Hey there everyone! It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post. My lack of posting hasn’t been for a lack of God moving. Rather, God has been doing a LOT and I feel like I haven’t had the right words to adequately convey the people I’ve met, the places I’ve lived and served, or the lessons I’ve learned. But here we are. Hopefully this will give you a little bit of insight into the many different areas God has been at work in Colombia.
I unintentionally started a bracelet collection the last month in Colombia. Each one has a different story behind it, different people it reminds me of, or a different lesson God has taught me through it.
Colombia-colored flower bracelet – Each of our teams had the opportunity to spend 10 days with a pastor and his wife in a nearby town called Pajarito. Although we were there to serve, I found myself being served by Pastor Willie and Christina each and every day. From the very first moments we met them, I could tell how kind they were. They sat us down and told us that we were part of their family. That everything that was theirs was also ours. Christina made us hot meals and treated us to ice cream and ariquepe. Pastor Willie sat with us and shared what the Lord laid on his heart. They both prayed for us. Any chance they could, they were pouring into us and seeking to meet both our physical and our spiritual needs. We were serving, yet I found myself incredibly rested. They lived out of a heart of abundance – generously sharing all they had with us, trusting in the Lord who provides to continue to provide. Their faith in His provision came from countless stories of Him showing up and providing exactly what they needed when they needed it. Each time God provided for them, their trust and generosity grew as they knew he would continue to provide for them because God is a God who cares. That’s the way I want to live. Fully trusting in the God who provides. Living out of an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mentality. On our last night there, Christina made us flower bracelets that are Colombia colored. She does this for each person who comes to stay with her. It’s her little token she sends each person with to let them know they they are loved and for us to remember her by.
(Making bracelets with Christina on our last night in Pajarito.)
Brown bracelet – Each Saturday night while at Ciudad Refugio we do a youth group with the Amanaceres and the local youth. On our last Saturday there, we talked about Lazarus. Rebecca talked about how after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he commanded the people around Lazarus to unbind him and remove from him the linen strips he was buried in. If there weren’t people near to Lazarus to help him and if the people nearby hadn’t obeyed the command of Jesus, then Lazarus would have died a second time as he would not have been able to unbind himself. We talked about the importance of having people in your life that are close to you. People that you can trust to help you or that you can trust with anything. People that you can be honest with. People that you can call out… or who can call you out. We made bracelets that once put on, you can’t take off (seriously, they’re on there for good). They are a symbol of our willingness to be in close relationship with one another. To be approachable and to approach others in return. To obey the leading of the Lord and to help one another. To lay down defensiveness and allow others to come to us with questions and convictions and for us to be honest in return.
Black one with charm – One of the guys who works at Ciudad Refugio quickly became like a brother to many of us. Yeyson is fun-loving and full of life. He spends a lot of his time working with the men in the recovery program and teaching Sunday school for kids on the weekends. He’s got a big heart. We would often find him on the rooftop taking care of his army of cacti and succulents (he loves those plants like they are his children). Before leaving Ciudad, he made each person on our squad a bracelet. He chose a charm that reminded him of us. Mine is a small coin with the Queen of England on it. He told me that he really liked the Queen and that I was a princess – a child of the King of Kings. I smiled because he had no idea of my family ties to the Queen of England. “Princess” is also a term that has come up a lot recently in regards to me and my identity from the Lord… and there have been a lot of people who have spoken that word over me. Every time I see that bracelet, I am reminded of the truth of who God says I am as well as the intentionality that Yeyson possesses to make each one of us feel seen, known, loved, and appreciated.
Friendship bracelet – Confession… this bracelet lives on my backpack and not on my arm, but I see it almost daily and it serves as a good reminder of other things the Lord has been teaching me. We got to spend a lot of our time in Colombia getting to know the women in the restoration program as we worked alongside them in the kitchen most mornings. Every Friday, the women in the program have a special outing and we got to be a part of it. On our last Friday with them, we treated them to snacks and games and we talked about friendship. We talked about how important it is to have Godly friends who can encourage us and point us to Christ. People who build us up and love us like Jesus. I was reminded a certain friend back home who is always there to pray for and encourage me. We made friendship bracelets as a reminder of that and as encouragement to have those kinds of friends and to be that sort of close friend to one another.
(Making friendship bracelets with some of the women from the restoration program.)
The bracelets might be small but they carry a lot of memories and lessons with them and I’m thankful for the daily reminders that they offer to me.
