When I was a boy I watched a movie called “Behind Enemy Lines” and in that movie there is a very brief scene that made me cry uncontrollably and still affects me to this day. There are these rebels holed up in a warehouse and the military blows in the walls with tanks killing almost everyone, when the troops breach the wall the camera pans and in the foreground for about 10 frames you see this little girl probably 4 years old playing with a doll, gently talking to it and stroking it’s hair, oblivious to everything that is going on. As a boy and now a man that scene affected me, all I wanted to do in this life was pick that girl up and give her a hug, to take her out of that horrible situation and give her a normal life. Well obviously the movie is fiction but the reality is that all over this world that little girl’s story is real and in June 2016 God took me to a place that is so incredibly poverty stricken that I was fighting back tears the entire time I was there. In fact as I type this up the tears are finally pouring out.

This is Suba, we were visiting a privately run and inadequately funded orphanage named Colombia Chiquita. When we first arrived the orphanage owner gave us a brief tour of the 3 story building where they house dozens of abandoned children. These children had some of the most precious smiles I’ve ever seen as they greeted us, before we started the day of playing and testimony they wanted to take us to the girls’ house which wasn’t far from the main building. So we walked down the streets of Suba and my God the poverty was intense. Most of the families in the area recycle trash in order to feed themselves. While we were walking to the girls’ house I spotted a boy about the age of 7 sitting on the “curb” playing in the sand with a stick and his, I presume, sister sitting beside him playing with a piece of rope. She couldn’t have been older than 4 years old and she was gently talking to her brother while stroking the end of the rope like it was a doll and that was it’s hair. I had to look away as hot tears filled my eyes as I was reminded of the above mentioned film. Somehow God had brought me full circle from being moved by scenes depicted in fiction to seeing the real thing in real life and knowing that there was not going to be a happy ending. That girl was probably not an orphan and I will never know her whole story but I do know that there is never going to be a knight in shining armor that comes along, picks her up, gives her a hug, and tells her the whole world was going to be ok. I still hope and pray for her even though I don’t know her name or story, but honestly she was just there to remind me of how cruel and torn this world is; how viciously cruel this world is to children: especially to little girls.

Most children in Suba from the age of 4 dig through trash piles with their parents and family members looking for plastic or anything recyclable, they then load this trash onto carts or bags and haul it I don’t know how many miles to recycling centers where they sell it for next to nothing in order to survive. These kids’ education is so bad that they don’t even know the difference between letters and numbers. Their education level is so horrendous that they aren’t even qualified to go to public school, the public school system in Colombia is horrible btw, so they will spend their entire lives either gathering trash day to day or end up having to enter a life of crime. These mind you are the lucky ones with parents and family willing to give them a home.

God wasn’t done making a grown veteran cry that day. We walked back to the orphanage and took the kids out to the nearby “park” to play with them and make them laugh all day. We had a great time with these kids yet the entire time I was struggling with tears for these orphans. Suddenly, at the end of the park a door opens and these two kids run out of this “house,” maybe 7 and 5, and start playing in the street. I’m using quotation marks because if you could have seen the conditions of this neighborhood the terms curb, park, and house are too nice of words to describe the horrible condition this place was in. This town literally looked one strong breeze away from falling down, it looked like a card house project gone wrong. So these two kids a boy and a girl are playing, they looked like they haven’t showered in a month, the rags they wore were so dirty that it looked like if you shook them too hard you could collect a bucket of sand from their clothes. The little girl, the 5 year old, knocks on the door and to my incredible surprise a 2 year old answers it and decides to come out and play with his siblings. The poor thing had on sweat pants and a t-shirt and the sweat pants were soaked as if he had been peeing in his pants for days. At that point I looked back at the orphan kids we were playing with and my tears held back, I could justify staying emotionally neutral because these kids all had on clean clothes. Yes they were orphans with no hope, yes they lived in a horrible part of town, yes their education level was sub-par to the public school system, and yes their parents had all been killed in the civil war or drug violence; but at least they had on a fresh set of clean clothes so Levi didn’t start crying on the spot because Levi could see that they had on clean clothes.

When we returned to the orphanage God wasn’t done breaking my heart. I learned that some time before we arrived the water company sent a man to shut off water to the orphanage due to lack of payment. When the meter man arrived and saw the children he couldn’t shut it off out of conscience. I also learned that their food budget ran out and they were trying to sell broken bikes they had stacked on top of their roof to get the next month’s food. With tears rolling down my face Rebekah asked me to pray over the orphanage owner for the money they so badly needed. Angry at God but trusting in His good will I prayed like I never prayed before in my life for the funds for them to stay open, feed their kids, have running water, and basic necessities.

When we returned to the hotel my brother Luke and I stayed up until about 1 in the morning praying and talking about God and His plan for our ministry. Honestly I was dying inside and losing hope for the immense task ahead of us. Luke needed some prayer and discussion so I kinda kept it all together for him. We talked about everything we had seen that day and the day before. All the little signs that God gave us letting us know we were doing His will. I kept everything that I’ve shared here to myself until writing this but there were many other signs up to that point that I talked with Luke about.

The next day I was supposed to lead a devotion on a topic of my choice. Honestly, I was so broken hearted for those kids and so incredibly helpless to do anything about their condition that I really didn’t want to lead the devotion, I didn’t want to be there anymore, I wanted to go home and pretend that kids are only in those conditions in fiction. I really wanted that little girl in the movie to be the only problem I’d face like that. But God was still working on me and led me to the book of John once again. He led me to where Jesus commands us to ask Him for anything and it will be done. The day before Luke had taught on being helpless before God so I decided I’d teach on praying helpless before God. If God is indeed like the judge in the parable that Jesus taught about, only good instead of evil, then the best way I know how to get someone to change their mind is to show how helpless and desperate the situation is when pleading my case. I believe that God showed me these things in this way to show me where true power lies, in being helpless and completely dependent on Him. People with money don’t need God, people with nice houses don’t need God, people with busy lives are too busy for God. God also reminded me of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, He reminded me that the little girl I saw was Lazarus, and that while in this life she isn’t comforted, while in this life she doesn’t have dolls, and while in this life no one is coming to give her a big hug and let her know everything is going to be ok; in the next life Jesus has every doll she will ever want, in the next life she will be comforted, and in the next life she will never cry again. I felt strongly that if I’m even to see a glimpse of what awaits her I needed to get busy doing what Jesus commanded us; caring for the orphans, the widows, and the sick in their time of need. It’s easy to pass on a picture of Christ carrying the cross on FaceBook saying, “would you help Jesus up, share if you would, ignore if you won’t.” It’s hard to do what Jesus said is helping Jesus in His time of need, that if you so much as give a glass of water to one of these little one’s you’ve done it unto Him.

