2016 Mission Trip to Colombia

Hello!

My name is Kevin Ratliff, and I live and work in Winston-Salem, NC (USA). I work full time for the City of Winston-Salem, and have been an active member of Reynolda Church, EPC for several years.

I am raising funds to go on a 1 week mission trip with Reynolda Church to Medellin, Colombia in June 2016. Our team will be working with a ministry called the Open Arms Foundation (Fundacion Brazos Abiertos, in Spanish). This ministry was founded by a missionary couple from the U.S. in 1991. Their focus is on working with "street" children and others from the impoverished neighborhoods of Medellin (2nd largest city in Colombia).

 OAF currently runs a daytime program in the inner city, a program for boys at a dairy farm an hour outside the city, as well as two Protestant churches within different Medellin neighborhoods. This ministry feeds, clothes, educates and houses these children. Furthermore, kids are exposed to the Gospel message and the love of Jesus Christ. The end goal is that these young people may re-enter their society with the life skills necessary to function as contributing members of this region. Over the years, many boys have graduated from this program, and have gone on to attend vocational programs, college, or enter into the military and work force. A number of them return to work with the ministry as volunteers. 

During the June 2016 trip, my team will be working primarily at the Boys Farm. We will be doing work projects to improve the infrastructure there. Mainly, this will involve insulating the housing cabins and resurfacing a concrete slab which is used for recreation, basketball, etc. We also have planned times of interaction  (recreation, VBS, bible stories) with the boys there as well.

I am looking to raise $800 (USD) to cover my part of expenses for this trip. My church helps to pay for a portion of our team's expenses, but last year (2015) I had to pay about $650 out of pocket. I am looking to offset this expense by starting this GoFundMe page. If you are interested in contributing towards the overall team's expenses, please contact me, and I will help you do so.

Going on this trip in 2016 means a lot to me. Having travelled to Medellin in 2015, I have a strong sense of how much God longs to redeem and restore this part of his creation. The geography in Medellin is beautiful, and the first inclination of most people that you encounter is to offer a smile and extend hospitality. The city is pretty, the people and their culture are warm and vibrant, and yet there is always an undercurrent of brokenness that stems from issues such as poverty, drug use, prostition, violence, and others.  Open Arms Foundation is one of the only Christian ministries in this amazing city that is confronting these problems. 

A contribution of any amount would help to meet my goal, and I would be deeply thankful.  I hope to have raised this amount via GoFundMe by April 18, 2016.  Contributions raised via this page will be used towards my airfare, and expenses paid to the foundation to cover room / board, etc. Thank you!!

Open Arms Foundation