Vision Banquet

Many of you have been wondering how the Vision Banquet went...it went pretty well. We had a number of no-shows which was a little disappointing, but those who attended responded well in their financial commitments to the Crusade. We are still receiving commitments and offerings, so it is hard to give an actual accounting at this time. The banquet itself went quite well. The students of First Baptist served as our waitstaff, and we had a marvelous meal. Following the meal we had a program which included music by Julie Eustis (singing Ray Boltz' "Thank You"), a presentation to Buck Smith honoring him and Ila Mae for their years of service on the mission field in Venezuela, and a word from our keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Jackson, who challenged the group to follow the Great Commission and to be obedient as well as visionary. Larry Shotwell shared his testimony, a glimpse of his experience in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006, and asked the group to pray about how they could be involved in this effort. Kerry shared the vision for Caracas and Venezuela and we showed a video clip made in Caracas, a video invitation from the pastors and church leaders there, asking us to come be a part of the Evangelistic Crusade in January 2008. We also shared a power point presentation showing the work that had been done at the crusade in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006 as well as pictures of Caracas, all set to the words of Wayne Watson in "For Such a Time as This."
There were several who attended the banquet who expressed an interest in going to Caracas with us in January. This is exciting as we are down to the wire in getting people to commit to go. We are busy this week following up with everyone who has expressed an interest. Because there have been questions and comments on this subject, I will address it more in a separate post.
In the meantime, I ask that you continue to pray for the crusade, for the people of Caracas, for those of us who are in the directors' chairs, for the remainder of the funds needed, and for the people God will lead to be a part of our team.