Here is a documentary by Rubiela about the beginning of the Home. 

I found it interesting to read about how attentive God is to the prayer of His People.  

Rubiela #1:       Embraced by Jesus Ministry is a nonprofit organization that is unaffiliated with the government of this world. But it is affiliated with the government of Jesus Christ.

    The Word of God says, “Ask and it shall be given unto you, and if you ask, it will be given unto you”. And that is what we do.  We ask the Lord our God to sustain us. Every time that we are in need, and we cry out to our heavenly Father, we feel embraced by Jesus.

Rubiela #2:     We have 3 strategies to help those that are unwanted and those that are in the streets. (The children’s home, counseling mothers to care for their children, and our children’s church in the city.)

 First of all, we have Jesus Christ and Gideons in Action Foundation Children’s home.

     All that you see here, including all the land and buildings, and all the children that we gather in from the streets are a part of this ministry.

     We go to places where there are many destitute in the streets.  We also go to other places when we are asked to go.  There are mainly about 5 different areas we go to where there is conflict with the heavily armed guerrillas. This fighting has left many orphans and little ones totally helpless by destroying the lives of their parents.  God has put a burden in my heart to go there. It is not easy but it is not impossible with God.  Some of the children that we have are children we gather from the city streets and even from the city sewer systems where they live in hiding. Almost all of them have been sexually abused. We have children who were used as “mules” to carry drugs in their clothing for their mother while she sells the drugs. 

This is how we approach these problems. We try to get those children away from those kinds of situations but when we do, we are very careful not to offend the mother.  We try to learn to know and understand the mother as a person, and when we do, we usually find this mother went through the same thing as a child. The abuse that she experienced when she was young carried her into the same lifestyle. This is the only way of life they know and so that way of life she is repeating in her own children.

       We go to the streets to share Jesus Christ.  We share that He can save them, cleanse them, heal them, and that He gave His life to save their lives.  This is the way we work with the mothers that are in the streets.

           The second aspect of our work is through our Church.  Why did we start a church in the city for children?  Because the church is in the city of Pereira, where we work in the streets, yet we live here in the country. It really is not feasible to bus all those children here to this property.  It would take a lot more resources than we have.

              I used to gather the street children and teach them about Jesus and then tell them to go to local Churches but other churches would send them away harshly because they were prostitutes and the children of prostitutes.   All of these that are rejected of men make up a church, and it is beautiful. The Lord invited all His guests but when it was time to come, no one would come because they were too busy.  So He sends laborers to the highways and byways to gather the blind, mute and lame to come so His house will be full.  So we go and gather the children from the poorest places of the city, dangerous places where others won’t go. That is where you find the thieves, prostitutes, drug dealers, and guerillas.  God has poured grace out on us so we can go into these places.    You have seen the results of Jesus Christ indwelling their hearts and changing their lives.

           The third aspect of our ministry is Women in the breach.  It is a ministry to women with traits much like myself, very aggressive.  Satan had me on a pedestal but I was nothing but a puppet for him. Deep inside of me there was nothing but sadness, pain, and manipulation.  But it was only a facade that made me look like an executive woman.  My heart was totally destroyed and without peace.

      When I came to the feet of Jesus Christ, that’s where I found Peace, joy and love. All this has helped me understand the suffering of these women and encourage them to find the love of God.

    So I invite you to join me in this ministry no matter what country you are in.  God has called us to be one big family.  

Rubiela #3   This ministry did not start here on the farm that you see, but in my own house.  Little by little as the ministry grew, we rented bigger houses but the time came when no one wanted to rent to us because we had 60 children plus the adults.  One day I told my husband, Jaime, that I am going into a 40 day fast to wait for an answer from God that He would give us a farm so I could raise all these children that He has given to me. 

          (It all started on 30^th and 5^th drive, they threw us out of there because the children were from the streets, so then we went to 17^th and 16^th drive on the 2^nd floor, in downtown Pereira and they also kicked us out of there, not because I wasn’t paying the rent, but because we have street children. And this is where God gave me the blessing.)

         I started the 40 day prayer fast and I waited faithfully on God because “faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen”.   I was 15 days into the fast when my husband told me that that God has touched            Mr. Anival Ruiz’s heart to help us in the ministry. He gave 100 million Pesos – that is equal to $60,000 Dollars.  I had not talked to this man and the only one who knew about this project was Jaime my husband.  Jesus answered my prayer in 15 days.  But all that you see here did not cost 100 million Pesos, it cost 180 mil.  There are about 16 acres.

     When we got here the only houses that were here were the main house and the area where the kitchen is. All the other buildings were not here at that time. 

