Christmas In Colombia

wow. Christmas time again.
For the last 3 years when Christmas roles around it doesn't feel like Christmas. In Africa the last two years they don't really make Christmas a big deal.
Oh boy do they party here though.
Today is Christmas day.
The last 2 days we have been working in this town called Madrid helping a pastor renovate a home into a christian primary school. We have been plastering, painting, cleaning, FREEZING, and still having fun.
Yesterday we worked for the morning and then got the opportunity to play Futbol (soccer) with some of the youth from the church. Futbol is huge here and we seem to play it a lot a lot a lot.
I am okay with that!!!
After the Futbol game we went to a Christmas Eve service and enjoyed the holiday spirit and also shared with the Church. After that we had the amazing privilege to go to the pastors house for food and celebration. Here in Colombia they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at midnight, and usually party all through the night.
It was a great christmas Eve, and today will be really fun with the team. I have some surprise gifts for them, and then later on we are traveling 2 or 3 hours to a church up in the mountains, in a really poor place of the city to minister and do a VBS with them for a week.

Lets back up a little bit.......
the 21 and 22nd of December we went to this little town called La Mesa (translation The Table)
A small town about 2 hours outside the city. we traveled there and then did a program in the park. The church had invited the neighbourhood to come and so in this park we shared the Gospel, some of our stories, and some of our rough dramas.
God was truly Glorified.
I see more and more that it is not us doing anything, but Jesus working through us.
We played some basketball and futbol with the youth of the church and shared in an evening church service.
The next day (22nd) we rested in the morning before embarking on a huge adventure in the afternoon.
The pastor that was hosting us really has a heart for the Native people, those living in the Jungle and also just those living in the country side.
So we decided to join him in his ministry in the countryside.
We walked for an hour and a half on a dirt road with a BEAUTIFUL view of the Andes mountains. The whole city of Bogota is surrounded by mountains and let me tell you that they are amazing.
So after walking we played games with the kids from the community and then shared with them about Christmas and Jesus. After we gave out christmas presents to the kids.
then walking back while the sun was setting i was thinking about how God is so good, how He blesses us so so much and how He can take the simple things we do and say and impact the hearts of people for eternity.
wow.
I am so happy i know Jesus.

Well that is what has been going on.
Please pray for health. A lot of our team has gotten colds (including me) because of the weather here and amount we have been going and going and going. Pray for good rest because a lot of the team has not been sleeping well (including me) and just that we will have lots of energy for this next week of teaching VBS. Pray that we will stay warm it is mucho frio (translation very cold)

My team is pushing through homesickness this Christmas, they are pushing through their comfort zones, and they are looking on the positive side always.
Wow.
I am blown away.
God is good.
All Glory to Him.

Thank you Jesus for your protection, thank you Jesus for your plans for us, and thank you Jesus that we are not doing this alone. Thank you that you carry us, and thank you that YOU change hearts and lives. I love you.

Number 11

I have officially stepped foot into my eleventh country.
I know for some of you world travellers that is not a lot, but for me that is a lot. I started young......8 i believe and ever since then i have not stopped going.

5 days ago i put my feet into Colombian soil. My first South American country.
So far so good.
As i look back over the last 6 days since we left Kona i realize how much Jesus has blessed me. My team is just amazing.
Seriously.
God totally knew what i needed.
They are servants, they are joyful, and they are oh so flexible.
If i have learnt one thing already here, is that don't hold on to the plans you have to tight. Plans are always changing, times are always different, and there is always the unexpected transportation timing.
Welcome to Colombia.

We are in Bogota, a big city of 12 million and boy does it take some getting used to. Sometimes it takes 2 hours to get somewhere in the SAME CITY. Just because of traffic and public transportation!!
wowsers.

Okay i will share one story.
So on Saturday we were supposed to start ministry after 2 days of rest, seeing the city, and preparation. We were all ready to go and then our translator told us something really strange has happened. She went to phone the pastor to confirm us coming for ministry. When she talked to him he said that someone had called and told him that we wouldn't be able to go. There are only two people that speak spanish that know him and know that our team is here doing ministry. One being our translator, and the other the leader of the base.
Neither of them phoned him.
We checked and double checked and no one that we knew had phoned......we have no idea who phoned, how they knew we were supposed to go or how they even got his phone number.
So gathering as a team we prayed to see what was going on in the spiritual realm.
We felt like God was saying that is was Him protecting us from something, and that we must take this other door that he will open. We also felt him saying that he is testing us to see if we are really going to trust him. He didn't say what was next right away but we knew that he had something for us. We knew that He has a path marked out for us and so to just keep going and keep trusting.
We ended up going to this little house church that was so much fun, we hung out with the youth, went and drew a crowd on the street, and had the opportunity to minister in their church the next morning. It was truly Gods plan, it was truly Gods path.

God has already shown me that he is protecting us, that he is worth trusting. I am so excited for what He has planned for the next 3 months.

My team is healthy and full of the Joy of the Lord. Tomorrow we will be traveling to a little town 3 hours away and just bringing the kingdom in whatever shape or form the Holy Spirit prompts. On Christmas day we will be traveling to a church and teaching a Vacation Bible School for a week there. Pray that God is Glorified, that He becomes more, and that we are walking in obedience.

oh and i am only a teenager for 9 more days!!!!
yipee.

Keep checking in, you don't want to miss what God is doing through me and my team!!!!!