My name is Licenio . I have been serving here in Colombia over 35 years as a single missionary among in several towns in my state. I had the opportunity to serve among the indigenous group called Embera Dobida in the Choco state. I am currently serving among the Wayuu indigenous people in La Guajira state . Ethnic groups are my passion and they are in my heart .
I share with you some of the ways , brother Jhonatan and me , serve together in our group Hope & Action Project Colombia:
- Transportation from our house around Barranquilla to travel to the Guajira and the Mokaná group in Tubará among each community, we need to pay to some people who drive their motorcycles each time we move to a different Rancheria, we walk when we can, but it is a deserted area that need to use motorcycles.
- We also help native indigenous to make a living and survive when buying their bags and handicrafts. That’s a way they realize we really care for them and want them to be well integrally , not only spiritually. We sell the bags and collect funds for ministry.
- We provide natural or organic medicines for people who can’t afford for it since hospitals are not near.
- We buy Christian literature that helps us when sharing the gospel like evangelistic cubes , Spanish Bibles, Wayuunaiki New Testaments for them to have the scriptures in their dialect.
- Buying solar panels for some specific locations where there is a church or Bible group . That is good for them to meet at nights to worship the Lord , to read Scripture , to pray , for children to do homework and for us to have phones charged and be able to communicate with transportation .
- Providing potable water for some areas where the water is salty or when they don’t have a windmill or water well and drink water from a Jaguey ( small lagoon) where animals drink water and people take a shower.
- Providing some bags of food for Wayuu families in desperate conditions and children with bad nutrition…some Wayuu have around 10 or more children….and women are the ones who work most cases when making bags .
- We bring a doctor from Barranquilla to see some Wayuu and have a medical campaign for a group of people to attend .
- We buy some chairs for children , women and people who attend the services or Bible studies to avoid them to sit on the hot land under a tree when having the meetings . Also, we provide a root for them to protect from the sunlight.
- We provide resources to some Wayuu leaders for them to attend some training outside of the Guajira area .
- We buy food for us and the house where we will be staying . Those people that help us by being a door to us to the other natives of the community. Some of them just eat once or twice a day a non balance food and have anemia. Sometimes they just eat coffee or chicha, a drink they make from corn.
- And we support a missionary strategy called “Wayuu youth for Christ ” where some Wayuu teenagers visit another community that is far away and play some dramatization, theater, Choreography, role plays to reach other Wayuu. We help to provide food for that group of teenagers traveling and transportation to pay a car that drive the whole group , also to play Jesus movie or an evangelistic movie with a small video projector .