Colombia
Colombia is a triptych of coastal plain, soaring mountains, and velvety jungle. Rivers teem from the Andes into the Amazon Basin and the seamless sponge of Chocó's Pacific coast. * Colombia is home to 10% of the worlds animals and plants and is every bird watchers dream spot! They pride themselves in being named after Christopher Columbus and being the the only South American country that borders both the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. Although Colombia is living in the shadow of a past they would rather forget, the people and landscapes are just beautiful!
Some fun facts about Colombia:
Colombia is #3 in the world for Coffee! ~Although everyone knows Colombian Coffee is the best!!
You can only get to Panama by boat from Colombia! ~ Panama Canal anyone??
The Sierra Nevada in Santa Marta is the 2nd highest mountain range in the world.
Colombia is home to the tallest palm trees in the world, the wax palm. ~ Think Lorax!
Ministry in Colombia
God is so faithful. Our time in Colombia brought so many new opportunities. We lived in Santa Marta, on the northern coast. We were privileged to work alongside the superintendent of the Northern District of the Colombian Assemblies of God. It has been an honor to learn from him, work with him and understand culture with him. With our superintendent we were able to be a part of two church plants with over 10 more in the coming years. Driving hours to pray over towns, meet with people, transport ministry teams and set up/ tear down outdoor evangelistic outreaches resulted in those two new churches! Praying and seeing this vision become a reality just proves over and over the goodness of God.
There were so many other ministry opportunities we were able to be involved with. We were part of the children’s church team, helping to improve our Spanish. We planned an event then later led an evening for married couples who then rededicated their marriages to the Lord. Watching as couples embrace, some laughing, some crying, some for the first time in years, was such a reminder of the unconditional love of Jesus. Marriage ministry was not on our radar, but with God leading, and us walking in His obedience, it was an amazing time of transformation.
Because of churches and people here in the states we were able to receive and pack over 250 bookbags with school supplies. These bags were then taken to the closest of six indigenous tribes near us. Santa Marta sits between the coast and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These mountains and surrounding areas are home to our indigenous. We had the privilege and grand adventure of spending the night with a patriarch of the tribe. Man do we have stories! To see the look on the kids faces as we handed out much needed school supplies was priceless. We were even given a rooster to say thank you. Yes it was alive, yes we had chicken soup.
As our first term came to a close God was still opening doors. Before coming back to the states we were asked and approved to be the country co0rdinators for a ministry called ChildHope. ChildHope is a ministry where we believe through compassion and education we will see transformation in our students’s lives and in their families. We now oversee nine schools all over Colombia, in the most poverty stricken areas. We have testimony after testimony of how a Christian education has changed lives physically, brought emotional healing, and had an eternal impact. All of these students that attend our ChildHope schools are made possible by sponsors like you! Thank YOU!! To sponsor a child click here !
Another ministry we were excited to be a part of is Kings Castle. Kings Castle is an evangelistic centered ministry focusing on outreach and discipleship in the local church. We had the privilege to serve on a local team doing school programs, and street evangelism. When we return to Colombia we will also be traveling to train up leaders for the children’s discipleship in the church. We not only want to take Jesus to the streets but we want to equip the local church with a program to disciple them as they come into the local church.
* National Geographic Travelers Colombia