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Missions - seeking after the heart of God

Lately, the Lord has been challenging me to dig deeper, to be stronger, and to reach further than ever as we are living in such turbulent times.  My heart has been aching for the lost and the hurting as I have been seeking His face as to what door He wants me to go through next.  As I have been studying, the scripture that keeps coming back at me is James 1:27,  ï¿½Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world�.  As a worshipper, I express my love for the Lord in my private devotions, in church with other believers, and I try my best to live my life as a worshipper at home and in the community.  Lately, I sense the Lord challenging me to do more in ministering the love of God to those in distress and facing desperate circumstances.  I pray that we will be able to fulfill the call that He has placed upon us as we press onward toward the prize, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

On February 16, 2010, I responded to the most amazing opportunity - I went on a missions trip to Columbia, South America.  I visited cities Chiquinquira, Bucaramanda, and Sogomoso, and ministered in music at varied venues throughout the 7 days that I was there.  In 7 days, I saw hundreds of people receive the amazing love of our Savior through salvation, healing, and changes of the heart.  It was an incredible experience.  I was humbled by the expressions of love and gratitude expressed by the Columbian people throughout my visit there.  I was amazed to see the flow of the Holy Spirit as He worked miracles through the missions team.  This was a trip of a lifetime for me, and I am so very grateful that God allowed me to be a part of His work in Columbia ... for such a time as this.

About Columbia and our Mission

The Pastors that we met in Columbia told us that this country consists of 90% non-believers ... only 10% know Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives.  They believe in and invest their ministry efforts in the lives of the children - not only to reach the parents, but to raise up the next generation to know and serve the Lord.  When we were there, our missions team ministered to children in 7 different school settings  and saw hundreds give their hearts to the Lord.  We also ministered in 16 different churches and saw lives transformed and hearts touched by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We serve an amazing God!

Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
Colombia is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Three mighty north-south Andean cordilleras separate the western coastal lowlands from the almost empty eastern jungles, with 54 percent of Colombia's land but only 3 percent of the people. Most Colombians are of mixed ethnicity; about 20 percent claim European descent. Native Indians, about one percent of the population, live in the eastern jungles.

The Andes contribute to the concentration of Colombia's people into separate clusters. Some live in the Caribbean lowlands in cities like Barranquilla and Cartagena; some live in isolated mountain valleys in cities like Cali and Medellin. Bogotá, the capital and largest city, is in a remote mountain basin at 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).

Colombia has had a turbulent history. Civil war (1899-1902) claimed 100,000 lives, and La Violencia (1948-1957) cost 300,000 more. Starting in the 1980s, as the government worked with the U.S. to disrupt the lucrative illicit drug trade, violence came from cocaine traffickers, who targeted judges, newspaper editors, and community officials. The drug cartels continue to be a disruptive force into the 21st century, in spite of efforts to arrest the more powerful leaders.

Farmers raise world-renowned coffee on the Andean slopes. Colombia sells much of the world's emeralds and considerable amounts of gold, silver, and platinum and has the continent's highest coal production—most from the Guajira Peninsula. However, oil development suffers from sabotage by guerrilla groups, and large parts of Colombia are beyond government control.

ECONOMY

Industry: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear.
Agriculture: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice; forest products; shrimp.
Exports: petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers.
Colombia Flag and Fast Facts
Flag of Colombia
Population
46,039,000
Capital
Bogotá; 7,594,000
Area
1,141,748 square kilometers
(440,831 square miles)
Language
Spanish
Religion
Roman Catholic
Currency
Colombian peso
Life Expectancy
71
GDP per Capita
U.S. $6,100
Literacy Percent
93