A Report from Charles Harris - El Vigia, Merida, Venezuela

Hello

We returned from Venezuela on Monday afternoon. We were there for a week. I was assigned to work in El Vigia, near Merida. El Vigia is about the size of Kingsport. In El Vigia we had a team of six other Americans and myself. Matt Dykes and Richard Hanks were on a team in Merida. Merida is in the Andes Mountains and is a very comfortable climate.

Our team stayed in four different homes in El Vigia, where it was very hot and no air conditioning. On our team were two couples from San Angelo, TX and two female students from Texas A&M University. We had two interpreters, so most of the time we split into two teams. One of the interpreters was the local pastor's daughter and the other was an English teacher from a local university.

I stayed in the home of Pastor Cesar Leal ; he is the pastor of Christian Community, a local Baptist church. He also owned and operated a Christian radio station, that has Christian programming and music. The church has four missions, Pastor Leal is hoping the missions will grow and become Baptist churches .One mission has already become a church.

On Monday , we visited homes in a gated community. Most people were busy during the day and we had little success. In the evening we had a worship service in the yard of a resident, we had music, singing and preaching. At the end of the service 5 people came forward to be come new Christians.

On Tuesday, we rode a bus 8 miles to a mission community called To-Bar. We split into 2 groups and visited homes, we explained the plan of salvation to anyone who would talk with us. I gave the message at 5 pm in the yard of a local Christian. At the end of the day we counted 24 people who had prayed with us to become a Christian.

On Wednesday we traveled to Merida to do some shopping and see the Andes Mts. We traveled through the world's longest tunnel, built in the 1900's taking 27 years to complete.

On Wednesday night we came back to El Vigia and attended Pastor Leal's church. After church, on the request of a young man, we went to the home of his parents and talked with them about salvation and they prayed to become Christians.

On Thursday we traveled about 20 miles to another mission in the community of El Pinar. For several hours we visited homes and after returning to the mission we counted 24 people who had prayed to become a Christian. Later we ate together and attended worship service held by Pastor Leal.

On Friday we visited in the community near Pastor Leal's home. We did not have much success that day That afternoon we each gave our testimony on the Christian radio station The pastor's daughter was our interpreter. That evening a pastor from a church just outside of town came by requesting that we visit 2 families near his church. The interpreter, the college students and myself went and witnessed to the families. Three in one family and ten in another family prayed to become believers in Jesus Christ.

On Saturday about 50 people rode a bus to the city of Santa Cruz. We had a Celebration picnic. The interpreter and I talked with the bus driver and he prayed to become a Christian. We gave away 3 boxes of Bibles ( paid for by our church) to the new Christians.

Our team in El Vigia, counted 65 conversions for the week. A smaller group of Americans worked with a church on the other side of town and they reported 31 conversions.

We didn't do anything that every church member should be able to do, tell others about Jesus.

To God be the Glory
Charles Harris, Kingsport, Tennessee

Mission Completed, Yet Ongoing

As we finish up our 8 days in this beautiful state of Merida, we realize that we are not finished at all. God has done many wonderful and powerful things here through us, through the Venezuelan volunteers who have come from all over Venezuela, and through the members of the local churches here. We have seen close to 1,000 new Christians in the areas of Merida, El Vigia, and Mucachies, and the town just up the mountain from Mucachies. But many more seeds have been planted, and we leave today praying the God will send Christians to further nurture the seeds until they bloom in the hearts of His children.

Over the next few weeks there will be reports from those who have had the opportunity to spend a short time here in this little corner of the world. I will share them on this blog, and where I can, I will try to have some of them translated into Spanish for our friends in Venezuela.

We will travel today back down the mountain to El Vigia, join our friends who have been working there, then fly to Caracas. Joining us will be four young students from Texas who are finishing up two months of working in this area with Go Now Missions through the Baptist General Convention of Texas. We will stay overnight in Caracas, then fly home on Monday.

Please pray for our safe travel back home. Also please continue to pray for the people of Venezuela, especially the people of Merida, Barinas, Trujillo, and Portuguesa who have experienced this week of intense evangelism. Pray for the Venezuelan volunteers and the local church members as they disciple the new Christians and continue to share the Gospel here in this country.

