Venezuela used to be a Spanish colony until 1811, since then it has been championed as one of the most stable democracies in Latin America.

Despite having some of the largest oil reserves outside of the Middle East, unwise government and the corruption of those with power and money have meant that much of the population still live in shanty-town squalor.

The Catholic Church still has a strong influence which can cause difficulties - especially in reaching the indigenous Amerindians.

The number of evangelical Christians more than doubled from 1 million in 1990 to over 2.5 million today. On average two new churches are planted every day!

Poverty is widespread with 60% of people in the city living in slums and crime is soaring out of control. Pray for a goverment that will be commited turning the country around and making everyone's lives better.

Up to 85% of the population are involved to some extent with spiritist practice - occult shops are even advertised on the tv! Pray that people will turn to Jesus and trust him for everything!

Missionaries working with Amerindian tribes have been met with opposition - but many tribes now have growing churches. Pray that these churches would continue to grow and celebrate the culture of the people.

Pray that Christians will be called to work in the capital Caracas - home to over 4 million. At least a quarter of these live in slums and whole areas are controlled by drug barons and gangs. Pray that Christians can be salt and light in the darkness.