I have always wondered what it would be like to be used by God to help someone come to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. A wonderful thing happened during the mission trip sponsored by The Fellowship to Bogota, Colombia, recently. Speaking Spanish is second nature to me, and it was my second year going to Bogota, where we partner with an organization called Conviventia that works with families in poverty or homelessness. This Christian institution provides daycare for preschoolers as well as elementary, middle school and high school and opportunities for special needs children.
Our team, six adults and four recent high school graduates, was guided by two excellent Conviventia representatives and a bodyguard for the week we were in Bogota. The day after we arrived was Sunday and we participated in worship followed by park evangelization in the afternoon. On Monday, there was a Conviventia family event for the coming daycare school year. The kids danced and sang and ran all over the event center while the workers continued their program for the parents. Some of the adults attending have family members affected by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, but they still managed to smile and share love and hope for their children.
The next few days were filled with visits to the high school and to homes of individual families. At the God Is Love High School, we played games with Biblical purposes, heard a gospel lesson, and passed out candies and small Christian gifts for the students and staff. During the family visits, we engaged in conversation, shared the word of God, and went to the grocery store to buy food for them. Our last day was on-site at a Christian facility that provides support to pregnant women. It provides medical care as well as supplying necessities. We participated in an event for young mothers and their children, another huge blessing.
During the week, I saw one of The Fellowship team leaders, obviously filled with the Holy Spirit, capture the students’ attention and facilitate their saying “yes” to Jesus. I watched our high school graduates draw the curiosity and interest of the Colombian high schoolers while fearlessly sharing the gospel and their testimonies. Little did I know God would use me also!
On Tuesday, I asked if our bodyguard had children because I had brought bracelets to gift to kids. Our representatives did not know because the bodyguard talked very little; instead, he was just constantly observing. The next morning, I approached him and he chose some bracelets for his kids.
At dinner, there was no other place for him to sit but by me. I believe this was God’s plan. The guard started asking how it was that the youth in our group knew so much about God. He shared that he had been praying for 10 years for God to use him. He was ready to serve the Lord but was frustrated because he felt God did not hear his prayers. I told him God hears all of our prayers. Then I asked him if he reads the Bible, goes to church, or knows that we have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, that He died for our sins and rose again?
“No,” he said. Then he told me about being adopted when he was an infant and the negative emotions that have followed him through life. There was no one for him at his high school graduation! Then he related his amazement at the peace we have in our group. I shared that God gives us Bible verses that help us walk with Him.
On my phone, I shared two verses with him: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18) and Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). He read them and requested prayer from our team. As soon as we got back to the hotel, the team gathered to do exactly that. The next day at dinner, he sat with one of the Conviventia representatives and prayed the salvation prayer! What a wonderful God we serve!
On our last day, the bodyguard came and sat next to me in the lobby. He told me about going home and sharing his decision for Christ with his girlfriend. “Would you like to do the same?” he asked her. She said, “I have to think about it!” I told him we would all be praying and waiting to see what God does.
On Saturday our team flew back to Houston. When we arrived back at our church, our pastor said he had something to share with us. It was a picture of the Conviventia representative, the bodyguard and his girlfriend at church (which has services on Saturday as well as Sunday). We did not have to wait long to see the results of the Lord at work! All glory be to our mighty God! What a blessing that He used an ordinary person like me!
July 19, 2026
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;
yet do it with gentleness and respect.
I Peter 3:15
