Hello! I’m Mike, a missionary, short-term mission trip leader, and Strategy Coordinator at e3 Partners Ministry. As a teen, I simply lacked peace in my life—that is until I was saved at age 18. Now, I live to share the peace of Christ with others including those in Venezuela, where I’ve been doing missions work for over 16 years.
In Venezuela, a political and economic crisis has ravaged the country, resulting in devastating hyperinflation. Consequently, local citizens are spilling into neighboring Colombia as they struggle to find work and afford basic necessities.
Since the Venezuelan border is currently closed to Americans, e3 Partners Ministry mobilized a team of 38 missionaries to nearby Cúcuta, Colombia. This border town is situated just 30 miles away from San Cristóbal, a capital city of Táchira, Venezuela. Here, approximately 500,000 destitute Venezuelan refugees have come in search of economic relief.
To maximize the impact of our ministry efforts in Cúcuta, we partnered with 30 nearby churches, including 20 Colombian and 10 Venezuelan houses of worship. In advance of the trip, we equipped these church members to confidently share the love of Christ via Gospel Conversations Training. Then, during the week-long mission, we equipped an additional 1,158 local believers to evangelize the streets of Cúcuta.
Our local volunteers, mission trip participants, and translators split into 10 teams; we then dispersed into the community to bring hope to the refugees, many of whom had nothing but the clothes on their backs. The Venezuelans were incredibly receptive to the Gospel and wanted to have in-depth spiritual conversations about Jesus. The message of Christ was like a beacon of light illuminating their darkest of days. Indeed, by the conclusion of our trip, God had moved to produce 3,395 Gospel shares and 1,953 professions of faith! Additionally, the e3 Partners Medical team met the physical needs of 692 locals who attended a clinic in Cúcuta, where they had an opportunity to hear more about the love of Jesus.
During the mission, it was incredible to see God use people from all walks of life. We witnessed many young people evangelizing for the very first time as they ministered to the downtrodden. We saw long-time believers go on mission for the first time, including a retired teacher and widow in her late 60’s who accepted the call to go make disciples and was deeply touched by the lives being transformed right before her eyes in Cúcuta. The truth is, we are never too young or too old to go on mission. God can use absolutely anyone with a willing heart. To that end, would you consider joining us when we return to Cúcuta next fall?
Whether your find yourself on mission or in your local neighborhood, I want to encourage you to share the Gospel. Recently, my wife and I led an Uber driver to Christ while sitting with him in his car. Later, we helped a flight attendant accept Jesus in an airline terminal as she awaited her next destination. People everywhere are desperate for the Gospel; we just need to be willing to share it!
I want to sincerely thank you for your support of e3 Partners Ministry. Because of you, a refugee knows that Jesus loves them no matter the difficult circumstances they face. Please continue to pray that the Lord will draw the Venezuelans close to Him and give them the comfort of His Holy Spirit. Thanks for reading my story and may God bless you.