Romero headed to Columbia to work with displaced orphans

Dear Friends:

Casa Roca is one of largest evangelical churches in Colombia. It was founded by Dario Silva, a political journalist who, after many trials and tribulations, found the Lord and dedicated his life to Him. Casa Roca has 26 churches through out Colombia and a couple in Miami, Canada and Spain. Casa Roca has also built 10 homes under the non-profit organization Fundacion MAS for displaced children around the country.

I have been called by my wife’s aunt and uncle for help. They have served for many years at the home in Bogotá, Colombia, but because of their deteriorating health, they must step down. The home requires 24-7 paid and volunteer help.

Community of Hope Church in Maricopa is a Christ-centered church led by Pastor Rusty Akers. The church’s focus is upward towards God, inward towards community and outward towards others. It is because of the emphasis on this last focus, the leadership of Pastor Akers and following the call of the Holy Spirit that I have decided to go and serve for a year. It is a decision that I struggle with every day, but I feel this is what God wants me to do. Because of the great need, Fundacion MAS won’t be able to support me financially.

The main purpose of my trip is not only to serve at the orphanage, but also to travel to every single one of the homes to assess the needs at each location. Once the assessments are done, I plan to use my resources back home to come up with sustainable solutions to break the dependency on outside help. My contribution will come in the form of education, creation of programs and creation of partnerships using local resources. I will also work throughout the year to recruit a protégé who will follow my lead and who would step into my position at the end of one year.

I will maintain a Facebook and web page where people can follow the progress and the big and small God moments. I will use them to create awareness and attract intellectual resources to help formulate solutions to the many problems that affect the children.

Colombia stands behind Sudan as the second country with the greatest number of Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) with approximately 4.9 million people. A major factor that contributes to this displacement is the continued armed conflict. Up to a few years ago children were both forcibly and voluntarily recruited and used by the two armed opposition groups, the FARC and the ELN. They were used as combatants, to lay mines and explosives and to carry out other military tasks. Girls were subjected to sexual abuse, including rape and forced abortion. Some children reportedly remained with paramilitary groups, which had failed to demobilize fully.  (Child Soldiers Global Report)

Many guerrilla groups are still in operation in the jungles of Colombia with a great number of women and children enlisted. It is against the rules of the FARC and other guerrilla groups to get women pregnant, but, when discovered, they are forced to abort. If the abortion is not possible, the group turns the babies over to groups like the Red Cross. The Red Cross and other relief groups, in turn, hand all of these children to the Colombian government, which is too overwhelmed to care for them.

I have created a budget of what I will need to support myself while in Colombia. I am going to be there with my children as I think they are ready to fully understand the need and to instill in them the love for others and the spirit of compassion in a hands-on way. The monthly budget is as follows:

Rent    $550.00 ($1.100.000 COP / $2000.00 COP/USD)
Utilities   $120.00
Kids (2) School   $320.00 ($3.528.498 COP X 2 Kids/10 Months/ $2000.00 COP/USD)
Transportation  $50.00
Food   $150.00
Health Insurance  $330.00 ($1000.00 Deductible/ No Prescription coverage)
Other   $100.00  
Total   $1,620.00 per month

The education provided by public schools in Colombia is sub par at best. Most schools that follow the American calendar are fully bilingual and very costly with monthly tuition as high as $500 per month per child. I have picked a non-bilingual school for middle class children.

I have never trusted the Lord at this level. Jesus tells me in Mathew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  ……But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Please pray for me. Pray that I will always hear His voice and do his will. I am asking for monetary donations to help this mission succeed.  Please consider making a tax-deductible donation c/o Community of Hope Church (for Jake Romero), P.O. Box 723, Maricopa, Ariz. 85139. 

If you can’t help financially, I hope to be able to count on you for your prayers, as I know that I will encounter many challenges. Please make me aware that you will be praying for me as well.

In the love of Jesus,
Jake Romero

Submitted photo