     When God gave us this farm my husband was very embarrassed because Mr. Anival Ruiz didn’t give us enough to purchase this land.  He said, “How are you going to tell him that this farm cost 180 mil?”  I said,   ”If God gave me 100 mil pesos; He is going to touch the heart of this man to give us the 180 mil that we need.”  So we all went to look at this farm and they fell in love with it, just as I had done.  So, when Mr. Anival Ruiz ask how much does it cost and I said 180 mil, his wife spoke up and said, “Oh that is not much!”  So they gave enough to cover the cost.

       That is when my husband began to believe that God is a God of great power.  He went to the land owner and negotiated the price down some so that we were able to also buy a car and a cow.  We left there extremely happy.

 “As we say down here - looking like pineapples”

This was a tremendous blessing God gave us.  We share this testimony only to show that God is a God who is alive and real.  Some of the buildings Ramon Babilonia contributed.  The bath house was built by the Mennonites from Ohio.  The house for the boy’s dorm was contributed by a man named Carlos Gomez.  He also gave us the 2 story building here. All of these blessings God pt into our hands.  And that house, the girl’s dormitory – the Rotary group from California built. So, this is how God has blessed the building of The Foundation of Jesus Christ Y Gideons, through faith in Him.

Fun in Colombia

By: Jaci

Age: 13

2:30 a.m. comes fast! Before we knew it we were bound for Miami and deliriously happy! We ended up getting to the Air Port 4 hours early, oops. We boarded the plane, everyone but dad not knowing what to expect and in my case kinda freaking out! It was a long day, we landed in the Air Port of Cartegena, Colombia but unfortunately didn’t get to leave the plane and see the sight. Within the hour we were back in the air, bound for Pereira! We landed in a small un-air-conditioned airport about 1 hour’s drive from the children’s home. Within 30 minutes we collected our luggage and some of the directors’ friends were there to pick us up. The driving was CRAZY! I would have thought I would have been afraid but I had complete peace! Me and Kayla sat, looking out the window, fascinated by how different it was from North America. We kept pinching each other to make sure we weren’t dreaming! The winding mountain roads seemed endless until we finally arrived at the Embraced by Jesus compound. One of the teenage boys helped unload our luggage and we were greeted with the directors’ smiling faces and a GIANT meal! When we arrived I was a little freaked out; it was pouring rain and the compound was really dark! I thought, “I just need some sleep.” I was right! 

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to much commotion.  Kayla and I were eager to meet the kids and explore. We hurriedly got ready and zoomed out of our room (which we shared with 12 other girls from the home!) The place was AWESOME! We met some of the kids during breakfast, but most of them left for school by 6:00 a.m., except for some of the teens that went to school on Friday and Saturday. The compound was beautiful and soooo mountainous! Everything was uneven. I was so tired but happy. We went to Dad’s and Galen’s cabin to pray the first day and Dad told us that a YWAM team from New Castle, Australia, was going to arrive that morning. Well, the YWAM team was awesome. They were so nice and fun and cool. 

One night, we went to a women’s meeting where Kayla did a dance. Another night, we went to a youth meeting that was amazing and the whole church was just great! We also taught the kids a drama. It was so fun and later they performed it at an outreach. 

I would take up a zillion pages if I wrote down every awesome thing that happened on the trip but I had to keep it short. I loved how easy-to-make-friends-with the kids were. I loved the food. The place was beautiful. My relationship with God grew to a new level and my view on things has definitely changed for the better. I can’t wait till God brings me back!

Observations

By: Galen

I had very few expectations upon my departure for Colombia. The small number of expectations I did have tended to be unfounded: the food was not spicy; the humidity wasn't that bad; among all the individuals on the compound (adults included) there were about a dozen words in English to be heard. While my Spanish was only slightly better the first day, by the last I could almost convey a coherent idea. Although my language skills were distinctly lacking, I held a tool more powerful than the most thorough dictionary: my camera. If a picture is truly worth something in the vicinity of a thousand words, I was chatting up a storm. I did spend much of my time shooting stills and video of the facility and its surroundings, but I tried as frequently as possible to capture the fleeting moments we had as we interacted with the kids of the facility.

Not necessarily an expectation, but rather, a fear of mine was that we would arrive to the sorrowful faces and grief-stricken spirits of 60 kids. To see children whose prior life, as it were, subjected them to a world that was far from loving or caring, a world that found them to be an expendable commodity; a tool to be used. I am most pleased to note that this fear was absolutely obliterated by the joy, silliness, and compassion of scores of healthy, happy, active children. This isn't to say they are want for nothing. We often are told by friends and family that traveling to another (specifically, poorer) country changes your view on life, the universe, and everything. I, for one, have heard this adage more times than I can easily recall. However, in my case, this is quintessentially true. I am well aware of the fact that it is a great inconvenience when you fall out of 3G range and the funny cat video you were watching on your smartphone fails to buffer completely. While it may be difficult to imagine yourself in a place were electricity is intermittent (when the bill can be paid), hot water is a far-off luxury, and you sweep, mop, wash clothes, cook, and do dishes every day, they exist in a greater number than most American suppose. Though each week is filled with tasks to be completed, every day seems to be greeted with some measure of gratitude.

