in the evening, we went to more cell groups.

Michele and her kids show off the craft project they did for candy canes. (Photo by Jen)

Jeff was a natural with these kids.  They all loved him, and he loved them back as if they were his own grandchildren.  (Photo by Jen)

This man came up to us and expressed how grateful he was for us for coming to the Children's Center to pray for people and to bless others. (Photo by Jen)

Miguel, Dave S., and Karen pray with one of our wonderful translators, Bibiana. (Photo by Jen)

I think I want to explain what sort of work we did with my own personal experiences.

In the morning on November 20, a small group of us went by taxis to a different Children's Center in the area.  This foundation was primarily for girls, but there was one boy there whose sister lived there also.  These girls were insulated from much of the problems that surround their parents: a bad neighborhood, drugs, gangs, mafia presence, violence, prostitution, abuse, and the list goes on and on.  They were protected because they lived at this center for about six days out of the week and went to their families on holidays and weekends.

These kids are most of the residents at the other children's foundation we visited.

What seemed so stark about this experience was that there was such love inside the building.  There was an older woman who ran this institution, and it was apparent that she cared deeply for these girls.  None of the children had looks of fear which was all too common in these Colombian ghettos.  They were happy to meet us and even gave us a little presentation.

The door to this institution was open, but had bars across the doorway.  There was a lock on this open door.  It spoke to the generosity to those who needed help, and the grace and protection to those who lived inside.  This dwelling was a shelter in the midst of a storm, a safe harbor to those who would ordinarily be in danger, and a ray of hope in a crime-ridden and desperate neighborhood.

I delivered food with Dave S. and John to a few mothers with children at Fresh Wind over these two days.  I prayed for one mother after visiting with her via my translator Maria on November 19.  She lived in a room the size of a large closet, which was attached to a building where she was working.  This woman was cleaning a place that provided public showers.  Inside her humble room, I could hear Christian music playing in the Spanish language on TV.  She told us how she was recently pregnant, of her four children (at least one went to Fresh Wind), and of her fiancé who she was trying to lead to Jesus by reading the New Testament.  She was working in that public shower for her daily rent. (Many poor people in Medellín pay their rent daily.)  If you haven't guessed it by now, she was a prostitute who had recently come to Christ and was now trying to straighten her life out.

When Jesus saves a person, he accepts them as they are, and then wipes all the dirt off of them.  It's so easy to disdain people who have ruined lives, but He died for them to have life.  The Holy Spirit has a way of making something good and new out of what has been destroyed.

I prayed for her, and I know God's grace rests on her.  He will carry out to completion that which he started in her (Php. 1:6).

I look back at these two specific days of this trip, and realize how God is working through all of our problems to give us life.  Every little nice thing we do for others, every prayer, every bit of food we share is a step toward building a community of hope.

This, my friends, is the true work of the Church.