A Report from Rolando (Buck) Smith in Mucachies, Venezuela

We are working with Pastor Ronald who has been here 8 years with the Iglesia Bautista el Sembrador. He has a Christian radio show where he is able to spread the Gospel. The people there have been praying for their community for 2-3 months.

We met Carlos at the internet store and DVD store where I was checking my email. He was sitting next to me and I gave him my Venezuela Vision card which has the address for this blog. He looked it up right away and began reading Diane's report from Sunday. I shared the Gospel with him and he came to our service where he accepted Christ!

We have had 48 professions of faith in three and a half days. We also have 4 Venezuelan young people who are working with us. They sing and play instruments for our services and help us in our visitation.  On Tuesday night we had a service in a restaurant!

We climbed up the mountain for a couple of hours witnessing to people along the way. At one point we saw a man plowing his field with a team of oxen, then stopped to talk on his cell phone! Such is the life in this country!

We are experiencing great things as God moves among the people here. Please continue to pray!

A Report from Tom Dufresne in El Vigia, Venezuela

We arrived on Saturday and were ushered to a meeting with Pastor Cesar Leal in his home. We met with several members of his church, one family had just arrived from Columbia. Great joy was provided by the Holy Spirit as we began our mission of understanding Spanish, since the interpreter was not yet present. De and Sherryl McCleery; Martha and myself were then taken to a hotel for a couple of days until arrangements for a home could be made. On Sunday we attended the Shalom Baptist Church and gave our testimonies. In the evening we attended the first small mission church. Tom preached that night to a full house of about 75 persons. Then on Monday we began going door to door in a gated community witnessing and inviting folks to an evening service in their compound. It was extremly hot and we rested in the late afternoon. Later that afternoon we went to Radio Luz de Vida radio station and Tom made a survey of the studio needs. The station engineer was not in town so we scheduled another trip to the mountain and transmitter for later. That evening Sherryl and Kerry preached with lots of wonderful music and prayer. About 100 residents of the community were in attendance. Five of the folks we witnessed to that morning accepted Christ. The youth of Shalom Baptist performed Christian dance program with witnessing after the service concluded and many of the community youth accepted Christ.


Tuesday we went to the farm area and went door to door to assist with planting a new church. Seven persons accepted Christ, we prayed for healing and Murf did two medical exams ages 7 days and 80 years old. A worship service was held in the late afternoon and Charles Harris (from Tennesse) preached. Many children were in attendance and the ladies from Shalom Church did a great presentation for VBS in 2 weeks. Wed. we drove to the city of Merida and saw several of our fellow workers from San Angelo. Everywhere we go we have the opportunity to give our testimonies and share tracts in Eng/Span--everyone is very receptive--thank you for your prayers!! Sherryl and De attended one of the mission churches on Wed. evening and witnessed to some prospects for the mission and ministered encouragement to the young pastor and wife. Martha preached at the Shalom Church. After the service one of the youth (16 yrs old) requested that we come to his home and share Christ with his mother. By the end of the evening his mother, father, younger sister and aunt accepted Christ--all were celebrating--especially that young man. He has been praying for this to happen.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We love you all and see you soon.

God is Working in Venezuela

The thing about third world countries is that nothing is ever assured. Such as internet service. You may have it and you may not have it. The same is true with so many things. But the one thing about our Lord is that He is ALWAYS sure, and we are ALWAYS assured of His love and care, His providence, and His ultimate will in how things will be.

We are seeing God move in these past few days...souls have been won to God's kingdom. Seeds have been planted. Christians have been sharing their faith. But we have also seen Satan trying his best to distract us. He is not happy with the fact that God is being glorified!

Much of yesterday morning seemeed to be wasted as we chased around trying to find a place where we could receive and send faxes that Kerry had to sign for his business...his work must go on even though he is here. We became frustrated at what seemed to be "chasing our own tails". What should have taken 15-20 minutes took all morning. 

But in the midst of all that 'chasing around', we met with four men here at Ladimiro's home and led them in the prayer of salvation! Ladimiro had met with three of them last week and laid the groundwork for us to share the Gospel with them. They are all workers here in the community where Ladimiro lives, and they will possibly come again later in the week for some followup. So in the midst of our seemingly wasted time, we have four new brothers in Christ!

