Hi everyone!

Hope everything is going well back in England! We have had quite a relaxed week as we didn’t do any English classes due to it being Holy Week, and it was really nice to get out and see a bit of the city.

Image of bright sun above housesLast Thursday our session with the guys at the football school was cancelled yet again which was a bit discouraging, but it’s clear that God is closing this door! This also gave us time to have a prayer morning for all the different projects we’re taking part in. In the afternoon we met up with a lovely couple – Pastor Nelson and his wife Patricia, who showed us round the neighbourhood where they work, Barrio Pablo Escobar. It’s called this because Escobar donated the land and provided building materials, furniture, houses and schools, which has caused him to be seen as a hero amongst the people there – very surreal for those of us who know him as a cold-blooded criminal. We had the chance to visit a youth group there, to read a bit of the Bible with them and pray with them.

On Friday we were all very excited as our coordinators, Abi and Pipe, flew over from Bogotá – it was so encouraging to see them again. We did some home visits, praying for the families, sharing scripture with them and talking to them about their faith. Kids’ club in the afternoon went really well with drama, colouring, and slightly less hectic games this week! Then it was really great to go to the youth group at Redil Estadio and enjoy worshipping God and chatting to some people our age.

Image of view of Medellin from San FelixSaturday morning we were back to El Pacifico for the kids’ club and then we trekked through the rain to Loyola for our English class. Only 2 students showed up due to the torrential rain but it was a blessing in disguise to rest for a while before we went to one of the mega churches for a ministry and worship night.
Mel, Josh and Beth led worship Sunday morning and Pipe preached about Jesus being the doorway to God before Abi and Pipe flew back to Bogotá. In the afternoon we met with some missionaries from the Bethel church for a prayer and worship session.

We were free Monday and visited Pueblito Paisa which is a colonial style square on top of a hill in the centre of the city. Everyone enjoyed relaxing and seeing the amazing views! On Tuesday we met up with some of the guys from the Redil Estadio youth group and had a picnic and a trip to a huuuuge shopping centre before driving up the mountain to San Felix where we drank hot chocolate with mozzarella after taking in the amazing views of the city all lit up in the dark.

At Wednesday’s Rebaño we invited some non-Christians from the English class and cooked shepherd’s pie and apple crumble (British classics!) which went down really well and after Arnoldo gave a short talk on Psalm 133 we had a good time of fellowship playing Dobble and Uno!

Thank God for:

  • a great week of relaxing and rest
  • the continuing generosity of all the people here
  • the amazing people we have been able to spend time with
  • a good turnout at the Rebaño
  • protection and good health

Please pray for:

  • healing for Jordan who has not been very well this week and hasn’t been able to join in with some of the activities
  • more opportunities to evangelise and tell people about Jesus
  • a series of preaches the team has been asked to do in the next couple of weeks at the rebaños and church services
  • that we would stay focused on our projects for the last couple of weeks and be able to serve the communities here.