So I went to Colombia. And the best part was that I made it
out alive (if you ask the right people, they weren’t sure if that was going to
happen). I didn’t see or take any drugs.
And I didn’t get robbed (ironically that happened to me in America). But I did talk to strangers. A lot of them, actually. We met with people in a town called Cienaga,
about 40 minutes south of Santa Marta.
Every day that we drove through that town, I was kind of ashamed to
admit I’d never seen poverty like that before.
The people whose houses we visited were barely houses, everything was
dirty, and most people who lived in Cienaga really had nothing. But what Jesus taught me through seeing that
every day and meeting with those people is that He levels the playing
field. It wasn’t a typical trip where I
wanted to just go and build them another house or give them all my money. Sure, I would love for every one of my new
friends to have a clean house with air conditioning and clean water and
food. But I want them to have Jesus
more. I want them to have a better life
after this one, because this one doesn’t take any of us very far.
God sent six of his people, people like an engineer, a
recreator, a student, a Starbucks barista to share the gospel with
Colombians. About one and a half of us
knew any Spanish words. As we walked up
to stranger’s doors, really cool things happened and at least 20 people came to
know Jesus in our 10 days! The long-term
missionary serving in Colombia, Jon, and I went to several people’s houses
throughout the week and I got to talk to people who were hurting financially,
physically, spiritually, emotionally. I
got to share my testimony probably 15 to 20 times and it was crazy to see grown
men and women come to tears over what God has done in this one white American
girl’s life. One man in his probably
late 40’s, (a linebacker-sized, big dude!) cried and told me how grateful he
was that I shared what God has done in my life.
I was blown away by that. Why a
complete stranger who was listening to my little life story through a
translator got brought to tears, I’ll never get that one. I also talked to another 26 year-old girl,
who as I told her my testimony, she had pretty much the exact same life
story. She was unsure about why she ever
went to church growing up and now she just didn’t feel like she fit in so she
stopped going. We talked a lot about how
our stories were similar, and I was stoked to see her and her husband come to
the worship night we had at the church the last night we were there! God did some cool stuff, by just calling us
to step out and talk to people about the gospel.
It’s awesome what He taught me about missions and about
myself through those days. When
Christians yell at me to care about missions, I got nervous because I used to
think it meant I had to sell everything and move to the mountains of a country
I can’t pronounce. Maybe that will be
the case someday. But until then, I’ll
be obedient to caring about missions in the exact way that He calls me to care
about missions. I won’t get to go on a
trip like this every year for the rest of my life, and I may not visit South
America ever again (although I sure hope I do!)
As I got back on the plane headed north after 10 days, I was happy
to. I have a great life here, a great
fiancé here, and a great job that I believe God has absolutely gifted me
for. With that job, I’ll give every cent
that I sacrificially can so that someone else can go overseas on mission. I
didn’t come back from Colombia thinking that the six of us changed the world or
feeling like we would when we got back.
But I did come back with a burden for people’s souls, that they know who
they are because of the gospel. Jon asked us on the first day, “What would be a
successful trip for you?” It was to be
obedient in sharing the gospel, no
matter the outcome. That’s all we
can do, and it’s what He’s called me to do with my life, in this country or in
one really far away. Ready to do it all
again next year!
