Venezuela can be compared to our balcony; they stay very close to us. We can wake up in the morning and, with good weather, see the hill in Punto Fijo. Our people have swam from over there to here in the past, and sometimes you think that just as people swam here, people could swim back, because the distance is short even though the sea can be very dangerous.
On Wednesday 24-6-2026, something terrible happened in Venezuela that destroyed a part of the country in 35 seconds: an earthquake struck Venezuela. No one knows what day an earthquake will take place, it always comes as a surprise, and it is only afterward that people can tell how much damage it has caused.
We cannot block the sun with one finger: For many years, Venezuela has been led by a strong government, and when there is that type of government, it is called a regime worldwide, Where, in the first place, the people suffer, The people fall into decadence, Poverty reigns and insecurity grows, The political situation has become difficult, with many political prisoners, and millions have left their homes. Seeking refuge and well-being in other countries, many lost their lives crossing borders, entering other countries, or entering deep wilderness where they did not make it out alive; many divided families, many children who did not grow up with their parents… in a word, Venezuela has been going through and is going through an immense pain.
They are our neighbor, and we have to thank God, and we have to ask God to have mercy on us because, no matter how you look at it, many speak scientifically and of seismology, but if the hand of God had not intervened in our favor, today it would be a different tune for us, because the distance that Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao stand from Venezuela is very small.
We must recognize that it was Almighty God Himself who spared us; we cannot just keep saying Aruba is blessed, because every country is blessed, but the behavior of the government changes the path of a country (1 Timothy 2:1-2). But we have to stand still for a moment and say: Lord, thank You for Your great mercy and Your great love, because an earthquake of that magnitude, we do not have the strength to resist.
That is why we ask the entire population of Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean to keep praying for Venezuela, because the whole world is helping Venezuela, although even within this help, it seems that internally irregularities are happening, which we hope are fake news, because those things are hard to explain and accept.
Food is arriving from all over the world, medicine is arriving from all over the world, and not just from certain countries; those who cannot send something big have sent whatever was within their reach. But there is pain where we all know we must ask Papa God for help. The loss of loved ones, where someone saw their family when the tremor started, but to this day, 1-7-2026, knows nothing more about them. Others wake up in the morning and see the disaster but cannot reach those who are under the rubble. Pray for God to have mercy and show the rescuers where they can find and pull the people out.
Words of comfort we have for the Venezuelan people, because there are thousands living among us, and they are our brothers and sisters: Isaiah 41:13 says: For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, Who says to you, Do not fear, I will help you.
Sincerely, Pastor Marcel Balootje.