I can't begin to describe how difficult it is to express my feelings about our trip to Colombia in something short of a novel. Please bear with me as I attempt to share this experience from my heart. The Lord knows I'm not a writer, in fact, it is one of the hardest things I've ever had to bring myself to do.
Shortly
after my life changing experience with the Lord, I found myself being
burdened continuously with the need to go to an orphanage. Just
saying the word "orphanage", would bring tears to my eyes. I had no
idea what orphanage I was supposed to visit until one day I met a woman
named Ana. She began to tell me about an
orphanage her mother helped start in Colombia and their desperate need
for assistance. It seemed right in my heart as she told me about the
children. A short time later she gave me a DVD to watch. I will never
forget my 3:00am viewing of it in the quietness of my living room, as
everyone else slept. As the smiling faces of beautiful little children
panned the screen, tears welled up in my eyes every time I saw one
particular little girl. I knew God was speaking directly to my heart
even though I had no idea what was so special about this one little
girl. All I knew was that God set her in my heart for a reason.
A
year and a half later, my desire to meet this little girl, who I later
found out is named Sarah, became a reality. At one of our regular
Heartwise Ministries group get-togethers, the
board announced that they were going to send my wife, Michele, and I to
Colombia to visit Proamar, the orphanage where little Sarah lives. Once
again, the tears came with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and
excitement. As a group, we were going to open our hearts to the leading
of the Holy Spirit and do whatever we felt the Lord was calling us to
do.
Fear
of traveling to a country that is at the top of our Government's "Do
not travel" list, never entered my mind, but to say it was not a
concern for my wife would be a lie. She has a difficult time leaving
our children to go anywhere in the US, let alone visiting a "hostile"
South American country where kidnappings are a common occurrence. I prayed daily for the Lord to give her a peace and was amazed to see how He answered my prayers. Two
of our board members were speaking at a local civitan meeting about
Heartwise Ministries, the things we were involved in, and how Michele
and I were going to be traveling to an orphanage in Colombia. A
woman named Marta came up to them and said how she was from Colombia
and that she had a burden for the children of her country. She related
how she had just returned from her home town of Cartagena and would
like to be involved with the work our ministry was going to be doing in
Colombia. A time was set for Michele and I to meet her. As
we sat around our dining room table, the Lord's answer to my prayers
became obvious. Even though she had just returned from Columbia, Marta
decided she would travel with us, as long as her boss would give her
the time off. Michele became excited about the trip, as Marta assured her she would be safe and would have a good time.
The
evening we arrived in Medellin, excitement welled up inside me as we
got closer to the orphanage. I wanted to see Sarah so bad I couldn't
stand it, only to be disappointed to find out that the children were
already sleeping when we got there. As I stood over her curled up
little body sleeping on the bottom bunk in her little room, I told her
goodnight and that I would see her in the morning. Sleeping was
difficult as I anticipated how I would feel the minute I would be able
to give her a hug. As the sun began to rise, so did I. I
left Michele in the bed and headed for the house where the children
slept. The voices of little children could be heard as I entered the
front door. I headed straight for Sara's room
to find her awake, rolling around on her bed. It is impossible to
describe how I felt the moment I was able to hold her. She had a piece
of my heart for almost two years and had absolutely no idea. To
finally be able to give her a hug and to tell her that I love her is
something that will forever be stored in my heart and mind.
My heart ached for all the children as I got to know them. I
tried to comprehend how parents could just walk away from such
beautiful children. I later found out that alcohol and drug addiction
were the main reasons these little ones found themselves living at
Proamar. Most of them were rescued from an area called Stratus Zero,
which is a very poor section of town having no annual income. Some of
them were actually living on the streets. The thought of a four year
old little girl living on the streets with her drug addicted mother,
went beyond my ability to comprehend. All the children were so excited
to meet us. They piled into our laps, as if it were a contest to see
who could get the most attention. The orphanage was beautiful and the
surrounding countryside was like something from a picture book. It gave
me a peace knowing the children had a safe place to live, a bed to
sleep on, and plenty of food to eat.
