Wow! The Lord has been doing amazing things in this part of the world! Haha. Excuse my excitement. Now that it is out of my system, I can continue. =)
We arrived in the country of Venezuela, which is southeast of Mexico, on Tuesday afternoon. It was quite an interesting flight. Ernie and I were amazed at how relaxed other countries are in terms of security in airports. As we got off the plane, there was a man seated behind us who pulled a 3-foot souvenir sword from the overhead compartment. Talk about crazy! And it was perfectly normal too. Maybe our society is just too over cautious. Who knows.
As we drove through the capital city of Caracas, our colleagues Raquel and Jaime safely navigated through the THOUSANDS of motorized scooters. It was amazing that we were not involved in a single accident! Fortunately we arrived at our rooms at the time we did, because as soon as we got to the rooftop (which was where our room was located) a massive dust storm blew through, followed by a downpour of rain. It was so strange to think that a dry place like this Wednesday we took off bright and early into the heart of Venezuela to spend time with the indigenous people of the country. This was a very exciting time. The people that we were trying to reach were a nomadic group that followed the water and grasses with their cattle. Praise the Lord that we were able to find them after many hours of searching. And not only did we find them, but they were very gracious and allowed us to spend the night in their camp. From what Raquel told us, this was the first recorded time that our organization was able to camp with this people group. Talk about cutting edge!
These people were very hospitable, and were very open to our conversations. We asked them a lot about their culture and lifestyle, because we know very little about them. And they also asked us many questions about our home. This led to the questions of why were there. They were amazed at the fact that we wanted to share with them stories from the Word of God. Because their culture is based on oral history, stories are much more appropriate than providing a written scripture. Ernie was phenomenal at telling relevant stories that were simple, but not patronizing to the people. They were quite open about stories that pertained to our Savior, and this was so encouraging. Our Lord was working very hard on the hearts of those men and women that night.
The next morning we continued to share stories with these people. It was important that they were able to know the stories well enough to repeat them to their friends and family, so Ernie retold some of the stories from the previous night. It was only when we were ready to dive deeper into the story of our Savior, was when a religious teacher showed up from a nearby town. It was very obvious that the word had spread, and he came to argue apologetics with us. It was at this point that the doors we had worked so hard to keep open were shut. But we pray that our Father brought that man for a reason, and we know that those people were able to hear the Good News. Pray that the Holy Spirit convicts them and shows them the void that can only be filled with the redemption our Savior offers. And pray that the stories from God’s Word were not told in vain. Our hope is that those stories are retold to the extended family of this village, and that the Good News is spread through that family, and ultimately that people group. Raquel and Jaime plan to return in several weeks to continue the process of telling stories that show them to way to our Lord.
As simple as it seems, pray for rain. Just stop right now and say a simple prayer, asking for rain in this part of the world.
Okay… Done? Good. =) Rain is so crucial here. When your whole life is based on your livestock, the grass in your fields HAS to grow. The people we visited lost many of their animals because the rain has come late this season. So as your pray for us, pray for rain, so that the people here will know that the strangers that visited their village really do know an Almighty Lord who can bring rain to their fields. Pray that their wells do not run dry this season, so that they may be blessed with strong cattle.
The rest of today was spent driving through the country, spending time with Raquel and Jaime. Ernie and I are working herd to gain a broad perspective on the work that the Lord is doing here in Latin America. So the time with our colleagues gave us a lot of insight into the many great things that He is doing here.
And so, as I sit here in our bedroom, with the television that has one channel (It is in a language I have never heard of. But all that I have gathered from this foreign Soap Opera is that the main character has escaped from prison, held up a bank, and has just out that his primary female hostage was his teenage girlfriend. I’m quite interested right now.) I pray that our Lord grants us the wisdom to accurately and compellingly continue to share stories from His Word, so that an unreached people group may begin to know Him as their ultimate Savior. And I pray that the church body at home will have the same prayer this week.
Ciao!
Burt and Ernie
