| By Rhoda Johnson - 2005.01.06
You’ll find 20-year-old Wilme on the riverbank. When he’s not by the river, you’ll find him in a hammock slung between poles that hold up the roof of his house. His home has no walls, no floor, no sink or bathroom or electricity.
Iris, his wife, brings firewood, lights a fire and cooks a meal of fish.
Wilme has lymphoma, but has little concept of the gravity of his condition.
Missionaries Ron and Kandy VanPeursem are persevering to understand the Warao culture and language. But for now, their communication is limited. They show Wilme God’s love by their actions. Recently, they helped him get to a hospital where doctors removed some of the fast-growing tumors.
An even greater concern is Wilme and Iris’ spiritual condition.
“The big deal is that people here are isolated from the truth of the Gospel,” Ron said. “Not because they live rustically. Not even because they are so far removed from civilization. With a motorboat you can get to a Venezuelan village in less than an hour. The isolation from the Truth is due to their language and to their culture (worldview).”
The Gospel simply has not been made available to them in an understandable way.
Not yet.
God is present through Ron and Kandy and through your prayers. Please pray for the VanPeursems and their teammates to make steady progress in their studies of the Warao culture and language, and in building lasting relationships.
God wants the Waraos to know Him. He’s sent His ambassadors. You’re one of those!
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