The last thing that broke my heart that day was when we were walking back to the orphanage I learned that Dad was giving the place all we could afford as a donation and I thanked him. He said, “yeah son, this isn’t slum tourism, we are doing all we can to help.” I literally lost it when I gave him a hug for saying that. Mission Critical can’t even begin to be a drop of water in the bucket of the problems we face and see in Colombia and around the world, but we can make sure that their stories are heard, show that their pain is real, and maybe give some water to 40 or 50 orphans here and there in the name of Christ. This ministry is two parts, sanctifying ourselves by seeing the desperation and helplessness in others, and making a real difference in the lives that we possibly can.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:24-26

I’ve read these verses so many times they’ve become like second nature. I’ve taught Bible studies on relying on God using these verses. And I’ve encouraged my family through the truth in these verses so many times. But still, every time my plans don’t work out or I can’t see how we are going to make our goal or pay rent or the road ahead looks hard; I worry and start to get sick to my stomach. I know in my heart God cares more for me than “the birds of the air” but in my humanness and weakness, I doubt He will come through for me. I know this is hard to believe that someone who lives in a foreign country completely by faith would have doubts or anxiety about God’s provision but I am just as human as the next person. Then I get mad at myself and ask “how can you so easily forget what God has done for us?” I know I am not alone in my struggle. I know believing God will care for you is a hard lesson to learn but I think to myself “isn’t the distance God has brought you so far enough evidence that He will always come through?” And the answer is that it is but we as humans still on this earth easily forget. We need a constant reminder of how good God is! That He truly is enough for us! That God is the only source of joy and peace!

I believe that is why Paul in everyone of his Epistles repeats how Jesus saved him or how beautiful Christ was to him. God also commanded the Israelites in Deu. 11:20 to write His words on their doorposts of their houses and on their gates so that their children would follow after God. How often do I tell my story of God’s love for me? Do I meditate on God’s promises to me? Life is a war and what person goes in to a battle with out a shield? In Eph. 6:16, Paul tell us to take up the Shield of Faith to extinguish the darts of the evil one. Our shield is our Faith but we have to renew our faith by remembering what we believe and why. I will sometimes lose faith then I stop believing because I start to doubt either WHO God is or WHAT God has promised He would do for me. One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

God is never disappointed in me! This is sometimes hard for me to believe but it’s true. God’s mercy and faithfulness is always there for me. No matter how faithful I am. God is alway ready to renew my faith when I doubt! He is always ready to pull me up into His arms and chase my fears away! He always provides and cares for me. I will never let myself forget my Beloved’s love for me or His amazing grace!

My latest fear was that Brooke and I would not be able to get an apartment here in Colombia or would not be able to afford a good one. After a month and half it seemed like we would never get one. But two days ago God blessed us with a beautiful apartment beyond our wildest dreams! And we have already purchased our beds and they will be delivered in a couple of days! God is so good! We are praying for a couch, table and washing machine. But I know God is able!!!

Love, Rebekah Bullen

At Large Missionary

Mission Critical International

Photos of Rebekah’s Ministry

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

“Oh that I could do more for Him, oh that I was a flame of pure and holy fire and had a thousand lives to spend in the dear Redeemer’s service.” – George Whitefield

Read the beginning of the series HERE

I was so busy trying to survive and shepherd my flock and family that it wasn’t until the night before we were supposed to leave for Bogota, Colombia that I sat down and looked it up on a map to see where in the world it was located. I had never been outside of the U.S. except childhood visits to Juarez, Mexico and on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Beverly, who would turn 18 on the trip had never even flown on a plane before. We had no idea what lay in store only a vague lingering sense of God’s hand in all of it. We landed in Bogota, Colombia the evening of June 19, 2009, went to the hotel, and as we got out of the van my dear friend Allen Pate turned to me and said with tears in his eyes, “You are going to love this Matt. This is like Tres Dias on steroids.” And he was not wrong. In truth it was like pouring gasoline on a bonfire.

We were mesmerized by all of the sights and sounds as we drove to the first orphanage the first day. Bevy and I were quite nervous as we walked into Amparo De Ninos orphanage but suddenly 80 smiling little boys surrounded us and took us by the hands to show us their home, a giant, dilapidated monastery on a hill surrounded by stunning views of mountains and farmland. There is no way we could have known that the little 10-year-old boy who first took Beverly’s hand within seconds of our first visit to an orphanage on our first ever mission trip would forever change our lives. He literally never let go of Beverly’s hand the whole two and a half days we were there and it nearly killed her to leave him the last day. She later would say that the supernatural love that she felt in her heart for this little boy made her understand for the first time in her life God’s love for us and she dates her true conversion to Christ from this experience. She was a changed girl from that moment on. An inferno had been ignited in her teenage soul. That little boy’s name is Juan David and today he is our son. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Each day of the trip and each day of the subsequent 20 trips we have made to Colombia… but I’m getting ahead of myself again… I have written an email journal home and eventually blogs detailing each days events and miracles and below are my journal entries from that first trip.

