MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This past year has flown by and these past few months have been a whirlwind of transition and even more is yet to come! Since August 2015 I have gotten engaged, helped lead a church youth retreat and high school mission trip, taught 7th graders and help them lead a service day, and have spent any free time I've had to prepare for a wedding and searching for things needed to live in an apartment after the January wedding with my HUSBAND.
In October the youth group at my church went to a small colonial town three hours outside of Bogota in the mountains where we had a 3 day retreat. I was asked to lead a small group and we called ourselves los latingos (latino and gringo "north american" in one) I led bible studies and we had a fun time getting to know each other and encourage each other in our faith in Christ.
Foundation FormaVida
I say husband because we are now legally married by the Colombian government but won't consider ourselves married until after our wedding with a pastor (that's the custom for Christians in Colombia)
So yes I am married but we still have yet to become one/live together which will happen after the bigger wedding ceremony here in Bogota that some of my family and friends will come down for! Please pray for their travels and that everything goes smooth! We have seen the hand of God in all of this. He has blessed us beyond anything we imagined especially by getting legally married (which usually happens in a local notary) on the beach of Colombian (where Edwin is from) December 22, 2015! I never thought I would've gotten married on the beach!
Finally I'm in a place where I can (kind of) rest. So I want to share a little with how the semester ended with church, ECA, and the foundation.
Campamentol (Youth group retreat)
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| Los Latingos |
Futuro Juvenil
In November I and a fellow ECA teacher led a mission trip to an orphanage a couple hours outside of Bogota with 3 ECA high school girls. There are about 30 kids at the orphanage ranging from ages 5-18. It's set up like a camp where the kids have house moms and there are different houses for different ages. Our girls led games, crafts, and devotionals with the orphans there. I was able to sit down with a 17 year old girl and she explained to me how God has given her a second chance because she grew up in the orphanage, ran away and experienced some awful things, went back and didn't think they would allow her back in. (They don't allow kids back in especially if they're getting older and put them on a waiting list) She said there was another family before her on the waiting list but for some reason they let her in before them. She was amazed and said at that point she realized just how much God loves her and wants to live a life for Him. Praise the Lord!
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| Decorating Journals |
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| helping out with the craft at the orphanage |
I finished my last day of the year at the foundation December 15. For the past month I had been helping Laura (one of the leaders at the foundation) translate videos and emails/documents helping her prepare her time in the states where she's at right now sharing their vision of adding a multipurpose basketball/soccer/volleyball court to draw youth from the community to the church and eventually to Christ. The kids in the foundation are still as cute as ever and I was able to help 10th grade ECA students celebrate Christmas with the kids at the foundation where we gave them new toys for Christmas. It makes my heart so happy seeing high schoolers take ownership of serving and sharing the love of Christ!
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| 10th grade ECA handing out presents to kids at the foundation! |
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| Celebrating my birthday at the foundation! |
What's Next?!
I'll be going back to work at the school until June and foundation in 2016 with the thought of this being my last semester at ECA and working full time up at the foundation after June/July 2016. With that being said I would also like you to hear from my husbands heart what he will be doing this next year while finishing up his studies in mechanical engineering:
When I started college I got involved with the Christian ministry Generaciones con Proposito (Gerneations with Purpose -- Campus Crusade) where a group of college students preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fellow classmates. Together with them I learned many things like preaching on college campuses to fellow classmates and how to live for Christ in college. Also, it was an instrument God used to help me deepen my faith in Him. After some time I became the leader of my college group. I worked in that position for about 3 years and I saw many students confirm their faith in Christ and others come to know Christ! Right now I feel God has called me to continue to work with Campus Crusade but in a full time position. What I will be doing starting next year after raising sufficient support is be in charge of three universities, training and equipping the leaders of each of those groups and discipling students. We are also praying for and look at ways to expand this ministry to other colleges where there is no Christian campus ministry.
When I started college I got involved with the Christian ministry Generaciones con Proposito (Gerneations with Purpose -- Campus Crusade) where a group of college students preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fellow classmates. Together with them I learned many things like preaching on college campuses to fellow classmates and how to live for Christ in college. Also, it was an instrument God used to help me deepen my faith in Him. After some time I became the leader of my college group. I worked in that position for about 3 years and I saw many students confirm their faith in Christ and others come to know Christ! Right now I feel God has called me to continue to work with Campus Crusade but in a full time position. What I will be doing starting next year after raising sufficient support is be in charge of three universities, training and equipping the leaders of each of those groups and discipling students. We are also praying for and look at ways to expand this ministry to other colleges where there is no Christian campus ministry.
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| Edwin with some of GP students |
Since we are both in missionary positions, we’re praying and trusting God to provide people who will prayerfully give financially to us as we work for the kingdom together as a married couple. After getting married in January we’ll be working in our separate ministries; I’ll continue working with ECA and the foundation FormaVida and Edwin finishing his studies and with Campus Crusade. We have the same Kingdom purpose: to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. We’ll still try and find ways to help and support each other in our ministries. Will you consider giving to Edwin and me as a couple? My budget has been $550/month as an individual, and Edwin and I still need $450 more per month to reach a goal of $1000/month to live here in Colombia.
The easiest way to give is by clicking here to go to the RCE website (a 501(c)(3) tax deductible charitable organization)
All you need to do is fill out the information and choose one-time, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
If you have any further questions about what we are doing, feel free to email me. (alliemitchell23@gmail.com) We would love to hear from you!
Some specifics we're needing and praying God will provide for the apartment are: a bed, washer/dryer, and furniture (couch, dining room table, etc.) If you would like to make a donation/wedding gift for those specific things you can also do it through RCE and add a note in the "Personal Note" spot. Thanks for being such a blessing in my life and for following me in my adventures of serving the people here of Colombia! I pray that God continues to bless you!!
