Geraldine grew up in Venezuela in an unhealthy household with two mothers. The non-biological mom abused her terribly. When Geraldine became a refugee from her home country and began living on the streets in a new and hostile environment in another country, her circumstances were even worse. Geraldine was a rebellious adolescent with a closed and hard heart when she arrived at the school and feeding center for Venezuelan refugee children—part of a small Baptist Church in the Guajiro Peninsula of Colombia.

For an entire year, program director Belkis Gómez and the teachers at the center ministered to Geraldine. They shared God’s Word with her and showed His love every day. After a long time, Geraldine’s heart softened. She accepted Christ as her Savior and followed Him in baptism.  Belkis and staff began to notice a change in Geraldine. She began learning in school. She was grateful for what the church program did for her. Her entire attitude had changed.

Refugee children, ages 3 to 11, meet at the church where they are fed and taught.

This year Geraldine aged out of the program when she turned thirteen, but her teachers at the center found a place for her in a local school, where she is studying and learning. Every weekday Geraldine stops at the church both before and after school to give and get hugs from the director and teachers and friends still there.

Geraldine, says Belkis, “has expressed to us that this is the place where she feels good. She says it has allowed her to see life in a different way and that she’s grateful to God for all her life.”