1) Darren and Patty McCrea have a heart for children and ministering to them. During a recent trip to Colombia, they encountered several young people they had previously ministered to who are now serving as missionaries. 2) These encounters included meeting former students of James' who are now doing missionary work, as well as young women Patty had previously helped who are now missionaries. 3) Darren reflects that who they are today and who their children are is the result of people investing in their lives, and they are privileged to now invest in others.

1. THE McCREA NEWS
www.ourlovingfather.com March 2012
Once Upon a Child
Dear Friends,
From Humble Beginnings
It’s no secret that Patty and I have a heart for children.
Maybe it is the reflection of our own troubled childhoods, but I was born and grew up in a slum
we cannot resist the allure of breaking through any barrier to community in Northeast Bogota.
let a child know that they are treasured and valued by God There I lost my father to a stray
their Father. bullet that took his life when I was
only four years old.
And so we have done that - loved kids;
played with them, hugged them, turned My mother became a widow with two young girls. In
them upside down and encouraged spite of working a job that only paid HALF of the
others to do the same - never knowing minimum wage, she managed to provide for us and
what kind of impact we were making.... impart Christian values to her daughters. She has
always encouraged us to follow God’s dreams.
In January, we travelled to Colombia for
a month. This was a ministry trip, but it From the time I was little our family attended a
was also the first time the boys had been Methodist church located in the same neighbourhood
back to their native land since we moved At James’ old school. where we lived. It was in that church where so many
to Canada. people invested in my life. I remember the teams that
came from other countries to build our church; people
For James, it was a time to reconnect with family and he that would take the time to play with us and do the
even got to teach a class on Canada at his old school. He impossible - just to get us to smile. Through you I
loved the attention and did very well as a guest speaker! learned about the Father heart of God and how He cares
for his children.
Daddy was also doing his share
of speaking. Our home church in I want to thank each one who directly or indirectly
Bogota is a congregation of some invested in my church and my life with their prayers,
3500 people with a heart for their times and their finances. It was that church
missions and our Pastor had invited where my sister and I both received our call to ministry
me to speak for three days: a and where I met Darren McCrea, who I would encounter
financial seminar on Friday and once again many years later in Cartagena.
Saturday, followed by FOUR,
count them, FOUR! Sunday services - focussed on Missions. I am now 23 and for the last 7 years I have been
working as a Missionary in Youth With A Mission.
BUT, it was the time I spent teaching in Cartagena that Coming from such humble beginnings, it is hard to
really caught our attention. When I first arrived in believe where God has taken me - travelling to places
Colombia many years ago, I was involved in several that I had only seen on TV and ministering in more
construction projects. One of those projects was working with that a dozen countries. I have learned English and seen
teams from a US Methodist church to build a parsonage. God provide for my needs daily.
We built a building, ministered, and loved on a lot of kids, but God chose me for big things and I am walking with Him
when the pastor later fell into sin and the church didn’t grow, to fulfill His purpose in my life.
we were left wondering - what did we really accomplish? In
the following testimony lies the answer:

2. In Cartagena, I was teaching 17 dedicated Missionaries a five
day Communications Seminar and it was a great time, but in
the process I ran into FIVE different young ladies that Patty
and I had ministered to in Bogota over the years!
Our students pose in “The House of the
Nations.” This is the new missions centre
for YWAM Cartagena that is not yet
completed, but already in use.
Rudy & Diany
Even as Patty and I pour into our own boys, we realize
Beyond Jazmin and her sister Elizabeth, I was surprised to
that who we are today and who our children are, is a
encounter Diana Gordillo doing a school of missions (DTS) at
result of the people that have poured into our lives.
the base. Diana is a young lady from the street ministry where
Patty and I once worked. Not only was Patty her school
We are privileged to sow into others only because of
teacher, but she also helped to take care of her.
what was first sown into us; by so many spiritual fathers
and mothers. The seed you sow today, however small,
The same day I met Rudy and Diany, two young ladies that
are the fruit of an outreach centre that we helped to build. The
ministry “Faith and Hope” has been an ongoing project for us
where we have provided logistical support, taken work teams
and helped with various needs.
It was a total surprise running into these young ladies serving
in Missions. Like Jazmin, they come from humble
circumstances and God has taken them to the nations.
James teaching his former classmates!
Until next time, hug some children and let them know
that God loves them. You are His arms.
Æ Darren, Patty , James & Darien Æ
English For Missionaries - we taught a class!
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