Where To Next?!

So, as of now, the BCF Missions Team has been home for two days. As for me, although I miss everyone on the team and in Colombia and I had a blast there, it's really good to be back home. I can honestly say that it was an awesome first missions trip; the best anyone could ask for. I can't wait to go on others (Even though Pastor Bruce can't disclose the next location to any of us yet. Hehe.)! By the end of the week, we saw 745 people give their hearts to God, I became closer to everyone on the team and to a few other friends, and I learned a lot about God, life, others, and myself. Although we faced a lot of illness, we never let the Devil distract us from God's plan, and it paid off. Like Pastor Bruce said, it's not the end of the missions trip; it's the beginning of a new one. Who says we can't be missionaries in Ohio?? :)

Let's Catch Up.

Hey!
Sorry I didn't post yesterday or the day before; I was too tired to stay up after church and I left my computer in the lady's bedroom. Heehee.
Wednesday was pretty awesome, like all other days here. We went to a school with about 500 kids in it from preschool to high school. The cool thing was that the school is bilingual, so with the high school kids we barely had to speak any Spanish. It was a nice break. We even did the skit in English! Then, after the program, we got to go out in the crowd and spend time with them. Boy, were they fascinated with us! They were around me in a tight circle, constantly asking me questions about America and what I like and if I like Colombia and stuff. It was like Jeopardy. Even when I'd ask them to widen the circle so I could breathe, they moved back in close within a minute. It was cute. They even recorded me and took a group picture for their school newspaper. It was great.
Yesterday we went to another school; it was fun. Everyone was asking for autographs and facebooks and emails. Then we went to a really poor area on the outskirts of Bogota. It was sad, but the kids were great. There were so many cute babies! One of them fell asleep in Jessica's arms and the other in Donna's. I was really tired all day, though. I still am trying to get over it. I feel like I could sleep all day.
So many people here are sick. We are so under attack. But like Vera said, God makes a way when there seems to be none. :)

Pictures From Day Four!

The children in the school

Me & Sara (the pastor's daughter at the school)

Our "Guide" Pastor Santiago (Santi!) in the shirt Steve gave him.

Santi and his granddaughter Amy :)

Valentina :)

Sara! She was Donna Jean's favorite. She was shy at first, but we got her sonreir (to smile)!

Samuel!

Even in the poor neighborhoods it's beautiful.

Bogota Is Another Word For Home

Today was another beautiful day just like every other. Right now I am sitting in the living room of the boy's apartment (the only available Wi-Fi) listening to Cory play his guitar (very well, may I add). I'd say it's a pretty sweet end to an amazing day.
We went to another school and foundation today, ministering to the children. I had so much fun talking to the kids and making them happy. I think that's the best part about going to schools and places with children. Seeing them smile. They are so precious. Pastor Bruce said today that the children really inspired him because children all over the world are the same; even though we all come from different places and cultures and families, we all want the same things and have the same need for love.
Three people on the team that really inspired me today were Cory, Bob, and Donna Jean.
Cory because he hasn't been feeling well and he still pushed through and came with us even though no one would have blamed him if he had stayed here at the church. And yet, he did some really powerful things and spoke life into some really amazing teens that never would have been encouraged like that had Cory not come and seen the potential in them.
Bob Morris inspires me because not only is he amazing at what he does as God in the drama and ministering to people, but he is such an amazing father figure to not only Janine, but to all of us. It's comforting to know that Bob is around to watch us and make sure everyone is okay.
Lastly, Donna Jean really touched me today (and every other day) because she really is all of our stand-in Mommy while we're 3,000 miles from home. Today during one of the programs, I looked down and all of the sudden I wiped my nose and it was bleeding! I was internally freaking out. But all I had to do was go over to Donna (I didn't even say anything), and she knew exactly what to do. She put aside everything else for like 10 minutes to take care of me. It really touched my heart. I love her and everyone else on the team. They've all become like my extended family.
Although we only have three full days left in Bogota, I know that God has even more amazing things for us. I can't wait! Colombia feels like my second home.

Pictures From Day Three!

 Annie (in the plaid) :)

 Me and Sara and Maria. :)

 We played a game called "I Want My Mummy" where we had to wrap them up in toilet paper!

 Jessica & Cindy

 The view from the back window of the Foundation!

We took tons of pictures on the way back; this is Cory's arm!

Some of the children in the school.

The community that the foundation was in was poor, but still beautiful.

Cuanto Nos Ama Dios!

