Every other Thursday, Pan de Vida holds a food service specifically for Venezuelans who are seeking refuge here in Ecuador. It’s a time for them to pour love and hope into a group of people who are feeling hopeless and without any assurance of the future. What is going on in Venezuela is no secret, yet it’s hard to grasp the full gravity of it until you’ve spoken with someone who has walked out of it. Many have traveled here by bus or by foot to escape the poverty, intense violence, and political crisis the country has been undergoing for over 8 years. Many have had to leave loved ones behind because they couldn’t get that many passports. Many have witnessed violence and death of friends and family members. Things no person should have to endure.
In the Bible we have heard of the story of when the food multiplies in Matthew 14:13-21. Jesus prays over the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread and it multiplies to feed the 5,000 men plus the women and children who were there. One thing I love about the Bible is that it’s alive and active today. We can still have God move in these powerful ways today just like He did in the Bible.
We were getting ready for the Thursday service, and we began to prepare food for 120 people. In recent Thursdays there usually was 60-70 people with extra food for some families to take home. What we weren’t expecting was for 222 people to show up! People kept coming throughout the entire 45 minutes of registration. Immediately, the kitchen team got together to pray. We weren’t sure how food for 120 was going to feed 100 more people, but that’s where God gets to step in. We prayed for God to multiply the food we have to make an abundance. So we went on cooking and worked diligently to get the food ready for the Venezuelan beneficiaries.
Not only did we have ENOUGH food to serve all 222 people BUT we had 12 extra containers to give out to people who were waiting outside for any leftovers!! That’s how God works! He doesn’t just provide enough, but of an abundance amount so we can give even past what we thought was possible. We have a good God who cares so deeply for His people. It was such a blessing of a day to witness God’s hands at work in the community of Quito, Ecuador. Our time here in Ecuador is sadly coming to an end, but tbis is one day I will never forget!
