After what has been basically a year of thinking and planning and waiting (and a particularly bumpy flight), I’m finally in Colombia! My team and I are serving in Medellin, Colombia at a ministry called Ciudad Refugio. They have a dog so I’m definitely going to have a good month (I’m kidding… but there is a really cute dog named Lucas). This ministry was started with a close partnership with Times Square Church in New York City. We just toured the facility and it was incredible hearing all about the different programs they offer as well as all of the planning that went into the actual layout of the building. There are addiction rehabilitation programs, based off the model of Teen Challenge, one for men and one for women (but currently it is mostly men). These programs help people recover from various addictions, mostly drug and alcohol-related, by showing them Jesus and living in community. They also give them chance to work in order to learn marketable skills for employment after they finish the program. Many of the employees here once went through the program themselves and their hearts have been completely changed.
Another part of this ministry is the homeless shelter. Men line up outside the ministry doors and are able to come in at night and sleep on mattresses that are actually made here. They have bathrooms and showers available and they are each given a burlap sack that is marked with their name so they can actually leave their stuff during the day and then come back at night and it will be here. This is something that is unusual for homeless shelters. Normally, people are not allowed to bring their stuff with them or they are afraid that it will be stolen if they do so this is a great way to encourage the homeless to some to the ministry. It also allows them to establish trust with the organization, something that can be very difficult for people who have been hurt and broken by so many. Homeless men are allowed to spend the night at Ciudad Refugio for one week with no questions asked. After a week, they must attend at least one church service per week in order to continue staying in the homeless shelter at night. This leads me to the next program at Ciudad Refugio- the church. In the area where the homeless sleep at night, there are church services three times a week. We haven’t had a chance to attend one yet but we are looking for to it! This church consists of people from the community, men and women in the rehab programs, and homeless people so it creates a diverse community, much like the kingdom of God. There are also children that come to the church that are a part of various feeding programs operated by Ciudad Refugio.
Another program within the ministry is the homeschool program. Colombia has free public education but there are very few options for children with learning disabilities or who, for whatever reason, simply don’t do well in a traditional classroom setting. Ciudad Refugio, following the “Little House on the Prairie model” has children of all ages that come to the homeschool program into a one room schoolhouse like environment where the learning is based on building a caring relationship with the teacher. I am excited to get to work with the kids and hopefully help teach English.
Lastly, and one of the programs that I most excited for is Aguapanela. On Wednesday nights after service, the ministry goes out to the homeless and hands out aguapenela or “sugar water” and bread. This is a great way to be in fellowship with the homeless who are typically despised in Colombian culture. We are all excited to get started with ministry and get to take part in many of the different programs here at Ciudad Refugio. We are starting off tomorrow morning with fruit collection. I don’t really know what that means but I am excited! It is going to be a great month!
