During my time in Medellin, I learned a lot about its turbulent past and the clashing agendas of paramilitary groups, guerrilla groups, government, and drug cartels whose activity climaxed in the 80s and 90s. Indeed, during this time, Medellin was considered one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the world and to this day, many Colombians have opposing and very sensitive views regarding Pablo Escobar, a world renown criminal who integrated the fragmented drug trafficking groups into an organized system. Indeed, all of the populace has been impacted by crime and violence (whether it be indirectly or directly) and as my Colombian friends informed me, many are prone to put on a smile and desire to forget the turbulent past.
On Saturday, I got to go to a local Colombian church with Katie and Julio and during the worship, the Lord spoke to me and I started to intercede for Colombia and the church here in Colombia and prayed that the nation would be transformed by a generation of believers and that Colombia would be a future peacemaker among nations. Interestingly enough, the Lord also said the following to me, "Grace, this is only the beginning. I'm going to show you more of what I am doing in other nations."
On my last day in Colombia, I journaled the following:
"I feel like His purposes for my time here have been fulfilled. He allowed me to experience new sights, new foods, a new culture, showed me how He is using the body of believers here in Colombia to expand His kingdom, gave me an insider's glimpse into a missionary family's life, affirmed my heart for the global church and for missions, refreshed me and taught me new things."
It's weird, even though I don't really know what my future holds, I have carried this deep, gut feeling of anticipation and excitement that I can only attribute to the excitement that God feels towards my future and the dreams he has for my life. It's an excitement that has encouraged me in dry seasons and in seasons of doubt - I know that God's dreams for my life are wrapped up in one purpose: to glorify Himself.
I'll end my post on this quote by Brennan Manning (please, do yourself a favor and read his book, Ruthless Trust):
"The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious, and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise."
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