I don’t really know where my boundary is until I’ve left it.

Many have asked what I was doing in Colombia. I serve on the global board of directors for the International Leadership Institute (ILI). I have served as a board member for five years. The headquarters is in Carrollton, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. The global board works diligently to provide leadership training with the ILI staff located in the United States and the global leaders around the world like in the Philippines, MENA (Middle East North Africa), English speaking Africa, French speaking Africa and Latin America. I have become dear friends with all of our global leaders. Latin America leaders, Juan and Adriana, have become closer than others. They live in Medellin. They invited Bill and I to visit. We said, “YES!” We had vacationed in Colombia about sixteen months ago. Little did we know then how important Colombia would become.

Adriana is an entrepreneur. We talked about our visit and what we would do. I suggested that since I was a board member of ILI, why not take advantage of my position since no one had ever visited Medellin from the home office or board. I suggested we invite some leaders to gather, talk and train. She agreed. We had terrific feedback. I set my personal goal for twenty-five. If we could get twenty-five leaders together, we could really make an impact and grow a team that would be accountable to one another. We could track their development over time and see the gospel lived out in Colombia. But, I realized early that God may have other ideas.

250 people responded favorably. EEEK! That’s an event. That’s something different. So, we began to plan. I asked our missions team for financial support. But, our Faith Promise funds are dedicated to the already established partners. There was no financial support for this endeavor. My mother left my brother and I with a very small inheritance. My mom loved mission and she loved experiencing other cultures. So, Bill and I paid for the conference event ourselves believing in what God would do. Money is a funny thing. We tend to think it belongs to us. It’s all God’s money. We are simply stewards of it.

Bill’s work schedule prohibited him from going with me to Medellin. I arrived in Medellin Monday afternoon. We began work immediately. We worked diligently at the ILI Colombia office Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday. I prepared for the talk. We gave the attendees a curriculum I wrote translated into Spanish about values based leadership and resilience. My dissertation focus was on human resilience—never in a bazillion years did I think I would use my own materials. Quite frankly, I never wanted to see my research material ever again. God had other ideas. So, I used my dissertation as a guide and included my personal experiences with our team in India, my experience in Jordan after the Syrian crisis and at Nyrugusu Camp in Africa. I noticed there were qualities present in the lives of people who flourished in their limited circumstances. I narrowed the focus to humility, creativity and community.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel," the Apostle Paul said. (Romans 1:16)

Presidents of companies, CEOs, medical doctors and professionals, dentists—a lot of dentists, attorneys, insurance people, students, NGO leaders, sons and daughters of friends and a lot of people who were curious about what we had to offer attended. The brother of the former beloved president of Colombia attended along with all his body guards. There is a funny story about one of the body guards who was working and I thought he was an attendee. So, I kept waving at him and motioning him to come over and register. He kept shaking his head and trying to ignore me. The harder he tried to ignore me—the more I insisted. Chris Cisneros (a Venezuelan) and one of our ILI Colombia staff came up to me and asked why we had Secret Service police at the event. DUH! I noticed that same guy I was waving to was wearing a badge and a gun. Stupida, I know.

Anyway, the brother and his wife are now people I call my friends—maybe even family. I prayed directly with them at their home—a story for another time. I was bold. God provided opportunity for me to pray. I prayed for a lot of people privately that would never have ever imagined coming up for prayer at a church service. Most of the attendees belong to the Catholic church. I think it is a cultural expectation. I prayed with business owners, dentists, NGO leaders who work directly with at-risk girls, entrepreneurs and millennial leaders who want their families to follow Christ. One young man was desperate for his family to follow Jesus! He was disheartened when I told him the truth—there is one thing he must do and that was be a good follower of Jesus himself. He needed to be a good example. I challenged him to pray fo this father and mother to accept Christ five times a day—set his phone to pray for them—and ask God to do a miracle in their family. His shoulders slumped. His eyes teared up. “Wasn’t there something else?” he whimpered. No, mejo, this isn't up to you. We cannot save anyone. Jesus saves them. Pray.

I was invited back. What is next? HA! I don’t know. God is at work. I crossed so many boundaries, I lost count. You can read about my horseback riding in the Andes mountains on my Facebook page. No, I was not a rider. The last time I was on a horse was when I took arena training in 1995. Marco Polo is a hero and a stallion. He will forever be in my heart.

This life. The one and only one we ever get is filled with Godly opportunities. We sometimes have borders prohibiting us to cross. Some of us have impenetrable boundaries set up. Either way, we live a limited life filled with anxiousness and fear. I have those qualities, too, and so many more. I assure you. My own terror led me to pray so hard I didn’t know where I ended and God began. I suspect that’s exactly the way He likes it. I will share more stories with you Sunday. Please know this. You have more influence and more power than you ever imagined. Surrender. Yield to Him. Allow your own inhibitions and even your fears to drive you towards Jesus. Completely focus your gaze on Him. He forms us. He empowers us with His Spirit. He leads, guides and directs us. We can do so much more.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians  3:12-14

Pastor Jen