|
On June 24, Venezuela was forever changed when two powerful earthquakes struck just hours apart. As of July 14, the official death toll had reached 4,734, with more than 16,700 injured, nearly 18,000 left homeless, and 850+ buildings destroyed or declared unsafe. Search and recovery efforts are still underway.
Within 24 hours, we had heard from our Free Methodist leaders across Venezuela. While they were safe, the losses were deeply personal. Several church families lost their homes, two children connected to one of our Houses of Peace were killed, and a volunteer from our Free Methodist nursing home also lost his life.
What happened next was a beautiful picture of the Church being the Church.
Pastors and church members first checked on one another and then immediately began serving their communities. They prepared meals for families sleeping in the streets and for exhausted rescue workers. They collected food, clothing, medicine, and hygiene supplies, organized temporary shelter, prayed with grieving families, and offered hope in places of unimaginable pain. Our medical clinic in Caracas even contracted an ambulance to deliver relief supplies into the hardest-hit neighborhoods and transport rescued survivors. Three weeks later, that work continues every single day.
Within 48 hours, Ricardo and our Venezuelan leaders helped launch Hope for Venezuela, a coalition of churches and Christian organizations coordinating relief efforts so that more people can be served more effectively. The Free Methodist family across the United States, Canada, and Latin America responded with remarkable generosity, enabling us to send significant financial assistance in these critical early weeks. Yet we know the recovery will take months—if not years—and the needs will continue long after the headlines have faded.
As the immediate crisis has continued, another need has become increasingly clear: trauma care. One pastor shared, "My nephew can't sleep after everything he has seen while helping rescue survivors." Another volunteer said, "I've never needed therapy before, but after digging through the rubble day after day trying to save people, I know I will."
This weekend, instead of holding their scheduled Annual Conference, Free Methodist leaders from across Venezuela will gather for encouragement, worship, and practical training on caring for people experiencing trauma and loss. Ricardo will be joined by Pastor and psychologist Diego Bracho from Casa Grande Church in Santiago, Chile and and a team of Christian psychologists. They will help equip pastors and ministry leaders to care for their own hearts while serving others. Because the need extends far beyond our denomination, the training has been opened to leaders from other churches as well, with more than 300 participants expected.
The ministry will continue long after the weekend. Following the conference, Diego and his team will remain in Venezuela to provide additional trauma-care training for teachers at the Free Methodist school in Maturin, church leaders, and other community groups. They will then travel to Caracas and later to Barquisimeto to train additional churches and ministry leaders from other denominations. This collaborative effort, made possible through Impact Latin America and its ministry partners, is helping equip the Church to bring Christ's hope and healing wherever the effects of the earthquake are still being felt.
Please continue praying for the people of Venezuela, for the churches faithfully serving their communities, for Ricardo, Diego and the training team, and for the distribution of the humanitarian supplies Ricardo took with him. While the road to recovery will be long, we are witnessing the Church at its very best—bringing the compassion, hope, and healing of Christ into places of profound suffering.
| 
