From being in need to be the giver -
Bogotá, May 2019
We had the privilege to receive the Latin Link leader of the department of "Movilization and Development" and friend Suzanne, here in Bogota for a week. We did the most of her visit to work a bit on our plans to focus more on getting involved with migrants as Missionary Agency.
So, we visited some projects were our Striders are working to meet some Venezuelan migrants and find out more about their needs and experiences in order to rise awareness of the need to help them and work with them among Latin Link.
That´s how we met Rebeca. She is married and have 2 kids. Her husband was the first one living home to look for opportunities in Bogotá. His husband being a systems engineer, found a job in a construction site, regulating the traffic in front of it from 7 am to 5 pm, earning the minimum wedge.
After months, they saved enough money from what he sent to them to move from a town called "Araure", their home, to the Capital of Colombia on a trip of 10 hours. The older child stayed at home in Venezuela, taking care of the house they own and the young one (9) came to Colombia with Rebeca and a couple of small rucksacks.
They were among the few ones to have enough to buy tickets in a bus from Cúcuta (the Colombian side of the border) to Bogotá. A trip that cost around 20 Pounds and takes 12 hours from terminal to terminal.Others have to walk that distance ( 566 km) with their babies, grandparents or relatives with disabilities. She remembers very vividly how cheap everything was in the other side of the border. " We hadn´t tried a Coca-Cola or biscuits for years! we couldn´t afford that in Venezuela! but with the savings that we got, that was what we brought to eat in the journey from Cucuta to here." Rebeca said very happy.
She met with her husband and now they are living together with his son in the south of the city in an area were the Colombian Mennonite Church planted years ago a church and is serving the community with a daily feeding program for kids.
Now, Rebeca is part of the staff of the feeding program, cooking lunch from Monday to Friday for 80 kids included her own child. She saw the opportunity to help her family and at the same time help others and took it!
I don´t think she ever imagined, when she left her house, being a blessing to 80 Colombian families, being a provider of food for 80 kids. I´m guessing she didn´t but God did!
She came in need and became a provider. She came needing help and became a helper. She came with almost nothing and now is giving even more of what she needed.
That make me ask the question: if Rebeca did it, How can i be, with what i have, a blessing for others?