 
[quote]Day 1 June 20, 2009
We had a wonderful day today! We went out in the country to the boys orphanage “Amparo De Ninos” (Protection of the Boys). We spent the day loving on 80 orphan boys between the ages of 10 & 18. Everyone of these boys is eligible for adoption and is just waiting for a family to come and take them home. First, we were given the grand tour of “their house” a beautiful and very old Catholic monastery now an orphanage. They showed us their bakery and insisted that we try some of their pastries which were delicious. They showed us their laundry room and nurses station and kitchen and their rooms. It was so precious to be surrounded by 10 or 15 boys at once trying to hug you, hold your hand, and talk to you in rapid fire spanish. I was glad I knew how to say “hable mas despacio por favor” which means “please speak more slowly” :-). After the tour we sat around in a huge circle and introduced ourselves. Then I gave a message from Eph. 2:1-10 through a translator and told them how all of us are boys who have ran away from God and been lost “But God” rich in mercy and full of great love provided a way back to Him through the death of Christ on the cross and now He calls us to faith in His son so that we may have a Father (God), a Brother (Jesus), and a family (Christians), and never be alone again. Some boys cried and others smiled and nodded and some fell asleep :-). Then we had lunch and then we split the boys up into 4 teams and gave all the boys on each team a T-shirt. One team was red, one was blue, one was white, and one was gray. Two teams played soccer while two teams played kick ball (which was new to them) all with sports equipment that we had brought to give to the orphanage. They had a marvelous time. When it came time for us to go, they begged us to stay and held onto the van until we drove out of the gates, all the while telling them “Hasta Manana!” (See you tomorrow). One little boy clung to Beverly all day and was really sweet. It was hard for her to leave him. My little friend that held my hand all day was so cute. Tomorrow we will go back there with 200 hot dogs, buns, catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, cokes, and candy and have a feast with them and another man from our group will give a devotion and then we will teach them some new games. Thanks for helping us to get here and for all of the prayers, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 
[quote]Day 2 June 21, 2009
First thing this morning the team had a 2 hour conference with a man who with his wife founded a ministry to orphans here in Bogota call “Alma De Ninos” (Soul of the Children). They founded this ministry right after college and now have 263 orphans ages 10-18 (all eligible for adoption) in 5 different homes that they house and educate. We were very impressed with their work. Tomorrow we will go back to “Amparo De Ninos” (Protection of the Boys) for 1/2 day and then go to one of these “Alma De Ninos” homes that has 160 girls for the remainder of the day. After our meeting this morning we went back to “Amparo De Ninos” again and spent the whole day with the 80 boys there. The first thing we saw when we pulled through the gates this morning was all of the boys in their shirts we gave them playing soccer with the new equipment. It was wonderful to see their smiling faces again. We had a big hot dog cook out with chips and sodas and cookies. The boys never get “seconds” at meals so when we call out that there was seconds for everyone they stampeded. After lunch we played frisbee, dodgeball, and football. Later in the day we went into the old Catholic chapel and had a devotional from one of our team who is in seminary and works for a ministry in Waco. He told the boys that we love them and want to help them but there is only so much that we can do but that Jesus has already borne all of their pain, suffering, and sin on the cross and through faith in His sacrifice they can be healed. We then gave each boy a New Testament in Spanish. I was able to have some deep spiritual conversations with a couple of the boys and pray with them about their fears and struggles. We had many fun conversations as well and Beverly and I both learned a ton of spanish. Beverly is making a list of all the little boys she wants to bring home, boys with names like Anderes Philip, Juan David, Alexander, Diego, and Ramido. I keep reminding her that we still have two girls orphanages to visit yet this week :-). Once again, thank you for making this possible and for all of the prayers, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 
[quote]Day 3 June 22, 2009 was a marvelous day of blessings and much emotion. Today was Beverly’s 18th birthday and I’m sure one that she will remember forever. At breakfast the whole team stood around her table and sang happy birthday and then presented her with a pretty tote bag with her name embroidered on the side. After breakfast we went back to “Amparo De Ninos” for the last time this trip. When we arrived there were no boys to be seen. As we walked into the orphanage they were lined up in the hall and as Beverly entered they sang happy birthday in broken english and clapped and wished her “Feliz Cupleano” (happy birthday). It was beautiful. We took a tour of the grounds this time and were able to see their farming and dairy operation which helps with their needs and they also sell the milk to help with their costs. After some more soccer, we met in the chapel for a final devotion and to say our goodbyes. The young people on our team (Beverly (18), Sarah (18), brothers Matthew (20) and John (17), and Eric (24)) got up and gave testimony to what Christ is doing in their lives and why they came and what a blessing it has been and how they love and will miss the boys. Then I was able to share from John 14 about eternity and how short this troubled life is in comparison. I shared with them that though we may be separated in this life, if we believe in Jesus and turn from our sin, our own way, and cry out to Him, resting solely on His mercy and grace for our salvation, then we will be together in eternity with our Lord. I told them about repentance and faith. After the devotion, 25 boys acknowledged their need for Christ and I was able to pray with them. Then 3 of the older boys got up and thanked us in the most precious manner you can imagine. They thanked us for the love of Jesus that they had seen in our faces and in our actions. They said that though the time we were able to spend with them probably seemed short to us it was like a lifetime to them because it is so rare that they get to experience anything like that. They said that few people in the world would come so far to spend their time with a bunch of orphans and they loved us for it and would remember it the rest of their life. Our sweet interpreter broke down several times and had a hard time translating all that they had to say to us. There was no shortage of tears among us all. We left at lunch with many tears and hugs and sweet goodbyes and promises to come back next year. One little boy who had stayed right with Beverly and I all week asked if I could be his “Padrino” (Godfather) and if Beverly could be his “Madrina” (Godmother). That was hard. We are bringing back information on each boy and have promised them that we will work to help connect them with families who wish to adopt. In the afternoon we went to a new orphanage called “Ciudad De La Nina” (City of the Girl) where their are 160 girls between the ages of 7 and 18. This is one of the orphanages of the man that we met with yesterday morning from “Alma De Ninos” (Soul of the Child). They had an assembly and the girls all sang to us and chanted out a welcome. We introduced ourselves and I just happened to mention to them that it was Beverly’s “Cupleano Hoy” (Birthday today) :-). So 160 girls sang happy birthday in spanish, and beat on the tables, and clapped and Beverly blushed intensely and then proceeded to walk over and give me a well deserved punch in the kidney :-). We handed out a stuffed toy to each girl and told them that we would be back tomorrow to have an American cook out and spend the whole day with them. More chanting, clapping, and beating on the tables ensued. Many of the girls came up to thank us and give us each a big “abrazo” (hug). Five beautiful little girls surrounded me and asked if I had any daughters. I told them that I had 4 daughters including Beverly and then they asked me if I would like some more daughters because each of them are waiting for a family to adopt them. That was hard. We left there and went to dinner at the home of the lady who works from this end to help the “Here I Am Orphan Ministry” (our team) to work in these orphanages and acts as the guide on the trips. We had a wonderful Colombian dinner and rich Colombian coffee and then she pulled out a beautifully decorated chocolate cake and we all sang happy birthday to Beverly one more time. As she blew out the candle, Beverly wished out loud that we will be able to help some of these children, perhaps through adoption ourselves, in the future. We sang some worship songs and went back to our hotel asking God for strength and courage to once again be the hands and feet and arms of Jesus to the 160 girls at “Ciudad De La Nina” tomorrow. Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for supporting us in this work and for the many prayers. Many Blessings, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 

