Back to school

There is a concept in the teaching profession- for teachers to be lifelong learners. Well, although I am technically not teaching right now, I am still a teacher, and I am continuing my education. I am a student again!

This week, I started taking 2 classes.

Class #1- The first class is part of the Christian Education department at the church. Filadelfia Church offers 15 different courses for members to become more educated in their Christian faith and to develop their understanding of the fundamentals and the beyond- fundamentals (more advanced portions) of Christianity. Monday nights, I will be studying the History of the Church (Part 1). This course starts with the church immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus and continues through the decades, teaching about the development and advancement of the church. I want to see how much I can understand in a classroom situation taught completely in Spanish and see what I can learn in the process. :-)

Class #2- The second class I am taking is a Spanish Sign Language Class. This class is offered through a school for deaf students in the city. On Tuesday mornings, they offer Sign Language and Language Therapy classes for the parents of the deaf children. These classes are open to the community for anyone who would like to learn. Since my minor in college was American Sign Language, the idea of learning Spanish Sign was intriguing. Spanish Sign and American Sign are as different as speaking Spanish and English- and I am trying to keep the two languages separate. When class started yesterday, the professor asked if everyone believed in God. She then lead the class in a prayer (Christian prayer- not Catholic). I was both suprised and excited about this. I am not used to anything outside of the church starting with prayer, but it was exciting that the professor is Christian.

The topic for instruction was learning the signs for the members of the family- words like Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, etc. In the process of going through these signs, we learned other signs. Some signs I learned were: dog, street, learn, understand, sad, die. I also learned "let's go to church on Sunday". I also know how to say "The son of God died for you". I am hoping that the aquisition of this new language will open up new doors of evangelism into the deaf community- especially since Filadelfia Church now has a Sign Language Interpreter on Sunday afternoons for interpreting the service.

So, it is back to school for me- with the possibility of expanding my opportunities to be used by God.

Marcha Para Jesús

This afternoon, under blue skies and a blazing Maracucho sun with heat indices nearing 110ºF, thousands of people gathered together to walk the streets of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Was this some sort of political parade? No. Actually, it was a celebration. It was the celebration of Jesus! That's right, thousands of people walked through the city, proclaiming Jesus is Lord, He is alive, and He is the way!

Young and old, from every church and every denomination in the city they came. Crowded within the street next to the plaza, packed like sardines, we waited for the march to begin (more than an hour late- very typical of Venezuela). Once it began, there was singing, clapping, and shouting "Cristo vive!" as we walked down the main streets of town, heading for the stadium several kilometers away.

All traffic was stopped for our march. People in the cars, trapped by the march and the traffic behind them, wondered why all these people were marching. You could tell in the quizzical looks on their faces. One man was actually driving down the other side of the street with his head turned backwards, checking out what was happening on our side of the street. Many people from the apartment complexes were looking out their windows, shouting and waving Venezuelan flags.

We stopped in several places where we prayed for the city. When we approached the stadium more than 2 hours later, everyone was hot and tired, but energized from the excitement of proclaiming the name of Jesus throughout the city!

Gathering for the march

Marching through the city streets- for Jesus!

Pray for peace!

Hands lifted high in adoration of Jesus

Venezuela and Zulia State flags- declaring Jesus Lord of Maracaibo, Zulia, and all of Venezuela!

Marching into the stadium at the end of the march.

An invitation to pray

I would like to invite you to pray for Venezuela on October 12. On this day, thousands of Christians will be marching through the streets of every major city in the country... for Jesus!! This event is called "Marcha para Jesús". (http://www.marchaparajesus.com.ve/2008/) Every year, on October 12, thousands of Christians fill the streets across Venezuela (and other parts of the world on various days throughout the year!) and walk through the streets proclaiming that Jesus is the Answer and Savior for Venezuela!

I am excited to participate in this event. This will be my first march and I am excited to see all of my brothers and sisters in Christ come out into the streets on a hot, Maracucho, Sunday afternoon to proclaim Jesus is Lord!

