Countdown Begins

In two weeks, I'll be waking up in Bogota.

In two weeks, I'll have to get used to showering with warm water again.

I'll have to get used to the hustle and bustle of the city.

No more naps after lunch.

No more mosquitos (which I've become immune to).

No more flipflops and board shorts.

Sigh. How bittersweet it will be.

This week we're getting ready for the annual medical brigade that is being held in a riverside community called Macedonia.

There 3 teams involved: US, Cali, and Bogota.

We will also have several police officers, doctors from Leticia, and many other people from different positions in government here come along for the week long brigade.

We leave the 24th (Sunday) and come back on the 29th (Friday).

Then I have 2 more days in the city that I've come to fall in love with.

Now, as we prepare the logistics for the brigade, CONFRATERNIDAD is taking place a few blocks from the YWAM base.

It is an event with one purpose: showing different cultural aspects of the 3 countries that come together in Leticia-- Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.

Political borders are forgotten as all come together to celebrate the unity of the three very different cultures.

BUT, it's not as sweet and nice as it sounds.

People come together to drink.

That's really what it's all about.

Leticia's youth takes advantage of the darkness night provides and the huge attracted by the event to go out and party like there's no tomorrow.

Tourists are known to come during this time of year for one reason alone: prostitutes.

It is during this time that prostitution rises up from being an "underground business" to something known by the tourists walking the streets of the city.

And the fights.

Fights to the death.

Fights encouraged by the alcohol in one's system.

They fight because they think their country is better.

They fight because they believe that Leticia should belong to their country.

They fight out of pure stupidity.

You know what scares me the most?

When in the middle of the night, you hear loud bangs from the corner of the street. One shot is enough to know that a drive-by has taken place. One shot is enough to get you on your knees and leads you to pray for protection like never before.

This is Confraternidad.

Borders may be forgotten.

But differences definitely aren't.

So I ask that you pray.

Pray for everything that is going on this very second and what will be taking place next week in Macedonia.

Pray for protection over the people in the festival...pray that the Lord gives them a clear mind, despite the alcohol, so that the choices they make aren't too influenced by the 20 something beers they drank.

Pray that the girls be kept safe. That God works in the hearts of the tourists and the locals and helps them see that their biggest desire is for Him alone. And that's the one desire they should really follow.

Pray that we keep our eyes on Jesus, in the midst of the chaos all around us.

Heavenly Father, You are good. May we fix our eyes on You like Moses did when he lead your people out of Egypt. Your Word shows that it was because he kept his eyes on You that he felt no fear. Be the center of our lives. Help us let go of everything else and hold on to You alone. May what we do and say be influenced by the love that we experience from You each and every day. Above all, Lord, may your will be done. Amen.