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Today we went to two sites: a school and the Children's Foundation. At the school, the children had so much fun dancing with us! I met a little girl named Annie; she was just precious. She watched me and copied me all through the dances. I think she was about four. It was really fun to talk to the little kids, because they get so excited. We were having them hold up fingers to tell us how old they were. :) After it was done, the teachers and the children prayed over us and blessed us. So beautiful.
At the foundation, we played games with them and sang songs with them, and they even did a little presentation for us about the countries of the world! Then when Donna Jean and Steve were making balloon animals for them, I spent about 15 minutes talking to this adorable group of little girls. I didn't even need a translator (for most of it)! Although I loved all of them, one girl especially touched my heart. Her name was Sara. I gave her the baby doll that I had been saving for the perfect time. The look on her face when I handed it to her was beautiful. What especially touched me is that she named the baby Maria (the Spanish version of my name) and said that it would always remind her of me. I was so moved. I'll certainly never forget her, or any of the other little ones that I met today. They all touched my heart.

“God isn’t looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him"     -Hudson Taylor

Something that intrigued me was that they all were so excited to hear that we were from Los Estados Unidos (The United States). They asked me if I paid for things in dollars, if I got the doll in America, if there were swimming pools there, and if it was beautiful. I half expected it, but at the same time, it was really surprising.
All of the team members have been so inspiring this week. Everyone has completely laid down everything they have to follow God and to do His work here. I'm learning so much about all of them; they've become my extended family. I can only hope to someday have the same love for God that my team members do.
Tomorrow, we're leaving the hotel at 7 o'clock our time. That's the earliest yet! I'm definitely going to go to bed early tonight. I'm already exhausted.
The count of people who have welcomed Jesus into their hearts it roughly 220 so far. I can't believe that we are changing so many lives! And yet, I feel as though the Colombian people have changed my life even more. I've fallen in love with them and in love with this place.

Skit's Amazing.

This is our skit! Bob Morris (with the beard and white hair) is God, Cory Bradley (the one with the darker beard and buzz-cut hair) is Jesus, Donna Jean Deemer (the one with the long curly hair and yellow shirt) is Eve, Steve Ferrebee (with glasses and a yellow shirt also) is Adam, Jessica Lucas (with long straight black hair) and I (Marie Davison - the one with RED hair) are demons, and Vera Reese (short drak hair and red glasses) and Janis Metzendorf (strawberry blonde hair) together are the Tree of Knowledge and The Cross. :) It really is moving. Sorry that it's all in Spanish though. Tee hee. It's pretty self-explanatory though.

Pictures From Day Two!

 Cory cheesin' it up

 The view in the park! (El Parque Central)

There were lots of kites!



What A Day!

Today was utterly amazing. :) And eventful. First, we woke up and went to breakfast, then we all split into three groups. Donna Jean and Steve went with Pastor B to one church so he could preach. I've heard wonderful things. :) Jess and I went with Cory to another church for Cory to preach, and Reverend Tim and the rest of our team for him to preach here at our home base church. He spoke about healing.
It was an amazing experience to be there with Cory and Jess at the church we went to. Cory spoke about faith, and everyone was so receptive to what he had to say. Two people (possibly four) were saved! Then we brought everyone up and we prayed for every single person who needed prayer. It was amazing! At first it was all three of us praying together for people, then Jess and I broke off to pray for more people. At some point she and I separated and I ended up praying for a bunch of people all by myself. :) It was beautiful to see all of the people moved by the Holy Spirit. A few people even fainted from the power of The Spirit!
They were all so grateful to us. That is something I noticed about this place: everyone is so grateful and affectionate! The people here have a way of making you feel so loved and wanted. Food is definitely the language of thanks and love here. To say thank you, they feed you. It's so funny. We were hugged and kissed all the way out the door!
Then, after lunch, we all went out to the park. It was packed because today is Bogota's Independence Day! Everyone was playing and flying kites. We set up in different places all over the park and did our program three times. It was really powerful! I even got to do the alter call once! It was so fun to dance and to talk to the Colombians. I keep saying that I'm going to end up with an accent by the time we leave.
All in all, today was life changing for a lot of people. About 70 people have been saved since we got here! And we have 5 days left!

New Souls!

Just to keep a record:
Yesterday where were 80 children at the site. 12 of them were saved. New souls!!!! It's so exciting. We will continue to keep records of the total number of people and the number of new souls for Christ.

Pictures From Our First Day

 The view from our hotel

 The Kids!

 Steve got pulled through the "slip 'n' slide"

 Norma being silly next to one of her paintings

Some really cool graffiti we saw on the way back. The city is full of it!

