We are 911 Life, We are Life, and your life is important
Welcome to 911 Life Ministries
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If you want to be a tangible extension of Father God’s love to those around you but don’t know where to start, we have the answer for you! In Colombia, 84% of children are born to single mothers, leaving scores of families devastated by the lack of a loving father.
That’s why 911 Life was born, to help restore the vulnerable women, children and families in Colombia. Understanding how important the family structure is, our approach is to rehabilitate the whole family through the powerful love of the only perfect Father – GOD.
We accomplish this through bilingual programs where we provide mentoring, discipleship, and education, helping our clients find a productive path in society and God’s best purpose for their lives.
911 Life Programs
911 Family
911 Community
Get Involved
About Us
The 911 LIFE FOUNDATION is a non-profit entity with NIT 901.204116-0 located in the Las Palmas neighborhood at the address Carrera 42 # 40 – 21. Our purpose is to provide social services to the community through programs and projects focused on families, targeting vulnerable populations such as: mothers heads of household (ages 18-45) and boys and girls (ages 6-13).
At 911 Life we provide Christ-centered training, psychosocial care, entrepreneurship training, training in arts and crafts, as well as accompaniment and academic training in English, music, arts, and sports, working together in strategic alliances with international, state and private entities, seeking to impact our community .
The Foundation’s programs and projects impact approximately 200 families in the community. Specifically, we have been working with the following social projects:
Woman of His Dreams: a comprehensive care project for women between the ages of 18 and 40, from a psychosocial and spiritual care approach aimed at the restoration of their rights and skills training for work.
Youth Center: this skills development center reaches children between the ages of 6 and 13 through our program at 911 Life, and also at several educational institutions near the Foundation where we provide accompaniment in English, arts, sports, music, different academic areas and psychosocial care, impacting students, teachers and families through innovative strategies in the classrooms with our interdisciplinary work team.
The International Training and Equipping Center (ITEC): a practical missions program where we provide courses, training, and opportunities to improve the community around us.
911 Family
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1
911 Family was created to meet the needs of vulnerable women and children through programs designed to restore them spirtually, emotionally, psychosocially, and in their work and education environments.
It consists of four projects:
- The Woman of His Dreams
- The 911 Youth Center
- Hope House (HH)
- Fearless Youth
Our 911 Family Projects
The Woman of His Dreams
The Woman of His Dreams is a Christ-centered micro-enterprise program designed to help at-risk women grow in their relationship with Christ while also preparing them to enter the workforce with their own micro-businesses.
While our Christ-centered focus helps them guide into a loving relationship with Jesus, our professionally trained staff Psychologists meet with the families throughout the week, praying with them and assessing the families’ needs and progress in our program. Many women who have gone through our program are now confidently running their own businesses, while also enjoying the blessings of a closer walk with God.
The women have enjoyed courses such as:
- The Basics of Running a Business
- Professional Sewing (Medellin is one of the fashion centers of South America!)
- Professional Chef Skills
- Cake Making and Decorating
- Professional Makeup Application
- Professional Hairstyling
- Professional Hairbraiding
- Professional Children’s Hairstyling
- Christmas Crafts For Selling
- Balloon Decorations for Parties
- Paper Flower Design
- Jewelry-Making
- Bracelet Weaving
The 911 Youth Center
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in Heaven always see the face of my Father in Heaven.”
Matthew 18:10
The 911 Youth Center provides essential tutoring in math and language, as well as spiritual care and extracurricular courses such as English, Art, Sports, Music, and more. Our program is open to children ages 5 – 13 years of age, with one group in the mornings and another in the afternoons.
The testimonies from this program are truly amazing, as the children have grown socially, spiritually, and educationally.
Socially: Those who were shy or who misbehaved are now active and productive members of class.
Spiritually: The children from our center are now taking Jesus into their public schools! One teacher told us a 7-year-old girl from our center who is in her class now encourages all of the kids to give their troubles to God and pray to Him in a spontaneous and personal way!
Educationally: We have seen children who were unable to read, write, or do basic math who are now able to do all of those things with speed and agility!
We are committed to the needs of every individual who enters our program, satisfying them in the best way possible through home visits along with psychological and spiritual care. The most important thing is that 911 Life is a place where people can learn about the God of the universe, who loves them and cares about the details of their lives!
English Classes
The Hope House
(HH)
The Hope House is a full-time care program to rescue single mothers and their children who find themselves in highly vulnerable situations. Our goal is for these women and their children to graduate from our program empowered, healed, bilingual, up to date with their studies and ready to succeed!
The 911 Hope House Project will begin with full-time care for 8 mothers and their children in two of the four houses that make up the 911 Life missions base in Medellin, with the future goal of expanding to include homes in other cities.
