Love ?

God's greatest command "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind". This is the first and greatest commandment. The second similar; "Love your neighbor as yourself."

I am filled with God's joy at every attempt I make at reaching one of the girls of the Foundation. These girl have no idea what Love is or how to Love. My deepest desire has been to serve the people here in Colombia in compassion and Love so that they can experience transformation, restoration, freedom, healing, love and joy just as I have.

I must be honest and tell you that I have questioned myself in a sense of what can I really be accomplishing. As I began to get involved in the lives of strugglers, (I  think it is safe to say each of us "struggle" with something in our life or have in the past) as I began to realize the true condition of their lives and just how much work there is to be done I felt a sense of hopelessness.

I had really been thinking about what sort of difference myself was making in seeking to serve and Love in Colombia at Open Arms Foundation. I forgot to consider that it is only because of God's power and Love working in and through me that I can accomplish even the smallest victories. The Bible does not say that with God, we can accomplish most anything within reason. It says that with God, ANYTHING is possible (Matthew 19:26). 

Luke 6:32 "If you Love those who Love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners Love those who Love them."

It does not say to Love as long as it is comfortable, it says to Love in ways that are naturally uncomfortable. So yes, I have been discouraged at times and this brought me back home to 1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice Always."

 I desire my faith only to be found in God and in what He can accomplish through me, for His Glory and Honor. I want to Love so much like Jesus that hearts would be set on fire, so much like Jesus that lives would be transformed by His light shining through me.

Celebrating Dia de Armo y Amista

Today is Love and Friendship day in Colombia! Being from the states when I heard that the Colombians celebrate their version of  Valentine's Day on September 15th I immediately thought of  'romantic' love. Love and friendship are important here and I am thankful that I am seeing this. As I am making lasting friendships that I will cherish here there is no other I cherish more than my Greatest friend who is Jesus.

John 15:12-16 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love that has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you."

Jesus gives everything to his friends—his knowledge of God and his own life. Jesus is my model for friendship because he loves without limits, and He makes it possible for me to live a life of friendship because I have been transformed and continually by everything He shares with me. Jesus and His Father’s deep, sacrificial love for me in these words: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” and “I have called you friends".

Today rarely is "friendship" used to describe what John called "eternal life," the life of salvation that is made possible through Jesus life, death and resurrection. Friendship is the ultimate relationship with God and one another. "Friend" to me is understood as one who loves. Loving the Colombians that I am meeting is easy. The young girls I strive to share Jesus and His love for them comes without any limits. They are blinded by sin and if I can just "shine" His light upon one of them and share the love of His true friendship I will feel I have been one of Jesus model friends.

The young girls yearn for something that they think will satisfy them and forget that the ultimate One is so available for eternity. Please pray with me that these young girls will desire Christ. Pray that each will ask His Spirit to dwell within her and give her the courage to stand boldly before our Heavenly Father. They so long to be loved and have a intimate relationship yet the truest most intimate relationship that is offered to each of us is in Christ.

You can know and recognize Him in that same way as you can truly know and recognize your closest friend, but so much more intimately.

My Love and Blessings to All

 

Virus has slowed me down BUT not for long!

As I woke up this morning I opened my Bible to Isaiah and ended up in chapter 40 as I was reading verse 7 it spoke to me "The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass." 


God is my comfort daily but today when I woke up I felt like withered grass...helpless and weak! I cannot always be strong and all it has taken this time is this nasty beast of a germ moving throughout Medellin. It is wrecking havoc on me!!! Again, this allows me to see how truly fragile and weak my human condition is or can become.

Continuing to read verse 8 "The grass withers , the flowers fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever."
God's Word is my comfort. Isaiah understood that though I/we do wither and fade, my confidence is that the Word of God stands forever. No matter how discouraged I feel from having this virus I have been able to turn to God's Word for comfort and encouragement. I stand firm on God's Promises knowing He will fulfill His Word to me.

