The Church that Shares Hope
La Ceiba church in Colombia is helping hundreds of refugee families every day
In the heat of mid-afternoon, the toxic smell of chemical waste is blown through the neighbourhood of Los Angeles in Baranquilla, Colombia.
The neighbourhood is highly populated with Venezuelan refugees and is situated on the east side of an old chemical factory.
If you go to the other side of Los Angeles, you will be on an earthquake faultline. Those native to Colombia abandoned Los Angeles years before due to the sloped and shifting land that caused their houses to slide away.Â
Living in Los Angeles is to live in a constant state of breaking and rebuilding.
Walking across the land, you can feel the slope, and during rain storms the ground turns to mud.
Many people question why others would stay here, and despite the danger and the chaos, the answer is simple: belonging. The small and unstable shelters are the only things that belong to these people.
After having to leave everything over one thousand kilometers away, belonging is vital to sanity in a new place.Â
La Ceiba Church understands the desperation the refugees have to survive and to belong. This is not a church whose building is utilized once a week by a congregation who only visits on Sunday. This is a church that invites refugees into the community every day of the week through feeding and trauma healing programs.
The church does what it can to share the love of Jesus both physically and spiritually. They are also working to relocate the Venezuelan refugees into a safer and more permanent location to settle.
Right now the church is the only relief and development agency working in Baranquilla, and helps thousands of people every day.
Please pray and consider supporting this ministry that is helping so many refugee families in Colombia.