That night when we got back to the hotel we tried to Skype with the family back home so they could sing happy birthday to Bevy but all she and I could do was cry and blubber about what we had seen and felt. Our family on the other side of the computer screen couldn’t figure out what was going on with us… but soon they would… but I’m getting ahead of myself again..

 
[quote]Day 4 June 23, 2009 Today was another amazing day. We went back to “Ciudad De La Nina” (City of the Girl) to spend the whole day. This is the orphanage with 160 of the cutest girls ever seen that we visited briefly yesterday. We spent the morning talking with the girls (by now our spanish is getting pretty good) and laughing and teasing while they asked us zillions of questions which we later realized were all directed at whether we would make good adoptive parents or not. They asked us important questions like how many shoes we owned and how much land and how many animals we owned and stuff like that :-). We then had a grand cook out and fed them hot dogs and chips and ice cream with all of the toppings which took hours, literally. They thanked us dozens of times. It was a very happy, happy time. We then moved into the cafeteria and a group of the girls dressed in traditional Colombian dress did several dances for us. It was really beautiful. Next, it was time for the devotion. I shared with them about my family and how that all of my adult life my passion has been to be a good father. I told them how I love my children and how I desire to give good things to them and how I would even die for them. But then I shared with them that the Bible says that if earthly fathers who are sinners give good gifts to their children how much more does the Heavenly Father. I then proceeded to share with them the wonderful news of a Heavenly Father who loves them and who sent His son to die for them and how that by faith they can have this Father for their own and He will never leave them, He will never let them down. We then gave out a pair of brand new tennis shoes to each girl and a New Testament in Spanish. Then it was time for us to go. However, some of the girls got the idea of having each of us sign their Bible for them. So we spent the next 30 minutes with crowds of girls around each of us signing Bibles as fast as we could write our names. It was unspeakably precious. We had to tell them goodbye for this trip and words cannot express the feeling in our hearts as we left those girls, many with tears, promising to do what we can to help them in the days ahead and asking God to watch over them. It was especially hard for me to leave 3 little girls named Jaime, Brenda, and Wendy who had held my hands all day and called me Papa. Tomorrow we go to “Ampara De Ninas” (Protection of the Girls) here in the city which is one of the main reasons for the trip and we will spend the rest of our week there. I can only imagine how hard it will be to leave our new little friends there after we spend the next three days with them but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I have a new appreciation for my Savior who once said, “suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Love and Prayers, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 

Little did I know that the next day, June 24, 2009 would change my life forever. This is the day that Beverly and I met my Colombian daughter, Heidy, and I fell ridiculously, insanely, supernaturally, head over heels in love.

