Sandra is a 30 year old woman born in Bogota, Colombia. Her parents were illiterates from the countryside. They never gave her any education or direction for her life.

By age 12 she had been raped. But her parents never did anything for her. She was alone and subjected in her poverty. At age 18 she became pregnant but left her son with a family because she had no work to support him. Then she lived with a man by whom she became pregnant who then abandoned her. She named the girl Maria Fernanda.

She returned to her parents who treated her very badly and threw her out again to the streets. Someone gave her a place to stay and she had another girl by another man whose name is Lorena. She then had another girl named Angie. After three years she had another girl named Camila. She lived with all these children in the city of Bogota in any place she could find that would give her a place to sleep and eat. Finally she was pregnant again with a boy she named Camilo.

Because of hunger, cold and total abandonment in the city of Bogotá a policeman who saw her in the street recommended that she go to Santa Marta where she could work selling confections to support her children and she could sleep on the beach. So she went to the bus terminal and someone helped her to arrive in Santa Marta. By asking for alms on the streets she was able to provide for their food. For one month she slept on the porch of an abandoned house close to the beach. But there was a group of men who lived on the streets that also slept in that place running the risk that her children could be abused.

A brother from our church shared the gospel of Jesus and recommended that she taker her children to Hogar La Providencia. After praying and counseling with the psychologist of the home in this case we decided to give housing to the two oldest girls, who were Maria Fernanda and Lorena, 10 and 8 years of age. The girls were given medical attention, clothing and education. Sandra remained with the three on the street. But every day Maria Fernanda and Lorena prayed for their mother asking God that nothing bad would happen to them and that they would have enough to eat.

After a week we went to look for their mother with her three children and we offered them to come and stay at Hogar La Providencia. We brought them and attended to their health and in all of their necessities. The mother along with her children is receiving the Word of God every day.

When they arrived they said that they were Catholics and that they were not going to change their religion. After a week Sandra began to ask more about the Word of God saying that she did want to entrust her life to Jesus to live a new life. Now she is learning to read the Bible. Every day she participates in the devotional and together with her children she prays. Their lives are new. They have changed from their customs of street living. They attend the church and they want to be baptized.

We give testimony that God is working in their lives and we are guiding them by the Word of God. We recognize that this work is the fruit of your prayers and from all the help that Tenth Presbyterian Church has offered to Hogar La Providencia. Your mission team visits every August, the continual visits of Rev. Bruce McDowell, the calls, the emails, and all the supplying of our needs over all these years has taught us how to serve in the Kingdom of God in the best way.

Thank you for the health brigades, the conferences, sponsorship of the children. Thank you for sister Clara Hernandez who always is writing and visiting us to serve the children to celebrate Christmas, making a Christmas tree and giving gifts. Thank you to Susanna Linton who in addition to her prayers supports many children in the Hogar. ‘Thank you’ to brother Omar Cedeño, John Evans, Jonathan Olsen, Kaya Casper, Tom, to the children who pray and help with their offering.

Thank you very much to all the members of Tenth Presbyterian Church that contribute with their offerings for the work of the Kingdom of God in Santa Marta, Colombia. To the pastors, session, deacons, global outreach commission: beloved we love you in the love of the Sovereign and Merciful God. The Tenth Presbyterian Church has been the instrument that God called to make possible this work of integral evangelism of word and deed for the smallest brothers of our city.

Your Servant, Jaime Leal