By Friday, the death toll rose to 589 people, with thousands reported missing. Damages are especially heavy in the coastal region north of Caracas. 

Annabel Torrealba serves as the International Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for TWR. She has been in steady communication with quake survivors.  

“They say that the earth felt like it was moving up and down, and then when it got stable for a few seconds, then it was like moving like the ocean, like in waves,” she says. 

The quake left people feeling dizzy and paralyzed. 

“When they could move, they got out of the house, the buildings, and they stayed in the middle of the street, just waiting for the ground to get stable,” Torrealba says. 

The elderly or disabled had to be helped out of their homes. People saw God’s providence right after the quake in being at the right place at the right time for those in need. “That’s the common description from many that I’ve been talking with: ‘I don’t know why I was there in that moment, but I was there, and I could help this person. I could take them to a safe place,’” says Torrealba. 

Many countries are promising aid for Venezuela, but Torrealba says that it will take time. Rescue and recovery are currently hindered by a lack of heavy equipment for removing rubble. Also, the country’s main airport in Caracas had to be closed due to quake damage. 

In the meantime, many survivors have endured the agony of waiting to hear from family members, as communication challenges persist due to power outages. 

“After the earthquakes, they didn’t have power. Some of them could text and send messages. People were communicating with us until one in the morning [early Thursday], and then they ran out of batteries,” says Torrealba.

(Photo courtesy Radio Trans Mundial de Venezuela)

When the quakes hit, TWR’s team in Venezuela was at the office recording new content. Torrealba notes that Wednesday was a national holiday, so the team was working outside of normal business hours, “because they have so much passion for reaching the people in Venezuela.”

Pray for wisdom as TWR’s partners, RTM Venezuela, serve as witnesses of Christ on the long road ahead.

“The director is Gabriel Fernandez. Please pray for him that he can lead the team and do what God wants him to do during this time. Probably they have to switch some of their plans and go a different direction for a few months,” says Torrealba. 

Pray also for God’s comfort and help to come to Venezuelans through the Church as well as through governments and NGOs.

“Don’t forget to pray for them, because in the first weeks many people are praying, but when it’s after a month or two, the prayers are less and less,” says Torrealba. 

Header photo of Caracas, Venezuela is a stock photo courtesy of Bona Lee via Unsplash.

“They’re being cautious, trying to just keep [at] minimum going out,” says Annabel Muscarella. She serves as Trans World Radio’s International Director of Latin America and Caribbean Hispanic Ministry. 

“[On] Sunday, some churches didn’t have services. But most people just went out to buy food and medicines and some gas, [so] that they can be ready for anything that could happen.”

(Stock photo courtesy of Luisana Zerpa via Unsplash)

Things moved swiftly in the US. On Monday, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges in a New York City court. Their next hearing is set for March 17. 

On the same day as the first hearing, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting in New York City. Delegates from China, Russia, and Colombia condemned the U.S.’s military actions as illegal. Other members of the Security Council emphasized the importance of upholding international law. 

Meanwhile, in Venezuela itself, “You have to be very, very cautious because there isn’t a clear understanding of who is running the country,” says Muscarella. “We know there is a vice president [Delcy Rodriguez]. We don’t know exactly what is going to happen in the next few days. That’s the feeling you can sense when you talk with people that live in Venezuela.”

Find your place in the story

Pray for wisdom for political leaders to make just decisions. Pray for peace in Venezuela, says Muscarella. “For now, praying for their safety and [for] people to stay calm and peaceful, I think that will help this situation.”

(Photo courtesy Radio Trans Mundial de Venezuela)

Pray also for strength, wisdom, and discernment for churches and their pastors in Venezuela. “I have many, many friends — pastors, friends — there. They don’t stop. They don’t stop sharing the gospel,” Muscarella says. 

Gospel ministry continues at Radio Trans Mundial Venezuela, a Spanish branch of Trans World Radio. “There is that freedom still in Venezuela to share the good news with kids and their parents,” says Muscarella. 

“Don’t wait to help,” she adds. If you feel led to send a message to communities in Venezuela or even to send financial aid in some way, she says you can reach out to Trans World Radio. “That helps, because we are in contact with them [Venezuelans], and we can on your behalf help them.”

Header photo: Caracas, Venezuela (Stock photo courtesy of Bona Lee via Unsplash).

