prepartion
Mikayla Smith - April 6th, 2024
As far as my expectations for the trip went, I didn’t have any. I chose to go to Colombia out of obedience to the Lord and no other reason. Although, my expectations were non-existent, I had been generally preparing my heart for the trip; asking God to teach my team and myself to remain joyful and calm. Praying that our focus would only be on you. What no one had prepared me for was the culture shock that was awaiting me in Cartegena, Colombia. The moment we left the airport and got in the van that took us to our next destination, the church, I became incredibly overwhelmed. I thought I was going to throw up or pass out the whole ride and even once we had arrived at the church. The speed at which a new culture was thrown at me was something no one had prepared me for whatsoever; and no one comforted me in that shock and struggle. Once we finally arrived to the church, I was volunteered by some of our leaders to lead worship. I do not think anyone had considered the emotional, mental, and physical state I was in and that by volunteering me to lead worship in a different country, place, and language I might have been overwhelmed. I actually know that no one was aware on considerate in that regard. So, the next thing I know, I am in the church sanctuary without my team with four Spanish-speaking strangers for worship rehearsal. And we were leading worship for Youth service that night (or so I thought). I was completely prepared to be humbled because I couldn’t speak or understand the language. I was also prepared to feel uncomfortable because this church and these people were not familiar to me. What I was not prepared for was to see God’s empathy. Being separated from the team separated me from the chaos that I was feeling around my very excited team. It gave me the opportunity to form intentional relationships with others outside of my team- learning names and life stories. It most importantly gave me the opportunity to see how even though I was in a different country, God was the same. Worship did not change because I was in Colombia and it was actually through worship that I began to feel at home. It ended up being a very special, tranquil, and safe time for me in the midst of chaos. The most significant part of the story was that after rehearsal, I found out that we were not leading worship that evening for Youth. So, basically I got about four hours of private time with God, my familiarity, in the midst of unfamiliarity. I realized that in spite of my unpreparedness, God went ahead of me and prepared time for me because He knew that I would need time with Him. He knew…even when I did not know. He was just as much God for the teammates I had who were having the time of their lives- seeing the evidence of God in all the beauty, unfamiliarity, and culture- as He was God for me while having a horrible experience- seeing less of God and more of confusion and angst. He went ahead of all of us and prepared for us. My lack of preparation had no effect on God’s preparation. I saw that in the first 24 hours. He only continued to be God the rest of our time there.
“He heard my cry for Mercy” Pt. 2
Matias Uribe - March 10th, 2024
We are back with part 2 of this devo, which if you are just joining us please go back and read part 1 as it will give context for what is to come.
Let’s begin.
I split this message into two parts. First, we have the scripture, and second, we have the lesson. What was the Lord trying to say when He brought about this message? This is what I have come to understand. I process things vocally, so when I repeat something back to people, I realize what I have been learning, and something new comes up every time. I have verbally processed it three times at the time of writing, and it has shown me a new piece of growth. Let me share.
On the first time sharing, I realized what this trip meant for me. If you see the 2023 page, you realize that I came on this trip last year, and it was truly a groundbreaking experience for me. The trip became a source of freedom. I went into the trip simply out of obedience and came out liberated from the hatred that stirred in my heart for my own country and family. I had walked into a trip to a place where I had resentment and was entangled by pride and hate, and it was those two very things that the Lord taught me to let go of there. Sound familiar? It gets crazier.
The second time I shared it, the Lord revealed a few new things. For context, we had arrived from a very difficult goodbye on Thursday as we had to say goodbye to our friends in Tierra Bomba, and it was hard, really hard. This was only the beginning of the struggles as we were challenged when we arrived at the senior home. Our time there was filled with tears, that is all I can say, but what the Lord had revealed was that in 24 hours, we saw the beginning of life with our friend in Tierra Bomba and the end of life at the senior home. The Lord whispered, “People pray for both of these.” I was in shock, but it’s true. How often do we hear of people praying for a new life, and how many pray for a long life? Anyways, let’s continue. The Lord had related it to verses 8 & 9 “For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” and verse 14 & 15 “I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all of his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” We have a duty to commit and a vow we are responsible for when we commit ourselves to the Lord. There is something the Lord is revealing now. What brought about the thought was seeing the daughter of a church member take her first steps at the church. I see now. “For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, MY FEET FROM STUMBLING, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living” Poetic. May every step she takes be blessed by the Lord. Let’s continue before I need to make a part 3.
The third time I shared it was just a bit ago, while it was a voice memo, the Lord had shown me just how cool and specific His faithfulness is. Remember when we were talking about the cool similarities I had with the Psalmist? (not just because I like writing and poetry but experiences) He revealed something cool. Let’s read verses 5 & 6 “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.” Not only does our God save, but He is gracious, righteous, and compassionate. I realized that the same things that He had liberated me from last year became a source of joy this year. Not only that, but He had been working a period of rest into our schedule for me to realize it. This brings up why the Psalmist tells his soul to rest. Well, how else would we have enough time to know the goodness of God if we don’t stop long enough to notice it?
