This morning we actually got to sleep in! We were scheduled for breakfast at 9:30AM, which gave us a little extra sleep. And the McCollums and Carrie Bergmann joined us for breakfast. The food was good but the spiritual conversation we had afterwards was really good. Tom had us share things we took away from our time in Colombia, what God had taught us, how we will be changed when we go back, and any specific things we would like prayer for. It was encouraging to hear team members tell stories that some of us had never heard about. Especially from those who had been on this trip last year and the year before, those who experienced Bogotá for the first time this year, and some who had Colombia as their first mission trip experience.
One thing that kept popping up throughout our discussion and processing of the trip was the fact that we all saw our team come together as the body of Christ. Bob McCollum pointed out that our team had a wide age span, from 19 years old to 76 (maybe older but the work these elderly men accomplished made their age seem contradictory), yet we all used our gifts and abilities to serve in any and every way possible.
The apostle Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 12:12-20:
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body."
We needed each other as a team. The gardening team could not have accomplished the work they did if it wasn't for some members shoveling/moving dirt, transplanting plants, mixing/pouring cement, and neither could the apartment team go out to work on the missionaries apartments if there were not members working on the projects at the school. And a big hats off to the alarm crew, as they worked hard to set everything up and in the end it didn't work the way they thought it should, but they gave it their all and learned a thing or two about being patient in the process too. (Altogether I feel like our "body" was made up with a few extra funny bones, but every body is unique ;)
Our flights home went smoothly, which was an answer to prayer, as the whole East coast was shut down due to weather. We made it back with all of our luggage and were greeted by some very excited family members and friends.
However, it is certainly a transition for each one of us on the team, as we process this past week, continue back on with our daily working lives and try to figure out how the changes that took place in us in Colombia affect our lives now. It can get easy to just be sucked back into our "normal lives," but God has called each of us to be in the world but not of it: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."Romans 12:2
Final prayer requests:
*Ronnie as she still has a traveling day by herself tomorrow
*The team, as we process everything and share with everyone what God has taught us
*The McCollums, as they continue to follow God's will and grow as a family and Bob as he has surgery this coming Tuesday
*Carrie Bergmann, as she looks at what God has for her at ECA this next school year
*Team members as they follow God with future plans and continue to lean on Him when all those unknowns crowd out the Truth
*Opportunities God has for us to present/talk about out trip
Words really cannot do justice in capturing all the laughter and learning that took place on this trip. Guess you'll have to go to Bogotá yourself next year to understand ;) God truly blessed our team, and in return we not only blessed El Camino, the McCollums, Carrie, but we blessed each other and those we came into contact with. Stan mentioned a quote from pastor Colin this morning at devotions, which seemed very applicable to many of us on the trip, "Sometimes you need to slow down before you go around the corner." God brought us all together for this trip, but I believe He used it to slow some of us down and take a look at our lives and where they are going. Now comes the obedience in still moving forward around the corner, and that takes T-R-U-S-T. But God is trustworthy and even though there are many good places to be, the best place to be is where God calls you to be. "Adios" in Spanish means good-bye, but many of the staff at El Camino told us "hasta luego" when we left because that means "see you later." Lord willing we will all be able to return, but the common thread of Christ at the center of our lives means we will all spend eternity together. May we all continue to spread God's love and see the Gospel move in our broken world. Amen!
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