Thank you Jesus for your presence with us.

July 23

In the morning we held the hands of so many AIDS infected children and our hearts broke for them. These children may have had parents and they may have been orphans. They were desperate for affection. Although they had AIDS, a disease that leaves them an outcast in society, they touched our hearts. Two of them had cerebal palsy as well.

One of the girls with cerebral palsy had more joy then I can express. She would love for you to hold her hands and smile at her. Each smile was a breath of fresh air to me, something that I feel is so hard for me to grasp. Each time she smiled I felt as if God reached down from heaven and filled me with joy. I loved every moment.

After that we went to a nursing home and it blessed us so much. During the program some of the elderly woman responded. Afterwards, they were so thankful for our presence that they couldn't stop kissing and hugging us. I was so blessed to love on so many elderly men and woman and see their hearts and see God's presence in their eyes. We prayed for so much healing afterwards for them. It seemed every second we turned to go another person wanted prayer.

After that we left to go back to the church for an "Alive on location." It was so special because we were working with a church in Subachoque. That night it was so much fun. The Colombians were going crazy in their worship. Many of them were jumping up and down to Tomalo (Take it All) and praising our great God. I was so surprised to see what God did. Our hearts were broken by the message and the truth in God's word. Every person on our team really got a touch from God and His beautiful grace. He really helped us with our struggles and taught us something beautiful.

When we got back to our host home we had a fun party for Kyle. We prayed for him and ate really good cake.

July 24

We went on a HUGE "WALK"(up a mountain). Our legs and feet were extremely tired but I was so happy to be a part of a team of encouragement and cheer. We went through the long, treacherous mountains of Subachoque. It was very hard but extremely beautiful. I was so thankful for this walk because we got to see a glimpse of God's beauty. In Colombia we've always been in the mountains but it was so cool to just take a hike to just look at the beauty.

Afterwards we split off to go to a concert and to a movie that we were running. What a great experience!

At the concert God's glory and majesty fell on our people. Sarah Gunter said, "I've never in my life felt the Holy Spirit more thick," and KOG said, "The Holy Spirit really moved through me there." It was so great to hear the awesome stories and things God did that night. It seemed that everyone got a taste of God's presence.

At the movie we watched a funny Christian comedian. This event had the purpose of encourging and building up families in the community. Although we couldn't understand what the commedian was saying, since it was in Spanish, we all got to share one liners about things that have hurt us in our families. God really came on us as we talked. I was so surprised to see God touch our hearts by just sharing the pain and then the healing of Christ.

July 25

Each team split up into different churches to run church services. It was so cool, KOG, Miguel, and Megan each got to preach from their heart. Each one of these churches got a taste of our heart for God.

The churches each had a sincere heart for God. It was amazing to me to be a part of such a movement in Colombia in a little local church. As we worshiped and preached and loved we each were touched by the Colombians who did the same for us. Each one of us could feel the heart and presence of a Colombian worshiper and are brought to such a place with God.

All of these little local churches are really going after Jesus and reaching their towns. I am so thankful for the encouragement they bring to our team and our hearts.

We love Colombia!

written by amber (: