Colombia - ministry with young adults

We're back in Chicago after 2 1/2 weeks in Medellin, Colombia. It's hard to wrap our brains around all that we did and saw when we were in Colombia. Our schedules were so busy, between "working" and visiting people; there was very little downtime. One of the main reasons we went to Colombia was to teach young adults who had come together from Colombia and Ecuador for an intensive 6 week discipleship and leadership school called CBCIPE. We've had the opportunity to participate in previous CBCIPEs in Ecuador and Mexico and it was a dream come true to be a part of the first one in Colombia. This blog post will tell a little more about that experience and the amazing men and women we got to know.

The whole group, minus some of the professors

A group of great friends - Oscar, Pablo, Steven, Johnatan

Julio and I both taught 2 classes a day during the two weeks we were there. Julio taught the courses Evangelism and Theology. I taught spiritual Formation and Children's Ministry. How amazing to be teaching in the areas that we are most passionate about!! The days were long (especially since the first class was at 7:30am!). In addition to the classes, we ate meals with the students, spent time talking with them and praying with them, listening to their testimonies and sharing a common living space. We got to know them well!

Children's Ministry class

Julio's theology class

Lots of group work

Some of the other highlights were a weekend retreat (see separte blog post), cultural nights and the graduation ceremony. Each week a different culture was highlighted during an evening meal. We had food that was typical to that particular region (Ecuador, coast, Antioquia region), a brief presentation of the cultural highlights, and some fun games and activities. We participated in Ecuador night and Antioquia night...soooo much fun. We had everything from videos to pinatas.

The group from Antioquia (so much fun!)

Sweet girls! I loved getting to know Keidy and Bleidy

The graduation night was one of lots of emotions. We cried tears of thankfulness, friendship, and sadness for the goodbyes that needed to be said. God used this group of student to confirm his call on our life to work with young professionals in Colombia. We are so proud of them for the ways God is working in their life and for their openness to serve their churches and communities.
We saw God heal hearts and motivate students to mission. We are so grateful for the time we were able to share with them.