Church games

In the children's ministry, we have been trying to take small steps to make the ministry more lively and a little less predictable for the children, although this has not been easy with the difficulties and set-backs that we have been facing lately.

When I saw the lessons for Christmas a few weeks ago, particularly the last lesson, I knew we had to do something different with it. The activity for the last lesson had several questions on a paper in squares that were meant to be cut out and used as trivia questions. There was also a paper spinner with the numbers 1-4 on it that you could cut out. The directions said that when you land on an orange, read an orange question and when you land on a blue, read a blue question to answer. That was it. No other directions. No anything else. When I saw that, I knew we needed this to be put in game format. And so began the project for the last few weeks- creating game boards to play with this lesson.

If I was going to make board games, I would need to make enough for several small groups of kids, so my goal was to make no less than 10 boards- complete with game pieces, dice, and trivia cards. I also decided to make the boards out of fabric instead of cardboard so they can be folded to save space. I found a great fabric that I was able to use and got to work. I created 10 different game boards- yes, each board is slightly different. I also found game pieces and large, fun, colorful dice at a toy store. The questions for the game today were based on the Nativity, but we can change the questions to use in future lessons.

Today, I brought the games in for the kids to try. Here is what it looked like:

Blessed New Year 2009

Well, 2008 is gone. We are now looking forward to what 2009 has in store for us. I am looking to see what God has in store for me and how He plans to use me here in Venezuela or wherever else He takes me this year.

The year in review:
A lot happened in 2008 for me. In January, I moved to Venezuela and began a new adventure serving God. I adjusted through the transition of a new country, new culture, and new language; working in a new job; having new friends and "family" (and I became the "Mom" of a baby turtle); and a completely new way of life. I took 3 trips during the year- as required by the Venezuelan government accoring to their visa regulations (I am required to leave the country every 3 months to renew my visa). One of those trips was back to Ohio as part of the first mission team from Filadelfia Church in Venezuela to travel to Northeast Ohio to evangelize. I worked through developments, difficulties, changes, and successes in both the children's ministry and the mission's ministry in Filadelfia Church. I spent every holiday and family birthday away from my family- which required quite an adjustment and control of emotions (and sometimes a lack of control).

However, through this year, I have grown- in maturity and spiritually. I know that I am not in control of my life, God is. Whatever He has planned for me, I have allowed Him to fulfill- and He has. He has taken me places I never thought I would go- but I know He is faithful. While I do not know what is in store for 2009, I know that He will continue to be faithful and take me where He wants me to go.

Even though it is common to wish you a Happy New Year, I would rather wish for you a Blessed New Year- that you may accept all of the blessings that God will bring to you this year.

¡Feliz Año!

How I spent my New Year's Eve....

In Maracaibo, New Year's Eve is an important time to spend with FAMILY. Most of my friends were staying with their families until after midnight. I spent the evening with the family of my friend, Diana.

We attended a church service at the church last night and arrived to Diana's house around 9:30pm. We prepared the food and ate dinner around 10:30pm. We then spent time together until midnight- which was celebrated with lots of hugs! This is Diana with her sister, Samira.Outside, many people on the streets are shooting off fireworks. Around 1:30am, some of my other friends came over. We hung out, played Scrabble, and talked. They left around 5:00am. Before they left, we did spend some time in prayer- dedicating this new year to the Lord.

Happy New Year!!

¡Feliz Navidad!

I hope you had a great time of celebration of the birth of our Savior with your family and friends. This was my first Christmas in Venezuela- my first Christmas away from my family. At times it was very difficult- with everything being different and me getting a little homesick- but I was still able to enjoy Christmas.

I want to give you some examples of how Christmas is different here in Maracaibo than it is in Ohio.

The Differences:

1. It doesn't feel like "Christmas" here. To me, Christmas is cold with the possibilities of a "white Christmas". Here, the temperatures are still in the lower 90s during the day and upper 70s to lower 80s during the night. No chance of a "white Christmas".


2. It doesn't look like Christmas. While I do see decorations around, I do not see the many rows of houses decorated with lights and fake snowmen and Santas in their yard. There is one street here, Bella Vista, that is completely decorated with lights and displays. There is also a lighted Nativity scene on Lake Maracaibo (Yes, ON the lake!) No real Christmas trees either- due to lack of pine trees in the tropics- but artificial trees are plentiful.



