To Protect And To Serve

More than 50 years ago, the Los Angeles Police Department formally adopted the phrase "To Protect and To Serve" as the aim and purpose of its profession. The mission statement of the LAPD has since been adopted by thousands of police departments across the United States.

I emphasized this phrase to 25 members of the Colombian National Police's Special Forces Unit in Cali on Friday morning, in our second opportunity in as many years to share the Gospel with some of their newest recruits.

The Special Forces unit is a hybrid of the Secret Service and a Marshall in the United States. Their task is to protect key government officials (all the way up to the president) traveling in and around Cali, and to protect the city of Cali from the worst forces of evil in the country, from drug lords to even guerrillas or peasant armies in Colombia better known as FARC.

The lieutenant of the Special Forces Unit who invited us back commands the group of 80, and during the past year has traveled to Georgia and Florida for leadership training alongside the United States Army.

While the Special Forces Unit protects, the aim and purpose of our team of 35 missionaries in Cali is to serve the 16 churches that we were building during the past week. By showing the love of Jesus first, then sharing His story, we were servants to the churches and their communities. We abide in truth and the Special Forces Unit abides in the law.

"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established." - Romans 13:1

My only returning teammate from last year in Cali, Bill, joined me back at the Police Academy (my wisest move in most any circumstance would be to have Bill at my side), along with three of our translators, Adrian and Samuel (both presented with us to the Special Forces Unit in 2010), and Andrea, or Andy.

Once we were introduced by the pastor responsible for our relationship with the Special Forces Unit (Pastor Ciro), the five of us took turns engaging the police. I talked about our purpose in Cali, and that sharing the Gospel with only one person while in Colombia this week (our team of 35 actually presented the gospel to 2,299 and 1,699 acccepted Christ) would still make the trip worthy of our sacrifice of time and money. I talked about the significance of Good Friday and I talked about the profession of Jesus (carpenter) and how one of his primary tools (nails) is a painful reminder of the cross.

Only 18, Andy talked about her relationship with God, and the struggles she has endured. Her Mother gave birth to her at 16 and several years ago abandoned Colombia with a man who is not Andy's father to escape the stress of raising a family on her own. Andy's birth father lives in Cali but has a family of his own and only reaches out to Andy when she says there is an emergency need, like no food in the home. Andy lives with her grandmother and younger sister, who was a product of another of her mother's boyfriends who physically abused Andy's mother and largely provoked her mother's escape from the area.

Andy talked to the police about the painful reminders she sees everyday about her background. She has marks from two bullets that struck her during a drive-by shooting when she was 2 and her father was holding her at a bus stop. She has scars on her face and arms when a taxi ran into her on her bicycle when she was 10. There's marks from surgeries and on two different occasions, motorcycles have run over her legs.

"God has to love me and have a purpose for me or I wouldn't be here" is what she told me on Thursday night when she first shared her story to me.

Before Adrian shared the Gospel and Samuel his testimony, Bill talked about his family; wife, children and grandchildren. He talked about his 47-year old son, John, who died four years ago after enduring a debilitating disease to his muscles. Bill stressed that he only wished years ago he could have changed places with his son, but he couldn't, foreshadowing the Gospel presentation from Adrian.

All but 4 of the police officers were bold to step out to accept the free gift of having God at their side, through Jesus, as their ultimate bodyguard. Before we prayed, Samuel talked to the 4 men about their boldness not to just step out and join the crowd. Before we began, the 4 men all reconsidered. Jesus paid it all, and Jesus won them all. All glory to God.

We then prayed for each of the men, broke down into prayer groups, and finally prayed for the lieutenant for strength. It is overwhelming to think of his responsibilities. After leaving the academy, we made a brief stop to pray in a home of one of the policeman who is going to use it to begin discipling these new believers.

Their first small group had already been established.

Good Friday. Great Friday.

Blessings,

Dave

P.S. If you click in this blog to our entries from 2010 and the title "Stepping Out" you can read more about Andy. She fulfilled her goal of becoming a translator for us this year and may be one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. And she's only 18, did I say that?