Venezuela - Ripe for Harvest

It was my pleasure to spend time and minister in Venezuela. I travel the world using baseball as our platform to reach the lost for Christ. The Lord used Kerry Peacock and Bill Cashion to bring to my attention the need to come to Venezuela. As I ministered in this place I realized that this country may be the most ripe for harvest in the world. A few simple decisions and investments into lives are the key in this place. We need to strengthen the infrastructure around Pastor Jacobo of the Venezuela Baptist Convention to help him train others to by facilitate and take some of the administrative responsibility from him. He would then be free to set the vision for evangelism and work in his country.

During my time in Caracas I worked with Carlos Subero's baseball foundation doing evangelistic baseball clinics and we built great relationships. I had dinner at the home of Carlos and his national sports foundation representatives were present. We have agreed to continue to work together in Venezuela and Cuba. Working together in Caracas and additional cities we did 6 days of baseball clinics in multiple places per day. We saw over 400 people make public confessions for Jesus Christ. Many Spanish New Testaments and Carlos Subero's testimony tracts were given to everyone in the crowd. At our hotel a Christian man handed out New Testaments and Carlos Subero's testimony tracts to everyone going up the elevator. What was mind blowing about this is that this residence hotel is where Hugo Chavez government officials and Honor Guard of his Army lives. Brother Ladimiro had the opportunity to share with 20 people including Chavez honor guard and led 2 of them to Christ.

At the beginning of the trip I met a woman named Sol. She is the President of a 2,000 Christian Business Women Coalition and serves in the Chavez Government Ministry. She is in charge of Social Services to the poor in her country and a woman of great influence. She has been involved in building homes for the poor and is also trying to build drug rehab centers for women. It is her intention, Lord willing to set up a meeting in the near future for me to meet with President Hugo Chavez and share Christ with him. She has invited me to come as her guest with my wife Terri for 15 days to visit in her areas of influence in Venezuela and I have free hand to share Christ. We gave her 15 cases of Bibles and they will all go into Cuba with her and will be waiting for me in May of 2008 when I go to Cuba to minister and train pastors.

Pastor Ladimiro who is a University Professor was involved in the meetings with Sol and me. He also asked me to come to his state and do 3 day leadership training for pastors and their wives. Both Jacobo and Ladimiro met with Dave Altopp and me to ask if we would put a team of up to 20 baseball instructors and come to Venezuela and do baseball evangelistic programs in 5 major cities with the help of the local churches.

I truly believe that the Lord is now moving in South America and this is his next big move. Venezuela is key. For my personal life I am open to investing my life in Venezuela.

Jeff Siegel - Global Youth Baseball Federation, Inc.
www.baseballwithoutborders.com