“He heard my Cry for mercy” pt. 1
Matias Uribe - March 10th, 2024
It has now been a full 24 hours since we arrived back in the States and we are still working on processing just how much the Lord worked on us, the country, and its people in the 7 days we were there. We laughed, we cried, we sowed, and we reaped. In less than a week we were constantly reminded of God’s hand over us and this trip which is why now reading what I am writing makes this specific devo so special to my heart. It was Monday night when the Lord first put this on my heart to write down, for context, I haven’t been able to leave the Psalms (as a poet myself, what an ironic blessing) when it comes to what scripture comes to my heart to read from the Lord but this was the first full night we had in Tierra Bomba and everything was yet to come.
With context out of the way let’s dive into both the title and the message for this Devo. We find ourselves in Psalm 116 (please read and come back) ((welcome back)) reading about the psalmist who is arduously struggling with death but relies on the Lord in it all. He begins by saying “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. (v. 1 NIV).” We are left to wonder well what exactly is he crying out for? He tells us his outcry as “the cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow (v. 3 NIV)” which is such a gut-wrenching statement because truthfully we all deal with that as some certain stage of our life. However, he wholeheartedly turns to the Lord and is overcome by comfort and joy. Verse 7 stands out to me as the psalmist states, “Return to rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” How incredible conviction and power the psalmists write about the goodness of God and not just that but he orders his soul to rest in Him as well. The next couple of verses deal with how the psalmist resolves this entanglement with death and finds purpose in living. Verses 8 and 9 state clearly that his purpose is to live because he has been delivered from death into life and in that deliverance honor God and tell others the good news of what He has done. Something we must do as well, and on a missions trip how much more clear could the message be? Now this is where it starts to get tricky, in verses 15 & 16 he says one of the wildest statements a reader can read especially on missions, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, LORD; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.” Huh? Is death not the very thing that had him entangled and overwhelmed in the first place? Why the change of heart? That is when the Lord reminded me of verse 7 - “Return to rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” He didn’t need to think of death as a struggle but a purpose, we see the psalmist realize that the very thing that captured him is now the source of his freedom.
I realize I made this very long so there will be a part 2 because there is a whole ‘nother portion of this verse I want to talk about that the Lord was revealing while speaking to a friend about this.
Prayers
We start the 2nd half of the semester and need prayer on finishing strong
The desire to be back in Colombia is deep, while good we may miss what the Lord has for us back in the States if we focus on what we had. Prayer on being able to focus on the present and have what we learned as a reminder
Praises
The Lord showed His loving hand on everything we did and was present everywhere we went. We were simply witnesses to what the Lord was already doing before we got there.
JOY IN SIMPLICITY
Jessie Abraham MARCH 3 - MARCH 6
The last few days we have spent in Tierra Bomba, a little island off the coast of Cartagena. Missionaries have opened their home here to allow for us to join them in their ministry. The missionaries run a small school for children elementary to high-school age which is held on the property. While here, we have had the amazing opportunity to grow in relationship with the kids, who are so mature in their own faith. We got to show them what it means to study a specific major. Our team has blessed and been blessed by the community on the island. I had a conversation with one of the missionaries who pours his heart and soul into the community and he shared with me the beauty of joy in simplicity. The night before, we had had a sweet time of fellowship as the worship team practiced for a worship night. The time was filled with games and cooking and dancing but all of it was done in pure joy of the Lord. There was nothing flashy, no need to have everything at your fingertips, no need to impress anybody. It was the simple lifestyle of living every single second dedicated unto the Lord and finding complete contentment in Him. He alone is our fulfillment. The kids we ministered to were able to see the beauty of fellowship in the Kingdom of God through our ministry to them. We were able to see the beauty of simplicity and joy in their ministry to us.
As our team embraced this truth, the kingdom of God was revealed. This was most obvious during our final day in Tierra Bomba in which our team joined the local church for a night of worship. Spanish and English voices combined to create a harmonious sound whose only purpose of which was to praise the Lord. The church of Colombia and the United States merged together to glorify our savior as well as show love to one another. In our praise and fellowship, the Lord dwelled with us. Without all the distractions of a consumerist culture, the work and the joy of the Lord was so easily seen to those who took the time to pay attention. He was clearly working and had poured his blessings out towards that community as God alone fulfilled their every need. My prayer is that as we go forward, back to school, and the busy lifestyle of a student, that we would keep in mind to find joy in the simple parts of life. May we keep in mind that the Lord alone is our only contentment.
And we are off!
