rob welch´s team

So thrusday after I worked with the kids in Egypto, the youth pastor that volunteers with me took me to see a couple historical sights nearby.

the buildings were beatiful

This is in front of the President´s house!

And finally Rob Welch and his team got to Colombia! It was so good to see Becky! So they got in Saturday and then we drove 4 hours to Sorgamoso, where we stayed for the next few days. 3 boys from El Camino came to help translate, Joshua, Ruben, and David. It ended up being God sent because the translator for Rob backed out the day of, and so Joshua, a 15 year old, translated Rob´s message. He did incredibly well! He was able to match Rob´s enthusiam for the Truth. I didn´t know what to expect really, I´ve never been a part of an evagelistic team before.

I shared my testimony before Rob spoke one night. I had felt earlier that day that God wanted me to speak about the hope that we have in Him, so I did!! It was incredible to feel God call me to do something and to obey that call no matter how crazy it may seem.

I was nervous at first because after Rob spoke he had us go out and ask to pray for people. I love praying for people I know, but it was new to be praying for people I didn´t know who didn´t even speak the same language as me. So Viv and I teamed up and she translated their needs. And guess what?? I SAW 2 PEOPLE HEALED! I´ve never seen a healing before. I guess I´ve always known they were possible but it scared me a little too. This woman asked me and Viv to pray for healing in her leg. She had been limping. At first I was intimidated but then a boldness came over me. I know that God has the power to heal! So why should I be scared? He has not given us a spirit of fear! So I prayed with all my heart that God would glorify Himself in this woman´s life by healing her. We finished praying and asked her how she felt. She said she felt great! She walked with no limp! GOD HEALED HER IN FRONT OF ME!!!! I was stunned. I stood there silenced and in awe of His power. HE IS AMAZING!!! Our God is a God that is working here and NOW!! SO the next weekend a man asked me and Viv to pray for his baby who had been in the hospital for 4 days and would die if his fever didn´t go down soon. The next night the festival was in the same town and we saw the man again. He had with him his BEATIFUL, HEALTHY BABY BOY! God used his healing powers again!! My heart was so moved by the way God can touch lives now, today. He wants us to be free of sickness and He wants us to see His mighty power!!

So one of the nights one of the boys from ECA, David, and I played worship songs in a park nearby to draw people to the festival. Then Rob had us sing befor he spoke!! I was so nervous. I prayed that God would give me the confidence to pull through. I love to sing, but I get insecure when I have to sing alone for a crowd. I was shaking and scared but the minute David started playing the guitar I felt soothed by the music and was able to sing for Jesus!

We also did a skit a couple of nights that visually demostrates how we let ourselves get seperated from God by the sin in our lives and how God sent His son to take the punishment for that sin so that we might have a relationship with Him.

Rob has a passion for God and for preaching the Truth that is incredible! He has a gift of speaking and has beatiful prayer life. Watching him inspired me to grow in my prayer life!

Overall, I am so glad that I was able to tag along and be a part of this amazing trip! It was different than the trips I am used to. But it is a beautiful ministry. I personally feel that I am more prone to go on a compassion trip. I work better with people one on one, showing them love through my actions of giving and serving. But evangelism is just as necessary as compassion. People need to KNOW that they are sinners and they need to know that Jesus christ died for them. It was great to see Becky travelling in a country she loves again and it felt like a got to reconnect with a peice of home. I´m sad it had to end but grateful I was able to watch God move in the cities of Colombia!!!

yay english

So you heard about my crazy experiences over the weekend, but this week i went to work.

Tuesday Mrs. afanador had a meeting at another christian school in the south, so i went with. while she was in her meeting, i went to each different elementary grade level and practiced english with them. i would introduce myself and then the kids would ask me questions like where i was from, what my favorite color was, and how long i would be in colombia. but they could only ask in english. so they would wisper among each other and then one brave student would attempt the question. it was so much fun! my first class asked me if i played an instrument and i said no, but i like to sing. BIG mistake. huge. they all started chanting ¨Cantar, cantar, cantar!¨ which means sing! I looked at the teacher for help but she just asked me what i was going to sing for them. So i ended up singing amazing grace acapella for them. the class was dead silent and burst into cheers when i finished. So of course the other classes all heard about my song, so i had to sing for every class. It definitely built up my confidence in front of a crowd:) I really enjoyed how eager the kids were to learn. Then we went back to El camino and I had a 6 hour rehearsal with the Creative Outreach team. We are working on some dramas and I learned choreography to 2 songs that we will be performing when we go on our missions trip to Cienaga.

