Colombia Fall 2014 Day 6
This morning we visited our dear friends at Mision Berakah and their school, Fundacion Emaus. We enjoyed an amazing presentation about the history of Colombia by the children of Emaus. Cute doesn’t quite get there when describing these precious children and amazing doesn’t quite describe the amount of work the staff and volunteers went to put this on. It was spectacular.
After the presentation we enjoyed a meal and some quality time with our friend Pastor Henry Castillo. They have been going through some tough persecution and we were able to encourage him and be encouraged by him. Their church building holds about 150 people but they have 1000 people on Sunday mornings so they meet in the park and put up fiesta tents and preach in the park. Their enemies have been bringing the police down on them week after week even though they went through all the proper channels and had the proper permits. Every Sunday for 2 months Pastor Henry has been preaching in the park under the pressure of possible arrest. Another exciting thing is that Pastor Henry recently returned from an incredible ministry trip to Cuba and has invited me to go with him on the next trip!
After lunch we visited the fledgling foundation of a friend of Oscar’s called Fundacion Busqueda y Rescate (Search & Rescue Foundation). Oscar’s friend also named Oscar, his wife and his mother started this ministry to help street children 4 years ago and it grew to 100 children. They were meeting in a church building but then the church sold the building and they were left with no place to meet so they had to find a place they could afford. They all work regular jobs and do the ministry in between. They rented a little shack in an alley and started papering the board walls and painting and they just started back with being able to have children there. From the outside it was unimaginable that 25 children could really be inside learning about Jesus but there certainly were and I was so moved to see their sweet faces and realize that these were precious souls. Oscar and his mom continued explaining and apologizing for the little shack and it was obvious that they have been literally working night and day to get it ready. I told Oscar that I was so impressed and inspired and that they had nothing to apologize for. I told him they were carving souls out of the rock and it was awesome. He broke down weeping and I held him in my arms and prayed over him until he recovered. What a precious little family and ministry. He briefly told me a tiny bit of his story of how he had been a Satanist, drug thug, and part of a vampire cult in Bogota for 10 years before God miraculously saved him and that is why he has such a passion to reach these children for Jesus before they get old enough to follow that life. We had an amazing and blessed time with them. We sang and colored and gave them gifts. It was so blessed and powerful. We will be locking arms with this precious ministry.
