Spotlight: Hope in darkness
CARACAS, Venezuela — Michael, an 11-year-old who attends the East Caracas church, learned recently that his estranged father had been murdered, missionary Jonathan Hanegan said.
Two months earlier, another young boy Hanegan knows lost his father in an act of violence.
The two fathers “have become just a part of a growing statistic of young men who are killed on a daily basis,” Hanegan said. “In Caracas alone, there are thousands of murders a year.”
The South American city was listed among the “murder capitals of the world” in a recent issue of Foreign Policy magazine. The murder rate in Caracas is 130 per 100,000 residents, according to the Venezuelan government. (Washington, D.C.’s rate is 31 per 100,000.)
“However, we refuse to let their children also become a part of a growing statistic of orphans left alone due to violence,” Hanegan said.
Michael’s uncle, Moises Meneses, brings him to church. Michael loves attending the children’s Bible class and can’t wait to join the youth group, Hanegan said.
“We know that one way God will provide for him will be through his spiritual family,” Hanegan said. “Please pray for us that we might be the people that God has called us to be, that we might take care of Michael and show him a better way of life.”
Two months earlier, another young boy Hanegan knows lost his father in an act of violence.
The two fathers “have become just a part of a growing statistic of young men who are killed on a daily basis,” Hanegan said. “In Caracas alone, there are thousands of murders a year.”
The South American city was listed among the “murder capitals of the world” in a recent issue of Foreign Policy magazine. The murder rate in Caracas is 130 per 100,000 residents, according to the Venezuelan government. (Washington, D.C.’s rate is 31 per 100,000.)
“However, we refuse to let their children also become a part of a growing statistic of orphans left alone due to violence,” Hanegan said.
Michael’s uncle, Moises Meneses, brings him to church. Michael loves attending the children’s Bible class and can’t wait to join the youth group, Hanegan said.
“We know that one way God will provide for him will be through his spiritual family,” Hanegan said. “Please pray for us that we might be the people that God has called us to be, that we might take care of Michael and show him a better way of life.”
View Comments