 The missionaries that I am staying with are so very kind and loving to me along with Carolina and Phil. After taking a shower (which took ALL my energy) Carolina went with me to the pharmacy right down the street. The pharmacy is where my friends here go regularly and they know the pharmacist so I was very comfortable. My doctor had sent some nausea medicine along with me for my journey but the kind of nausea medicine I got from this pharmacy is mucho better!!!! PTL. It is very important that I keep my body replenished with nutrients so Cristina just made me some "Guada". It is a a blended type of drink! Please pray for me that I will be out and about SOON. I am here to serve Jesus and witness to lost, damaged souls....I am here to Glorify Him!

Early Saturday morning Cristina took me to the heart of downtown Medellin. I loved it! We ventured from one extreme to the next. Homeless people under bridges to people out in plan sight drinking, smoking weed, cocaine and heroin. You could also witness kids "huffing" this type of industrial glue not only to get high but make their hunger pains go away. God does NOT rejoice in the loss of anyone, but desires all of mankind to be saved by His Grace, Mercy and Love. God is always on a rescue mission to save all from the destructive forces of sin and evil.

Blessings and Love to each of you. I so cherish your prayers, encouraging words and your love.

Look real close and you can see a boy/man at the top of picture bent over. (under the trees). Looked like there was fresh water coming out and he was drinking and bathing.

Across the street homeless people openly doing drugs 

Just a small view of the downtown streets. All are VERY populated with people and venders.

 

 

The Beginning

As I was arriving in Colombia I was reminded of the verse in Jemimah  17:10 "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his needs deserve." 

Since my life has changed I fully trust in God in all things that I strive to do. Even if I have no idea what He is up to even when I speculate what He may be up to. As soon as my feet entered the airport in Colombia with all the people hustling to lines I just went with the flow. The language barrier is difficult but those that know me the best know I just went and with my hands flopping each and every-way  at times for someone to understand me I made my way through customs and immigration. At immigration most people were being directed to a stopped conveyor belt and suitcases were being searched. As I approached the gentleman that was directing the people to the conveyor belt he did ask me a question and I am sure by my puzzled look he decided to just  hit the GREEN light (thinking to self YES God You are SO favoring me!!!)  the Colombian guard was surely  thinking it is late and we do not want to deal with this  gringo so I just walked through. The GREEN light gave me the "GO" and now I was a  "Free" USA citizen in Colombia, South America.

                                                        
I have been here just three full days and seen so very much from the beauty of the mountainous area to the extremely fast paced BIG town. During the day people are everywhere, motorcycles, taxis, buses and the Colombians have no knowledge of precaution when driving. I do believe one drives as aggressive and fast as one can!!! Pedestrians by no means have the 'right of way' maybe the "get run over way"! You just take a chance each time you go into the streets.

I visited the Boys Farm Tuesday morning for the day. At the airport Tuesday evening were also the arrival of two German girls, Danielle and Jana, they will be here helping with Open Arms Foundation for a year. The boys farm is about a 45 minute car ride up the mountain and 2 hours down by bus!! Nothing like our paved roads maintained by our DOT. The boys were having a First Aid training class when we arrived. The three of us got to participate when they began scenarios of real life  dramatization of needing first aid. Just from being there a day the boys are distant, hesitate with any interaction from visitors, "hard" from the streets and need SO much love...giving, showing love allows one to get to their heart and soul. There is HOPE for each of them. Psalm 33:18 "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who HOPE in His Mercy."

On Thursday and Friday I went to the Foundation in town. The parenting/pregnancy home for the girls from the street. Also here is the Foundation Church that serves the girls and the people in the community. The very young girls look at me along with the anyone else as "Authority". Yes, I am SO not accustomed to this but I have tremendous HOPE in getting into their heart. The way it works.....A person that is ministering to them gets into the heart of their child then the young mother will come around. Heart of a babe I  definitely have HOPE of getting that accomplished.      


So, may first days in Medellin, Colombia has been an eye opening experience. I feel that it is a privilege to be one of many servants who minister to children who desperately need direction in their lives. Blessings are blocked by sin that is not confessed.

God desires me to be a light, to be a light not only to point people to Him, but to also expose sin. Sin always dwells in darkness; light exposes.

Psalm 66:4 "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name."