We had lunch with Pastor Daniel and his wife, Angelica and were able to have a nice visit with him about his vision for the church. He is a young pastor and we encouraged him in his work. He shared with us that a group from the church had spent the morning at the University de los Andes and had led 10 people to Christ. Later in the afternoon they would be witnessing at the bus terminal, and we heard they had 9 people there pray to receive Christ.

Yesterday afternoon was spent with Kerry and Ladimiro discussing other plans having to do with the foundation work that Kerry is starting with the Venezuela Baptist Convention. We feel that part of our responsibility while here on this trip is getting some of the details of this worked out.

The church with which we are working....the Mision Ultima Frontera...did not have anything scheduled last night, so we hopped in Ladimiro's car, went by and picked up Sonia from her office, and drove to El Vigia where the Dufesnes and the McCleerys are working with Pastor Cesar in the Shalom Baptist Church. They had planned an outdoor service in the neighborhood of one of their church members. When we arrived, we found out that one of the teenage girls in that church had tried to commit suicide that day. So there was much turmoil and sadness among the members. Murf and Pastor Cesar's daughter led the music, singing in English and then in Spanish. Then Sherryl preached on prayer, followed by more music from one of the young men (possibly Cesar's son) on the electric guitar accompanied by a friend on the drums. After that, Kerry preached a little, drawing everything to a close and offering an invitation. Four ladies came forward to accept Christ! Gloria a Dios! as they would say here! It was an awesome ending to a stressful day.

Ah, but the day was not over. As we arrived back in Merida, we dropped Sonia off to pick up her car, and she followed us on to the house. Ladimiro and Kerry and I were having a great time singing hymns along the way, and while we were stopped at a red light, we heard a crash behind us, then felt Sonia's car hit ours. We found ourselves in a four-car pileup. Miraculously no one was hurt, although Sonia was pretty sore this morning.  A man (who was drunk) was driving a jeep-type vehicle and slammed into a taxicab which then hit Sonia's car which then hit Ladimiro's car. The taxi was badly damaged in the front and the rear, and I am amazed the young men in the taxi were not hurt. Sonia's car has some damage to the rear. But they feel blessed not only in the fact that Sonia is okay, but that it was Sonia's car and not Ladimiro's because they are to leave next Monday to go to Valencia for a week of medical mission work there and are to take Ladimiro's car! So even though Satan tries to dampen our spirits, God still prevails! Hallelujah!

So the day was mixed with frustation and celebration.....a celebration that outweighed the frustration MUCHO!

This morning, again we had papers to sign and fax, and we determined the time would not be wasted and were able to witness to two young people, Kelli and Jorgy, who worked in the fotocopy-fax-computer places. We shared the Four Spiritual Laws with them, and they each prayed to receive Christ!  We then invited them to the church services we will have on Thursday and Friday nights.

This evening Kerry will lead a conference on finances at the church. He has spent the afternoon preparing for that while Ladimiro took care of some details pertaining to last night's car incident. I have spent the afternoon trying to update everyone and praying for the remainder of the week for not only our team but for all the teams here in this part of Venezuela. I believe prayer is the key to all of this. And I would ask you once again to pray for the work going on here. We cannot fight Satan on our own, but through prayer we can bind him. And God will always prevail!!

Another small victory....the church where we are working is on the 4th floor of an office building....their elevator has been broken. Today we got word that it is working once again! Gloria a Dios! Not only was it difficult on my knees, but the altitude here is like Denver....about a mile high....and the air is thin! My knees seem to be holding up pretty well. They hurt quite a bit yesterday, but are better today!

Thank you all for your prayers!!! We need them greatly!!

Sunday in Merida, Venezuela

What a glorious Sunday morning in Merida, Venezuela! Our group arrived safe and sound yesterday to the airport in El Vigia. The two travel days were long, not so much from traveling as from sitting and waiting for the next flight. Our three friends from Tennessee missed a flight and ended up arriving a day later than everyone else. There were many opportunities for witnessing on the planes and sitting in airports, and by the time we got to Caracas Friday night, at least 2 new souls had become believers.