One ministry taking that danger seriously is ZimZam Global, a church-planter training organization that approaches children’s discipleship first.

“With the rise of terror groups in Africa, you would realize that the most affected people are children,” says Francis Kataka Kubondo with ZimZam Global. “Wherever there is an attack, definitely the children suffer most.” 

Children’s school attendance and church and family life all come under threat when terrorists strike. Some may be exploited in the worst of ways.

Children are also vulnerable to accepting Islamic State jihadism themselves. Kubondo explains that extremists will sometimes enter communities the same way that Christians do. They might offer humanitarian aid or school sponsorship, gaining influence.

(Photo courtesy of Fatima Yusuf via Unsplash)

“They target areas where people are poor, [they] target area[s] where there is some form of instability, and then they present themselves as a solution,” he says. 

Yet there is a crucial difference: “For Christianity, we are driven by love, as opposed to the Islamists, who are driven by fear.” 

ZimZam Global’s vision is a church for every child. Today, they serve in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, and their reach is expanding.

“Most [other] church planting trainings focus on adults, but for us, we do it the other way around. We first of all reach out to children, and then through children, the church planter can gain access to family and then through family, now a church can be birthed,” says Kubondo.

The next generations in Africa are on the line, so please pray! Pray that instead of being exposed to Islamic extremism, many more children in Africa will accept Christ, join God’s family and serve His good Kingdom purposes. Pray for more believers to join the work to reach children for Christ in Africa. Pray for resources ZimZam Global needs to carry this mission forward. 

“Our biggest cry in Africa is for God to provide opportunities in His own ways so that we can move up to the northern part of Africa and share the goodness of Christ in those areas,” says Kubondo. “As of now, the engagement is very low.” 

Header photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Michael Ali via Unsplash. 

Dave Matthews founded Reflejo to mobilize more Latin American Christians in missions.

“As the Gospel has expanded to other nations—in our case, Latin America—we also have that duty to the Great Commission to obey and to go to all nations, bringing the Gospel,” Matthews says. “So what we do at Reflejo is we’re a missionary agency for Latin Americans—Spanish, Portuguese speakers from Central and South America—to go to the unreached, to go to the hard to reach places that don’t yet fully have the gospel as they should.”

Why Latino Christians?

Matthews says there are many advantages to sending Latinos to places such as the Middle East and Central Asia. First, Latinos can often blend in more easily and are less likely to attract unsafe attention. People from Central or South America also have fewer stereotypes and biases that could create barriers for them in Muslim-majority countries.

“As I go overseas and I tell people, ‘Hey, I’m from Peru or from Latin America,’ they don’t have a lot of ideas as to what to attach Peru to. Whereas, if I say I’m American or I’m from the US, there’s a lot of baggage that comes to that in their mind,” says Matthews. “So I get to start at a point of more of a carte blanche with them, relationally, and for them to see who I am.”

Historically, early Arabic influences on the Iberian peninsula contributed to the cultures and languages of Spain and Portugal. With Spanish and Portuguese colonization, those same influences shaped Central and South American worldviews, values, and more. Hundreds of years later, the similarities help Latino Christians to connect with unreached peoples on the other side of the world.

“We find that Latin American culture is a lot closer to Arab culture or Muslim culture in most places it’s in,” says Matthews.

“Latinos are uniquely positioned to bring the gospel to the unreached.”

Reflejo has also successfully placed Latino Christians in areas where others may not have access or be welcomed. They are met with curiosity and openness that allows them to quickly build relationships. For example, someone from the United States may not be able to safely travel to or work in certain countries that are open to South Americans.

“We are seeing access in a few of these places, and we’re well received. People are curious about where we’re from, what we’re doing, who we are, and we get to build relationships over time and share Jesus in a different way,” Matthews says.

“We’ve been able to put people who are going to do their work, and while they are doing their work, they’re going to be that living, breathing testimony of the love of God.”

If you are a Latino Christian interested in more information about Reflejo, visit their website here. There are opportunities to serve internationally as well as volunteer from home. Dave Matthews also invites believers from any background to pray for and support Latin American missionaries.

“One of the things that’s a common theme in the countries we’re going to is the enemy has had control of that region for a long time, and he is not excited to give it up,” says Matthews. “He will do what is in his power in terms of spiritual warfare, challenges, difficulties of any sort of kind that are at his disposal to get in the way of missions advance. And so we need lots and lots of people covering our staff, our team, our projects in prayer.”

