God blesses Diane and Gary at the end of language training

If you know Gary well, you might find yourself describing him as organized or motivated or determined. In the last handful of years, his family and close friends have also come to see him humbled by God's design and reflective about what that means to him, his life and his purpose. Here is an example of how that looks in his ministry as they finished up two months in language school.  

The last two days of our visit to Medellin have been amazing! And very much a blessing as they come at the end of two long long months filled with homesickness and bouts with doubt.

We felt discouraged after the eight weeks of school. Diane and I spent time talking with each other and wondering if it was even worth it trying to learn Spanish. But both yesterday and today in Bella Vista and Pedregal Prisons, we were speaking our broken Spanish to the volunteers, pastors, and the inmates. We were quickly reminded that these are the people we came to learn Spanish for. And they are very forgiving and helpful when we make mistakes. Many of them know some English so there is an exchange of both languages that is good for all of us. 

We have been learning about the APAC program during our last two visits here in Medellin. It stands for Association for the Protection and Assistance of Prisoners. We are very impressed with it and how it is used to help reintegrate the prisoners into society. We are still learning the details of how they roll this out in the community, but we understand  that there is a heavy emphasis on Christianity and a belieft that change of heart leads to a changed person. Other strong emphases include work ethics, moral standards, as well as learning a trade to earn money when they are released.  We hope with the help of the Lord we can take this program to Honduras.

Over the last couple of months, we have questioned why we were called to Colombia. This program here has been the model for prison reform with Christianity as the central theme for many years. I find myself thinking there seems to be nothing we can do for them. Then God reminds me that my ways are not His ways. And today, as happens each time we enter a prison here in Colombia, we were thanked profusely for coming. Just being there. Just showing up. Just showing interest and enthusiasm and support. And I am reminded that we didn't get sent here by anyone but God. His plan. His purpose.

It happens in Honduras too. It is hard for us to imagine how important it is to those in prisons that someone from the United States would visit. We now can speak a little bit to them too. And that seems to mean so much. They don't judge us if we use the wrong verb tense. They are just happy we are trying. And honored to host us and share with us.

So in the coming months we will be trying to learn more about the APAC program and praying that the Lord will use us to get it integrated in the prisons of Honduras. It seems like a big project, but we remember that nothing is too big for our God and ALL of this has been His idea from the start.