In Colombia, City Churches Receive Provision Thanks to Indigenous Brothers

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pastors in Colombia had to close the doors of their churches. Then they asked: What do we do now?

Despite the complexity of the situation, God is always in control and responds in the most creative and effective ways in each place so that churches become the light to the world. This happened at the El Carmelo Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Cabijo, Cauca, where the pastoral family saw this as an opportunity for the church to take the initiative to bless families with food in nearby cities.

Like most rural churches, the El Carmelo Church lives on what the land produces and, thanks to generous hearts, people were willing to collect typical food of the region such as bananas, cassavas, lemons, oranges, tangerines, ahuyamas, guavas, and others. With these, the people were able to bless the lives of many who, in these pandemic times, lack the means to survive.

The National Police, the Guambiana Indigenous Community, the Afro Community of the nearby sectors, and the Community Action Board of La Vereda also joined the effort with logistics, and involving more communities with the same goal of blessing families in these difficult times.

Church buildings became collection and distribution centers, where food is packed with biosafety measures. A list of who would receive the food packages was made previously, and each package had a record of its recipient so that it was delivered to the door of each home.

Around 600 families have been blessed through these efforts. Some 13.5 tons of food has been distributed in cities such as Popayán, Santander de Quilichao, Jamundí, La Laguna, Cacahual and Cali.

The pastoral family has been seeing God’s response by helping and demonstrating His love, opening new opportunities to preach His Word, and witnessing the results of this social work in these difficult times. The effort has been met with gratitude, good testimonies from church families, and an acceptance and strengthening of good relations with the community.