And so, I ask you to please pray. Pray for the march. Pray for the people who will be marching- for their health and well-being as it will be very hot at that time (most likely with a heat index near 110ºF- and the march goes for about 2 hours). Pray for the people who will be seeing the march- for them to understand that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Pray for the country of Venezuela- that there will be a turning to Jesus and a great revival. Pray for the leaders of the country, including President Chavez- for his salvation- and for the stability in the political climate of the country.

VENEZUELA... JESUCRISTO ES TU RESPUESTA!!

A difficult day of ministry

Yesterday, a large group of people- young and young at heart- went to the senior citizens' center/ nursing home to do ministry with the elderly. We have gone here before and it is usually a joy to see the looks on the faces of the people as we come in to "celebrate" with them. As one of the residents told me yesterday after looking at all the balloons, "we are having a party!" There was singing, dancers, refreshments, and a time to be able to share the Gospel with them. While not all of the residents there were able to understand, some did and prayed to receive Christ!

However, this was a very difficult time for me. Yesterday was my Gramma's birthday. Gramma went to be with the Lord last December, and this was our first October 4th without her. I knew it was going to be a difficult day for me- I was very close with her- but going to the party at the senior center was a little too much for me to handle. I was unable to stop the tears as I started thinking about the party that would have been thrown for her if she was still on the earth and the party she is experiencing in Heaven.

While I know that she is in Heaven and I will see her again, it is still hard being away from her right now. I look forward to our reunion in Heaven and can't wait til I can talk to her again- and tell her all about what God has done in my life since she left (although she might already know!)

I love you Gramma. I miss you. I will see you again!

A big Christmas thank you!

On Saturday, a group of people from the church went to do ministry with children and teenagers- through a variety of activities. The activity was held in a place called "Niños del Sol" and it is a housing facility for teenage boys who have no family- they have either been abandoned or removed due to various reasons- the primary of those being drug abuse. Also brought in were 100 children- mostly between ages 2-10, from the casa escuelas- which are house churches for children in poor neighborhoods.

The worship team from the church was there to do a worship service- concert style. The teenagers were more interested in this than the younger children. It was a great time of worship. The music director also gave his testimony and led times of prayer.

After the worship time, the groups were split up. The younger children were involved in small group activities while the teenagers were learning values and how to show them to people around them. Things like having patience, peace, love, self-control, etc. These are things that these boys do not have or do not know how to put into practice. The Gospel message was also presented to some of them from our own local missionaries.

Next on the agenda was a drama skit- for all children. The drama is a re-enactment of Noah's Ark and told from the perspective of some of the animals. The younger children really liked the drama- but even the teenagers paid attention.

The teenagers were then led to a chapel where they were spoken to about having a relationship with Jesus Christ and that it doesn't matter how many problems you have in life, Jesus can set you free! Many of these young men accepted Christ as their Savior.

The young children were also exposed to the Gospel. The evangecube was explained to them and they were told about how much Jesus loves them. They were then shown love by being given gifts.

Now, this is where the Christmas thank you comes into play. I was told that we had boxes to give to each child. Each box has things in it but each one is different. What a suprise to find out that the boxes that we had recieved were the Operation Christmas Child boxes. So many people help out each Christmas by filling shoe boxes with toys and needed items for poor children around the world. Well, we received 100 of those boxes! Thank you to all of you who fill a shoe box every Christmas to help poor children around the world.

What kind of reaction do you get?

This morning, while cleaning up a little around the house and getting ready to go to the church, I put on the movie "Sister Act" to have something playing in the background. I have seen this movie many many times, and there is one part of the movie that always gets to me.

The part I am talking about is this:
Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopie Goldburg) is leading the choir of the Catholic Church in a song that is loud and active- so loud it can be heard from the streets outside. The camera shot then goes outside of the church and you hear someone from outside say, "I wonder what is happening in there." This is followed by several people from the street walking into the church to see what is happening.

This scene always gets me thinking. Are we doing things in our churches that would cause this type of reaction- where people on the streets would be so intrigued by what is going on inside that they would literally walk in off the streets to see and hear the truth? What changes do we need to make within our church to draw the attention of those around us? Are we willing to make the changes- leaving our comfort zones of what we have been doing- in order to reach out to those who need to hear the truth?

