COLOMBIA
Ministering on the Mount of Olives I Kayla Ewert, Office of Adventist Mission
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n the mountains high above Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, a small group of believers meets each Sabbath. Up here the air is very cold, and many in this neighborhood live in poverty. The group is planting a church, wanting to offer hope in a community that experiences hardship. Many residents make the long trip to Bogotá every day for work, and people move frequently, traveling wherever they can find employment. Others salvage what they can, usually scraps of cloth to sell. Many women work as housekeepers or nannies for wealthier families in the city. Given this constant state of change and high level of need,
the Adventist small group follows Christ’s method* to connect with the community. They started by getting to know people and making friends. Luis Mario, the group leader, lives nearby. He understands the people and is able to minister to their needs. Often, the believers go door to door, offering food and clothing when they’re able. “Working with the community is the best thing,” he says. “The people are needing God and they listen. They are thirsty for the Word of God.” This project, known as Monte de los Olivos (Mount of Olives), was started by 5 Adventists in 2016; in 2017, the group grew with the addition of 12 new baptized
members, plus a few dozen visitors. Toward the end of 2018, almost 20 additional people, some of whom were youth, were studying the Bible regularly, with several more planning to be baptized.
Hope for the Hopeless
God has used this committed group of believers to bring hope to this mountain community. Luis Mario tells the story of Alex,† a young man who was going through a tough time. The believers were visiting Alex and his family when Alex shared that he planned to kill himself that very night. Motivated to act, the small group prayed earnestly with