3. It doesn't sound like Christmas. Instead of hearing "Jingle Bells", "Santa Claus is coming to town", "White Christmas", or "Joy to the World", I am hearing Gaitas. Gaitas are the traditional Christmas music for Venezuela. When a Venezuelan hears this music, they think Christmas. While I have heard an occasional rendition of our traditional Christmas music, it is mostly Gaitas. Fireworks are also a very big deal. Fireworks are sold on the street by street vendors.I have been hearing the loud boom of fireworks- set off by anyone- all hours of the night for the last week or so.
   
4. It doesn't taste like Christmas. The main Christmas food here is called hallaca. It is a dough mixture that is stuffed with meat, chicken, pork, olives, raisins, chopped up veggies (like green and red peppers), then wrapped up in banana leaves and boiled. They also eat a special Christmas bread called Pan de jamon (Ham bread). This bread has ham, olives, and raisins inside of it. Pork is also widely eaten, along with a chicken potato salad. A common drink called Ponche resembles eggnog. For dessert, you will see Panettone- a type of fruit bread which looks similar to fruitcake but has more a bread texture.


5. Different date? Here, Christmas is celebrated on December 24, not December 25. On December 24, I attended a Church play. I then went to spend Christmas with the family of my friend, Michelle. We arrived to her house around 11:15pm. We then ate dinner- yes, that late at night- and then did our gift exchange. We were done with the exchange around 12:30pm. We were going to spend some time with friends, but they were a bit tired. We went to bed around 2am. There were no events scheduled for December 25- just a day to rest. By the power of technology, I was able to spend some time on the phone with my family during their Christmas celebration on December 25. Thank you Lord for technology!!


6. Who brings the gifts? Here, there are two options that children have for the person who brings the gifts at Christmas. Some children believe that Santa brings gifts to good children on Christmas (sound familiar?). Other children believe that baby Jesus brings the gifts. This will vary by family. One of my friends grew up believing in Santa, another in the baby Jesus. At Michelle's house, her sister excitedly set out cookies for Santa. However, this Christmas, she discovered the truth about Santa- that he cannot possibly get to everyone's house in one night so he brings presents a few weeks early to some children and leaves them in their parents' closet (oops!).

So, no matter how you celebrated Christmas, the important thing is that you did celebrate- celebrate the birth of a little baby who would save the world from their sins.
Merry Christmas!!

A Special Dedication...

This post is a special dedication to a wonderful woman that God allowed me to know and love up until she departed from this Earth exactly one year ago. Margaret Havanac was born on October 4, 1913 as one of 10 children. She grew up, married (Jack Miceli), and had 5 children- 1 boy and 4 girls. She had 12 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. She lived by herself in her own apartment until she was 91 years young. She then lived with her middle child until December 15, 2007. She is loved and greatly missed.

Besides being with her family, things that she loved included:

• Christmas
• Going out (ANYWHERE!)
• Anything musical or that lit up with lights
• Shirley Temple movies
• Baking/cooking (Caramel Corn, Lamb Cakes, Kolachky, Eggie Soup, Coconut Bars, Italian Cookies, Pizzelles, and more!)
• Easter trees
• Coffee with Italian Toast or S cookies
• And so many more things that it would be impossible to list!

I love you Gramma!!!!!!

Experiencing More Culture

Yes, I have even more to experience here in Venezuela. This is my first Christmas in Venezuela- and I have already begun experiencing what Christmas is like in this part of the world.

Last night, I attending a Christmas dinner for ministry leaders at the church. The dinner started at "7:00pm". Notice I put the time in quotes- that is because it said it started at 7:00 but it really didn't- not here. Allow me to explain with example.

I was at home, ready to go to the church, at around 6:30pm. I started calling for a taxi, but there weren't any available. I then called for almost 2 hours to try to get a taxi- but there weren't any. This is not a new experience for me, as this happens almost daily- but not usually for this long. At around 8:15 or 8:30, I gave up trying and figured I wasn't going. I spoke with my friend Elizabeth, who also wanted to go (she has a car :-) ). We were not sure if it was worth going so late. We decided to go anyway and arrived at around 9:30pm. When we got there, they were just about to start serving the food. The event lasted until midnight.

