Hola from Colombia! My squad traveled to Medellin, Colombia on October 4th! We will be here for about 6 weeks total. Travel day went very smoothly! We made it here safe, praise Jesus!
Our entire squad is staying at a homeless refuge/church foundation building and our ministry work is mainly working at the foundation. Each team is assigned a specific ministry for the week. Some of those jobs include…
- Kids ministry (I did this the first week)
- Youth ministry
- Vegetables (sorting through rotten and ripe, cleaning them, prepping for sale, or prepping for cooking!) (I did this the second week)
- Cleaning the building (stairs, trash, mopping, etc)
- Recycling (tearing apart paper bags to get the plastic out of them- the foundation sells the paper and plastic for extra revenue) (I also have helped with this!)
- Kitchen help/prep
- Getting bread at the market for homeless ministry
- Working in the bakery.
- Evangelism in the Bronx (I will explain this in a separate blog post)
It has been very fun finally getting into full time ministry! We’ve slowly gotten to know the workers at the foundation and love them so much! The language barrier has been a bit more challenging than we anticipated, but the 6 years of Spanish have definitely been coming in handy!
Last Saturday, we walked around the area we live in and knocked on doors to have kids join us for Kids Ministry that morning! I was not expecting to do that at all but it was very fun. I played jumprope with the kids and bonded with a little girl named Sofia. She was very gracious and patient with me in the language barrier which I really appreciated!
We have our sabbath on Mondays and adventure day on Thursdays. The past few non-ministry days I’ve been going into town and just exploring! My friends and I were walking around trying to find a place to sit down and came across a really nice hidden gem of a coffee shop! It was upstairs and had stained glass with a lot of seating. It was so relaxing! We’ve also taken the metro, Uber, and went on top of a mountain to see a waterfall (but it was closed because of a previous accident). I’m super excited to keep exploring the city, find nature spots, and learn more about Colombia.
The biggest blessing my whole squad has recognized is our living conditions. From living in tents, to 80 people sleeping on the floor in one room, we now live in a shared apartment with separate rooms and bathrooms. I am in a room with 5 other girls in triple bunk beds! Us 40 are spread out between 2 floors, both with a kitchen and a living room. We also have access to the shared terrace which has an insane view of the city! I love going up there, it’s such a peaceful spot to spend time with friends or the Lord. The church also has a bakery that we live above. The pastries are absolutely delicious and pretty cheap too. I love spending mornings down there with friends and doing bible studies. All of my leaders have said that this is the nicest place they’ve ever stayed on the race, so we are so incredibly grateful!
We also have been attending the Colombian church every Sunday and Wednesday. The services are in Spanish, but we listen to a live translation with headphones. It’s an adjustment, but we are lucky to have a translator at the church! The worship is also in Spanish, which I have been getting the hang of! I love the upbeat music that they play and sing. All of us girls love dressing up for church and taking cute pictures! Sundays are a half Sabbath after church and our weekly apartment cleanup!
Anyways, there are so many more stories and posts to come!! It’s been a blast so far and am so blessed to be in Colombia with my whole squad! My favorite time of day is after dinner when we are all hanging out and being silly in the living room and kitchen! We play games, bake, or just laugh together! It’s starting to feel like a family and I love it sooo much! Haven’t hit the homesickness yet, but definitely miss my family and friends back home. I appreciate the updates and videos being sent to me and I’m glad I can still be somewhat connected. Thank you God for modern technology!
Miss you all, hugs from afar!
Ellie
Am enjoying your blogs. Good to see your experiences are varied with work, worship, wandering, and socializing all a part of your journey. Looks like a beautiful country!
Ankeny is turning into a palette of fall colors this week. Sending you best wishes for continued blessings as you spread the love of Jesus!
Ellie,
How do I know if you see my comments?
I thought I posted my comments then this section pops up ‘leave a reply’ with my info in the boxes below like I am supposed to keep writing. I find this confusing?
Jan