Time and time again on a mission trip in a country like Colombia, where you hear jaw-dropping testimony after testimony, I'm reminded of God's unconditional love and willingness to rescue us wherever we are with arms open wide and forgiveness guaranteed.
Jesus paid for that.
Our first church plant this week (Monday and Tuesday) will be in a northern suburb of Cali rugged enough to prompt the government to send two military bodyguards with our 8-person team tomorrow when we depart the hotel. (No coffee necessary in this case to start the day.)
The church is led by Pastor Jorge, who joined us at our hotel this morning for the 25-minute trip to his barrio for their 10 AM church service. Pastor Jorge can best be described as 'Dirty Harry;' a 44-year old pastor who like every other native had to serve a one-year mandatory term in the police, or a branch of the national military, before moving on to college or another vocation. Pastor Jorge began taking his term on the police force into his own hands ... accepting bribes and foregoing the tangled legal process in favor of just choosing to execute the bad guys. A 26-year prison term was shortened to 10 years, he was released in 2004 and is now in full-time ministry; he also leads a Prison Fellowship in Cali and returns on occasion to where he was imprisoned to Medellin to share his story with former inmates.
A fellow prisoner shared the Gospel with Jorge on his first day in prison, which also happened to be his birthday, and his life has never been the same. His faith commitment aided in his early release, and also led to his wife of 27 years accepting Jesus after years of visiting him in prison and running out with her hands in the air pleading for 'no more talking about Jesus.'
The four of us from the States on one of the 8 teams here in Cali (picture of Team Cali from our 7 AM breakfast meeting) each shared our story this morning during church service, before Pastor Jorge reinforced his background, and then introducd my translator, Samuel, who used to be a bodyguard for Pablo Escobar and was deported from the States in the 1990s. The testimony I have from Samuel last spring would be a viral stealth if there wasn't a legitimate concern over the extensive list of names he mentions in his unbelievable background.
Life transformation is all around us; we only have to be transparent to share, then gain the trust of others to surrender and admit they are broken, too, and tired of doing it alone.
That's what happened after all our testimonies near the close of the church service, when 3 men in their early 20s stood up, joined their passionate and loving pastor, Jorge (picture), and said it was time for a life change. What an honor and privilege it is for God to allow me in prayer to lead them from the lost to the saved, from dead to alive, from hopeless to now directed and cared for by the best Father the world has ever seen.
Before we closed in prayer with the three amigos, another attendee in the room of 30 joined us up front; at 19 she was seeing that her lifestyle, too, needed a Jesus makeover and our nudge (again, all the Spirit, as Jesus promises, doing all the work) was just enough. Our 2 van drivers as we awaited lunch made the same profession and at 56 and 44, respectively, are starting new lives knowing God's grace now covers any and all their imperfections.
The mission field is all around us in HD if we only choose to open our eyes.
A late-afternoon rally involving each of the 16 churches we will plant in Cali this week and all our translators was highlighted by great friends from last year's Cali visit showing up to offer their support: a pastor's wife (Pilar) and her gifted daughter (Adriana/Adrienne). Another leader in their church (Andy), who volunterred her time last spring to work the streets with us is back as one of our official translators as she readies to graduate from nursing school. Andy committed the last 3-4 months to sharpen her English for our campaign and will do just fine this week.
News then came tonight that the invitation is back for us to return to the Colombian Natonal Police Academy on Friday (our designated off day) to share the gospel with a new group, similar to what we experienced last year with more than 50 police bolding getting up from their chairs at the academy to profess their their faith in Christ.
Better the face guerillas and the like with the baddest of the bad bodyguard leading the way, huh? Why do it alone?
We'll have time to focus on Friday on Thursday night. For now, our hearts turn back to giving Pastor Jorge's community our very best. My team can feel so many prayers from so many loved ones that have opened the hearts of so many to our cause for Christ ... I can point you to 4 young men and women and our van drivers before we settled in for lunch as evidence.
Their lives have truly just begun, and so has our time in Cali.
Blessings,
Dave
I have chills. It's going to be a good week (to say the least.)
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