Sign up for Reflejo’s prayer newsletter here.

“The whole body of Christ works together. If you are not a Latino and you still want to get involved in helping Latinos go, there’s a number of ways you can do that,” says Matthews. “Get involved. Join us. Partner with somebody. Help us sponsor a missionary that will do excellent work, sometimes in places, even if you wanted to, you couldn’t go into.”

Header representative photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash.

Steve Martin with Wycliffe Associates explains that their team is actively working on several projects in Brazil. About two years ago they finished a Brazilian Portuguese Bible. While a Portuguese Bible existed previously, it had a copyright that meant it couldn’t be reproduced to help with additional translations.

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Wycliffe Associates’ Bible propelled translation work for the team since it allowed them to use that base translation for other similar languages in Brazil. Because of that Martin shares, “This year, in Brazil, we’ve been able to start two projects. In January, we started an Old Testament project. Then in February, we started a New Testament translation project.”

Deaf Owned Translations

Unfortunately, there are many languages that will not be able to use the base language so easily. For instance, Deaf communities with and without sign languages remain as some of the hardest to reach groups. However, Wycliffe Associates is excited to have several Deaf projects in Brazil.

“One of those is a DOT Project. DOT for Wycliffe Associates stands for Deaf Owned Translation. We’re currently working with a Deaf group of people – a language group – with their own New Testament. Then we have three New Testaments that we’re working with, and two Old Testament projects that we’re engaged in.”

In addition to those projects Wycliffe Associates has a program called SUN: Symbolic Universal Notations. Martin says, “It’s a language that Wycliffe Associates created for people who don’t have a language. We’ll be going in to Brazil in September of this year and having our largest ever SUN conference workshop. [We will be] teaching the population of Deaf and Deafblind this language that will reach up to 9 million people who don’t have a way of knowing who Jesus Christ is.”

Translation Finish Line

They rejoice to see projects coming to completion. Martin shares that as they begin more and more translations in unreached languages, they can finally see the finish line. Fewer and fewer translations need to be started. It’s feeling realistic to actually get to all the language groups and see a partial fulfillment of the Great Commission in Brazil.

“At the end of the day, Bible translation is not about translating God’s word,” Martin asserts. “At the end of the day, Bible translation is about people knowing that Jesus Christ came, lived, died, resurrected, so that they could have life eternal, and know him personally.”

Currently Wycliffe Associates is involved in 778 Bible translation projects. They need support to continue their work among the least reached. Consider donating toward projects in Latin America or toward the DOT project specifically to help bring Gospel truth to the ends of the earth.

Header Photo by Raphael Nogueira on Unsplash

Helen Williams of World Missionary Press says it’s challenging to transport materials, especially through the mountainous regions. But a local partner helps move boxes of the Scripture booklets across the country into several areas, including Bogotá, Cali, and Medellin. Every box has 500 pieces of literature printed to share the Gospel.

“They’re going by motorcycle in the mud. They’re walking from village to village. They’re climbing mountains to get to villages. They’re putting the boxes on their heads and carrying them all over the place,” Williams says.

The hard journey is worth it when the Scripture booklets get into the hands of Colombian pastors. 

WMPs local partner in Colombia helps to distribute Scripture booklets across the country.

“He says that pastors are happy with the literature,” Williams says. “He’s passing them on to other pastors. Even when these pastors get just one box, or whatever they’re passing it on. The Word is spreading, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of work and money to get it there.”

With more and more Venezuelans crossing the border, they also receive the literature and learn about the Gospel. At the start of 2023, Colombia had 3 million Venezuelans seeking asylum and more on the way. 

Opportunities to share the Gospel continue to increase, and people are responding.

One Colombian pastor told WMP, “Many are learning about Christ and the need to be discipled more and more. We sincerely appreciate your support in this valuable work of evangelism.”

Williams wants believers to be encouraged and know that “God is at work in so many places in the world.” 

To meet demand, WMP is preparing to send another 40-foot shipping container full of literature that will reach thousands more in Colombia. You can support the work of WMP here. Every dollar can produce 24 Scripture booklets for people who don’t know the Gospel.

Header and article photos courtesy of World Missionary Press on Facebook.