 
[quote]Day 5 June 24, 2009 Today was another example of God’s hand mightily at work among us. We arrived at “Amparo De Ninas” at about 10:00am. There are 76 girls in this orphanage. They were all ready to go to the big city park “just down the road” so we set out walking to the park. An hour and 5 or 6 miles later we arrived at the park. It was a lovely walk in the 70 degree weather with each of us surrounded by girls holding our hands or walking arm in arm and asking question after question. It was wonderful. The park is a gigantic, beautiful, lush, park with two lakes. If walking “to” the park wasn’t enough we also had to walk all around the park and see all of the sites 🙂 which gave us lots of opportunity to talk about the Lord, America, food, music, and so on. The nuns cooked in huge kettles over an open fire right in the park a wonderful “soup” full of beef ribs, chicken leg quarters, bananas, plantain, potatoes, rice and so on. It was delicious and hearty. We played volleyball, soccer, earth ball, ladder ball and shot marshmallow guns at each other. At about 3:00pm the rain came and we had to head back to the orphanage. By the time we got back the rain had stopped so we dragged chairs out into the courtyard and sat around and visited until time to go. My heart was pierced again and again as were the rest of the team as we got to know these beautiful girls and see their personalities and know that if they don’t get adopted the statistics tell us that most of them will be dead within two years of leaving the orphanage. One little girl in particular, named Heidy, followed Beverly around all day and tried really hard to communicate with her. At one point she began to play piano scales with her fingers on Beverly’s arm and suddenly they realized that they knew a universal language, music. This little girl plays the piano, flute, and drums. I had seen her with Beverly all day but I was monopolized by several other sweet girls and didn’t get to meet her until we were almost ready to leave. Someone said that she could sing and so we coerced her into singing for us. When she started to sing I thought that heaven had opened up and an angel was singing to us. We were stunned. As I write this there are chills going down my spine and tears filling my eyes. I know that God has a plan for this girl and I am so grateful that on this day I was able to love on her and make her laugh several times and let her know that she has friends from Texas. Tomorrow we go back to have a big hot dog cookout with these girls and then Friday we will be with them all day as well. I can’t wait to get back there and see all of my little friends. I don’t know what the future holds but I know, God willing, that we are going to have a wonderful time in the Lord while we can. Love and Prayers, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 
[quote]Day 6 June 25, 2009 Today was a happy day! We rested some and saw some sites this morning and then went back to “Amparo De Ninas” this afternoon. It was such a happy day because we had made friends with these girls yesterday and they know that we aren’t leaving until Saturday so they don’t have to be sad yet and so we were able to just be comfortable with each other and really loosen up and have some fun. When I walked into the courtyard I saw that the girls had taken colored chalk and in huge fancy letters written on the asphalt “Mateo, Te Queremos Mucho” (Matthew, We Love You Very Much). The little girl (Heidy) that I told about who was such a singer and musician had drawn a large picture of a girl with a smaller girl with her head on her shoulder and under the larger girl was the name Beverly and under the smaller girl was her name with hearts all around the picture. It was beautiful. We played basketball, volleyball, and sat around and talked a lot. For dinner we had our big hot dog cook out and then made popcorn and roasted marshmallows over the charcoal. Someone brought out a stereo and then it got crazy. In case you ever wondered if Latin girls can dance, I am here to tell you positively that they can and that they are determined when trying to teach us “Americanos” how to as well. I’ve never had more fun in my life. We laughed and we made them laugh. We danced and took crazy pictures of each other until our camera batteries were gone. We talked and played until the sun was way down and it was time to go. Some of the girls made woven bracelets and Beverly knew how to start them so there was literally a line of girls waiting for Beverly to help them get theirs started. Heidy brought her bracelet when completed and put it on my arm. I tried to give it back and tell her it was for her but she would have none of it. All day yesterday and today I kept trying to get her picture but she wouldn’t let me or anyone else. Apparently she is infamous for hating to have her picture taken. Once when I surprised her with a shot she begged me to delete it and so I did. She did allow a picture of her and Beverly with her drawing though and right before we left she came up and said “Una photo de tu y yo” (One photo of you and me) so I was able to get her picture after all. My friend Allen took the shot and I can’t wait to get it from him. I knew that it was a huge gesture of friendship for her to permit it and I will cherish that picture. It reminded me of summer camp when I was a boy and making new friends and having fun and giving yourself to the moment knowing that the week will end but for the moment this is all there is in the universe. I know God put Beverly and I on this wonderful team of people and appointed us for this trip and I can gratefully say that I have soaked up every minute. I came here to show the love of Jesus to these children but what I didn’t expect was to see His love for me through them. Love and Prayers, Pastor Matt[/quote]
 
[quote]Day 7 June 26, 2009 Our final day here in Bogota was very sweet and very sad as was expected. We went back to “Amparo De Ninas” today. The girls were all gathered and Beverly, David, Sarah, and I sang “Here I Am To Worship” for them and then I gave our last devotional from Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I shared with them how the God of hope loves them and has a plan for them. And when they believe the Holy Spirit comes and fills them with hope, joy, and peace. They can search for those things in the world, in things, in human relationships, but they are only to be found in God through His Son Jesus Christ. Several girls prayed with me after acknowledging their need for and total dependance on Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation. After the devotion, the team gave each girl a New Testament in Spanish and a brand new pair of shoes and a stuffed bunny. I should mention here that our team, Here I Am Orphan Ministry, (www.orphanministries.com) bought 361 pairs of shoes this week for girls and boys in every orphanage we visited plus 4 other orphanages that we were not able to visit this time. Then it was lunch time and we enjoyed eating and visiting together. Two girls wrote me sweet notes thanking me for opening my heart to them and for the love that they felt. I have so many little sisters now. Instead of trying to celebrate each girls birthday when it comes around they have two big parties a year, one in June for the January through June birthdays and one at the end of the year for the rest. Today was the big birthday party for the first 1/2 of the year so after lunch our buddies from “Amparo De Ninos” that we visited earlier in the week showed up and the party began. There were cakes and we brought ice cream and toppings and there was a DJ and lots of dancing :-). The kids look forward to this for 6 months and they were extra delighted that we were going to be there to share it with them. It was a happy time. As the day began to come to a close the girls started bringing me their email addresses on scraps of paper and eliciting promises of staying in touch and promises to return and see them when we can. When it actually came time to leave, we gathered in a big circle and held hands and I prayed. I asked God to watch over our friends, to draw them close to Himself, to let them know that we love them and it is because He first loved us, and to hold our hearts in His hand until we see each other again. After the prayer, some of the girls got up and thanked us. Heidy, the little girl that captured Beverly and my heart and with whom we had much fun today, got up and said, “Thank you for coming to show us love. Believe me, your riches in heaven will be great. You have given 365 days worth of love in 3 days. God bless you.” Then it was time to go and girls rushed to kiss us on the cheek and give us hugs. Many were crying as were we. They thanked us over and over again. Finally, before some of the team dragged me into the van and closed the door, I gave Heidy the last of many tearful hugs and we said our sweet goodbyes. I don’t have the words to say what we all felt as we drove away but there was much sobbing and many determined oaths to redouble our efforts to “Vindicate the weak and fatherless and do justice to the afflicted and destitute.” Psalm 82:3 Love and Prayers, Pastor Matt [/quote]
 

As little Heidy and I were giving each other our last tearful goodbyes and hugs and kisses and she was whispering in my ear “I love you, I’ll be praying for you” my friends David and Allen grabbed me by the back of my leather jacket and literally dragged me into the van and slammed the door because we were going to miss our flight. As the door closed and we drove away from Amparo De Ninas, I sat frozen for a moment and then I turned to David and quietly said, “If I have to swim the gulf of Mexico, I’m going to help that little girl.” Then I fell into his arms and sobbed like a baby all the way to the airport.

