Venezuela (MNN) — Venezuela is continuing to face the long haul of an economic crisis.
According to OneWay Ministries‘ Jake*, minimum wage amounts to less than $3 USD** a month. Eggs in the country can cost as much as $5 USD, and a pair of shoes is simply not attainable. Some people will wait in line at a store to buy basic groceries for a full 24 hours, only to finally discover the store shelves are empty.
It’s discouraging.
However, a church in the Andes mountains is being equipped to meet the physical and spiritual needs of its community. Relief is being sent by an American church which supports the Venezuelan church planter at this church.
Venezuela Experiences Tangible Hope
Jake says the church is receiving aid through a local church partnership. OneWay has been acting as the middleman and delivering the aid from the supporting church to this church in Venezuela. But it’s also been bringing encouragement and training.
Jake is helping train people through the Bible story. It’s the idea of committing the Bible to heart, rather than relying entirely on a print Bible to know Scriptures.
However, for Jake, this church is special. Jake actually met its pastor in 1989, during an international trip. Today, this church is over ten years old.
“They are so focused on prayer and the word of God and it is making a major impact,” Jake explains.
“The children, the youth, the adults are all learning Bible stories by heart, [and] Bible verses. They’re just filling their hearts with Bible and then doing whatever they can to communicate the Gospel in their surrounding communities.”
Self-sacrificial Gifts
The outside relief has enabled this church to self-sacrificially share its physical resources.
“Three days a week, the church offers a balanced meal for the children, but adults partake as well in the community. And, with that, they share the word of God and pray,” Jake says.
“So, to see people who are desperate, meeting together, sharing what they have with one another and with their community, being generous with everything that they can get their hands on, it’s making a major impact. The testimony of this church is quite positive in the whole area there.”
The people in Venezuela are hurting. There’s a sense of hopelessness permeating the culture. Nearly everyone has needs which aren’t being met. Because of this, the aid the church shares in its community reveals its heart. In a sense, people are seeing this church live by what it preaches in Christ. And it’s been impactful.
“It’s wonderful to see when God’s people share, and give, and do what they can in such a drastic situation,” Jake says.
Pray for God to change leaders’ hearts in Venezuela, for the people to stop suffering, and for the corruption in the country to end. Ask God to keep using this church to be a tangible representation of Christ’s self-sacrificial love. And please, pray for revival in this country.
Learn more about OneWay Ministries here!
*Name has been changed for security purposes.
**Interview for story conducted prior to the third minimum wage hike of 2018 in Venezuela.
