Venezuela (MNN) — Venezuela recently added transportation to the list of services it can no longer offer to its people. Electricity, water, and medical help are already non-existent.
“Transportation is a big problem,” notes TWR’s Mariette Oosterhoff. She recently visited ministry partners in the crisis-riddled nation.
“I heard about [some] pastors who don’t even have transportation to go to church to share the Gospel. That is, for us as Trans World Radio, why it is so important that we bring good Bible studies so people will continue to grow in their faith.”
Bible schools are also closing as resources dwindle and staff join the mass exodus.
“There’s no paper, no Christian books, no Christian literature,” Oosterhoff shares. “All the professors and teachers have left the country; there are only some left. But also, students are not able to come because of the cost of transportation.”
Hyperinflation reflects the vastness of Venezuela’s economic crisis. Their currency, the Venezuelan bolivar, is essentially worthless. One bolivar is equivalent to approximately $0.0000083 U.S. dollars. Prices skyrocket when currency loses its value, putting necessary purchases – such as food or car fuel – simply out-of-reach for most people.
TWR Venezuela: speaking hope to despair
Venezuelans are leaving the country in droves as the cost of living rises to impossible heights. But, TWR staff and partners are persevering in God’s strength. Their radio broadcasts are some of the only remaining Gospel resources in the country.
Oosterhoff, a Venezuelan team member, and Pedrito el Pulpo.
(Photo courtesy of Mariette Oosterhoff)
Each day, TWR’s upgraded transmitter connects Venezuelan believers with their favorite Christian radio programs. Pedrito el Pulpo (Little Peter the Octopus) rallies and radio shows introduce children to Christ, and encourage them with God’s Word.
TWR staff and partners told Oosterhoff that, despite the hardships, they had no plans to leave.
“As long as God is not telling us to leave, we will stay. We want to be here for our brothers and sisters and help the people of Venezuela.”
Will you partner with these believers in prayer?
“I really want them to go on their knees – with their children, with their families – and pray for Venezuela,” requests Oosterhoff.
“Prayer is very important because it’s not always about the money. Even with money, some things are not possible, so it’s really about that God will reach out and help the people.”
Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.