Here is an excerpt from Beverly’s journal from that trip…

 
[quote]“The summer that I graduated high school I read, “Don’t waste your life” by John Piper. When I read that book God put a fervent desire in my heart to give my life wholly and completely over to God to do with as He would. He stirred a passion in me to do something meaningful something that would impact the kingdom of God for His glory. That same summer God brought a young orphan girl into our life named Mercy. She needed a home and a loving forever family. I knew right away that God wanted me to make a ministry of this precious new sister. And so I spent that year pouring into her the love of God. And then one day my dad walks into the office and tells me about an opportunity he was given to go on a mission trip to Bogota, Colombia and I was reminded of what God had stirred in me the summer before. I had no idea what to expect and sometimes wondered what in the world were we getting ourselves into. The first day we visited a boy’s orphanage. It was very awkward and I did not know what to do with myself. And then one sweet shy little boy kept taking my hand every chance he got and started showing me around. He showed me everything but when he took me to one of the rooms where they sleep and showed me his bed and his little backpack that held all the little toys he owned I wanted to cry. That first day he hardly ever left my side soaking in all the love and affection he could. But after that he began to pull away and I realized it was because he knew we were going to leave and wanted to make it as least painful as he could by staying away. It broke my heart. That night I couldn’t stop thinking of all the little things in life I take for granted. Things like a hug or a shelf full of stuffed animals or a pantry full of food or just family. Over the next few days we visited two girls orphanages. I marveled at how selfless and loving these children were and at how even though we had gifts and food and things to give them what they wanted the most was our love. All they wanted was to hold your hand to make you laugh to hug you to see you smile. That baffled me the most. We were there to serve them and give them love and they were so eager to do just that for us. Telling these precious children goodbye on that last day was the hardest thing I have ever done. God stirred a passion in me when I read, “Don’t waste your life” to do something of worth and value for the kingdom of God. And I have to say I am certain I have found that something. And that something is to take God’s love and the gospel to Orphans and God willing bring some home to teach and train in the ways of the Lord.” [/quote]
 

Beverly and I sat quietly on the plane with copious tears flowing down both of our cheeks. Suddenly she reached over and squeezed my hand so hard it hurt. “Dad, promise me that we will never be the same again! Promise me! Promise me that we won’t forget what we saw, what we felt, and we will go home and do something about it!” All I could choke out was, “Beverly, I promise if we have to swim the gulf of Mexico, we are going to help those kids.”

Aflame For God 18 – Swimming The Gulf of Mexico

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Like many missionaries, Brooke has no source of income other than love gifts from home.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke in Colombia.

My eyes strained to adjust to the dim light; I could hear the laughter of little children, and I thought to myself “how could they find joy here?” I was standing in the most hellish place imaginable. It was a rat infested “hotel”, that smelled of urine and filth. It would be unimaginable for anyone to live in this place but what broke my heart was the knowledge that over forty children lived in these conditions. They slept in a pile of blankets because there was no beds and they ran around naked or with just underwear because they had nothing else.

To say we were taken aback by “Hotel Hell” as my dad called it would be an understatement but as we walked in we were greeted by the joy of the children that live there. I could see four sets of little eyes looking at us from under their filthy blankets lying on the floor and all we had to say was “Hola” and these beautiful children came running to meet us. They jumped into our arms and they wouldn’t let us put them down for the rest of the night.

Even while sharing a devotion about Jesus with the kids and passing out sandwiches and hot chocolate to all the residents, we held as many of the kids in our arms as we could at once. Nic Arnold, one of our team, danced with the little girls until he could barely stand. By the end of the night our arms felt like they were going to fall off but all I could think was how grateful I was that for one night I could be Christ’s arms to those sweet little children. He was able to hold His babies through us and I would not trade that for anything in this world. I also realized you can find God anywhere! Even in unbelievably horrible situations, He is there!

I am reading the story of a missionary to children who has experienced the horrors of war in Africa, and her story so reminded me of the presence of God even in pain. I want to close with a quote from her book “The Color of Grace” that illustrates what we saw in these children.

[quote]“I remember two little girls I spotted in Congo. They were holding hands when our team drove past them. They were covered in dirt and wore tattered dresses, and their feet were bare. Behind them stood a massive volcano that had erupted six years earlier and destroyed 40 percent of their city of Goma. Less than twenty kilometers to their left, warring rebel groups were fighting and people were dying in the crossfire. And what were these little girls doing? They were dancing. They were laughing and singing and radiating joy. Why? Because they had no idea they weren’t supposed to dance. They did not know they were supposed to be sad or unhappy. God was living inside them, amid all the destruction, and He was beaming from the inside out.”[/quote]

Love, Rebekah Bullen

At Large Missionary

Mission Critical International

Photos of Rebekah’s Ministry

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

“Aunty Rebekah! I want to go to school!” “Papi Mateo! Please send me to school!”

When was the last time you heard a child beg to go to school. In America we find it hard to believe a child would want to go to school, let alone beg to go. Yet I know so many children just waiting and praying for an opportunity to go to school but they can’t go. I met a man in Africa that would run for three hours every morning to get to school as a boy. He would leave his home at 4:00 am every day. Can you image having to just walk that long, not even run! With this great of a desire for something worth wanting, it breaks my heart to know so many children that can’t reach their dream of just going to school because of finances. I know I can’t help every child but I do want to share a couple of stories with you of children God has allowed me to send to school.

Meet my sisters and brother,

God has given us the great privilege of adopting Ginary & Heidy & Juan David into our family. Ginary grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia. She came to our family at age 14 and we could not be more blessed than to have her in our family. Ginary is a nail technician and is going to college in Colombia.

Heidy, grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia as well. She came to our family at age 13. Heidy is a joy and delight to everyone who knows her. She is an accomplished artist and has a beautiful singing voice. Heidy is in school in Colombia and wants to work in the ministry with her family someday.

Juan David, grew up in the orphanages and on the streets of Bogota, Colombia as well. He came to our family at age 10. Juan David is the first orphan we met on their first day of our first trip to Colombia. Juan David is going to high school in Bogota Colombia.

