Pablo Escobars Hometown

On the 24th of August, I ventured to Medellin, Columbia, the hometown of the infamous, now deceased, drug dealer, Pablo Escobar. To the gringos, Columbia is famous for crazy amounts of crime including brutal murders, kidnappings and all the sort of fun that come with the drug trade. For more than a decade, Columbia has been experiencing a renaissance and it is clear to see that Columbia's "brightest days are ahead". Medellin is a city of approximately 3 million people that sits in a valley that is insanely breathtaking. It looks more like Switzerland than South America. The streets spill up the valley making it very beautiful and confusing to navigate.

The purpose of my visit to Medellin was to speak at a conference organized by Global Advance (http://www.globaladvance.org/projects/marketplace-missions/) and our hosts on the ground in Columbia, the Manderfields. Global Advance has a marketplace ministry that brings talented business people from the States to help equip and encourage business people throughout the world. Don't ask me how I slipped through the cracks. Clearly they didn't do their research when they allowed me to join. I spoke on "Play to Your Strength". So at least I spoke on a topic I am passionate about.

The purpose of our time in Columbia was to encourage and equip the leaders in Columbia. The irony of my experience is that I feel I received about 100x more encouragement from the people of Medellin than I was able to provide. We visited local businesses such as a Dunkin Donuts franchisee with more than 100 locations in Columbia, a paint company that has north of 8,000 employees, the #1 radio station in Medellin and a TV station, Life Design TV that has a unique model of reaching people with the Gospel message without being preachy. Imagine that???

Our hosts, the Manderfields, were extremely gracious and it was fun to learn of their work in the areas of an exploding Bible College they have launched as well as a youth ministry that is reaching thousands each year. Cara Manderfield and her boyfriend Leo were kind enough to play tour guide to me and take me out to El Pinol, a massive granite rock outcropping an hour outside of town. On the way back into the city they stopped at a lookout where we could take in the lights of the city while enjoying hot chocolate and mozzarella cheese. Odd combination but fun to try! They also went with her dad Jerry and me to go paragliding on Sunday after everyone else had left.

The highlight for me was meeting a man named Max Bravo from Life Design TV. This guy had an amazing story. He told me in excellent English that he was a punk with a green mohawk, smoking pot, doing crack and just about everything else when God got a hold of his life. He explained how the day he came to trust Christ as his Savior he wept like a baby on the floor and was freed from his addiction to drugs. Hearing him tell me his life story stoked me out. Now he is working at a TV station that is reaching 10 million households with Bible based content without being preachy. I love it because no one wants to be hit over the head by some annoying Bible thumper.