Barranquilla Day 5-12

Sorry you all haven´t heard from us in a while. Its been a little hectic around here. We´ve learned even more about Lizeth and Jerson. First of all, its a girl!!! We are thinking of names, so if you have any suggestions for Spanish baby names, let us know. We had a deeper conversation with Jerson. He has also had a rough life and now seems to have too much on his plate. He needs to make so many decisions with not enough support that he is overwhelmed with stress and the only way he has consistently relieved himself of that stress is by cutting himself. He doesn´t have a job to support Lizeth but doesn´t seem to want to work. He has been offered several jobs but has always come up with an excuse. The only job he wants is making shoes, but won´t job search. He´s been offered a job as a hitman, and until now, he refused the offer and didn´t even consider it. But now that the baby is coming soon and he doesn´t have any way to support Lizeth and the baby, he is considering the job. He says that he has tried praying, and it has worked at times to relieve his stress, but he isn´t seeking a personal relationship with God. The saddest part is that most of the church members have not accepted them, but only judge them. We ask that you keep praying for this family. That he would be a man after God´s own heart and that she would become a woman of excellence. Pray that they will build a household prepared to raise a child.
With so many things to process, God gave us a chance to rest for a night in Cartagena at the end of the week.
The night we got back, we were excited to watch the youth group´s talent show. After it was over, we were sitting outside with some of the younger neighborhood kids and they were telling us about the ¨Pico.¨ We had noticed a loud party going on at the top of the street and the kids told us all about it. There are different gangs on the main street, and every Saturday night they come together to fight, drink, get high, and dance. One of the kids we work with goes there every Saturday to sell beer. He stays there until 3 am. He was telling us that every Saturday someone gets hurt, and sometimes killed. He is only thirteen years old. While we were playing with the kids one a guy passd by with two guns in his pocket. This was so normal for the kids. Soon after that, we saw a lot of people running away from the Pico. They were running because the fight had started. First, it was only with rocks, but later, there was a shooting. Everything happened too fast for us to be scared, but the only thing we were worried about were the kids that were still playing in the streets. We had to run inside the pastor's house and stay there until in was "over."
The Pico wasn't all we heard about that day. One of the kids we have been with, Junior, told us about his constant nightmares. Later on, we told him that whenever he had a nightmare, prayer would make it better but he said no! Prayer would only make it worse. We still told him that we were going to pray for him before we would go to bed, but as soon as we said that he asked for us not to do that, because he didn't want it to be worse. He is only seven.

We only have a few days left so in order to honor all of those who helped us with the kids and all of those who blessed us throughout this trip, we wanted to make a nice dinner for them. We cooked for 25 people. It was a little hectic, but they felt honored. At the end, they appreciated us for our hard work with the kids. It was a very emotional time. We are now getting into the stage of goodbye. Last night was the dinner, and today was our last class with the kids. It was a very special moment because they prayed for us and had this "goodbye" activity for us.

Lizeth and Jerson wanted us to go to their house and see the baby's clothes. There, they told us a bit more about their story. Jerson started crying when he told us about his brother. His brother is in jail because one night his family didn't have money to buy food, so the only way to get it was by stealing. Now, he is supposed to be in prison for about five years. He feels responsible of what happened. He thinks that that would have never happened if he were in his hometown with his family. Now they are thinking about leaving Malvinas and going to another city. There, they would have to start from scratch. They wouldn't go to church, because there isn't one nearby.

This is the last time we are going to write, but we ask for you to continue to pray for all these people. Please pray for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. This trip has been a blessing for us; we have learned so much. We have learned more about humilty, thankfulness, and love because of these people. Thank you for all your prayers and for helping us financially. God provided more than what we were expecting. Because of this, we can bless some people here with the rest of the money we have left. We are going to give some to the pastors, to our family from Barranquilla, to the church, and to Jerson and Lizeth.
Once again, thank you so much for helping us accomplish this trip. May God continue blessing you.

Love,
Sierra, Cami, and Lina.