Bogota, Colombia
YWAM Base
Entering the last week of classes...
Thank God!

It has been one hard school--three months of stones and walls to climb over (if I don't want to fall down). (It has been an emotional NIKO, the survival camp.) I almost have fallen several times, but God has been faithful to help me through and provide an out to give me just the strength I need to make it through the dark night. And joy comes in the morning!

It has been a challenging school from the week leading up to the start to the end. I have made friends and am learning to love people that do not understand me or are able to at present. I have received many tools to guide me and help me form a ministry based on the needs of the children to give them the love of the Father, and have suffered through some classes (because I either didn't understand, agree, or was just dealing with other problems and struggling to participate). I have reconciled with my friend Josué and encountered a difficulty with my friend Cecy. In every decision, every day, the Lord has shown Himself real to me.

I have had oportunities to minister and be ministered to. I have cried over sin, over past hurts, over my dad's sickness. I have worked through some wounds and found healing in Christ. I have read 10 books that have taught me more about leadership, children, ministry, and the Father-heart of God. I am creating a project that the Lord is developing in me to enable wounded children to express themselves through poetry to lead to inner healing and a closer knowledge of God.

The month of June I will be in a ministry to observe and apply what I have learned. Pray with me that the Lord leads me to the best location for me and what I want to do, in working locally with the community as well as in education.

It is very cold here as always, and I always appreciate the moments of sun. I struggle with the altitude, one reason that I have not felt well here. I long for Iquitos and its warmth--and my room and bathroom and bed! I know it was God's will that I complete this school, but living with 10 (very different) girls in one room, and being with them plus the one guy for 3 months straight has been difficult. Plus the director of the ministry hasn't been around much, and the director of the school has been another challenge--the way she has run the school, and there is no other staff (there's no team).

Thank you for your support, financially and prayerfully--for me as I finish this next month and make decisions afterward, and for my dad's health and all my family. These last two weeks have been really tough, but God has carried me in His peace and rest. I am grateful for His power and leading in my life.