Colombian Christian Mission

From Dashed Dreams to a Rebirth of Hope

She attending Colegio Peniel for her primary & secondary education. I taught her English classes throughout grade school and she was a very good student. Her family was extremely poor and her only hope for study had been the scholarship that American Christians had provided for her. She graduated from our Colegio Peniel last year with excellent grades but an uncertain future. Because of the desperate economic situation of her family, her chances for continued study were non-existent. If she does not attend college, as a girl here in Colombia, opportunities for any decent employment are extremely slim.

We had no money available to offer her a scholarship. Against impossible odds, her mother had made tremendous sacrifices and Liced began college last year, fulfilling her own dreams and in doing so, she became the hope for her whole family. If she could make it through and get a decent job, then she could help all of her younger brothers and sisters as well as her aging mother. She did very well in her first year of college. But as the second year approached, her mother simply could not raise the money needed for her second year tuition. It appeared that all of her dreams were to be dashed and with them the hopes for her whole family would come to tragic end.

But God works in amazing ways. On my last trip to Villavicencio, I asked about buying some tamales, which are a local delicacy, so my American visitors Paul and Dewayne could try them. They told me that Liced’s mother had been making them for church events and she did a very good job. This was during the week and she had none available, but I left word that next time she made tamales to let me know and because I would like to buy some. This weekend is a holiday weekend in Colombia. The 20 de Julio (20th of July) holiday is like our 4th of July as it is the day they celebrate as their independence day. Liced and her mother had made tamales and were coming to Bogotá to visit family. They called and asked if I would like them to bring me some. I jumped at the chance and placed my order.

When they arrived here in Bogotá with the tamales, we chatted for a while as I have known this family for nearly twenty years. I asked about Liced’s studies and they told me about their situation and that Liced was going to have to drop out. I knew that we had no money in the scholarship fund but her situation touched my heart and immediately after they left I emailed Susy to see if we could possibly help her out of our general fund. We decided that it would be very difficult but that we should help as it was the right thing to do. I called Liced and her mother and told them to stop in again on their way back to Villavicencio.

When they arrived, we chatted a bit and then I informed them that we were going to cover Liced’s college tuition this semester. The news came as a surprise and a pleasant shock. After a moment of stunned silence, Liced let out a squeal of delight and then settled into a mixture of tears and giggles as she tried repeatedly to speak but was unable to do so. Since she could not find the words to express her thanks, she jumped up and gave me a big hug as she sobbed on my shoulder. She was simply overwhelmed by a renewal of her shattered hopes and dreams.

Next week, she will begin classes she thought had been out of reach. Her gratitude and appreciation are for all of you who help us and share in this ministry of love and outreach here in Colombia. It is my pleasure to share one girl’s excitement and appreciation with each one of you who has shared with us in this work. May God bless you as He has blessed me in this opportunity to make a big difference in one young girl’s life!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We only support as many college students as we can find sponsors for. We usually only have the funds to sponsor 3-4 students (depending on their tuition costs). If you would like provide a bright future for a young Colombian Christian and their family fill in the coupon below.

College costs generally run about $100 per month on average, we have some students that have cheaper tuition and some that have much higher tuition.

Updating Files

We just finished upgrading our donor tracking software this summer. The new software will make it much simpler to keep track of contributions, newsletters, and speaking dates. It was a summer filled with frustration and long hours, but I finally finished. Since we imported the last 10 years of information your address may have accidentally been imported improperly and we may have lost some information. If you notice that your address is wrong or you name is misspelled let me know. We may have also lost a few names or addresses, so if you used to get the newsletter in the mail and no longer do, let us know. If you would like to receive your newsletter via e-mail send us your e-mail address: (SusyMorris@ccmon-line.com)

Colegio Peniel Scholarships

We still have 25 students that need sponsors so if you or your Sunday School class or Bible study would like to support a student let us know. Cost is $204 for a student.

Work Crew 2008

Who - Anyone who wants to participate in this exciting adventure and help further the work in Colombia.

What - A week or two in Colombia doing some kind of building project to help one of the local churches.

When - January or February of 2008 is our target date. We will plan the specific date when we hear from interested people

Where - To Colombia South America.

Why - To help update the church in Normandia, Bogotá and to encourage the Colombian Christians and your local church.

How Much - $1,900 per person (includes accommodations, food, transportation in Colombia and airfare from Cleveland). This amount can be raised through your church. We are also encouraging each participant to raise at least $500 to help with the cost of the project in Colombia!

Plans for the work crew are finally coming together. We have set a dollar amount of $1900 per person. This will cover all expenses in Colombia (food, transportation, sleeping accommodations), this price also includes airfare from Cleveland, OH. The dates for the trip are: We do have the option of allowing several members to schedule early return trips so if you can’t come for the entire 12 days you can still come. We also would like to encourage each member to raise at least $500 to help with the cost of the projects while in Colombia.

While we are in Colombia, we will be producing a video of the work crew so you can share your exciting time with everyone at your church and your families.

You can still sign up if you want to go. We have a deadline of December 1, 2007 for signing up.

Work Crew 2009?

We are also planning a work crew for Feburary of 2009 if you would like to attend this work crew let us know. We’re planning a construction project for one of the churches in the south end of Bogota.