The families will receive crisis intervention, psychological and spiritual care, nutritional care and education, skills training, and more from professionally trained staff who will be available 24/7.
All school-aged children will benefit from a fully accredited Christian curriculum through 911 Hope Academy, a virtual school we are running in coordination with Academia Homeschool. In addition to all of the core subjects, students will enjoy arts, sports, music, English, tutoring, and other recreational activities provided by our teachers. They will also receive emotional and psychological assistance from our trained professionals.
About The Program
Many local programs exist which separate at-risk children from their parents, placing the children in substitute homes while the mothers are often left in trauma and with little hope of ever getting their children back.
While it is sometimes necessary to remove children from an unsafe situation, there are also many cases in which mothers simply need extra love, attention, psychological and spiritual
care, job skills, etc. in order to get out of the dire situation in which they find themselves.
Our goal has always been to do everything possible to keep families together while providing the care and intervention needed, and in 2014 the dream to offer a full-time intervention program for both at-risk mothers and their children was born.
While the women’s and children’s programs we’ve run over the years have had tremendous success, they have also helped prepare us to take the next step of creating the 911 Hope House!
How it Works
Phase One: The families move from their crisis situation to the Hope House for a period of approximately 6 months, during which they receive 24-hour care, love, support, counseling, and other necessary services.
The children enter our 911 Hope Academy and Youth Center.
Phase Two: As the family heals, the mother enters jobs training in an area of interest, while continuing to receive the care and support needed. The children continue in the 911 Hope Academy and Youth Center. This phase lasts for up to 15 months.
Phase Three: Between 21 and 24 months after entering the 911 Hope House Project, the families transition into living independently as the mother financially supports her family.
Join the 911 Hope House Initiative!
Be a part of this innovative program and help transform the lives of women and children while keeping families together!
Fearless Youth
(FY)
Fearless Youth is a Christ-centered English training project impacting 60 youth between the ages of 14 and 25 who live in the neighborhood of the foundation and desire to learn English communication skills in order to improve their competitiveness in the marketplace.
Fearless Youth students will “pay it forward” in neighboring educational institutions where they will teach English to the students there, thus multiplying the benefit of their learning while expanding the scope and impact of this project.
Why English Trough Storytelling?
Think of how information has been passed down through most of history. That’s right — through storytelling! Storytelling is an engaging and natural way to teach and learn English. You connect with the characters in the story, and follow their plight with interest as you learn English in the meantime.
Why Should I Take 911 English?
At 911 English, we wanted to do more than that. We wanted to provide meaningful Christ-centered stories that make our students think about the world and their part in it. This is exactly what 911 English provides: a fun, interesting, meaningful, value-driven, easy way to learn English online! On top of that, all of our English classes are free!h in the meantime.
Who Are the Teachers for 911 English?
Our online English courses were created by an experienced native English teacher, and the online format allows you to access our high-quality lessons from any device 24/7. If you need to repeat a lesson, no problem. In fact, listening to the audios more than once will help you catch the pronunciation. Our teacher is from the Midwestern United States, which means this is the closest to a “General American” accent you’ll get!
How Do I Get Started?
All we ask is that you fill out the following form so we know who is taking our English Through Storytelling
Select your course and start learning now!
911 Community
“The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in the hearts; their feet do not slip.”
Psalm 37:30-31
It consists of three projects:
- 911 Worship
- The International Training and Equipping Center (ITEC)
- Missions Experience
Our 911 Community Projects
911 Worship
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come before Him; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
1 Chronicles 16:29
“WORSHIP is at the center of everything we do at 911 Life. True worship is more than just praise and adoration. It’s pouring out God’s love in practical and tangible ways to those in need while training others to do the same in their own communities.”
Have you ever realized that your main purpose in life is to worship God? As a child of God, the very essence of who you are comes from a place of closeness and intimacy with Him, accomplished through worship and spending time in His presence. As you spend this time with God, you become more like Him, receiving His love and sharing it with others.
In the Bible, King David brought a new era of honoring God through a creative and organized outpouring of instrumental praise and worship. At 911 Life we believe that the best way for dramatic expansion of the Kingdom of God in individual hearts, neighborhoods, cities, and nations is through worship, prayer and encountering His presence.
You can visit our worship room any time! The 911 Worship Room is a place where believers from around the world can gather to worship God in creative and spontaneous song, prayer, prophetic art and dance. Join us in offering a sweet fragrance of worship and praise to the Most High God through regular periods of worship. What a privilege to be able to spend this dedicated time together with other believers!
Check Out Recent Song
Releases by members of 911 Worship
(Amos 9:11 and Acts 15:16)
The International Training and Equipping Center
(ITEC)
The International Training and Equipping Center (ITEC) is a practical missions school located in Medellin, Colombia, South America, which trains and equips believers from around the world in how to love, minister to, and serve those least valued by society.
