Almost everyone already knows at this point, but here's the official statement: We're going back to Colombia. And by we, i mean myself, my parents and three other people from my church, as well as six people from a church out of Michigan. It's a large team and most are new to the mission field, so i'm actually quite interested to see how the dynamics of it will play out. We leave July 9th, but it's never too early to start praying for us!
There are a couple of updates, and i'll start with fundraising. The cost of this trip is $1500/person, which is normal. We put together another variety show and raised a lot of money that night, which was pretty awesome. We've sent out all our letters and started the annoying but necessary harassment rituals with friends and family and yes, even strangers. But the coolest thing i think we've done so far is find sponsors for each and every child and staff member at El Camino. We handed out these large plastic bags to people and after they picked which child or adult they wanted to sponsor, they went out and bought some new articles of clothing to fill the bag with. A bunch of people even wrote little notes, which makes me excited for them because i know they'll be getting a response back. I can't wait to distribute these bags in Colombia. This will probably be the first time the children have ever received brand new clothing at the orphanage, nevermind clothes they don't have to share...it's certainly the first time we've brought them. I can already see the looks on their faces, and that fills me with joy. For those of us who've been to El Camino several times, it's going to be a great moment.
Unfortunately, i'm going to bring the mood down a bit. We were informed the other night by Gabriela that the children have no food right now. El Camino is facing severe hardships, and they've been struggling for a while but when the children are going hungry, you know things are pretty bad. There are several reasons we know of why this is happening, and probably more that we don't know. The first is longstanding debt. When we went to Colombia in November, Gabriela owed some money to someone for shoes that she bought for the children, so we paid that off. Now she owes money to the grocery store, which is enough to prevent her from going back until she can come up with the money. The other, more major, reason for the financial stress is lack of support. El Camino is a non-profit home run strictly by donations, and last month they were surviving off of 40% of their usual income.
My mother's been keeping my pastor updated over the last couple of days, and he's been amazing, determined to find some way to meet the immediate needs of the children's home. All of us have been reminded of James 1:27, the guiding verse behind every missionary: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." And so my pastor decided it would be best to wire some money down to Colombia, which should take place tomorrow morning. We'll be sending them money to pay off their debt to the supermarket as well as some money for food.
It breaks my heart to stand by and watch the children in Colombia suffer. And yet, we're not just standing by. We're seeing a need, and we're meeting it. And someday, when we stand before God in the new Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Matthew, He'll say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Not, "You read your Bible every night and went to church every Sunday." Not, "You never uttered a curse or lashed out in anger." You took care of the orphans and widows. You put their needs before your own. You gave even when you had nothing to give. That is the religion of the God i serve.
I'm not patting ourselves on the back with this story, i'm reminding us all of what is truly important in life. Mainly, i'm reminding myself. Why i choose Jesus Christ, and why i believe. Because it's not about rules or trying to reach impossible levels of perfection or earn my way to an afterlife. It's about love...accepting it, and then giving it away.
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