A few thoughts from Pastor Terry

Colombia is a beautiful country and the masses of people are wonderfully gracious. Medellin has streets full of small shops and street venders, always crowded and alive with friendly and interesting people. I thoroughly enjoy walking down the streets, taking in this vastly different culture ( and of course eating empanadas).

But, we have come here to work with Open Arms Ministry. They reach out to the poor, homeless and abused that come from a history of such evils as drug addicted parents, glue sniffing children, mothers prostituting their children and physical abuse. These children have grown up in an environment of gangs, pornography, sex and poverty. Therefore, we find it a necessity to also report about this.
Thank God for Christian people who lay down their lives for this most difficult and thankless service, ministering to those caught in this great darkness. They hold on to some miraculous testimonies and wonderful successes, but too much of the time their hearts are broken by those that do not follow Christ.

COLOMBIA, Sunday

We have discovered a new ministry for our youth. Selling empanadas in front of the church. Above is one of their faithful teens who set up before we got to church. The director said they will let me bring the empanada flour to the states. Do we know anyone who can make them? Below is a closer look. For those who do not know, empanadas are fried dough filled with meat and potatoes. They taste much better than they look.

The church was filled this morning. We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Terry ministered and was well received. There was a great response to the altar call and precious time of prayer. Below is a picture of Terry with his interpreter, the founder's son, Mike.

Pat with Pastora (Pastor's wife), children, niece and nephew. This is a precious family.

After the service Bill and Wanda, the founders of Open Arms Ministry took us out to eat. Then they brought us to a village where the Spanish first settled in Colombia. It was a beautiful place up in the middle of Medellin. The mountains surrounded the entire area and it was easy to appreciate God's creation here.

This is Clara. This is the little girl that Bill and Wanda are adopting. When she was born, the doctor tried to sell her and they fought for her. She is about 18 months old. Look at those eyes and tell me if she doesn't remind you of someone?

Another wonderful God given day in Colombia.

COLOMBIA, Saturday

Our morning started with our favorite breakfast on the street: AREPAS! Arepas are a kind of pancake made with corn flour and cheese on top. Muy Delicioso!

Then to the barrio for Children's Ministry. Many children came and participated. It was exciting to be there. Open Arms is going into the neighborhoods to reach the young children before they start living the life of drugs and prostitution on the streets.

Here is Pat with a few of the children. Aren't the Colombian children beautiful?

In the afternoon we made home visits to the families of the children that attend the outreaches here. The staff counsel the families and invite them to church on Sunday.

This is in one of the homes. This 74 year old grandmother is raising her granddaughters after her daughter died. The granddaughter is only 15 and has an 8 month old baby. There aren't any men around to help. This grandmother is blind in one eye and very discouraged. We visited many homes this afternoon and each one needs our prayers.

Who needs a gym membership when you walk around the mtns. of Colombia?

We are loving our time here in Colombia. As Terry once said "Follow me honey and I will show you the slums of the world!"

Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers. We have felt the hand of God on us the whole week and are grateful for all of you remembering to pray for us. Tomorrow is church, Colombian style. Jesus es poderoso!

Colombia, Friday

Above is the view from Enoc and Cristina's 9th floor apartment. The bible study here with the women went well. Jesus touched many of them. Three women were on the floor crying out to Jesus. God is so faithful.

Below is a picture of the young ladies at the girls' home. Last time we were here they had 5 girls and more on the way. But the young girls get homesick and the older ones "need" to get back home and "work" for their families. They call prostitution their work. The girls can quickly make a lot of money to support their families. It is very sad how young they are and how difficult it is to keep them in the program. Sometimes the families come and take them back and other times they run away.
Below is a bridge over the river. On each side of the bridge is a different gang. Many young people have died in this area, fighting for their territory. Just recently five young men died. Open Arms Ministry is doing its' best to change this. God's creation is so beautiful and we are praying for God to take these kids and this area back for His glory.

We traveled with many forms of transportation this week. Walking up and down the steep mtns. gave us our daily exercise. It was difficult when they run into children that used to be in the program. Young boys that have run away and are back on the streets sniffing glue. Heartbreaking to say the least.

We also took the metrocable, which can give you a view of the city from the air. The poverty gets worse, the higher you go.

This is the metrotram. This can be very crowded at times. One of the security guards warned us to watch our backpacks.

Tomorrow we will be going to one of the poorest areas to do children's ministry.


They have asked Terry to preach at their Sunday service. He covets your prayers.
Dios de bendiga!!!

COLOMBIA, Thursday

This morning we went to the foundation. Above is Terry preparing to minister to the staff. Below is Pat practicing her Spanish with the Foundation's psychologist. It was much more difficult to converse with the educated than talking to street kids. When he asked "how my stay in Colombia has been so far, has it been good," I could only understand the word good. We had a lot of fun trying to communicate and the people appreciate that I am trying.