Wednesday I helped in the music classes and played tackle football with the junior girls;)

Thursday I went to a day care in Egypto, a poor city in the south. I went with Elias and Ruth, who are married, and work at Centro de Desamollo Christiano, the church that the Afanadors attend. We went to the church first to get supplies for a craft. I brought with me four big children´s books- 2 in english and 2 in spanish. I also brought flashcard with letters and pictures of animals with the animal´s name in english and penut butter and jelly. Most kids in Colombia have never had penut butter so I thought I would bring them a special American treat. We stopped at a panaderia so i could buy bread, figuring it would cost around $20. I bought 30 rolls and it cost me $3 american dollars. $3 fed 25 kids, amazing right? Well they loved the treat and were begging for seconds!
Usually Elias does a devotional with them, but instead I read to them and practiced english. First I read a story in spanish. Then we worked on the alphabbet and animals. Then I read a story in english.
their favorite part was the english song i taught them, every move i make i make in you you make me move jesus!! they loved it!! i want to make this day care a weekly visit. the kids are so loving and its a safe place they can go when their parents would usually have to leave them alone at home.

Friday I went with a woman from Denmark to a teenage pregnancy house she and her husband opened in Colombia. There are 9 girls that live in the house, all ranging from14 to 17 years old. The youngest girl they ever had was 12. 4 of the girls already have babies, 5 are pregnant now. In this house they learn things that will help them later in life, such as cooking, cleaning, and they are learning how to work in a beauty salon so someday they can make a living for themselves. Some of the girls were kicked out by their parents and some just can´t afford their child. So they come to live in this house. I spent the morning with the babies, holding them, loving them, playing with them. The the girls bundled the kids up and went out to walk along a main street and window shop. This was really exciting for them and the kids. Colombia already had many windows filled with Christmas decorations, my favorite time of year!

In the afternoon I folded baby clothes that had been donated.

Walking home, I saw prostitues lining the street corners. The woman I was with explained that in cetain parts of the city the government has to tolerate prostitution or else it would spread all over the city. Where we were a part of the city that tolerated it.

It made me realize how much God has blessed me. That girl on the corner could be me. For some of the girls it isn´t a choice. They don´t have food to eat so they sell their bodies. Please continue to pray for Colombia

A question that i get quite often is people wondering if i am a christian, and when i say yes they ask if my family is christian. As soon as i say yes they begin saying how wonderful that is. I am so grateful for my family. They support me in my faith which is something that not everyone has.

Friday night I went to a english youth group led by Brandon Cooper and I was a small group leader for the high school girls. We talked about prayer and how it needs to be not just a time that we talk with God but a state of being- to be in a constant prayer.

Prado (hot country!)

So after i ate a bug, the afonador family and some friends and I all took off for Prado, or hot country. It is about 80 to 90 degrees there ALL the time. it was a 6 hour drive but definately worth it. We got around 1am on saturday and vivi and i walked down by the water while rafa and beth worked on getting the boat in the water. down by the water there was this navy officer who started asking us questions. at first it seemed like a normal conversation but then he wanted to see my passport and viv said we needed to move because he was asking too many questions. so we got into the boat and headed off. we slept is something that is best described as a cabin. it wasnt by any means a hotel, it had a rustic feel to it. and i loved it. we spent the weekend boating, skiing, wakeboarding, and swimming. me and mrs afanador went on a 2 hour swim to this island and back one day. it was gorgeous. the lake is surrounded by mountains and the sun had just begun to set. on the way back there were flocks of white birds flying peacefully over the water. it almost looked like they were ice skating on the surface because they were so close. so this flock of birds would swoop down over the water and circle and do it again. well there were several flocks that flew directly over us. one flock flew straight towards us, split around us, and then rejoined once they had passed us. i felt like i was a part of the lion king or something! it was really cool to spend so much time with nature. and viv and i always took a lazy nap in a hammok after lunch. it was a great time for me to relax and get in tune with God.

sunday we went to small church that was on top of a high hill. it took some climbing to get to it, but the view was unbelievable. it was a small, run down, white building. but once inside it was a holy place to meet with God. there were only maybe 10 members of the church, half of which were kids. and they used a cd player to sing along with for worship. but these people worshipped with everything in them. they were clapping and dancing and kneeling and crying out for God. it was beautiful.

so the weekend went perfectly

until the last morning i woke up and it was hard to open my left eye. so i went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and my eye was the size of a golf ball!! a bug must have bitten me while i was sleeping, what a cheap shot!. it was NOT fun, but we all got a good long laugh out of it. and my eye went back to normal by night.