Maicao, Colombia. Is a small commercial city in Colombia, just 8 miles from the border with Venezuela. 7 miles outside this city, in the landfill, God led us to a small community formed by over 60 Wayuu families who are refugees fleeing the hardships of Venezuela. The main source of income for these families comes from the trash in the landfill. They dig through the trash as the trucks come during the day (or sometimes every other day) and find recycling material that they sell to make some money. On average they make 8,500 pesos a day ($2.70 USD) while the daily minimum wage in Colombia is 24,000 pesos ($8 USD).
Most of these families are unreached, but for the last year, we have been working to build a strong relationship with this community. For the last several months, God allowed us to demonstrate His love; now He is giving us the chance to speak about it. The community is open, receptive and even eager to learn God’s message of love. But as we provide for their spiritual needs we also want to contribute to their physical and mental needs as well. For 2019, we are embracing this community as our primary focus of outreach in Colombia. We hope to assist with education for children who are not currently enrolled in the school system, provide clean drinking water, hot meals, and plant a church.
We praise God for allowing us the privilege of serving this community that they just recently named “La Esperanza” (the Hope).