The impression that has remained most vibrant is just this: the Embraced by Jesus family not only cares for one-another, but they do it with gladness in their hearts. I am exceedingly grateful I had the opportunity to travel to Colombia and meet a group of people who were able, in all of about six days, to not only teach me about a culture of which I had little knowledge, but also confirm to me that through love, compassion, and, most of all, family, any wounds can be healed.

My Trip to Colombia

By: Kayla

Age: 14

Oh, I never thought I would go out of the country, but I did!! It seemed like a dream until we actually got there, and even then I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing!!!! The scenery , the city, but most of all…the children! I couldn’t believe how happy they were. I mean, how could you be happy if you didn’t have any parents or you knew you had parents but they didn’t care about you?? And they were so…….loveable. You could make friends with them so quickly if you just smiled and at them and said “Hola.” Then they would smile back and hug you and be your friend. It was great!!!! You don’t see that in America. A lot of kids in America are too prejudiced to be that friendly. I liked the way they were in Colombia!!

The language barrier was very annoying, and how I longed to know more Spanish!!! I am planning to learn more Spanish so when we go back I’ll be fluent!!! Even with the language barrier, it didn’t prevent Jaci  and I from having fun with the children!!! We would stumble around, trying to communicate things and actually, that was kinda fun in itself!!! But we played soccer, played on the playground or just sat there and a child would  be there with you, either lying in your lap or with their arm around you. And they would say something and we would try to understand it but I think the thing we said most was, “No entiendo.”

Whew!! Hardcore work. I don’t think I’ll ever complain about doing dishes again after that!!! Oh, and washing clothes by hand!! I’ve never done that before!! Hardcore work, too! But it was kinda fun to try and get all the stains out. They had two washing machines and four dryers, but I guess the expense is too much to run them often. And dancing at the woman’s meeting. . . . I was so glad I did that. It was great!!!! And ya know, I felt at total peace with everything.  

I was surprised at myself that I didn’t even want to complain. Before we went I said to myself that I shouldn’t complain because we are going on a mission’s trip, and mission’s trips are all about working and so I shouldn’t complain about work. But even in my head I didn’t want to complain. I have missionary books and I read them again before the trip to see what I could possibly face in another country I don’t know maybe that helped prepare me or maybe it was just God. I could go on and on, but I would take up about 1,000 pages so I’ll close with this: I had an AMAZING time and I would LOVE to go back!!!!!

Home to 57 Colombian Children

The Home is a group of buildings and additions. 

The round building to the left is the central meeting house.

On the far left is a laundry/clothes drying building, next to that a new bath house, then the boys dorm. There is a main house where Jaime & Rubiela sleep along with some of the children. Then there is a kitchen/dining building and a girls dorm.

The climate is mild year round allowing for open areas for meeting and dining.  It is chilly on winter mornings but will warm up soon. Winter means rain, and more rain. 

This is a favorite spot for the young ones and the ball field gets a lot of use by the older ones.

The older children do most of the cooking, washing and care of the toddlers.

Well driller has hit Water

maquina poso
Well Drilling Machine has finally hit water! 
        We have waited for 6 months for this to happen.  It took so long because they had to redo the septic system before they were allowed to drill.  There were also a lot of permits and paperwork to get in place. 
The first of January $5,000 was collected for this project.  Thank you to each contributer.  The water bill has been running about $400 a month so with a bit of math, you can see this well will pay for itself in a very short time.
  Praise to our Father God!
 

Individual Photos

 

      Camilo             Carolina                 Cesar 



      Cristian                 Dana                   Daniela         


      
  Daniela Julieth           Darci                 Duban 


               Dylan                 Fey                        Inri  



   Jean Paul                Jesica                     Jimy  


 

         Juan Felipe                Jairo                     Josue

  

          Laura            Lendy Susana     Lendy Tatiana


      Lendy Yojana             Lina                   Luiz     

 

 
               
Maria Suli              Luz                   Maria 


    Mateo             Mefibosheth       Migual Angel


         Minguel                Monica                 Nasly 
  


           Nicole                          Oscar                  Rosa


        Ruben                 Ruth           Ruth Gevara


         Sandra                 Sandy           Sara Ruth



         Sofia              Victor Hugo    Victor Manuel        


          Weimar           Yeilson           Yeison              

                            Incomplete!