This is the kind of reaction I want to see in the children's ministry (and within the church as a whole) in Filadelfia Church. I am praying that God will provide us the opportunity to change what needs to be changed in order to attract everyone around to come and see and hear the truth of Jesus Christ.

He is my strength!

Yesterday, we had our reunion meeting with the mission team from Misión Ohio and with Pr. Raúl. It was a great time of getting together to share stories and testimonies. It seemed to start out a little serious but very quickly eased up to be a time of fun and fellowship. We then talked about the presentation that was going to take place during the Wednesday night prayer service. Of course, coming from a different perspective, Pr. Raúl wanted to hear my view on the mission trip and then told me he wanted me to speak during the presentation to the church- and to speak IN SPANISH. I begged him not to make me speak (Imagine me begging) but he was insistant- saying if I didn't, he was sending me back to Ohio on Sunday. Of course, he was joking, but I knew, as nervous as I would be, I would have to speak in front of the whole church about my perspective of the mission trip.

During the day today, I wrote out (in English and Spanish- but mostly in Spanish- and with some help from a good friend- gracias Gabriel!) what I was going to say. I reviewed it and read it and reviewed it and read it. The more I thought about it, the more nervous I became. By the time I was in the church, getting ready for the presentation, I was extremely nervous. I was so nervous I was shaking and felt like vomiting. I had butterflies in my stomach- fighting to the death. I wanted to run. I wanted to leave. I was weak. However, it is when we are weak that HE IS STRONG! Several people prayed for me before we went up front for the presentation. I know this was powerful. Although I did not feel any less nervous when they finished praying, I knew it was in God's hands, not mine.

When the presentation began, they called all the missionaries from the team up on the altar. We remained up there for the whole presentation, while each person gave their brief testimony of the trip. When it was getting close to my time to speak, the pastor standing behind me told me and a few others that due to the time, we needed to cut our testimonies very short. OK with me- the less I have to talk the better.

Finally, it was my turn to speak. I was prepared to have a translator at a microphone in case I got stuck and needed help. Right before I began speaking, I suddenly felt calm. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had been just minutes before. I began speaking in a calm voice- no shaking, no stomach ache, no visable signs of nervousness. I was at peace. The Spirit of God came and calmed my nerves so I could speak to the congregation of the church. I did not need my translator; I was able to say my whole presentation in Spanish.

I thank those who were praying for me and I thank God for coming to me and being my strength when I needed Him most.

Misión Filadelfia

Our Misión Ohio team has a desire to serve. They are eager to serve where they are needed, whether it is in Ohio or elsewhere. So, when I discussed this problem that we needed help with, they were excited to be able to help out.

Here was the problem:

The walls of the children's ministry classrooms at the Filadelfia Church were filthy. The kids were coming into these classroom every week to learn about the love of Christ in these dirty classrooms.

Solution:

We decided to show them the love of Christ by coming in on a Saturday morning and scrubbing the walls of 2 of the classrooms. Thirteen people spent several hours scrubbing and scrubbing until we were able to get the walls- not perfect- but acceptable- and much much cleaner.

And the final result is this:

All for the glory of Jesus Christ- serving Him where ever He will allow us to serve!

Children's ministry activities

Developments are being made to improve the children's ministry program at the church. On the first Wednesday of each month, we have a children's service- complete with singing, prayer, lessons, and drama. Here are some pictures of the most recent Wednesday night service.

Finally!

Finally, after living in my apartment for 6 months, I now have internet access. This was a much more complex process than I thought it was going to be. When I went again this week to try to order internet, this company (the phone company) said that the person who lived here before me had ordered internet last October and had it installed, but never activated it. The internet has been installed in my apartment the whole time, unbeknownst to me, and if we had found the right information for the account, I could have had it back in March.

When I think about that, some parts of me wanna scream. But then, I think that perhaps God was trying to teach me some lessons through this. One of those lessons is patience. The other appreciation for the things I have.

Anyway, I will now have more access to email and phone services and will hopefully be able to stay in better contact. Feel free to email me or call me (same cell phone number I was using when living in Ohio- not the cell phone I was using during the last visit). Hope to hear from you soon!