Now, If this was in the USA, I know how it would have gone. People would have arrived no later than 7pm. Dinner would have been served between 7:15 and 7:30, and it would have been over by 9:30. But this is Venezuela, and from what I am finding out, this is typical of social events, parties, and dinners.

The entire event was "Christmas" here. The food was the typical Christmas meal in Venezuela- as unique to them as Thanksgiving dinner is to Americans. The main food for Christmas is called hallaca. It is made with a type of corn flour dough that is made like a hot pocket stuffed with meat, chicken, garbanzo beans, raisins, chopped peppers, and potatoes. It is then wrapped in a plantain leaf, tied up, and boiled. This was my first time trying it- and it is quite good. Also served was a chicken cole slaw salad and bread stuffed with ham, olives, and raisins. They also served 4 different types of desserts- typical desserts for Christmas.

The music being played was also "Christmas". They had the band playing Gaitas- which is a type of music that is from this area in Venezuela and is traditionally played at Christmas time.

When I looked at my plate of food- most of it new to me- and listened to the music being played- my mind kept thinking (in song format), "So, this is Christmas....". To me, this isn't Christmas. It doesn't look like any Christmas I have ever had. It doesn't sound like any Christmas I've ever had. It doesn't taste like any Christmas I've ever had. But this is Christmas. This is what Christmas looks like, sounds like, and tastes like to the people with whom God has placed me, and so, this is Christmas.

After the music, they had a time to present to the group who were the workers of the year for each ministry. When they started the presentations, they announced that the Coordinator of each ministry would be coming up to say a few words about the ministry and the person chosen in their ministry. Of course, this meant that my co-coordinator and I would have to go up and speak. She does not like to speak in front of large groups, and I don't like speaking in Spanish over the microphone in front of everyone- especially with no notice like that. We immediately looked at each other and she finally agreed to do the speaking for us. However, when we were walking up to the stage, it was announced that I would be speaking. It's not that I can't speak in Spanish- because I can- but I get nervous that I will mess up and not be able to be understood. I was told that I did fine and they understood what I said. The more I do these type of presentations in Spanish in front of the church, the more comfortable I am getting. I will look back at this in the time to come and laugh, I'm sure. But for now, all I can do is trust God to give me the language skills I need on a daily basis.

The church set up for dinner



Children's Ministry team


Missions and Evangelism teams

Gaita Band

Train dancing around the church to Gaita music

Experiencing culture

This week, I was invited by my friend Diana to go to the theater and watch a play. This was a local play written by someone who works with the theater. It was also my first play in Spanish. I was excited to go and wondered how much of it I would understand.

We had tickets for the second showing, which started at "9:00pm". At a little after 9, we could see through the cracks in doors that the people from the first showing were just leaving. So, we waited. At about 9:25 or so, in a different part of the lobby, we heard some loud drums and chanting. Of course, this drew everyone's attention. The group playing the music were actually the actors for the play- it began outside of the auditorium! The actors lead the way for the audience outside- out of the teater- and around the building to the back cargo loading door and everyone entered through the back. We then sat on chairs actually on the auditorium stage with the actors staging area in the middle and chairs on each side.

The stage itself was plain- no real decorations or backgrounds. There was one table in the middle of the stage that was used in various forms- as a table, as a house, as a ladder (turned on its side), etc. The actors had some basic costumes that they changed during the play.

As far as the play itself, I really did not understand much. Try as I did, I really couldn't follow what was happening. However, Diana (Venezuelan) did not understand it either. That made me feel better.

With all I have seen over the past 11 months in Venezuela, I am still finding new things to experience- new aspects of this wonderful country.

Sign Language Update

I thought I would give you an update and a sneak peak at my Sign Languages classes that I have been taking for the past month or two.

I have learned quite a few words in Spanish sign and am able to put sentences together. I am also able to understand the instructors some when they start signing. The hard part is remembering to think through these signs in Spanish to keep them separated from the signs I know in English. Many people in the class have children who are deaf and have more practice opportunities, and are thus much better than Joselin and I. However, we are learning quickly.

