All We Hoped For and More!

By : Team Seattle | Short- Term Volunteers

Our time at Ciudad Refugio was incredible! For many people on our team this was our first mission trip and going in, we had very little idea of what to expect. We went in simply hoping to serve, to grow in our faith and to see God reveal himself to us in mighty ways. During our time at Ciudad Refugio we experienced all that we hoped for and more.

The guys on our team were able to live with the men in the program and participate along side them in their day to day activities. We helped with a work project each morning and went to Bible study in the afternoon. We spent a lot of time with the men with activities such as: playing chess or soccer, talking about our faith, hearing testimonies, and simply building genuine friendships. This experience was very rewarding and being able to encourage the men in the program in their faith was so fulfilling and helped us to grow in our own as well.

The women on our team were able to spend a lot of time with the women in the program. We helped in the kitchen in the mornings doing whatever was needed, which often times cleaning or helping with the food donations. We were able to go to Bible study with the women in the afternoon as well. Sometimes we went to Manantiales during the week to help with homework club or another women’s bible study. The friendships we developed with the women in the program and the kids in Manantiales are near and dear to our hearts. We will never forget all the incredible people we got to know and we will constantly keep them in our prayers.

As a team we helped each Saturday at the children’s program in Manantiales and the one in the foundation. We also had the opportunity to help with the youth group on Saturday nights. We always had a great time playing with the crazy kiddos during children’s ministry and later hanging out with the youth group. We were very sad to say goodbye to many of the youth because we became very close to them over the course of our two months at the foundation.

We highly recommend this ministry to anyone who wants to grow in their faith and do something outside of their comfort zone. Ciudad Refugio does so much good in Medellín and loves people so well. Everyone who works in the foundation has an incredible heart for Jesus and their immense faith brings a spirit of peace and comfort in the difficult and heavy moments of the ministry. People at Cuidad Refugio treated us like family and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve there. Overall, the meaningful, life bringing relationships we made in the foundation helped to make our short two months in Medellín a huge moment of change and growth in our lives.

God bless,

Team Seattle

A Place to Call Home

By Alexis B. | Volunteer  with WCSC Missions
The first time I visited Medellin and Ciudad Refugio was in the summer of 2018. I was warned that Colombia was a dangerous place and that I should be careful. I came with a mindset that I would be treated poorly by the people and was ready to watch my back every where I went.  Honestly, I was prepared for the worst. However, I experienced the opposite when I arrived to Colombia. I was welcomed with open arms and received many warm smiles and greetings from the community. I felt the presence of the Lord and knew it was a place where God was moving. And it was clear to me in the first few minutes here that the people of Medellin have hearts full of faith.
This year, I returned to Medellin to bring chiropractic once again to its people. The trust and respect that my team and I received everyday was overwhelming. Women would hand to us their young babies and trust us to care for them; children came running to us with an interest in what we are doing and always left full of joy.
I am so thankful to the City of Refuge for truly showing me and my team the true nature of the community of Medellin.  In my time here,  I have seen some of  the most beautiful parts of the city as well as some of the most heartbreaking. But regardless of where I’ve been one things has been constant, I have the felt the presence and the power of God.
I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to bring the healing power of chiropractic to the community here. The people of Medellin deserve the best care that they can receive and I fully intend to return to this place that I can now call my second home.

A Grateful Heart

By Jaewon L. | Chiropractic Volunteer
My name is Jaewon Lee and I was blessed to be part of the team from World Care Specific Chiropractic to serve the people of Medellin, Colombia from March 22nd -29th.  My family is originally from South Korea and I am currently living in the United States to study chiropractic medicine.  To be completely truthful, I have not done a lot volunteer work in the last several years because my life has been so busy and full.  I had not taken time to stop and really look around to see how others were living.  And in my heart, I did not really realize how meaningful it was to serve people till I my experience volunteering with the foundation.  My perspective on so much has changed due to my time at Ciudad Refugio.
 Even though my purpose was to serve and help others through offering chiropractic care; I have received more than I gave.  For me every person I encountered, from the patients to the foundation staff have exemplified  love, kindness, gratitude and the true meaning of servant hood. Time and time again I saw this with the people I have helped and talked to this past week.
As I head home from my time serving with Ciudad Refugio I leave with a heart full of gratefulness.  I am grateful that I had a chance to serve and help minister to people with what I can do well.  I am grateful for a chance to have brought joy to so many kids just because they assumed I was a South Korean celebrity.  I am grateful for all the big moments but especially the small moments such as when I was able to hold the hand of a patient who was nervous and they granted me a smile of gratitude.  Most of all, I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to serve with WCSC and Ciudad Refugio. I want to extend a special thanks to everyone at the foundation for their help and kindness.  It truly has impacted my heart and I leave changed and with a new perspective on life and how to serve others.

