Several years ago, meeting a need of the Colegio Peniel, our Christian Day School, I accepted the request to become the school counselor. In the successive years, my acceptation in that ministry has grown, as has my comfort level in serving in that way. At the same time, the counseling ministry had developed a degree of credibility, not only with our students, but with the general population. I now spend at least one full week a month working in the school full time. I work with the kids in the morning and with the parents and people from the community in the afternoon. It is an emotionally exhausting ministry, but at the same time it is very rewarding. I especially enjoy working with the kids; and they seem to enjoy having me there. I think sometimes coming and talking to me is a good way to “escape” a boring class.
As I worked there one of the preachers in Bogotá took notice of the work and the acceptance it had garnered. He works in the Suba area of Bogotá, an area that was established by refugees of the fighting in the countryside. One of the things he noticed was that there was a high degree of anxiety and many people with significant problems in their lives and families. Recently an article came out in the newspaper here about that very issue in that section of town. The article indicated that was the section of town with the greatest need and yet had the least amount of social services available. He approached me about that need and asked if I would be interested in beginning a counseling ministry together with him in the church there. We discussed the idea and the implications. We considered not only the ministry opportunities but the door that would open for evangelism. We agreed to go forward with the idea.
But a problem there is that there is no church office. The church meets in a rented warehouse and so there is no place to conduct such a ministry. We decided that in order to get started and provide an adequate place for counseling we needed to build a small office. Since the building is rented, we decided a small, temporary office that could later be disassembled and moved would be the best option. A carpenter in the church offered to make one at a very reasonable cost. Even though funding was not available, I decided we need to move ahead and get the infrastructure in place so we could begin as quickly as possible.
The cost of this office, which can be assembled there and later disassembled and moved if the church moves, is about $1,000.00US. We will use this office to meet peoples needs and to minister to them. But we will also use it as an evangelistic outreach into the community. We are convinced of the need and the opportunity this provides. But we need to pay for the office we are assembling. If you can help with a special donation to the counseling ministry office, please make a special donation to the Colombian Christian Mission and designate it for the counseling ministry office. In this way you will be helping to meet needs, minister to people, and evangelize here in Colombia through your participation in this exciting new ministry opportunity!