Barranquilla Day 1-4

Wow. That is what we´re all thinking right now. We were pleasantly surprised when we arived here and found that everyone was so hospitable and welcoming. We got to Malvinas just in time for the end of the service, or at least what they called the end of the service. Because it is Barranquilla, and even more Colombia, the service went on for another hour or so. They called us up twice, and looking out at the church members, we all felt loved instantly. After meeting just about everyone and meeting with the youth that would be helping us in the mornings, we made ourselves at home in Antonio & Augusta´s house. Their granddaughter, Neomy and a few of the teenagers in the youth group took us on a great tour of a part of the Malvinas neighborhood. We witnessed some heart breaking scenes of swollen bellies and broken homes. This gave us all the more reason to love and pour ourselves out to these people. Our exhaustion must have been apparent to our tour guides and they took us home where we took a long cool nap. We got up just in time to go watch some of the guys from the youth in a soccer match. This was such a great opportunity for a lengthy introduction of the lives of some of the youth. Some of the youth we got to know were Francisco, Cristian and Nilson. They were so open and excited to help, we knew it would be a great week.
When we started working with the kids om Monday, they were so receptive and open because of the lack of love in their lives. We played games, sang songs and told stories that showed how Christianity is not a boring religion, or better, relationship. The youth group was a great help throughout the day. We are still amazed at everyone´s hospitality in this neighborhood. We feel truly at home with our Malvinas family. We´ve had great conversations over meals with our hosts and Pastor Johan and his wife Katherine. Although its really only been a few days, we´ve gotten to know some great people and witness real Christ-like characters.
We´ve fallen in love with the children here, but some of their stories are heart-breaking. When we ask them about everyday problems they face, rather than saying homework or siblings, they mention violence and poverty. ONe of the mornings with the kids, a 3 year old boy came up to Cami and told her that John David is in heaven, John David is in heaven. The boy´s 5 year old brother then told her that their younger brother had died at the age of two because his lungs exploded. After that, the 3 year old boy couldn´t stop crying. When we hear a story like this from the mouth of a 5 year old, we remember that there´s nothing we can do to heal the broken hearted children, we just have to help pave the way.
Soon enough we realized that our host home did not only host us. Augusta and Antonio´s home has so many visitors through out the day that we´ve been able to get to know. This is how, between the three of us, we got to hear Lizeth´s story. We first noticed Lizeth as the young pregnant girl that spent a lot of time in our host home. As each of us heard parts of her story, we couldn´t help but realize how broken hearted Lizeth is. She comes from a family of 12 siblings, not all from the same parents. At the age of 11, one of her full biological brothers raped her. When Lizeth told her mother, she did not believe her. After the doctors at the hospital confirmed Lizeth´s rape, her mother still would not believe her. The government took her away from her mother and put her in a foundation for children that can´t be at home. After a year and 8 months in the foundation, she ran away and lived in a hotel with her sister and her sister´s boyfriend. After a while, her sister´s boyfriend decided that he didn´t want Lizeth with them anymore, so she was left under the care of Jerson. Whenever the government would come to
gangs-youth in drugs and alcohol
home situation, no father figures
kids exposed to murder, violence


We are called to fervently pray for these people. These are ways you can pray for them.