On Saturday, Wes and Wayne (from New Mexico) had the early flight from Caracas to El Vigia, where someone was supposed to pick them up and take them to Mucachies. No one ever came to get them, so Wayne took the lead and began witnessing to people in his broken Spanish. Wes soon joined him and spoke to many people, leading nearly 10 to Christ. Finally, a young man who spoke English showed up and asked if they were with the Texas Baptist. He joined them and they continue to share Christ until our later flight arrived in the afternoon.

From the airport in El Vigia, our group split up. Tom and Murf are working with Pastor Cesar in El Vigia, Sherryl and De are working with another church in El Vigia (which, I think, is a mission of Pastor Cesar's church). Also, Bobby and Ross are working with a young pastor in El Vigia. The rest of us loaded up and drove a little more than an hour up the mountain to Merida where our friend Ladimiro lives. His wife, Sonia, and their church had prepared a wonderful meal for us when we arrived.....arrepas!! and cheeses and ham....tradiditional Venezuelan food. Following the meal our smaller group split up once again with G. I. and Sandy going to work in the First Baptist Church in Merida, and Kerry & I working with Ladimiro and Sonia in their church. We are also staying in their home which is a real treat for us! Buck and Mary, Wayne and Wes traveled on a little further up the mountain to Mucachies where they will work with a couple of churches there.

So from here on, I can only report what happens here in Merida. First let me explain...we are ALL in the STATE of Merida.....Kerry and I, G.I, and Sandy are in the CITY of Merida. Sort of like being in New York, New York! I may occasionally get a report from one of the other groups, and I will pass it on.

This morning we have spent a leisurely morning with Ladimiro and Sonia, sharing and talking with them about many things. They are such wonderful people and love the Lord so much and are so in tune with His will. And they have such a passion for their fellow Venezuelans. Their church meets in the afternoon around 4:00, so we will be participating in that...Kerry will be preaching.

Ladimiro has set up appointments with several people for us to meet with during the week. Ladimiro and Sonia work with professional people here in Merida, and they are very difficult to reach for Christ. Kerry will be leading a couple of seminars, also, on Keys to Success and Finances. We will also be evangelizing at the bus station and in other areas of the city during the week. I'm not exactly sure of what the Lord has for me specifically, but I am open to whatever He brings my way.

Please continue to pray for all of our teams, not just our San Angelo team, but all of the teams across this area of Venezuela made up of Texans, other North Americans, and Venezuelans!

Countdown....Two Days

Two days.....tomorrow will be a busy day for those of us who are leaving Friday for Venezuela! Packing the final things into the suitcases, finalizing sermons and testimonies, making arrangements for things/plants/pets left at home. Then hopefully an early bedtime tomorrow night in anticipation of an early morning on Friday. The group from San Angelo flies out at 6:55am. That means we have to be at the airport at 4:55am.  That means we have to get up at.....how early??? Friday will be a day of travel, from here to Dallas where we will meet up with others from around the state who are members of the larger team of Texans participating in this evangelistic effort in Venezuela. Then on to Miami and eventually to Caracas.  Three of our lay missionary friends from Tennessee will join us in Caracas where we will all spend the night in a missionary house. Saturday morning we will be able to sleep in a little and after lunch we will fly on to the city of El Vigia in the state of Merida where we will be meet a couple more from New Mexico! From there, some of our team will stay in El Vigia to minister, more of us will drive on up the mountain to the city of Merida, and from there, a couple will travel on a little further up the mountain to Muccachies.

We will have the opportunity to meet with several of our Venezuelan friends who we have met on previous trips. We will meet Ricardo in Caracas when we arrive, and Alexander will meet with us Saturday morning before we fly on to Merida. Once we get to Merida, we will see our good friend, Ladimiro, who is organizing this portion of the trip. We will be working with him and his church.

I will try to post updates while we are there, but it is all dependent on where and when I can find internet service!

Please pray for the team that we all stay healthy and are able to reach the people who need Jesus.  Pray that we will be able to help the pastors and the churches there as we visit and share Christ with their friends and family members.  Pray that God will reach down and touch the hearts of those to whom we speak.  Pray that God will bless this effort, protect this team, and allow His name to be glorified in all that we do!