To Become as Children

Sarah Z. | Short-term volunteer

The past few weeks of being in Medellin, Colombia, I have had the incredible opportunity of being a part of the ministry pouring into the children at the City of Refuge. I took part in putting together songs, games, activities, skits (including a puppet show), Bible teachings, and memory verses for each gathering. The children’s programs are on Thursdays and Saturdays from 3-5pm. Prior to the programs each day, we took a couple of hours and went knocking door-to-door in the neighborhoods around us to invite the parents and their children. Despite the mid-day heat and the language barrier (thankful for the great translators that always came with us), it was always such a joy and pleasure to be able to meet and talk with the local families who reside in the nearby communities. It was amazing to see how accepting and open the people we encountered were when taking some of their time to speak with them.

Week after week, witnessing to these children has become a blessing in my life. Seeing them come from a life where they don’t have much, yet they still carry so much joy and laughter, brings me so much gratitude in my own life.

I am often reminded of how God has called us believers to become as children, that is, to be humble, simple, innocent, constantly seeking guidance, and turning to the Father in time of need. Jesus says in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Worship Without Borders

Jen | Short-term volunteer 

This month, I have experienced some of the most powerful worship I have ever witnessed. Our team has such a great gift of worship; we were able to share that gift countless times with many we ministered with- the people at the foundation, the people in the church congregation, and the people in the local community. We have led worship in both English and Spanish, but despite any limitations due to the language barrier, the people’s hearts were so on fire for the Lord that it was always obvious that the Holy Spirit was present . Two of the congregation’s favorite songs were “Cardenas Romper” and “Gracia Sublime”. Whenever we got to share those songs,  I watched as everyone in the room boasted in the incredible freedom that the Lord has given them through this amazing opportunity given to them due to the work of Ciudad Refugio.

Personally, I believe that worship is the most powerful way to connect with the Father; but it is also a powerful tool to reach out to community, and I was able to see that here this whole month. No matter who the people were, what they believed, whether they were singing, dancing, playing an instrument or simply praying, the Holy Spirit was moving in incredible ways during worship this month.

It was such an honor to connect with these people by worshipping with them in their native language and feeling God break chains and shed light and love in the dark places. It has been truly amazing.

The Long and Short of It All

By Merlin M. | Short- term volunteer

I for one can’t believe that it’s already time for me to write about my experience serving short term in Ciudad Refugio for the last three months.  Time truly does fly here.  I still remember being overwhelmed my first day here in Medellin and just trying to take in what would be my life for the next couple of months.  And now, as I reflect on the end of my time here I can honestly say beyond a shadow of a doubt I have been blessed to have lived here and consider it an honor to have served as part of this ministry.

In many ways I came with one expectation of what it meant to be a missionary and that perception was always based on quantifiable measurement of what success is.  For example, when I came I wanted to go back and tell my home church: ” Well, I went to Colombia and brought 5 people to Christ, cast out 7 demons, healed a leper…”  I’m sure you get the picture.  But what the Lord taught me more than anything else is that missions is about serving and being present with people whether it is working in the kitchen peeling carrots, creating a giant twister board for kids or ministering in a Bible study. Relationships and reliability are what matters the most when serving.  And my perspective changed on what “success” was. A smile, a hug, a silent prayer became my new markers of it.  I had to unlearn so much of my “works” mentality and learn to embrace discomfort and to just be content and faithful where God had placed me.

Secondly, I saw and observed the true meaning of service from everyone who works and serves in Ciudad Refugio.  They truly exemplify and shine the love of Christ everyday in the big and small things.  They serve not from obligation or compulsion but because they long to share the heart of Christ to the needy and the lost around them.  There were no better examples to learn from than the volunteers and staff that serve here.  I have grown just by working and serving along side with them and truly consider myself blessed for having been given a chance to do so!

Having said all this, my heart was deeply touched by my time at Ciudad Refugio that I didn’t want it to end after just three months! So after been given clear direction from God, I can confidently say that I will be BACK! And this time, to serve for a  longer term! So this is not goodbye but see you soon!

 

 

I Checked into the Drug Rehab Program

By Morgan F. |World Race Team Member

I’ll admit I have a huge problem with drugs.

I honestly was blinded of my problem until now. Personally I never had any experience with drugs prior to arriving in Medellín, Colombia.

My sheltered bubble was popped. My eyes were opened and what I saw absolutely broke my heart. I was introduced to the haunting control drugs can hold on someone’s life.

The drugs themselves did not influence me directly. What appalled me most was witnessing the power and damage drugs cause in people’s lives. It’s sickening. It’s disturbing. It’s sad.

The problem is drugs!

Let me tell you about my problem with drugs.

Drugs rip people of their freedom.

Drugs contaminate people’s minds with lies.

Drugs numb people from pain and emotions, even the good ones.

Drugs control a person’s mind, body, and decisions.

Drugs tear apart families.

Drugs ruin dreams.

