Christian Aid financially assists indigenous ministries in 13 Latin American countries. Compared to native Asian missionaries, Latin American missionaries encounter less overt persecution. Yet no lack of courage is permitted of them as they face poverty, corrupt governments and foreign religions, hostile to the gospel.

Native missionaries in Colombia bravely spread the gospel in guerrilla-infested jungles. The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), especially hostile toward evangelical Christians, is the best-equipped insurgent force in the country. They finance their terrorist activity through kidnapping ransoms, extortion and protection of the drug trade.

In the politically unstable nation of Ecuador, one ministry leader shares the gospel with the country’s inmates. Another leader takes children, living in poverty-stricken villages along the Anchayacu River, to school in a motorized canoe.

Ministries in Peru and Bolivia share the gospel and disciple members of the Quechua tribe. In the 1960s, only 100 believers existed among the 3 million people. Today, just under 50 percent of the tribe professes Christ as Savior.

Missionaries in Uruguay provide the country’s poorest citizens with basic necessities. Eyeglasses, wheelchairs, crutches and artificial limbs are provided to the elderly and disabled who cannot afford medical attention.

Countires where Christian Aid supports indigenous ministries in Latin America: