DAY 5 - INTO EGYPT

Hey it's Dani.

Today we went to a school called Camino a la Cima where we did some more teaching and learned a lot from the students about Colombian Culture and since many of them knew English very well we taught them about Canada.  They put on a presentation of different Colombian dances and we then got to sing a couple of songs for them.

After lunch we went to a neighborhood called Barrio Egipto where we helped out at a children's ministry. Some of the people in this neighborhood as well as Sheila and Miss Lockhart told us about what this place was like in the not so distant past. They described the neighborhood as a dark place full of violence and poverty, but what I saw today was a place transformed by the love of God. A few years ago there was only the children's ministry, a safe place for kids to play and learn about Jesus. Now there is also a workshop for men, where they can learn wood working skills and use them, another place for women where they learn to sew and make woven rugs. Both of these places are Christian ministries that have changed many lives.

Additionally, many of the gang members decided they wanted to leave the life of violence that they were leading and are instead giving tours of the neighborhood to people. We took one today and learned a lot about the amazing transformation of this community, most of which has happened in the past couple of years. Though this is not a Christian community I have complete faith that God will bring these men to himself soon.

I am very excited for tomorrow and all of the new lessons to be learned.