Let’s start looking at the drugs as the evil and the drug users as people just like you and I; people who are worthy of being loved, people with families, people with stories, people with dreams, people who have made mistakes, and people who need to be forgiven.

The problem is not drug users. Hate the sin not the sinner!

The moment my perspective changed was the moment I entered the women’s drug rehabilitation program. Not because I received healing and freedom from my addiction but because God broke my heart over the effects drug addiction had on His daughters. Living alongside these amazing women gave me so much life and deepened my faith.

The testimonies the women shared were filled with agony, loss, mistakes, shame, and guilt. I would go even as far as to say drugs ruin lives but these women showed me otherwise. Without Jesus that’s where the story might end but because of his power to change hearts and break the chains of addiction, these women were offered a better path for their lives through his steadfast love and grace. These women tell stories about attempting to break their addiction on their own strength but the stories always ended back at drugs. Ciudad Refugio invited these women into the foundation and opened a space asking God to heal the brokenness of addiction by giving them hope in an relentless source, Jesus Christ.

It’s completely evident that God is working through Ciudad Refugio and in the lives of these beautiful women. Despite abandoning their old lifestyles, missing their families and battling lies from the enemy, these ladies show incredible bravery and strength. I am encouraged by the healing God has already done and the faith that these women have in the midst of their trials. I left the program with a better understanding of God’s character and his love for his children. Please pray for the women in the program!

God bless Ciudad Refugio and the work that this ministry is doing for the Kingdom of God!

Wait! This Isn’t Africa!

By Merlin M. | Short Term Volunteer

An old saying goes, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get!” Well, it has certainly proved true for me and my call to serve with Ciudad Refugio.  You see, I have always felt that my purpose was to someday serve as a missionary in Africa! And the Lord and I had an understanding (or so I thought) that in five years after I had achieved all my career and life goals; I would selflessly give up my cushy job and comfortable life to go slave away for the Lord under the hot African sun.  But it turns out though it was my plan; it clearly wasn’t God’s.  And as you might have gathered by now, the Lord sent me to Colombia, not Africa.

My connection with Ciudad Refugio began in November of 2017.  I came with an awesome team (GONDOLA for life!) from Times Square Church for a ten-day, short-term missions trip.  To be honest, my life and work were super busy before departing that I was in no way spiritually ready to serve and minister.  In fact, I contemplated many times to just cancel and not go at all. But that all changed the Sunday before I left. My pastor prayed for me and said the following: “May this trip be life-changing and forever alter the course of your life!” And after that prayer, something softened in my heart and I found my sense of dread was replaced with a sense of expectation.

When I arrived at Ciudad Refugio, I was blown away by how the ministry was serving in transforming lives and providing hope. What opened my eyes the most was how they selflessly ministered to those who society so often overlooks and discards as broken.  But through their efforts, they refine and redeem a sense of loss with the hope that only Christ provides.  Moreover,  the sheer scope of all they did with the resources they had, absolutely blew me away. And gently, I felt the Lord start to speak to my heart and ask two things of me:

1. Am I willing to come back and serve in Colombia?
2. Am I willing to return not just for 10 days but longer?

Meanwhile, I was actively trying to ignore the gentle whispers as “crazy talk” or my heart’s response to the need I saw around me. But still, the whispers persisted and continued to resound in my heart. So naturally, I began to have in-depth conversations with God which consisted of me trying to teach God geography (“Remember, you said Africa and Lord, this is Colombia. I think you have the wrong continent. Now, did you mean the Congo or Cameroon?” ) and of me trying to push my five year career plan with some benefits (How about instead of me going to Colombia I will faithfully institute a 20-30% tithing habit?)

While on the trip, I told some of my team members of what the Lord was speaking and they were so supportive and in many ways not surprised by what the Lord was speaking to me.  I, on the other hand, wanted to pull a Jonah and run anywhere other than where God was leading. But my resistance began to melt when I heard the sermon preached by a visiting minister the second Sunday of my trip.  He asked the following questions: “What if God destroyed all you know and hold dear for the salvation of just one soul? Are you ready to surrender to God’s will no matter the cost?” These questions pierced my heart and forced me to take a long reflective look at myself and how much I am willing to listen, obey, and surrender! It’s easy to sing on a Sunday morning, ” I have decided to follow Jesus” but am I actually willing to actually live it out; no matter the cost? The Lord broke my will and replaced it with His perfect will for me!

A few days later, I left Colombia with the gentle assurance that one day I would return and that it would be sooner than later. And true to His promise, that’s exactly what happened. Less than a year after my short term trip to Colombia, I am now back and serving for three months with Ciudad Refugio!

So I would encourage all of you who are reading this: Trust God with your life because as it says in Isaiah 55:8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

And as the Lord is teaching me, He always knows best and plans the best adventures for your life. Stayed tuned for more updates from my time and adventures at Ciudad Refugio!

Day In The Life

By Brendan Filmer | Summer Intern & Student @ Summit Int’l School of Ministry