Colombia

Paula’s mother allowed her to attend a Good News Club® with one condition—that she not change her religion. While there, Paula asked her teacher for advice on how to deal with the situations at home. Eventually, Paula’s mother approached the teacher for advice as well.  Through the teacher’s help, Paula had her mother have both received Christ as their Savior and are growing in their relationship with him.

Through the teacher’s help, Paula and her mother have both received Christ as their Savior and are growing in their relationship with him.

Jacob, age 10, had a different problem—he was a habitual liar. While his dishonesty made his mother sad, she confessed to Jacob’s Good News Club teacher, Manuela, that she had the same issue. Manuela was able to share the Gospel with Jacob’s mother, and she received Christ as her Savior! Through ongoing discipleship from Manuela, Jacob’s mother has found victory over her lying—and Jacob has, too. Today, Jacob and his mom regularly attend Good News Club, and the whole family goes to church.

Although Colombia possesses much wealth, 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The most vulnerable victims are the children, with multitudes of homeless children abandoned to sleep on the streets of big cities.

Approximately one in ten children do not attend school at all. Due to armed conflicts, many schools are forced to close on a regular basis for extended periods of time. In addition, children go to work rather than going to school to help provide for their families.

Sexual exploitation and prostitution are big problems in the country. In order to survive, children as young as ten engage in prostitution for just a few measly pesos. In addition, more than 10,000 child soldiers have participated in Columbia’s armed conflicts, either in combat or to collect information. Colombian children are daily exposed to the dangers of landmines. Many of them are killed with many more severely disabled.

In Colombia, the CEF outreach consists of three full-time workers, three volunteer workers, and about 25 volunteer instructors. Last year, they were able to reach 51,060 children in three different cities through Good News Club, public school ministry and special programs, and open air evangelism.

Currently, CEF is trying to expand their ministry into the city of Bogotá. But in order to do so, we need someone to take the place of one of our current missionaries so that she can move to Bogotá and start the ministry there. It’s our prayer that God will provide the needed resources—both in manpower and financial—so we can continue to share the hope of Christ with children like Paula and Jacob, which is enabling them and their families to find help for their problems.

Colombia

Sources: Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/); Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org/)