More Pictures....

It's hard to believe the trip is over and we are all back home. I wanted to share with those of you who were pryaing for us and who otherwise could not join us on the trip, some pictures of our expreiences in Punto Fijo. Enjoy...


Many of the team at the ball game...


Yeremi - Yes, he is growing up. No longer running around in diapers, he garners the attention of anyone around.


The Perez boys - Josue, Benjamin and Johnathan.


Stephanie and several of her new friends.



NOT the official dance team!


The team in front of the Church!






Friends....


Raul, his wife Teolinda, and the ladies at New Tribes Guesthouse.

Until we meet again...

This trip has been full of adventures that not one of us will soon forget. We had an opportunity to share with the congregation in Punto Fijo last night about the lessons we have gained in our time here, and it was a great way to let our new family there know how they have touched our hearts. I spoke about servanthood. From the smallest of the children to the oldest of the grandparents involved...everyone was helping each other in so many ways. During sports camp the young children were helping by looking after the younger ones. During VBS the teens and pre-teens were always at our sides helping with the crafts, lessons, etc. For our meals, the youth and adults cooked and served with love in their hearts. The youth were constantly in our activities offering their hands for any need. The adults were key in the worship of the services and other activities. Seeing their hearts of joyful servanthood reminds me that I, too, need to be willing to serve at any time any place just as these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. It has been a wonderful experience and I would like to thank all of you who have made it possible for us to be here this week.
We will be back soon!
Laura

Last Night

I can't believe we are back at New Tribes already the week has passed so fast. So many fond memories and so many hugs and kisses to send us on our way. Mariellena has been such a blessing to all of us and we will surely miss her, she is now one of us! Juana you have been sorely missed EVERYONE has asked for you. We have a new hostess this time at New Tribes, she and her family have been on the mission field for 6 years we asked her a million questions! See you Sunday Blessings Joni

Thursday

On our final day, we visited with Juvenal again at the hospital. He appears to be doing much better and the infection subsides. No word on when he will be released yet, but he is doing better. We also visited with Nohely and the boys, delivering the cloths and other gifts to their home before a little sightseeing, lunch and departure for the airport.

We will see you all soon. While we look forward to being home again, I am sure our heartstrings will be pulled from back here for weeks or months to come.

God bless you all and thank you for your support, for your prayers and for allowing your family members to participate with us. I especially want to thank the Church in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, for allowing Mari Bachier to join us. She has been a blessing to have on the trip and I am hopeful that this is just the first of many partnership missions between our churches.

Dios te bendiga.

Wednesday

So much for outsourcing. Today we worked with Marco, a gentleman who many of you may be familiar with having helped him lay cement block over the years. Marco is also a member of the church. He welcomed our help and trained those who were new to the task.

The sports camp concluded with a very popular game here, soccer. All-in-all, this was a great program allowing us to touch the lives of many children who are not involved in the church at this time.

Allen closed the service allowing all of us to share a few words about what God has done in our lives to encourage the people when we leave. Mari interpreted for each of us. This was a very emotional time for all, but no more emotional that saying our final goodbyes. As always, no one wants to leave.

Tuesday

Well, you folks that were here when the Baptismal was constructed will appreciate this: We were outsourced again. More accurately, we were relegated to mixing concrete, but the gentleman who was putting the stucco on the walls did not appreciate our work. :-)

However, it’s not all a loss. Several walls were finished throughout the day, including the back room of the church. We were also able to contribute additional supplies to help secure the building and bring in a water supply to the almost finished bathroom. This is significant.

The sports camp has been a learning experience with more kids showing up that expected. We taught them some new games and they taught us some of their games. Because of the “outsourcing” mentioned above, nearly everyone was able to participate in the sports camp to some degree.

In the afternoon, we held a march through the neighborhood, sharing the gospel with everyone we met. The march ended back at the church and was followed by a performance by Dracma (the youth dance team), and some words from Allen.

Some familiar faces....

The Dracma dance team participated in all of the worship services and are youth leaders in the church. Their dramatization of the Crucifixion and resurrection on Tuesday evening was very moving.

Greetings from Mari

Hola a todos (Hi to all)
Just thought you might like to know that your prayers for the Venezuela team have been answered. God has allowed us the blessing of being able to play with the local kids (no less than 50 at a time), preach His word, and pray for the sick. His presence has guided and protected us at all times. More importantly though, the Spirit of God has been blessing His people in Venezuela. We have been having services at church every night since we arrived to Punto Fijo.The word has spread out and today we had our largest crowd... God surely didn't let this opportunity pass by, and His presence was there to touch our hearts - adults and children alike. At the end of service one kid came up to me, looked into my eyes, and testified about God's visit to our church by simply saying:"today we had a nice prayer".
So, with this story in mind, I ask that you keep on praying and ask that God may continue the good work He has begun until the day of Jesus Christ.

