My Eyes Have Seen
Witnessing God at Work in Medellín, Colombia
A verse God has been putting on my mind this summer is Romans 10:14-15: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
Our world is desperately seeking love, and we try to fill the empty spaces with all the wrong things. So many people need guidance toward a love that never fails and will never forsake them. It is our calling as Christians to send and then preach the Gospel so people can hear the Good News and call on Christ; until the Lord returns, our mission will never be complete.
As part of the internship with OMS, 5 interns spent 10 days in Medellín, Colombia, learning about and serving with the ministries and missionaries partnering with OMS.
God used the trip to bless me in unbelievable ways and point my feet in the direction he wants me to take in the future.
The people on my team, those we met at IGLEICO (an OMS-founded denomination), Óscar and Rodolfo, who were our translators for the week, OMS missionaries John and Holly Brower, the OMS Embarkers, the translators at English camp … all blessed me so much. While I was there to serve and bless them, their kindness for others and heart for the Lord blessed me.
During the trip, we witnessed the power of God organizing every minute detail behind the scenes. There are so many stories to tell because the wonders of God are infinite. I relate to what John said in his Gospel about the works of Jesus “I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
Our visit to a prison with Prison Fellowship demonstrated God’s power. Details for our visit were not going as planned; we were going, then something came up and we couldn’t. Then, we were going again. That morning, one of the Prison Fellowship workers who was supposed to help drive us got into an accident, one of the translator's names was not on the list, so we had to wait outside of the prison.
As we waited, we prayed.
While we prayed, a man approached us, saying I needed to pray with him so he could become a Christian. I was completely shocked and didn’t know what to do at first, so Heather told me to just pray while Óscar translated. After we finished praying, the man looked at me with teary eyes and said he knew he was saved.
Later, he told us God had told him that morning to “let go” and pray with someone in a white shirt, which I was wearing that day, even though I intended to wear green.
During evangelism with a local church on Thursday, we experienced a microcosm of the ups and downs of the mission field. That morning, those we talked to were eager and willing to listen to us, and one man accepted Christ!
When we went back out after lunch, we were tired, the sun was hot, and we worked in a neighborhood with people who were unreceptive. We had to remember that even though we were not seeing results, God was planting seeds and working in the silence.
In addition to seeing God work through our obedience, God also used our specific gifting to minister in Colombia.
On Tuesday, we visited IGLEICO to hear about their ministry. Afterwards, they asked us to make a video to invite their 688 churches to celebrate their 80th anniversary in August. We talked about the vision for the video, and I got to write the script. The team, including the translators, were in the video.
Friday and Saturday, we organized and ran an English camp as a thank you for the work the translators in Medellin do for OMS and other ministries.
Using games such as Jenga and telephone and teaching sessions, we worked with translators to improve their already advanced English.
I got to teach a session about prayer using the attributes, characteristics, and names of God. During this time, many people confirmed that God could use my passions and skills in ministry and on the mission field.
English Camp on Friday and Saturday sparked my desire to teach even more. It showed me how much I love it and love thinking about my native language well so I can clearly communicate the concept.
God is doing great things in Colombia and all around the world of OMS. It was such a blessing to witness and participate in God’s work. Please pray for the missionaries and OMS national coworkers in Colombia as they serve him. Ask God to encourage and grow the churches. Finally, ask the Lord for more laborers as the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.
By Hannah Kemper, Summer 2023 OMS Communications Intern