He Turned It Around

Okay, let me just start out by saying that today ended up to be an amazing first day to our "Misión en Colombia" (Spanish for Mission in Colombia). I can truthfully say that the Devil attempted to wriggle his way into our midst today. After a yummy breakfast (with really good jelly), some time outside (being blinded by the sun), and a big big lunch, John decided to head back to the hotel with Tim (who had to preach today) because he was feeling very carsick. That alone was a little upsetting. Another thing that was upsetting was that poor Cory got altitude sickness and ended up going back also, causing us to lose our Jesus and our sound guy for the drama.

However, once we got to the site (a camp for kids in a city named Cota about an hour from Bogota), God took charge for us. :) The children were wonderful. We danced with them, we sang with them, and I got to pick the toys for two girls that I felt compelled to. The one (who had hardly smiled the whole time) couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear. It was beautiful. :)

Another blessing from God came not from a child, but from the woman whose home we were while at the site. Her name was Norma, and she and Jess and I really connected with her. She is an artist! She showed us her paintings, and they were absolutely beautiful! The one took her eight years to paint! I felt so connected to her because we both had a passion for painting. We even did pretty well understanding each other although she only spoke a little English and me and Jess not very good Spanish. I got a lot of chances to practice my Espanol today! Then she introduced us to her daughter Andrea, who spoke English because she is studying to be a cardiologist! We all had a really wonderful conversation with her. Norma even asked Jess and me to stay with them for the week! How sweet! (However, we are not staying with them. Haha.)

We just got back from a completely amazing praise and worship meeting. Cory and Janine played some awesome guitar (plus some beautiful singing from Janine). One song we sang spoke to me especially. It was called "Give Me Your Eyes," and it was extremely appropriate. During it, God revealed to me something really cool: He coordinated this trip for us a long time ago. He set everyone on this team for a specific purpose because of the special and completely unique talents that He placed on the inside of us. This team would not be the same without even one of it's members. That's amazing! I was moved to tears during the worship.

All in all, today was an utterly amazing day. And it was only the start to a life changing week. For everyone.

Good Morning!

This morning was a good one here in Bogota. I think we all slept well and feel ready to go today. We won't be doing the skit until later this afternoon, and in less than a half an hour all of us will be heading up to the forth floor for our first (well, my first) Colombian breakfast. It is there that we will finally speak to Pastor John (the fluent English speaking pastor of the church/bible school) and his wife, Alba to find out what will be the agenda of this fine day and the rest of them. As I type, Jess is still getting ready (looking beautiful!), Donna Jean is constantly reminding us of how much time until breakfast, Janis is journaling, and Vera and Janine are getting dressed. I'm still getting used to the lack of oxygen (I got REALLY winded on the way up the stairs), and we're all still adjusting to our new surroundings, but I'm sure that after a day or two we'll all feel just like home.

These are the pictures that I mentioned in the previous blog titled "A Comedy Of Errors"

A little piece of heaven. :)

A Comedy Of Errors

*This post is late because I was just now able to get Wi-Fi

Saturday, August 06, 2011

1:20 AM

So… We're currently in our rooms at the church in COLOMBIA! The trip went well. No luggage was lost, no people were lost, and it wasn't an absolutely horrible flight. It was beautiful to watch the sunset above the clouds (see pictures). Janine said that it was Heaven must look like, and I agree. The only problem for me is that there have been problems getting Wi-Fi. At the Atlanta airport and on the plane it was available only if paid for. Now, here, there is a network, but we forgot to get the security key from the boys! Nevertheless, we are all here, happy, and completely safe. I would be lying to you if I told you that we all weren't dead tired though. It is currently 1:31 AM Ohio time, and 12:31 AM Colombia time. We have all been very busy today. As for me, I haven't slept but for 10 minutes on the bus ride from the airport. I am pooped!

A few hilarious things that happened to the BCF Missions Team today:

1. Janis had to tell someone that we were all going on vacation, it was very funny to see her try to explain that thirteen people with matching shirts were all going to "see the sites" in Bogota.
2. When all of us girls were looking for the bathroom at the hotel (because we hadn't gone in five hours), we misunderstood the Colombian man's broken English and thought that there was supposed to be a door where there was only a blank wall. Donna Jean walked up to it and said "DOOR?!" It was greeeeat.
3. Once we got here, Jess became quite slap happy, laughing hysterically at almost everything that happened. She still says her stomach hurts from laughing so hard. Her laugh is so cute. :)
4. NONE of the men that helped us to our hotel knew English well, so we spent about an hour floundering up and down the halls looking for things and people, unsure of what we were doing because our helpers didn't know what we were saying!
5. And now, as I type, Jess and Donna are cleaning up the water that they spilled all over the floor from the cooler because Jess tried to get water and it started leaking! Donna Jean's words to Jess: "No more water for you!"