Chile saw murders increase 66 percent between 2016 and 2020. Homicides in Ecuador jumped 84 percent in 2021 alone. The government of Peru declared a state of emergency earlier this year over rising contract killings.

Mission Cry

Mission Cry has a plan to take Bibles into areas largely controlled by drug cartels. Jason Woolford says the cartels often oppose churches because they recognize a power that sets people free. “Not only does it set people free, but it raises up a generation to fight back. It will also give them the ability to take background physically. Then the cartels will lose out monetarily. That’s why the fight is so tough against us.”

Woolford asks readers to pray for this mission. “Because we’re stirring up a battle. We’re taking the battle to the devil and those that he possesses and oppresses. We need prayer, we also need sponsorship for these Bibles.”

“You can sponsor these Bibles at $2 a Bible, and that’s going to get it into someone’s hands absolutely free.”

Get involved

In 2021, Mission Cry gave free Bibles or Christian books to 1.4 million people around the world. They also produce a Mission Cry Bible in English and Spanish.

Support this work here.

Your contribution will not only send Bibles around the world, but it will also sponsor special operations like this one, or like the mission to Osama Bin Laden’s former compound in Pakistan last year.

The header photo shows drugs seized by the U.S. government. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain) 

Undaunted as they visit homes with the gospel, provide food and medical care or educate children whose teachers the pandemic has driven away, workers from Mexico to Argentina are exposed to patches where the pandemic still rages.

“One of our missionaries was struck hard by COVID-19 because she suffers from other health problems as well,” the leader of a ministry based in Mexico said. “Despite that, she continues in her call to serve Christ among the ethnic groups.”

Several of the ministry’s workers in southern Mexico have been infected with the virus – including members of the leader’s own family.

“On several occasions, the police wanted to kill our missionary, but the Lord guarded him from all harm.”

“However, none of our missionaries has been discouraged, and they continue forward in the work that God has entrusted to us,” he said. “In some cases, rural towns have been closed and do not allow home visits of the families that our missionaries are reaching, but we continue to manage to visit all these families who need the Lord so much.”

As the pandemic closed schools, schoolteachers left for other areas, leaving rural areas already suffering from low levels of education without a way for children to escape the cycle of poverty. Local missionaries have stepped up.

“One of the areas that God has opened in rural towns is the education of children,” the leader said. “The support provided by Christian Aid Mission has been key to purchasing materials that are necessary to equip the missionaries so they can teach the children. This is definitely an area in which we must invest more, because it is a door that God is opening to bring the gospel to indigenous peoples.”

Bullets and Opposition

Persecution from followers of traditional religions remains a force; the ministry has helped two widows whose husbands were killed for sharing the gospel, the leader said.

Some workers are bringing the Gospel to four unreached villages, while others are digging water wells for 10 communities that have no safe drinking water. Others are helping destitute children whose parents died from Ebola, COVID-19 or other natural disasters.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

One of the widows is leading the congregation her husband once pastored.

“We are looking at a way to give her more help since she has three children,” the leader said. “She is very brave, and despite the threats that have been made to her, she is still willing to move forward.”

The ministry is also helping a couple whose home was burned.

“Another of the cases that we have supported in these past months has been a sister who took charge of the church in an ethnic Mixtec community and suffers constant beatings for her faith in Christ,” the leader said. “Recently we helped her to build a greenhouse, and from there she can obtain income for support.”

Amid the hostilities, workers have carried out dental/medical outreaches in different ethnic communities that have been a great help to people, including alleviation of COVID-19 symptoms, he said.

“The truth is, we are surprised in the way that God is supporting us to bring relief to the families of the poorest ethnic regions of Mexico,” he said. “In most rural towns, the brethren have continued to meet weekly, and the medical outreach has served as a testimony of compassion to the inhabitants of the community, in addition to being used to share the gospel, especially in these moments when several are afraid of COVID-19.”

At the same time, the pandemic has increased resistance as villagers fear workers visiting from nearby areas could bring infections.

“People in many cases have become more distrustful, and in some cases, they only let outsiders in for a short time,” the leader said. “Spiritual warfare is very strong; witchcraft and ancient traditions are daily practiced. Armed conflicts in the towns are also a problem for the mobility and security of our missionaries – some bullets have even hit houses, and this reduces visits to families and contacts they have.”

Voice for the Oppressed

In another Latin American country where coronavirus restrictions were still in place in some areas, local missionaries found ways to bring aid, the gospel and social justice, but not without risks of infection and opposition.

