Welcome to the website of Jonathan and Holly Boyd, missionaries to Colombia. We plan to update our site on a weekly basis, so check back to see what God is doing!
We are officially ending our eleventh day back in Colombia. We’ve been staying in the guest house in Bogotá for the time being and have been staying busy in ministry and various errands to get ready for our departure to the coast.
Here are a few random observations/thoughts:
- I have not taken a single photo since we’ve gotten back to Colombia (that’s bad).
- I’ve preached twice and done a two-night conference on expository preaching.
- My Spanish is at about 90% of what it was a year ago, but it’s coming back (Holly’s is at about 95% I’d say).
- We had a great time in Tunal for the last two Sundays and the conference on preaching.
- Being sick from the altitude is not fun.
- Seeing the Bogota from the highest tower (Colsubsidio) today was very cool.
- If only 50% of our dreams for the ministry on the coast come true, we will be very excited.
- Alfredo and Juana are great friends, and we look forward to working with them.
- Thinking about arriving to Santa Marta to set up base camp sounds a lot like scaling Mt. Everest – exciting but a little stressful.
- When you can’t pronounce the words “se enamoran” (they fall in love) in a sermon that indicates you’re been speaking too much English in the last year.
- Prayer is key… thanks to all of you who read our letters and blogs and pray for us.
Photo courtesy of pattoncito on Flickr (We didn’t know we were going up the tower, so we didn’t take our camera.)
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And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29, ESV).
Holly is finishing up the packing downstairs. I feel like I’ve been here before. If you’ve ever had to move, you know the “it’s never going to end and it’s not going to fit” feeling, except that this is different because we have to fit everything into eight suitcases, four carry-ons, and four personal items, instead of a moving truck. I’ve already filled a huge garbage bag with clothes and other things that will be going to Goodwill. In fact, I’m getting rid of some of my favorite shirts (never mind I’ve owned some of them for 10 years).
Holly is a little discouraged by this lack of space, which I understand. How did we fit our things from Colombia for our trip last year, but they aren’t fitting on the way back? Of course, we accumulated things. We’ve tried to buy ahead on some of the kids’ clothes (they’re cheaper here than in Colombia). We’ve bought some new books and a new year of homeschool curriculum, and a used Mac off of ebay.
As my tired brain thinks about this, it makes me realize how many things we really have. How many shirts do I really need? How many people in Haiti would love to have just a fraction of the food we had in our cupboards in our apartment?
When that sinking feeling of having to leave people, places and things behind begins to surge in my heart, I remember what Jesus did.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8, ESV).
As many have aptly said, the gospel is the key to the Christian life. God saves us through the gospel, but he also enables us to please him through the same gospel. When we worry about leaving something behind to follow Christ, we need to remember what Christ himself did. He left all of the privileges that he enjoyed and humbled himself to glorify his Father and serve us.
Okay, so leaving some clothes or books behind isn’t even a sacrifice in comparison. It’s a privilege and a joy.
Photo courtesy of majorbrighton on Flickr
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