Previous ITEC students have had life-changing breakthroughs, deepening their relationship with God through an intimate understanding of the Father’s Heart. Many genuine believers are simply not prepared to minister to others. They possess a deep desire to love the lost and broken, but lack the tools and confidence needed to do so effectively. Others may be looking to expand their ministry and want to enter into a deeper and more intimate relationship with God.
ITEC was birthed to meet these needs, and as we build into our students through teachings and impartations, as well as diverse opportunities for practical outreach, God performs miraculous restoration in their lives. This dramatically impacts students’ abilities to effectively minister to others not only in Colombia, but also in their own communities.
At ITEC we train believers to minister confidently through the presence of God and the impartation of His love. Students live together in a community atmosphere of faith and hunger for more of God. Activities include enriching training sessions, diverse and practical outreaches, passionate worship, faith-filled prayer, service to others, and a personalized weekly mentoring session.
At ITEC, you will:
- Deepen your relationship with God
- Learn how to live in the presence of God 24/7
- See healings and miracles first-hand as you pray for people
- Receive and impart the Father’s love
- Love the lost and rejected
- Experience new levels of personal inner healing
- Create lifelong friendships with other passionate, on-fire believers from around the world
If you believe God has more for you and you’re unwilling to settle for less, come join us in Medellin, Colombia, and watch God work through you in ways you’ve never imagined!
Your life will never be the same! Start your journey today!
Missions Experience
(ME)
Be Transformed as You Impact The Lives Of Others
Visiting 911 Life is a great way to experience missions in the beautiful city of Medellin, Colombia. When you visit 911 Life, you will be challenged to grow in your connection with and dependence on God. Your faith will grow as you are impacted by His love. The missional life will come alive for you, and you will begin to see people who are different from you through eyes of Love. You will be changed forever!
About The City and Its people
Medellin is a city of approximately 3.5 million people, snuggled in a picturesque valley in the heart of the Andes mountains. Situated at about 5000 feet above sea level (similar to Denver, CO), Medellin has been dubbed the “city of eternal springtime,” averaging 65-85 F year-round.
Colombians are some of the friendliest people on earth, demonstrating a combination of small-town charm and big-city business sophistication. With the terror of the Escobar era and the civil war now in the past, Medellin has taken steps toward becoming an innovative cultural city rivaling other large cities of Latin America.
However, decades of civil war, displacement, and violence have left their mark on Medellin. The city suffers from extreme poverty, gang violence, drug addiction, displaced peoples, prostitution, and sex-trafficking. In addition, the recent Venezuelan crisis brings 35,000 refugees into Colombia every day, many of whom end up in Medellin, straining already over-taxed governmental services.
How You Can Help
People in Medellin hunger for more of God. They thirst for His unquenchable Love and long for hope in a dark and uncertain world.
When you partner with 911 Life on a short-term mission trip, you help us reach these people and bring them the hope and love they so desperately need.
Bring a Short-Term
A short-term trip to 911 Life is usually around 7-10 days. A typical team size is between 10-20 people, but we can easily accommodate teams of any size.
To bring a short-term team to 911 Life:
- Fill out the 911 Life Volunteer Team Application form.
- After we agree on a date and the team has been accepted, we will send you a Volunteer Team Informational Packet which includes all of the necessary information for the trip.
- Your trip is confirmed and preparations begin.
- Many teams find it helpful to meet at least 3-5 times prior to the trip, as well as a debriefing meeting after they return home.
The team is responsible for arranging round-trip travel to Medellin. Once you arrive, we take care of all in-country logistics throughout the trip, including in-country transportation, lodging, food, translators, a fun day, etc.
Our Team
1 Corinthians 12:14
Thomas y Jennifer Atwater
Founders of 911 Life Ministries
(Wisconsin, USA)
In 1995, Tom and Jen were college students headed to Colombia to teach English as a second language in a small school in Cartagena. While they were strolling the cobble-stoned streets of the old city one evening, they saw a paper bag up ahead. As they approached it, ready to kick it out of their way, they saw to their horror that there was actually a young child sleeping inside!
They evaluated their options. Should they take him to their hacienda for the night? Would that possibly be even worse for him, knowing the comforts of a soft bed for one night? What else could they possibly do to help? SOMEONE had to help this child! Finally, understanding that there was nothing permanent they could do to help this child, nor the countless other street children they had seen begging on the streets during the day, they carefully tucked some money underneath him, said a prayer for his safety, and continued on their way, forever impacted by this experience.