Greetings from Harry

This is my first mission trip in my 42 years of life. One thing that I have learned already is Christianity has no language. People who follow Christ have the same experiences. The way people live is very different however. Down here in this part of Venezuela, it is completely another world from Powder Springs, GA. Streets made of dirt and gravel and most of the houses have no running water. Water is delivered to their roof tops every few days and placed in cisterns that are connected to the main floor via hose. The kids love you and hug you though they've never met you. The church members cook a huge breakfast and lunch for you every day and will not put a bite into their own mouth until you are nearly finished. These meals are served on china that they carefully carry on foot from their houses. Today a few of us were asked by a young girl about 8 years of age to stop by here grandmother's house(who was her caregiver) to pray for her. The grandmother made sure each of our chairs were dusted off before we set down. We began to pray for her. She was ill and was going to have to have an operation very soon. The young girl(granddaughter) had tears in her eyes for she knew that her grandmother the only one there to take care of her. It is hard to explain, but since I have been here I look around at all the mission team members and all of their different talents, and I understand why we are together here at this time in this part of Venezuela. Dios te bendiga.(May God bless you)

Greetings from Joni

We have had a great trip and lots of opportunities to share the gospel. Since we are a large group we attract a lot of attention. At dinner one night a man approached us and wanted to know what we were doing in Punto Fijo we shared and he has stopped by the church to visit. Our waiter from here at the hotel wanted more information about the church and was wanting to know more about Jesus. God is working down here and we have been blessed. It has been great to see old friends I was privileged to visit Juvanal today in the hospital and he sends his greetings, he seems to be doing better, they cleaned out the infection in his leg and he has not had any temperature for a couple of days. The dance team at the church (Dracma) did a great drama presentation tonight and it still amazes me how the spirit works to give me the knowledge of what the song (in Spanish) is really saying. We have had great worship services in the evening and more and more people are showing up. Tomorrow will be our last day of sports camp VBS and service so please continue to pray for us as we minister here. Gloria Dios...I think that is Spanish for God Bless.

Monday

Well, my apologies, finding time to update this has been more difficult that had anticipated. Nevertheless, this is an awesome trip. You can see God's hand in what is going on here.

The "Sports Camp" as been a hit, though not unfolding as we had planned. The children are enthusiastic, learning new games and teaching us some of their local games. Most of the team has been involved in this - keeping everyone very busy.

Allen taught a class to the teens in the afternoon and preached in the evening, all after a long day of mixing concrete.

We have a number of team members who are on their first mission trip and they are immersing themselves into the environments with no trouble.

Well, more later - time to move out to this evening's service (Tuesday). More to follow....

Saturday / Sunday

OK. So, let me explain my previous comments: We arrived safe and sound at the Caracas airport and were looking for our in country guide, Raúl, after coming through customs. He had been in Caracas since Thursday, but was tied up and couldn't meet us. He did catch us on the phone though, to let us know there was a problems with our hotel reservations. Not to worry, we were able to fall back on our original plan - as the New Tribes Guesthouse finally had water restored after 6 days without. Confused? Yeah - that's how we were feeling that night. But we know the Lord does provide!

Arriving in Punto Fijo early Saturday morning, we were met by Nohely Perez and her children, but no Juvenal. We learned of his illness which I have already mentioned. Allen, Raúl and Barco were able to visit Juvenal in the hospital Satruday afternoon. He is in good spirits, but anxious to be well and back at the work he loves. We annointed Juvenal and prayed over him and his 2 other roommates (each in with similar ailments).

Visiting the church, we see progress being made with construction. We will continue to do some work on the church this week after all. Fortunately, we have a large, dedicated team and can do many different activities while we are here. We will have a sports camp emphasizing team work, fair play and sportsmanship, Vacation Bible School, an Evangelism march through town and worship each evening (Allen will be preaching). This is an exciting time to be here.

Saturday evening, the church held a welcome service for us with singing and dancing. It was a touching service and we say many old friends from past trips. Word is spreading quickly that we are here.

On behalf of the team I can say it is a blessing to be here and we thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for this church and it continued growth and development, and for Pastor Juvenal and a speedy recovery to the glory of God.

Your 2007 Mission Team

We Made It!

Hola, Amigos. Well, we made it without incident - almost - well not really. I'll explain later. For now, I want to raise to everyone that Pastor Juvenal is in the hospital. He has a severe infection and we don't expect to see much of him this week. Please pray for him and a speedy recovery.

I will write more soon to let everyone know what is going on. But for now, I want to let you all know we arrived safe and sound and are looking forward to meeting with our friends here this afternoon (Saturday, July 14).

God bless.

New Team Logo

This logo will be printed on the back or our travel shirts. The verse, in spanish, is from Hebrews 12:1-2 and reads as follows:

"Therefore, ... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus ..."

En Español: "Por tanto, ... corramos con perseverancia la carrera tenemos por delanta. Fijemos la mirada en Jesús ..."

Venezuela Missions Fundraiser

The Venezuela Mission Team will hold a bake sale during the April 28 United Methodist Men's Bar-B-Q. Come to Oaks Hall between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM for awesome Bar-B-Q and delectable treats, and support this worthy cause.

My thanks to all those who helped to make this fund raiser a success, especially to those who contributed to the bake sale. Without your efforts (goodies), we would not have been as successful as we were.