Matias Uribe - March 2nd, 2024
We have just embarked on the journey to discover what treasures the Lord has set out for us. We will see just how the Lord is going to work in us and through us during this week. This message will be short but sweet. On this trip we have 13 students seeking to love others the way Christ loved them. On this trip we have 13 individuals discovering what the next steps are in their faith and hope to see the Lord speak clearly on their lives. On this trip we have 13 brothers and sisters in Christ ready to visit their family in Christ across the waters. We offer to you Lord this trip as a sacrifice, a testament, and a prayer to all those in need of your word. Bless and anoint this trip, in your Holy name. Amen
Prayers
For rest and our physical health. This week was a very rough midterms week and for some of us it was a period of little rest. Prayers on figuring how to get rest and rely on the Lord.
For travels. We are off to the races! How cool is it that all those prayers, all those meetings, all those conversations and fundraising are finally coming to fruition. May the Lord guide us and lead us to Colombia.
Praises
Midterms are finally over! These are a major cause of stress and for them to finally be over and allow us to fully focus on Him is such a blessing.
Everyone is fully funded! A major blessing as we now get to share what has been given to those that are in need.
Eloi Eloi, Lema Sabachthani
Matias Uribe - February 23rd, 2024
This phrase circled my brain for a few days and I knew what it meant but didn’t know its significance. In the current state of campus (at least in what I am involved in) we are in a state of transition. If we think about it, we are always in a state of transition; there is no “I have made it” in life until the day you are laid down in the ground. However, the Lord nudged me to look into it more and discover what it might mean for those of us going through a period of transition. So we start with this, a word of encouragement that starts with the outcry of Jesus. “Eloi Eloi, Lema Sabachthani” My God, My God Why have you abandoned me. Now many of you are like how in the world is that encouraging? Don’t worry it is what I thought as well but the Lord revealed something fascinating about what this means for us. At the crux of human history the God of Creation seemingly abandons His Son which sounds so against the character of God. We know how the story ends which is actually not the focus of this devotional, I wanted to narrow it down to ‘My God, My God, Why have you abandoned me?’ This statement is a declaration of something of which we all feel when we don’t feel or see God move in our lives. There is a saying in Christian culture that says “The teacher stays silent during the test” which in some cases could be true but most of the time its not. The Lord unraveled this mysterious silence by saying “It’s more like God stays quiet like a father is when he is waiting for his child to stop complaining and ask for help,” In moments of abandonment we often rush head first into blaming the situation, other people, or even God. It’s not until we stop complaining and we ask God “Where are you?” that He will tell you, “I have been here the whole time, I was just waiting for you to let me show you what I have already done.” We see power of the understanding of this principle when we see in Mark 15:39 (the chapter Jesus utters those words in the first place) and Psalm 22 (the chapter Jesus is quoting from). In Mark 15 we see a gentile notice Jesus was who He said He was and in Psalm 22 that the writer has been graciously reminded of what God has brought him through and a hope that He will do it again. So the encouragement is this, we may not have the answer for what to feel or what to do in the time we are currently in especially as we head to a foreign land with foreign people where we might feel disconnected from God but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In this period of uncertainty and transition from one stage into another we must trust 2 things; What He has will be Good and will bring Him Glory.
Praises:
We are almost a week out from leaving! We are almost fully funded for all members in the team and what a blessing it has been to see how the Lord has worked His loving hand into all things.
Prayer:
These past few weeks have been extremely busy and there has been very few opportunities to rest both physically and spiritually. Prayers on this week for rest and a fresh fire to light up as we step into foreign land with Him.
Prologue
Jessie Abraham - Feb 20th, 2024
Friends and Family, Thank you so much for joining us on this journey to share the love of God to Cartagena, Colombia. Our team is so immensely grateful for the support, both financially and in prayer, you have provided. We could not be going on this trip without your help! God has specifically chosen each person on our team to create a sweet community of intentional, dedicated students who are ready and excited to engage in the Lord’s work in Colombia. In Colombia, we will be partnering with Calvary Chapel Church and School. Calvary Chapel has already been so welcoming as they are preparing to host our team. We will be serving the church on the weekend and then meeting with students over the week to build relationships. We are expectant to see God show up in miraculous ways as we step out in faith to show love to the community in Colombia. As we get closer to departing, we have been praying Psalm 37:5-7 over our trip. These verses read, “Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in him, and he will do this; He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” In this, we pray that we as a team may submit our worries to God, putting aside our own agenda, and instead turn towards the sweet peace God freely gives. It is only through Him that we may be able to serve this community. He is our sole strength and hope for this trip. May every step that we take be glorifying Him. As we are in Colombia, we hope to update this page with our daily adventures and for continual prayer points. We ask that you would be praying for us for the following as we prepare to depart on this journey…
Prayer Points: - For the team: Prayer for the hearts of our team as we prepare that we would adopt a humble and teachable heart posture, one that is ready to serve and listen to the will of God. - For the church: Prayer for the church as they prepare to host us. - For the people we will be engaging with: Prayer for the hearts that God is already opening up to receive him.