In 2011, 16 years after the seed was sown in their hearts, Tom and Jen moved their young family to Medellin, Colombia, to serve as Directors of a center for at-risk children and families in Medellin. During the 7 years that they served as directors of the center, God was building a larger vision not only for the care of at-risk children and families, but also for the training and equipping of believers worldwide. In 2018, they followed God’s leading and founded 911 Life Ministries.
To help support Tom and Jennifer Atwater, (Please scroll down to Tom and Jen Atwater).
Tatiana Figueroa
Project Coordinator
(Medellín, COLOMBIA)
Tati joined 911 Life in 2022 as our Project Coordinator. She has enthusiasm and perseverance, as well as a LOT of experience as a Social Worker.
Having her with us at 911 Life is a huge blessing!
Jhoan Giraldo
Accountant
(Medellín, COLOMBIA)
Jhoan joined 911 Life in August 2019 as our new accountant! He came to us in a most unusual way, he felt God pressing him to quit his job in order to volunteer at 911 Life. Within weeks he became so necessary that we had to hire him!
He has a missionary heart, and is always ready to lend a helping hand in whatever capacity he might be needed. When he’s not working, Jhoan loves to read, travel, and hang out with friends. We are THRILLED to have him with us at 911 Life!
Marcela Londoño
Administrative Assistant
(Medellín, COLOMBIA)
Marcela is one of the hardest-working people we know, and is an EXTREMELY capable Administrative Assistant!
She also has a pastor’s heart and a desire to see people healed. We are THRILLED to have her with us at 911 Life!
Fun fact: She is married to Jonathan Sanchez, another amazing 911 staff member.
Claudia Marcela Salazar
Psychologist
(Leticia, COLOMBIA)
Claudia first began as a volunteer at 911 Life. She is now a full-time staff member and has been a great blessing to the foundation. She is characterized by the love God has put in her for women and children. Her experience as a Psychologist is a great blessing to 911 Life!
Jonathan Sánchez
911 Worship Coordinator / Youth Center Assistant
(Leticia, COLOMBIA)
He currently helps run the Worship Room and serves in our Youth Center full-time. We are THRILLED to have him with us at 911 Life!
Fun fact: he is married to our amazing Admin Assistant, Marcela!
Our Amazing Volunteers
We have an AMAZING group of volunteers who are dedicated and passionate about seeing Jesus glorified in all that they do! They are a SUPER integral part of 911 Life and each one helps raise the quality of everything we do through their love, support, and ideas.and ideas.
Give Now!
Give a tax-deductible donation to 911 Life today
To give online via Credit Card
1- Direct withdrawal from your bank account
- Mail it with a voided check to:
- Orphanos con 911 Life en la línea de memo: Orphanos, P.O. Box 1057, Cordova, TN 38088-1150
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We are 911 Life, We are Life, and your life is important
Welcome to
911 Life Ministries
Click here to visit us on YouTube! Subscribe to our channel to receive updates on our videos!
If you want to be a tangible extension of Father God’s love to those around you but don’t know where to start, we have the answer for you! In Colombia, 84% of children are born to single mothers, leaving scores of families devastated by the lack of a loving father. That’s why 911 Life was born, to help restore the vulnerable women, children and families in Colombia. Understanding how important the family structure is, our approach is to rehabilitate the whole family through the powerful love of the only perfect Father – GOD. We accomplish this through bilingual programs where we provide mentoring, discipleship, and education, helping our clients find a productive path in society and God’s best purpose for their lives.
911 Life Programs
911 Family
911 Community
Get Involved!
About us
The 911 LIFE FOUNDATION is a non-profit entity with NIT 901.204116-0 located in the Las Palmas neighborhood at the address Carrera 42 # 40 – 21. Our purpose is to provide social services to the community through programs and projects focused on families, targeting vulnerable populations such as: mothers heads of household (ages 18-45) and boys and girls (ages 6-13).
At 911 Life we provide Christ-centered training, psychosocial care, entrepreneurship training, training in arts and crafts, as well as accompaniment and academic training in English, music, arts, and sports, working together in strategic alliances with international, state and private entities, seeking to impact our community .
The Foundation’s programs and projects impact approximately 200 families in the community. Specifically, we have been working with the following social projects:
Woman of His Dreams: a comprehensive care project for women between the ages of 18 and 40, from a psychosocial and spiritual care approach aimed at the restoration of their rights and skills training for work.
Youth Center: this skills development center reaches children between the ages of 6 and 13 through our program at 911 Life, and also at several educational institutions near the Foundation where we provide accompaniment in English, arts, sports, music, different academic areas and psychosocial care, impacting students, teachers and families through innovative strategies in the classrooms with our interdisciplinary work team.
The International Training and Equipping Center (ITEC): a practical missions program where we provide courses, training, and opportunities to improve the community around us.
911 Family
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!“
Psalm 133:1
© 2023 / 911 Life.
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