After the past two years of waiting and confusion I am finally here on the field in Medellin, Colombia. I am going to combine the past couple of days into this blog because I can’t remember what happened each day but what I do know is that the Lord is moving and I am witnessing it!
Our ministry is way better than I dreamed or expected. I won’t lie when we heard that we were living at a drug rehabilitation center for homeless people, it pushed me outside my comfort zone and I had no clue what to expect. Ciudad Refugio is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. The way the Lord has been so evident in working here and using this place to equip and provide for so many people is insane. Each floor of this building has different uses for ministry. The first floor is a public coffee shop and the wall behind it is the room where people of Medellin who don’t have a home, find one! Walking up to the second floor is the men’s floor, where the people who are passionate about getting back on their floor sleep, work, and get fed! The third floor is used for women wanting the same thing, or needing safe places to stay! On floor four, they use it for both children and families. The kids go to class and learn and the families work here in the building, cooking, cleaning, working in the coffee shop, or helping build the second building! The fifth floor is for volunteers or missionaries, like us, to stay! Not only does this ministry help everyone that I just said, but also on Sundays it is used for a church! Every weekend they host youth events for the local kids to come, stay, learn about the Lord, and be in fellowship with one another. How cool is it that the Lord uses this building in SO many ways to help and bless so many of His children.
The past few days of serving here have looked like this:
Cooking lots of food for the homeless, planning skits and songs for the youth, joining a women’s bible study that is only in spanish and pretending to understand, scrubbing lots of walls, serving in a local women’s ministry, getting my hair braided and unbraided over and over, speaking fluent spanglish, lots of 6:30am cups of coffee, dance parties, english and spanish lessons, vulnerability, deep diving into scripture with my squad, and the sharing of testimonies!
Speaking of testimonies, I have one that I am so excited to share. On Thursday as we were walking back to where we are staying, I caught a glimpse of a man on the street. I heard the Lord speak to me and tell me to pray for him. We walked upstairs to grab something from our room and on the way back down I told the girls that if he was still there we needed to pray for him. As we opened up the door I saw him… walking away. I was disappointed but I felt like it would be terrifying if I ran after him yelling and asking to pray for him. We walked into the coffee shop to eat dinner and as we finished and went outside and there he was. I told two of the girls on my squad that it was time to pray for him. We walk over and start a conversation. We asked to pray over him and he said sure. After we prayed I heard the Lord tell me that he had a headache. We asked him if he needed anything specific he needed prayer for and he said no. We talked for a little longer and he told us he was so grateful that we came and talked to him and that he believes in Jesus. I heard the Lord tell me that his head hurts again and so we decided to ask him if anything was in pain and he pointed to his head. He turned and showed us a semi-opened wound on the back of his head from when he fell down and it left a terrible migraine. We ask to pray over him and as we lay hands on him and pray, he opens his eyes after the prayer and tells us that he no longer has any pain. First of all, WOW. Then he tells us how thankful he is and how good God is. AMEN to that! We later find out that it is his first night to come and stay at Ciudad Refugio. How cool is that, this was his first taste of what this ministry is about! The healing and restorative power of the Lord.
This was just the first of many amazing things to come. I am excited to share more of what we experience for the next couple of weeks, it would be doing yall an injustice if I didn’t share stories about our powerful and loving Father!!
That’s it for now…
I am sure you will be hearing from me soon!
Corryn Scharff<3
I LOVE & MISS YOU SO MUCH! YOU’RE DOING INCREDIBLE THINGS!!!
You are both blessed and a blessing! I love you baby girl!
Back home from my visit East and seeing our baby. Missing you! You sound like you’re doing great. Stay safe and come back to me and Palin. ??
It is amazing to hear how God is working through you!!! I can’t wait to hear many more stories and about the lives you’ve touched. Love and miss you so much girly!! :))