Over the past 12 months, I have conversed with Grandma and Grandpa Zulie. As a missionary 18 years ago, they fed my companions and me several times a week. Of course, at the time they weren’t grandparents, they were just parents of several young children.

18 years changes a lot, especially when a family is forced to watch as their country, state, city, neighborhoods, and families are decimated by the effects of Socialism and Communism. In order to survive, Familia Zulie has undergone a lot of change. The young children that once supped with my companions and I now have children of their own and are now spread out throughout the world, trying to escape the hell that was unleashed on the economy in Venezuela.

Grandma and Grandpa Zulie have also had some changes in their lives, and have since separated, but their love and compassion for the family are stronger now than ever. Grandpa has been living in Venezuela with two of the daughters and their families. Grandma has since left Venezuela and is living and working in Colombia with another daughter and her family. In an effort to help care for their grandkids and kids, Grandma and Grandpa Zulie have stayed in contact and worked together to get through the pains of Communism. With significant economic changes for Grandpa Zulie inside Venezuela, it became apparent that the two daughters and their families could not all continue to stay in Venezuela, and yet they could not all leave either.

Grandma Zulie and I started discussing options over a year ago. I knew of the situation and asked if they would allow me to try and help. Being independent and hardworking is what this family does, and the timing wasn’t right. COVID-19 has made it very challenging for families to get the paperwork and permits to get out. In October of 2020 things changed again, and it became urgent enough that they reluctantly accepted our offer to help get their adult daughter, and two grandkids out of Venezuela and into the city where Grandma Zulie was living. In January we started to work with Grandpa Zulie, and Riley to plan the 4 day (1000+ Miles) trip by bus system. What we found was that the only safe way to get the family out of Venezuela was to use a travel agency that could help with the paperwork at the border, and the security through the intensely crime-ridden areas. The urgency to leave was compounding, and the resources that Operation Family Freedom had collected for this grant were significantly low for the newly discovered expenses. We put out a plea for help, and within 3 days our request had been answered by several of you!

18 years changes a lot, especially when a family is forced to watch as their country, state, city, neighborhoods, and families are decimated by the effects of Socialism and Communism. In order to survive, Familia Zulie has undergone a lot of change. The young children that once supped with my companions and I now have children of their own and are now spread out throughout the world, trying to escape the hell that was unleashed on the economy in Venezuela.

Although Operation Family Freedom has assisted many families with leaving Venezuela, this was the first family that has been positioned to leave since COVID-19 shut the world down. We all waited helplessly for any word or sign that the family had made it to each of the preplanned checkpoints. A few of those locations required going through some of the most dangerous cities in the world. At one point during the three and a half-day trip, there was a complication, and the travel agency had to change checkpoints. Fortunately, Riley and the kids were able to touch base with Grandpa Zulie within a few hours of the scheduled time, but there were a few moments of panic for everyone.

Early this morning (03/06/2021) I received word from Grandma Zulie that Riley and the kids had been picked up at the final bus station and were exhausted, but safe.

Riley, the kids, Grandma and Grandpa Zulie, and the rest of the Zulie family have expressed so many times, in such a profound way that they are very grateful for the assistance they received, and the opportunity this is for all of them. They expressed their love of God and gave thanks for the many prayers that have been said for their family. This change still has many challenges for all of them, but everyone involved agrees that this is the best thing for Riley and her two children.

To all those that contribute, to this family or the others, Thank you!

She looks tired… poor kid! 

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* Over the years (before the official formation of Operation Family Freedom) we had a myriad of experiences in working with families from Venezuela that have encouraged us to protect the families’ privacy as best we can. Extreme poverty in conjunction with the role that social media plays in each of our lives has created a situation in which we believe it is in the families’ best interest that we change the names even when it may not be a big concern. For this reason, we have changed this family’s name