Gospel workers are discipling new Christians one-on-one, in small group meetings and through WhatsApp. Native missionaries throughout Latin America need funding for such evangelism and discipleship work.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

“It is forbidden to go out to the streets to preach, but our missionary with his motorbike has traveled several kilometers, entering the jungle hills, carrying the gospel and food supplies,” said the leader of the ministry based in the country, undisclosed for security reasons.

In response to pandemic-related joblessness in a village of about 20 families, a worker began teaching young people how to make cement bricks and build their homes.

“These ventures generated favorable changes in the inhabitants,” the leader said. “After their conversion to Christ, this village has a better way of life, not only spiritually, but in all areas of their lives.”

With assistance from Christian Aid Mission, the ministry also has been able to attend to COVID-19 health emergencies and provide masks and hygiene items, along with feeding the hungry in poor communities.

One area ministry leader pursued social justice by exposing an illegal government practice of putting women, children, and elderly men who had no medical indication of COVID-19 infection into isolation centers.

The revelation led to the discovery of corruption in the province, the leader said.

“On several occasions, because of this the police wanted to kill our missionary, but the Lord guarded him from all harm,” he said. “The missionary shared the gospel with doctors and lawyers who were accompanying him. On those days his life was at risk, but God allowed nothing to go wrong. After a while, this type of persecution stopped; we give glory to God for this.”

Help Gospel workers bring the Gospel and aid to unreached people throughout the region.

Header and story images courtesy of Christian Aid Mission.

That’s an increase of 13.8 million since 2019 according to a UN report. The report calls this increase, “the most pronounced rise in relation to other world regions.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and transportation disruptions have made this situation worse, says Brian Dennett with AMG International. “I spoke to our national director in Guatemala, for example, yesterday. He shared that just the cost of all of their basic staples like beans, rice, and corn, is through the roof. At the moment, an estimated 1/5 of their country is hungry.”

AMG’s focus

As the problem gets worse, AMG has shifted its ministry focus towards feeding the hungry in Jesus’ name. Dennett says, “So in Latin America, we have fed tens of thousands over the last year, and we continue to do that. We feel the best way to do that is not by sending things down, but by purchasing locally and helping local economies in that way. For those who want to donate, we will be purchasing lots more food and helping the hungry, while also sharing the Gospel.”

Ask God to provide for people in these regions, and find your place in this story. Dennett says, “Most of us can probably hardly imagine what it’s like to truly be hungry. And when you’ve seen that, it’s just such a desperate thing.”

Want to help AMG continue this work? Learn more or donate here. Dennett says, “We are already feeding people. And we always have been purchasing food directly from local vendors to feed children in our schools and in our hospital. We have just ramped up that process.”

Header photo courtesy of AMG International. 

But what about those who don’t yet know Jesus? What are you willing to do to get the Gospel to unreached people?

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) uses aircraft to fly into remote and unreached areas with aid, resources, medical transports, and spiritual hope.

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Nathan Jones, MAF’s media marketing coordinator says, “MAF was started just over 76 years ago, by former World War II pilots, and we use small specialized aircraft to reach isolated villages around the world. We’re in a bunch of different countries in Asia, in Africa, as well as in Latin America. We use small specialized aircraft to make it accessible for isolated villages to be impacted by the love of Jesus.”

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow in the United States. It’s a day when people come together and give generously to non-profits and ministries during the holiday season. MAF has a goal this Giving Tuesday to raise $80,000 for the ministry!

“It’s our largest goal that we’ve ever put out since we started doing this in 2012,” says Jones. “And we’re going to be sharing some stories, we’re going to be having some fun on our social networks, and hopefully, bringing in $80,000 to bring people help, hope, and healing.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

One impact story is about Liku, a man from a remote village in Papua, Indonesia. Because MAF flew to his village, Liku got to hear the Gospel for the first time.

Jones says, “When we opened an airstrip a couple of years ago, he was one of the guys that came to know Jesus and became one of those that are just so on fire for helping his brothers and sisters who live in Papua come to Jesus and come to find life abundant.”

Click here to learn more about supporting MAF for Giving Tuesday!

And as you give, please pray. Ask the Lord to bless MAF’s ministry and give new believers like Liku a passion for sharing their faith.

Header photo courtesy of MAF.