Our Colombia Mission Trip...how it all began

It's so hard to believe that we have been back from Colombia for 3 days now.  How is the trip that we were planning so long for, is already over?  It feels like just yesterday we were first telling people about it and raising our support.  From the moment that we felt the Lord leading us to go to Colombia with E3 Partners, we knew this was His will for us.  Justin and I have talked about going on a mission trip together from when we first started dating.  After the Lord brought us together, it didn't take long for us to know He was calling us to marriage.  So after a wedding, and settling into married life, we started talking about going on a mission trip again.  For those of you who don't know, I love foreign missions.  I spent 2 years in Central Asia as a missionary and loved it.  Justin has a huge heart for Evangelism.  The man has a gift that is so evident to me.  He is passionate about sharing the Gospel and it is something that has drawn us together.  After praying about where to go for our mission trip, we did a lot of research and just didn't know where or what we should do.  We knew we wanted to go somewhere where sharing the Gospel was the central part of the trip.  After a friend introduced us to E3 partners and told us about his experience, we started to do some research.  Sharing the Gospel and Evangelism was the entire purpose of the trip so we were drawn to it immediately.  We also heard some great things about the team leader and his leadership so we began to pray about going to Colombia to join their team.  Another reason why we were drawn to this organization is because they partner with local churches there and emphasize growing the Churches and doing follow up.  It was extremely strategic.  You don't just go to random neighborhoods, share the Gospel, and leave and no one ever sees these people again.  The churches there are very intentional about following up with all the people we talk to.  After much prayer, talking to wise counsel, and Justin having many conversations with the team leaders, we knew the Lord was leading us to this trip.   We then started raising our financial support and the Lord provided all our funds more quickly than we could ever have imagined!  The Lord was definitely at work!  We began praying, preparing, and packing....and before we knew it, July 2nd was here and we were on our way....

to be continued...