While
in Medellin, we had the opportunity to tour the city, meet and stay
with new friends, who put us up in their home out of the kindness of
their hearts, and just spend time with the children at Proamar. I felt
blessed to have had the opportunity to give the children a ride on a
horse and to spend the afternoon with them at a local swimming pool. I
also felt privileged to be able to represent Heartwise Ministries and
help meet some of the needs at the orphanage. We were blessed by the
excitement of the children as they received new mattresses to sleep on
and bedding for their new beds. I know I received much more that day
than they did. I will never forget the yells
of "Santa", as we handed out bath towels with a piece of candy wrapped
in them. I couldn't help but wonder if my own children would have been
half as excited to receive a towel as a gift. The realization of just
how blessed we are and how much we take for granted, hit me like a ton
of bricks.
Our
trip to Columbia also took us to Cartagena for a couple of days to
visit a day care/feeding center that Marta had previously spent time
at. We were once again graciously given a place to stay at her
brother's house, which gave Michele great peace.
As
we traveled by cab to the center (Ramonso De Amor), it didn't take long
to notice the drastic change in the surroundings. The center was
located in a part of town that the average person, especially
Americans, wouldn't think of walking in on their own. Entering the
front door, we found ourselves flooded with a hundred smiling faces.
The place was loaded with children between the ages of 2 and 5, dressed
in uniforms. Their smiles were intoxicating as we walked through the
building. To our surprise, soon after meeting the board members, they
decided to take us for a walk through the neighborhood where all the
little children came from each day. I was wondering what Michele was
going to do when they instructed us to take off all our valuables, but
to my surprise, she did and we found ourselves
on a short car ride to the worst place I've ever seen in my life.
Stratus Zero was to be our tour for the day. With a bottle of water in
hand and body guards in front of us and behind us, we climbed up a long
dirt hill that had worn in steps from the years of use. Our clothes
were soaked less than five minutes into the walk. Cartagena is the
hottest and most humid place we have ever been. I wondered how the
people could sleep in such hot conditions without air conditioning or
even a fan. Words can't describe what Stratus Zero is like. Try to
envision a dirt path with shacks on each side. When I say, "shack", I
mean a little plywood box with no kitchen, no bedroom, no bathroom, no
beds for the children to sleep on, no nothing. The cooking was done
outside over an open fire. I didn't ask where the local bathroom was,
although the smell led one to believe it was not too far away. I've
never been in a place where people had so little and yet still had the
ability to smile. The children loved having their picture taken and
would just smile from ear to ear.
Our
journey went on for what seemed like miles, with no end in sight. We
were told the children would walk up to 45 minutes to get to the center
each day. Try to imagine your 2 to 5 year old walking that far each
day, through the worst neighborhood you have ever seen, to receive food
and schooling. Then try to imagine being in
charge of picking which children are the neediest, as the center can
only take in a limited number of children. That would be Victor's job
and I wouldn't want it for anything in the world. As we walked through
the neighborhood, you would have thought we were walking with the
President. Everyone knew Victor and would short of beg him to pick
their child for placement when one opened up at the center. We later
found out that even the worst criminals in the area watched out for the
people at the center because they help their children.
I
can only describe the functioning of the center as a fine oiled
machine, run by beautiful people with a burden for the children, as
well as the adults in the area. Around 130 children are fed, bathed,
and schooled each day. Several of the children that we met were so
malnourished when they got there, that they were still unable to walk
at the age of two. The parents of the children taken in at the center
are required to volunteer their time in service and they also have the
opportunity to attend regular educational classes themselves.
Everything about the place was neat and orderly. The
most memorable moment of our visit was listening to 130 children sing,
"Jesus is in this place", while Victor played the guitar. God's spirit
moved us to tears that afternoon as His beautiful little children sang
praises in a place that I can only describe as a light in the midst of
hell.
Both
places that we visited were different, yet similar. One place was
filled with children given up by their parents, but had a safe place to
live, a bed to sleep on, and plenty of food to eat. The other place was
filled with children that had parents to go home to each night, but
lived in an unsafe place, had no bed to sleep on, and very little food
to eat. Both places are run by beautiful people with a burden to do the
Lord's work, but are limited by what they can do, due to limited
resources. I encourage you to prayerfully consider using some of the
resources the Lord has so graciously blessed you with, to help these two organizations grow in their ability to expand and meet the needs of more children. May we all be part of being the gospel in action to a lost world so desperately in need.
