It feels like a lifetime ago that we were in South America, but I didn’t want to leave that continent without a proper recognition of my time there. With this departure marks the beginning of a new season in every way possible. F Squad is changing continents while simultaneously changing teams. That’s right, Colombia was the last month of Fearless Laughter all being together and it was a fabulous month. As per usual, I’d like to re-cap all that happened with a top 11 memories:
1) I know that I’ve mentioned this already, but it’s worth bringing up again because it set the tone for the entire month. We rode across the border to Colombia on a bus. Since the buses had 44 seats and we required 45 to fit our entire squad we were split between two buses. This left space for others to join us on the bus. Sadly, throughout the course of that long bus ride, one squad member had her laptop taken from her backpack and the other had her entire daypack taken from the shelf above the seats. Let’s just say that was a wake-up for all of us to be much more vigilant than we were used to being.
2) Upon arriving at our ministry site, we were told that we could not leave the compound without a Colombian escort. Even within that guideline, they were not keen to let us go outside much at all because Bogota is known to be dangerous. The result was that the compound began to feel like a prison to everyone. I’m not sure we even left to go outside other than a brief 5 minute walk for the first week. Coupled with this was that fact that we were entering month 4. This is typically the month of brokenness meaning that the novelty of the Race begins to wear off and everyone starts having to work through the difficult things with a greater awareness of their uncomfortable circumstances. I supposed it didn’t help that there were 9 of us packed into a room and alone time was pretty much non-existent. While it may have started that way, the month proved to be extremely fruitful in our relationships with the ministry contacts. All we needed was a change in perspective. We had all the necessities.
3) Originally, Fearless Laughter was supposed to be with a different ministry in Colombia as just our team. After learning of a bit of a miscommunication, I was told that we would actually be living with two other teams from the squad: Sozo and Bold Radiance. Thus, Fearless Bozo was born. Since our schedule was quite detailed, I ended up writing it out for three of the weeks and included an image of Fearless Bozo. See for yourself how he developed. While this may have been a joking matter with our combined name, it was one of the biggest blessings to be able to spend time with that bunch. Everyone felt like it was a neat combination of people that was full of laughter and joy, once the obstacle of feeling like a large portion of our freedom was lost in terms of seeing much of Bogota (understandable because of the reputation of the city).
4) Our ministry included many programs in schools but the first week was an exception. The teams rotated between kitchen duty, VBS and construction. To add to this list, we were informed that our first Sunday evening at the ministry site would include a prayer vigil beginning at 7:00 PM and going to 5:00 AM. At 10:00 AM the following morning, we were to have an event with the youth of the church on a day that was supposedly designated as our off day. While the all night prayer session was not required, we were asked to be there until midnight. I’m sure you’re waiting with baited breath so let me just come out and say that we did not end up staying up all night. The rest of the congregation decided that they would only stay up until midnight as well. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief but it demonstrated the theme of the month. Prayer and time with the Lord was an absolute priority with our hosts in a way that we had yet to experience. Our schedule included an hour of individual devotion time as well as group devotion. Both of those hours were a favorite among the teams. I learned to pray differently and to listen to the Lord’s voice in a way that I hadn’t and I am forever grateful for that.
5) One of the girls in the group had a birthday while we were in Colombia. It was decided that pizza would be the dinner of choice because Bella loves pizza. After some discussion we all realized that actually purchasing pizza would be far too expensive but just as our hopes were declining our hosts declared that they loved to make pizza. Little did we know that they used to own a pizzeria!!! The pizza was incredible and felt like even more of a gift because Lucy and Ricardo made it with such love.
6) In Peru, Bold Radiance as well as Whitney and myself, all learned the choreography to a handful of songs for a VBS. Never in our wildest dreams did we suspect that those songs would show up again, especially two months later but they did. This discovery was made on accident when some of the staff put music in to have some background noise. Several of us started doing the dance moves which ultimately morphed into us performing those songs more times than can be counted when we did performances at school. While I’m comfortable with having a break from hearing them for several months, it was awesome to see the Lord use something we had learned in a previous month to improve our ministry in Colombia. We also built up an arsenal of skits to perform for the schools from the Lifehouse Everything skit, the Director skit, as well as many others. Some were extremely fun to act out and gave those who normally do not speak in groups to shine in different and hilarious ways.
Side-note: What’s even funnier about the music is that one of the songs that we danced to an unidentified number of times, “Jesus is my Superhero” was playing at the first event we went to in Japan. Good grief.
7) When I originally composed my top 11 list, I did not include what I’m about to describe because I was nervous to share it. The experience felt like a private one that could raise some skepticism and I bowed to that fear. As per usual, Papa pushed me to include it so hear we go. Let’s just rip the band-aid off and then I can give an explanation. Joe, our former squad coach, told me in Quito that there would be a surprise for me in Colombia. I now know that surprise was speaking in tongues. Yep. I said it. I spoke in tongues and it wasn’t scary. I didn’t feel out of control and I feel like I connected with God in a more intimate way.