Meet Esteban,

My dad and sister met Esteban on a preaching tour in Colombia in April, 2014. He and his brother were abandoned by their father at a young age and their mother was struggling to keep a roof over their head and couldn’t keep him in school. With your help we were able to fully pay his school for 2014 and 2015. Below is the link to a video he sent us recently. If you play it to the end you can see his sweet thank you message.

Meet Anderson,

My dad met Anderson while preaching in Medellin, Colombia. Anderson is a young seminary student preparing for the ministry who was sitting out a semester because of a lack of funds. We were able to pay for his semester so that someday he can stand and preach the word of God to the people of Colombia! Please pray for Anderson as we have not been able to help him again this semester and so he is currently sitting out this semester again.

Meet Pastor Ndagijimana Jean de Dieu’s son,

My dad and I met pastor Jean for the first time in Rwanda, Africa in January. I immediately felt the love of God in His whole family and when he told us He hadn’t been able to send his son to high school because he didn’t have the $200.00 USD, I knew we had to help. Pastor Jean’s son plays all the music for their church and has one of the most sweetest smiles I have ever seen. I am so blessed to have been able to help this amazing family.

Meet Morris,

I never had the chance to meet Morris but I learned about him from Mrs. Liboma, a very good friend of mine in Zambia, Africa. Morris is a next door neighbor of Mrs. Liboma, whose father has abandoned him and his invalid mother. What touched me most about Morris’s story was that Mrs. Liboma cared so much for him because he has the condition of Dwarfism as does Mrs. Liboma’s granddaughter. Through Mrs. Liboma we were able to send Morris to high school. Praise God.

Your continued support for this ministry and the work that God continues to send my father make it possible for these young people to get an education. They are the future of the kingdom’s expansion throughout the world! Please pray for us as every day we meet more young people like these with no expectations, working hard, but just not able to get the education they need and deserve.

Thank you,

Rebekah Bullen

Missionary to the world with Mission Critical International!

To the praise of my Beloved Savior

Photos of Rebekah’s work in Africa

Like many missionaries, Rebekah has no source of income other than love gifts from back home.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

2014 was an amazing year. One of the best in my personal life. A year of redemption, new passion and dreams for the future. This year God brought me back and gave me a chance to start doing what it is He put me on this earth to do. After running away as hard as I could for two years God intervened and would not allow me to run anymore. I could no longer run from the knowledge that God was calling me to a higher purpose. As Christians we are called to what the modern church calls “The Great Commission” Matthew 28:19 and for years Christians heroes have been going through the whole world sharing the gospel with boldness no matter what the cost even if that cost is their lives. Unfortunately Christianity has turned into a comfortable religion instead of a way of life. “Most churches and ministries are working in the Commission but not the Great commission” – Enith Diaz. Having grown up my whole life in church I can say with authority that the modern idea of what it is to be a Christian is down right tragic.

Something I read recently struck my heart, it said “Some Christians haven’t even thought about whether they would die for Christ because they haven’t really been living for Him” Jesus Freaks, DC Talk. I will tell you that really made me rethink my life, my roll as a Christ follower and my idea of what it is to be a part of the Great commission. Thanks to God he opened my eyes just a tiny bit more this year. When God finally broke my pride and brought me back to Colombia in April I had no idea I was gonna spend the rest of my life here, but you know, there is absolutely no place I would rather be and nothing I would rather be doing than giving everything I have for the one who gave His everything for me. I am now living the life I was called to. And I would encourage everyone reading this DO NOT run from whatever it is He has put in your heart to do. WE ARE ALL called as followers of Christ, as His kids, as part of His family to go and spread that love and spirit to everybody we possibly can. THAT is what it means to live. We are of another world, this is only our temporary home and nobody is promised tomorrow. Choose to obey now.

My personal dream and my hope for all of you is that we can come to our end the same way Paul did and be able to say “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

So blessed to be here, so blessed to be doing what I was born to do… Who is it that God is using you to speak to? who is it that God put in your life that needs Him? What is it that God put in your heart to do with your life? Just something to think about. As always, A HUGE thank you to all you who support us in prayer and financially. It means so much more than you can ever imagine. I could not do this without all of you.

“Don’t let your light go down, don’t let your fire burn out cause somewhere somebody needs a reason to believe, why don’t you rise up now? Don’t be afraid to stand out… Thats how the lost get found” Britt Nicole-Lost get found

To see what God did in 2014 and where He is taking Mission Critical in 2015 please watch the video below.

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Like many missionaries, Brooke has no source of income other than love gifts from home.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke in Colombia.

I grew up in church… a good PK and as such I had one simple job to do.. be perfect, sweet, and make sure to set a flawless example for all the church to see. My main goal was to grow up leading Bible studies with all the young “maidens in waiting” of the church body because “youth group” was out of the question and one day marry a perfect young man who would become a pastor when he was 16 years old and spend the majority of his time locked away in his library studiously pouring over theology books while I made baked goods in the kitchen of our town house with the whitewashed picket fence and watched our ten children play with their Atlas and puzzles. Lets just say I was the ultimate teenage bigot. But sadly when you live under a mountain of self-inflicted expectation and constant failure to accomplish it eventually causes you to hate yourself and anyone else who does not live up to the impossible standards that you yourself are drowning in. I remember growing up hearing about grace and about how “nothing you could ever do would make God love you any less”.. now I am not here to preach theology to anyone.. trust me I know how much I still need to learn but lets just say grace was for weak christians who couldn’t “keep it together” in my opinion and I refused to be one of “those people”.

Anyway to save on paper and to not put my readers to sleep I will skip ahead a couple of years. At 19 the once perfect saint was now a tattooed, pierced, smoker who wouldn’t dare step foot onto a church’s front lawn let alone attend. A girl who once believed being a christian meant being better than everyone else now spent her days working, smoking, and crying herself to sleep every night. I won’t go into all the details of those horrible days but I can write this with a smile on my face because God did not let that little girl stay there. Through many hard lessons she was finally able to learn and understand what Jesus was saying in Mark 2:17 “When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” and it was my greatest joy last Friday night to share that with over 100 or so young men and women in a city park with some paper and colors.