There is just one more class next week before they stop for Christmas. Classes will resume again in January.

It has been suggested and the idea is being explored about offering a Sign Language class at the church to teach people how to evangelize in Sign. People will be able to share the Gospel message to Deaf people in the city and then invite them to church (since Filadelfia has a sign language interpreter at one of their services). This would be an excellent ministry to begin at the church and I hope to become a part of it.

Here is a brief video so you can see what my class at the Deaf Institute is like:

Tercer Cielo

Have you ever had a time when you felt like you needed to do something- something that you don't normally do and that feels really strange- and you have no idea why you need to do it, but you know you just do? Well, that happened to me this week at the conference.

As you may know, I am actually a shy person (although I am less shy now than I was before God called me into missions). So, when I had this pressing feeling that I needed to go talk to someone I've never met before, although a very strange feeling, all I could think was that it was coming from God. Allow me to explain...

At the conference this week, there was a music group couple who sang and gave testimony. Their group is called "Tercer Cielo". I had never heard of them before, but from what I understand, they have a few CDs out and are starting to become popular. From the first time they came on stage to sing and talk, a thought immediately popped into my head. "I need to talk to them." Why would I need to go talk to the singers in this music group that I have never heard of before?? This was really a strange thought for me and I pushed it out of my mind. However, every time they came on stage, the thought came back into my mind- stronger than it had the first time. I had no idea why I was supposed to talk to them or what I needed to say to them, but I know that I was supposed to.

Finally, at their last appearance on Wednesday night, this feeling was so strong- I knew that I need to talk to them about their ministry and pray with them. I decided to go backstage and talk to them. I knew this was from God. It had to be.

I went backstage and was able to talk to them. I asked them about their ministry. Their songs are all Christian, but with a Reggae beat and at times a bit of rock. They are becoming popular and the secular radio stations have started playing their music. They are expecting a baby girl in February and are excited about having a child. They asked me about my ministry in Venezuela and I explained to them what I have been doing here. I then prayed with them. I prayed for their ministry, for their new daughter, and for safe travel as they left the next morning for a concert in the United States.

After I prayed with them, I said goodbye and left. I do not know why God wanted me to go talk with them. I may never know. What I do know is that if God tells me to do something, I better do it- and I am glad I did.

We declare that the Kingdom of God is here!

This week, I attended a city-wide conference/ training/ revival/ concert that was sponsored by Filadelfia Church. The theme of the conference was "Extendiendo el Reino de Dios" or "Extending the Kingdom of God". The opening video showed pictures with a song (in English) saying "We declare that the Kingdom of God is here!"

All churches in the city were invited to attend this "Congreso" which was being held at the Palacio de Eventos (the concert hall in the city). The days were split up into 2 separate sessions.The morning sessions were 4 hours long (or longer) and designed for church and ministry leaders and were more training oriented, with preachers and worship music. The evening sessions (2 hours or longer) were open to anyone wishing to attend (no charge) and included worship/concert and preaching. I am including some video so you can get an idea of what it was like.

This first video was from a concert portion of the conference. The type of music being played is called Gaita. This type of music has its origin here in Maracaibo. While Gaitas are typically Christmas music in Venezuela, they are played year-round in Maracaibo.

This next video is a music group called "Generación". They are a local Christian rock band that performed a few times during the conference.

This video was part of the last sermon, held on the last evening. The morning sermons were teaching sermons for pastors and church leaders. The evening sermons were "revival" style sermons for the general population. All 3 pastors who spoke were from Puerto Rico but are living in Florida, so they all knew English (and tossed in a few English words every now and then). I am surprised that I could actually understand most of what was being said during each of the messages, including one sermon where I understood the entire message!

When I first heard about this conference, I did not want to go. I knew that I was going to have a lot of work to do this week and I really didn't want to spend my whole day at this conference and definitely not for 3 days in a row (and yes, this was a whole day event- especially with traveling back and forth through rush hour traffic). However, God was working on my heart. He spoke to me in ways I really would not have thought (more about that in another blog entry) and He changed my attitude. I am very glad that I went and I hope that the church has another Congreso soon.