So, although a bit tattered and very tired, we are all safe and EXCITED for what God has for us this week. He came through for us this far, and we only have more miracles to come.

We're On Our Way!

At this very moment, we are all sitting in the small, uncomfortable chairs that accompany the terminals of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. We're waiting for the time to come that we finally walk through the dark tunnel and onto the plane, and we're all finally ready to do so. All of our bags are packed, but more importantly, all of our hearts are ready as well. We've asked the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts so that we are able to pour His love out on the Colombian people, and He has done so. He is still doing so! I can't wait to see the miracles that are bound to occur, whether small or huge. Nothing is too small or large for God. :)

Although a little tedious, our time here at the airport is not at all wasted. Janine and I learned a new song in Spanish! It was really beautiful. What's especially amazing is that such a beautiful song in English can be just as beautiful and powerful in Spanish. Even if you can't understand the words, I feel that songs of worship carry an aura around them, telling everyone in the vicinity that the Lord is present. Worship calls forth the presence of God, and we all feel it's power. We had five people (Me, Donna Jean, Janine, Jess, and Cory) sitting in a little kumbaya circle, singing about the Lord. It was so amazing. I'm so excited to sing our newly-learned song in Colombia. We all know that God's presence and power has no borderlines. :)

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Hallelujah
Holy, Holy are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy
Holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Aleluya, Aleluya
Reinas tu poderoso Dios
Aleluya, Aleluya
Reinas tu poderoso Dios
Aleluya, Aleluya
Santo, Santo
El Señor Dios poderoso
Digno eres Tú, Digno eres Tú,
Tú eres Santo, Santo            
El Señor Dios poderoso
Digno eres Tú, Digno eres Tú,
Amén.

Monumental Steps: Get Out Your Fancy Shoes!

"When you're in a paver, you really can't see what's ahead of you, but when you look behind you, there's nothing but road. You just have to be pushing and going strong and have faith in God."
      -Donna Jean Deemer

Today we held our last prayer meeting before Friday: The Day We Leave. I'm really excited. With everyone that's going, I know that I'll be so loved and protected. I almost cried! It was really beautiful to see everyone so united. During the prayer, I noticed that we were standing in a circle in the shape of a heart. That really spoke to me. Together, we make the heart of God. We were praying that we be shown His will and His heart for the Colombian people, and it showed. Also I noticed that we were not only working through God's heart but that we were connected to each other through His heart. He brought us together for this purpose and he connected us by our hearts.

With only 1 day, 7 hours, 8 minutes, and 30 seconds left, somehow this whole thing seems to have an unrealistic haze. It's hard to believe that I'm going to be leaving the country in that time! I don't think it'll be completely real to me until I actually step on the plane. I feel so unprepared, and yet, I feel like I couldn't be more ready for this monumental step that I'm about to take.

3 days, 5 hours, 54 minutes

As I lie here, I can't help but think about where I'll be this time next week. I keep wondering what it will be like to be so far from America. I grew up here. America is my home. Everyone tells me that we're really lucky here. We have a lot more luxuries here; although I do believe them, I don't think I quite understand what they mean. I'm still Little Miss American Girl, who never had to live without. I've always been under the shelter of my parents and of how great we have it here. In a way, I'm afraid to leave that shelter. In a way, I don't want to see what lies beyond the borders of the ol' U.S. of A. But I also feel an urgency like never before to meet people that are completely different from me and to be somewhere completely different from here. Not only for myself, but for them and for God, too. I feel like I owe it to everyone around me to do this. My missions team, myself, my family, the Colombian people, and to God. I know that if I could just make a significant difference in just one person's life, this whole thing would be worth it. The hours of practice, all the money and help that went into this, and all of the work that not only I put into it, but the work that my friends, family, and donators put into it to get me on that plane. If I could just put a stamp on one person's heart, I can go home happy. But, I know that the reason for all that practice, money, and work was not for ME to make a difference, but for God to make a difference through me. I'm going to start  packing tomorrow, and I'm not just gonna pack my clothes, I'm gonna pack away everything that's gonna distract me from that purpose. Right now, all that matters to me it God's Plan.