Below are some of the girls that daily come to the foundation. This is stage one where the girls come from the streets to eat breakfast and a bible study. Note the swimming pool in the back, which is the lure to the program. Two of the girls are being prepared to go to the girls home next Tuesday.
EMPANADAS! This one is for Tommy. Eating empanadas in Colombia. (However, Tommy's mother makes a much better empanada.)

Tonight Pat will be ministering to the woman's bible study. This will be held in Cristina and Enoc's apartment.

Colombia

We had an interesting route here. Our first flight was delayed due to a broken landing gear light. Then there was a medical emergency on the flight, so we needed to allow the medical team to exit the man to an ambulance. We had ½ hour to reach our connecting flight, only to have a fire alarm go off in the airport with an announcement saying wait for future instructions as the fire dept. checked it out. But we made it to Colombia on time with our hosts excitedly waiting for us at the airport. We took a bus followed by a taxi to their apartment in middle of the city.

We left bright and early for the boys farm this morning. We walked 1/2 hour to the tram, rode the tram for another 1/2 hour. Then we had to wait for our bus for an hour. It had broken down. When the bus came, we rode for another hour up 8,000 ft. in the mtns. Then we walked another couple miles to get to the farm.
It was well worth it. The boys' farm now house 37 boys from ages 9-26. Each boy has a story and if there is one problem, it is that there is not enough help. We enjoyed a full day up in the mountains with these boys. Each boy was taken off the streets. Parents are dead, drug addicts, or even worse. It is a hard work, but they are beginning to see some fruit of their labor. the older boys are being trained to work in the ministry. Below is one of the many homes where they house the boys. They were very organized and clean.
Here is Pat with one of the younger boys. They all loved all the attention they could get from the adults. Today brought visitations, encouragement, children's ministry for the younger boys, discipleship for the older boys, lunch, tutoring, and then soccer. The boys were excited to practice their English with us, and Pat practiced her Spanish with them.
Before the boys could start their soccer practice, they had a devotional with their coach. Below is a picture of some of the boys on the soccer field.
All in all today was exhausting but wonderful. Tomorrow morning Terry is preaching to the staff at the foundation. Please keep us in your prayers for strength and wisdom.

COLOMBIA, MEDELLIN

This Tuesday we will be traveling to Medellin, Colombia. We have been invited to work with Open Arms Ministry, a ministry to impoverished street children. This ministry rescues children from a life on the streets of begging, drugs and prostitution. They go into very poor areas and invite the youth to their swimming pool. They also feed them and do a bible study. The work is difficult and has 4 stages, from bible studies to housing and mentoring them into adults.

The parents and drug lords are their worst enemies. They do not like loosing their greatest source of income. We have met children who were beat so badly their bones were even broken because they did not bring home enough money. Girls as young as 8 years old were in prostitution and young people so addicted to drugs they could not function. How can you not do something to help when the Lord allows you to see such things?

Here is a picture of Enoc and Cristina, they are in leadership in Open Arms Ministry. We will be staying in their home. Enoc is Colombian growing up as a pastor's son in a very poor neighborhood has enhanced his heart to reach the street kids. His wife Cristina is from Brazil and works endlessly for the hurting and lost in this area. Here is our latest correspondence:
"Hello my family from away
I am so thankful to God to bring people like you both into our lives and ministry.
I am organizing my schedule...And believe me there will be a lot things that you are going to be able to help. Waiting for you with OPEN ARMS"

A picture of some of the girls in the home. Note how young they are.

The boys' ranch houses many boys. These boys below are playing soccer with their coach, a young man who grew up on the streets and spent time in jail. Once he found the Lord, he volunteered to help these boys develop a better life for themselves. Each one has a story that would break your heart.You can follow our work on this blog when we have Internet access. Please keep us in your prayers. Colombia is not only a developing country, it is listed by Voice of the Martyrs as the only country in South America with great persecution against the Christians. The guerrillas and drug lords do not like anyone that could get in their way of extortion and drug trafficking.

CFL Returns

Champions for Life Kids' Camp will continue to be a part of our home mission's project. We have over 24 churches represented in our community that volunteer at this faith based camp. This camp is specifically designed for foster children and children at risk. Most of these children have been through very painful situations in their home life. These children learn to realize that they were created by a loving God and that He has a specific plan for their future.

CFL training is starting back up again. 20 new volunteers are now meeting once a month to train for the CFL 2009 summer camp. They will join the other 100 returning volunteers in June.

Here are some pictures from previous years at camp. There are many special moments where the children get specialized attention. Moments matter at this camp.

Children, who were forced into growing up too soon, come to camp and are encouraged to just have fun. They learn that there are adults whom they can trust. They also learn that they have a God who will always love them unconditionally.

There is a special moment where we write down our bad memories of the past. As we burn these memories, we ask Jesus to heal the pain of our past.

Sometimes the life of a foster child is very unstable. As they move around a lot, their birthday is sometimes forgotten. Therefore, we have established each year to have a birthday celebration where each child receives a personalized birthday cake, presents, and love for whom they are.

Please keep these children, some with horrific backgrounds and stories, in your prayers.