Here’s how it started. At the beginning of the month, Esther felt the Lord telling her it was time to have a discussion about tongues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Six people from the group of 19 had spoken in tongues before and they all collectively prepared to share with all of us. Unfortunately, every time the meeting was set it needed to be moved because someone was ill or gone or what have you. On the last night, before everyone packed, we were able to have the meeting. I’ll give you an excerpt from my journal of that day because I think it explains it well:
Rachel spoke so well and with such confidence that was backed up by scripture. After Rach, Ash, Es, Sarah, Derek, and Lizzie gave their testimonies and demonstrated their tongues it was time for the hands-on portion. I went and prayed, asking the Lord to give me a sign, to send someone and about thirty seconds later Rach sat down near me. I turned to her and said, “Let’s do this.” We walked away from the group and she said she would pray in English, then tongues and would walk me through it. She had me say “da,” “ba,” “ma,” and to just keep making sounds…eventually the sounds started to string together to be more like sentences. Before talking to Rach, my tongue had been moving around and loosening. Once I started talking with her, it felt like I had cotton in my mouth but eventually things became clearer. Rachel excitedly said, “You’re doing it. Don’t stop!” We were both laughing joyfully and speaking in tongues together. She left me alone but I wanted more. I went and sat in a corner speaking by myself.
Six other people spoke in tongues that day making the total twelve people. It was absolutely crazy and nothing like what I was expecting. I had heard the discussions all month and felt that the Lord might work in me in that way. Surprise indeed. Here are three major things that I learned and helped change my view of the gift so much:
1) Tongues gives your spirit a voice meaning that when you speak in tongues you are able to hear what your spirit sounds like.
2) Each tongue is unique. The six who had spoken in tongues prior to the discussion all shared a brief snippet and it’s true, they all sound entirely different. Normally, tongues is not meant to be a public thing. If there is an interpreter, then yes. It is more of a connection between you and God. They only let us listen to demonstrate that each voice is different and that they are in control when they use tongues. Nothing crazy was going on, it wasn’t an amped up Holy Spirit night. Our group was just sitting around having a discussion. The point is that gaining the ability to speak in tongues is accompanied by an on/off switch.
3) All prayer is good but using tongues is like having perfect prayer between you and God. The Holy Spirit intercedes for you which is why tongues gives your spirit a voice. Oftentimes, it is used when you do not have any of idea of what to pray.
8) The church that we worked with also had two sister churches in the surrounding area. All together they were Buena Vista, Santa Cecilia, and San Cristobal. One of the evenings, the three came together for a youth event. Throughout the evening some testimonies were shared, a message was given, and words were exchanged but what was extraordinary about it was the worship. Some of the songs were in English while others were familiar but in Spanish. Having gone a while without distinct English worship music, this filled my spiritual love tank to overflowing. Everyone felt like they could let loose and lift their praises to the Lord. It was incredible. Something we’ve all learned is that we have to be intentional about filling ourselves up because most of our days are spent pouring out. Having spent the better part of four months leading services and listening to everything in Spanish, even a hint of English was a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Papa, for that night.
9) On one of our off days, six of us decided we wanted to visit the first wonder of Colombia: the Salt Cathedral. It lives 180 meters underground and is part of an enormous salt shelf. Miners even constructed crosses, similar to a Via Dolorosa much like the one in Jerusalem of the walk Jesus took carrying his cross. The lighting was spectacular and bounced off the walls in an eerie yet beautiful way. Our tickets included a light show that began with animated butterflies. Hehe. We also ate popcorn because why not? Popcorn 180 meters underground? Sounds great. Finally, we were able to do a mining tour where we experienced complete darkness and even got to use a pick-axe to chip away some of the salt. At the conclusion of that tour, the guide asked one of the people in our group to set off some dynamite. She even showed us where we would be setting it off. Well, we were gullible. This supposed explosion was a fake because they simply played the sounds of an explosion. Disappointment and embarrassment make a remarkable combination for morale. Great day, truly.
10) Fasting is a spiritual discipline that I’ve always been leery of because I’ve never wanted to do it for the wrong reasons. This month I felt the most definitive leading by God to do a fast. My thoughts had become chaotic and had lost focus for what He wanted that the idea was presented as a way to re-set. Ultimately, it would help me re-focus. I also felt strongly that it would need to be about 48 hours. I do not bring this up as a way to make myself look better because fasting is typically supposed to be a private thing between you and the Lord. My purpose is to say that it is hard but always a great way to induce brokenness in your life. When you are hungry and know you still have 24 hours to go, the only place you can turn for strength is God. It helped me immensely to be focused on things above and not on Earthly matters. This felt like a spiritual step forward for me because I now see fasting for what it is and the benefits it can have in building intimacy with God.
11) This seems to be a reoccurring theme during my time on the Race but I would not do this month justice if I did not mention the incredible people that we did life with while in Bogota. Our next door neighbor was a cute old woman who was often confused. She would walk up to us, hold our hands, and say we were hers. Kind of funny, kind of not. Our hosts were incredible people. Lucy and Ricardo mainly run the ministry and their daughter Lucy and might-as-well-be daughter Mandy help tremendously. I wish there were words to describe how much I love these four. Lucy and Ricardo felt like parents while Laura and Mandy felt like sisters. We also had an amazing cook for the whole month, Aurora, who brought so much joy just by her presence. They made the month so special and offered the most challenging set of good-byes I’ve experienced thus far. In order of appearance and left to right: Lucy, Laura, Mandy, Ricardo, and Aurora.
What a month and a great one to spend with Fearless Laughter. As I said, not only did Colombia mark our last country in South America, it marked the last country with our original teams. Team changes are an inevitable and necessary part of the World Race but that does not make us really like them. Ultimately, it gives us all new perspectives to help continue our growth rather than growing complacent. As it stands, our team was split in two. Shannon, Rocky, and Meg are now all on Team Kairos while Tina, Whit, and myself are on Team Boxcar. I will never forget how incredible those first four months of the Race were with this group of women who laugh fearlessly. They changed my life for the better and I know we formed lasting friendships. Here’s to the new season!