Six of us went out to what is, in my opinion, one of the scariest parks in Boston Medellin. Lets just say its where all the gangs, addicts and hustlers like to hang out day and night. And I could feel the nervousness of every one of my companions as we sat down to play some music and sing right in the middle of it all. We brought with us pens, paper, paint, and all kinds of markers and our strategy was to break the ice by inviting anyone who wanted to “express themselves” by drawing or writing whatever they wanted. To my amazement it worked! I don’t know if it was the influence of the alcohol or weed but these kids LOVED the idea and in less than 30 minutes we had a huge group drawing, singing, playing instruments and listening to us share the gospel with them. One girl in particular I remember was Viviana, she was a beautiful 22 year old girl who was so touched by what we were doing that she asked me and another friend if we would sit down with her. I could feel her pain as she cried on my shoulder and poured her heart out to us. She wanted to know Jesus, she wanted to change and I know that God did something in her heart that night the same way He did it in mine. He is so amazing and we were able to share His story and His love with so many young people that night. I saved the papers with all the drawings and notes they wrote so that I will never forget that night, that experience and never again forget why and for WHOM Jesus came and died.

So blessed to be here, so blessed to be doing what I was born to do… Who is it that God is using you to speak to? who is it that God put in your life that needs Him? What is it that God put in your heart to do with your life? Just something to think about. As always, A HUGE thank you to all you who support us in prayer and financially. It means so much more than you can ever imagine. I could not do this without all of you.

“Wash my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to things unseen, show me how to love like You have loved me” Hosanna, Hillsong

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Like many missionaries, Brooke has no source of income other than love gifts from home.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke in Colombia.

Sitting across the breakfast table from me she looked as if she could not figure me out. Sipping her coffee, she seemed to be studying me pretty intently. I must admit I felt a bit uncomfortable, ha ha. I had only been living in Medellin for about a week and was still getting used to the new group of people I was going to work with and live with. A group of us all live together in a sort of college dorm theme. We all eat together and have our different duties to help with the house up keep and cooking. Anyway, Vivianna, after a long staring contest, finally asked me if I was going to go with them to the “Brigade”… I was like… what is that? She laughed a bit and then told me “The health brigade, we go to little villages and share the gospel and help people” I was like…. YOU BETTER KNOW that I am FOR SURE going!

After a ton of planning and packing and waiting and working and praying and… you get the idea, we were finally on the road to Santa Rosita, a tiny little village out in the middle of nowhere where the closest store, let alone hospital, is an hour drive by car away. The people who live there are both physically and spiritually starving. Clean water is non-existent and food is difficult to come by, especially when every family has at least 4 children per household. We were in the bus for 10 hours before we finally pulled up on this tiny village full of excited, beautiful faces and so started the next four days of serving and sharing God’s love and story with His precious creations.

Below is a video I made from the trip. Our team of professionals were able to provide every type of medical exam and medication including psychological health. Our evangelistic group went from house to house telling families about Jesus and sharing the word with them, many were lead to Christ through these visits, one man after accepting Christ came to me and another lady and sang us a beautiful song about Jesus, he had an amazing voice and I was completely blown away, after singing for us he continued praising God as he walked through the little village.

As you can see from the pictures I was the favorite entertainment for over 100 kids and spent the entire 3 days playing, singing, doing puppet shows, dancing and playing goalie for the soccer team… my poor ribs LOL. It was an AMAZING time, check out the video to get a glimpse of what God was up to recently in Colombia. Blessings AS ALWAYS PLEASE PRAY!!!! and to all those who have given financially, thank you so much for making all this possible.

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Like many missionaries, Brooke has no source of income other than love gifts from home.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

11743 Northpointe Blvd #1025

Tomball, TX 77377

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke in Colombia.

Relationships part 2.

In my last blog I shared a lesson that I have learned on how relationships affect and touch people’s hearts, I want to share similar stories about a couple other girls in my next posts, from now on in my blogs I would rather keep their names anonymous for their protection.

Almost three years ago on my first trip to Colombia, I connected with one girl because both of us share a common characteristic, we both love to play rough and a little on the side of a tomboy. Well we talked a little and shared a couple of conversations, but never really connected on a deep level. I thought a couple smiles and a hug was enough. Now don’t get me wrong. God can use whatever we can give, but for me, I knew I had more than I was giving, I knew I was holding back to protect my heart from pain. I held this “arms length” attitude with most of the children up until my last two months in Colombia. God broke down my walls. He showed me that every child is important. He is concerned for every child.

So last month I started holding daily English classes with this particular girl that I met three years ago. She is so eager to learn and very intelligent. Other than my African sister, Mercy, I have never seen anyone learn so fast.

I was at a loss how to reach deeper with her, to really get past her “friend” to being her true friend, letting her know how much God loved her and I truly cared, so I prayed for God to show me a way and finally He answered. One day during one of our many classes, I noticed that she had scars on her upper arms, I had never noticed before because she always wore long sleeves. I told her that I had the same type of scars on my arms. She was very surprised and asked me if I was embarrassed by them. I explained that before I was, but that God has showed me that He made me just the way I am. After a long two hour conversation God helped me to explain to her that she is perfect, and that God loves her just the way she is. God softened a very locked heart that day, in the end she said she felt closer to me like a sister, and “Hermana” was her name for me the rest of my time there. God is still working on my friend, but I know that He has plans for her. She is a born leader, and very open to God. I used to be so insecure about how to help people, how to change people, but God has shown me, we only plant the seeds, the Holy Spirit is in charge of what happens after that, it is His work not ours, but He graciously invites us along for the ride, as my dad likes to call it, “Going to work with Daddy” He gets the glory and we get the joy.

Love Brooke