| Colombia 2006 |
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By Carolyn Pearson
Their host family, Yanett and Jairo Zabaleta, welcomed them into their home as daughters. The Zabaletas are very poor in monetary terms, but that didn’t stop them from giving cheerfully and generously. Carolyn said “For me they modeled Matthew 25:35: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.’”
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Young Adults in the World Service Corps serve in a variety ways from teaching English as a second language, to Young Peacemakers club, to working on an organic farm. This year we sent a team to Cartegena, Colombia. The Community of Christ is not officially established in Colombia but there are four emerging congregations. Carolyn Pearson, of Bonner Springs, Kansas, and Christine Simone of Palm Beach, Florida, had the opportunity to serve there this summer.
Youth Ministry is a big part of the church in Colombia, with Yanett holding young peacemakers clubs and Jairo teaching soccer. Carolyn recalled this story from her summer in Colombia. “Each day, a boy named Luis would come to the Zabaleta home in the morning and didn’t leave again until late in the evening. Luis had no shoes, his clothes were torn, and he never went to school. At meals Sister Yanett would quietly save enough food for Luis to have a plate of rice after feeding the other 7 people in the house. One evening as I was walking home from church, Sister Yanett stopped in front of a tiny shack made of old, grey, wooden slats. She told me that this was where Luis lived. As I peeked inside, I noticed that close to 10 people were packed inside. In that moment, I was deeply touched. I know that Yanett doesn’t have many financial resources, and yet she generously shared what little she had with a boy who was much less fortunate. When I consider the almost obscene amount of wealth I have compared to the Zabaletas, I am astounded. I realize now that I have been afforded so many opportunities to serve others. I am grateful that I learned the value of giving generously. Volunteering in Cartagena forever changed my life and because of the lessons I learned I finally know what it means to be a doer of the Word.”
