Colombia... where we will always remember a different version of John 15, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you."
The beautiful green countrysides and coffee fields would give you the illusion of freedom as you drive past, but in fact, freedom was the last thing we experienced as we discovered the truth about being a Christian in Fusagasuga : it's dangerous. With the Gorillas being so unpredictable, missionaries have to be protected against kidnapping or murder from these vicious drug-smuglers. We stayed at a New Tribes Missions base where we built a 3m high fence during the day, and got some really interesting teachings at night. We woke up early each morning to drink fresh Colombian coffee each morning that the missionary we served made for us.
Through the day we worked hard... We literally needed to be wired to Christ to make it through the day! We learnt how to weld, grind, mix concrete and how to dig big holes and put up a fence. We were so thankful for physical work for a change, although our bodies were in pain after day 1. In the nights the missionary showed us dvd's of tribes, like the Taliabo story (this is a must see) and being an expert on languages, he gave us a few lessons. You might think the idea of living in the jungle with a few Indians sounds so romantic... Untill you try to speak to them. Did you know that for the word 'carry', in a specific Indian tribe, has 30 different words to describe how you carry something... They think english is such a boring language, because for them, 'carry' is what they do all day long, so it is quite important for them to know the different ways to carry stuff.
As team, we had a special time together, and prayed for our families back home each morning. Of cause Panama was a stretch, for we still needed so much money to join Y-WAM for two weeks, but God proved himself faithful as always - like usual, in a way that doesn't make sense at all! When we got to the check-in at the airport, the lady gaves us a few hundred Dollar bills, somehow we payed too much??? Doesn't make sense right? God loves the impossible!
In Bogota we had our first challenge,
and all the different teams could proclaim God's hand in safety and provision afterwards! All glory goes to our Mighty God! Next up is Panama, and as team we are very excited for what lies ahead!