Valencia!

I arrived in Valencia three days ago and have gone non-stop since! Day two in the city, my roommates, Debbie and Morgan, and I decided to get a puppy. There is a local orphanage who breeds golden retrievers to sell as a fund raiser, so we drove over there and picked out the most precious four month old puppy, who we named Lexi. She is already adjusting well to her new home.

That night, we also had a bienvenida (welcome) party in our home for me and the two college summer missionaries. Stacy and Kayleigh will be with us for the month of June, doing English club and other activities with the two universities here in Valencia. The program is called Nexo, which means 'link' in Spanish. This is the 7th summer of Nexo and it has proven to be a very successful bridge for reaching students. Tomorrow is our first day of English Club, which we will hold Monday-Thursday, two hours at the public university (Universidad de Carabobo) and two hours at the private university (Universidad de Arturo Michalena).

Yesterday, we attended a 'Constitution Ceremony' for a new church. It's called Mision Ultima Frontera (Mission Final Frontier)...MUF is a Baptist church planting effort that focuses on reaching university students and young professionals. Their goal is to have a MUF church in each major city where there is a university. So far, there are three-MUF Caracas, MUF Merida and MUF Valencia. They hope to plant a church in Barquisimeto in the next year or so. I'm not sure how many other cities there are with major universities, but I need to find out.

Valencia is HOT! My room is on the second floor so I am able to leave my window open and with a ceiling fan and a floor fan, I've managed to sleep pretty well, until Lexi wakes me up at 4:30am ready to play. The mall closest to our home (Sambil), is shaped like a baseball diamond and hosts the National Baseball Museum, which I plan to visit in the next week or so. There's also a really cool street just around the corner called Calle del Hambre (Hunger Street) where you can find everything from fruit smoothies to grilled steak...all the restaurants are open air and interspersed between movie and music stores and small open air dance floors...it's a really popular place in the evenings.

Changes and Re-arranges

I've been in Venezuela about a month now and feel like I'm finally getting to know Caracas a little. Here are some highlights and first impressions from my time in Venezuela so far:

1) Driving here is crazy. It's never the same route to get back from a place as it was to get there. The roads are confusing and signage is sparse, so you just have to keep exploring until you find what you're looking for. This is all well and good as long as you avoid certain parts of town (just like in any large city of the world). So far I've managed to do that. I've only gotten 'lost' a couple of times, but finally found my way back home. Of course, I always say that getting lost is the best way to learn your way around, so I don't mind it too much.

2) After just a few days here in Caracas, I flew out to Barquisimeto to meet Lisa, my orientation coordinator and go through the orientation manuals...two huge binders filled with information and activities to help me get to know the language, people, country, other workers and fellow team members I will be working with. Sam and Lisa are easily some of my favorite people so far in Venezuela and I was blessed to get to meet their kids, Samuel and his wife Brianna who just graduated from Le Tourneau University and Andrea who is staying in country for college.

3) We had a prayer retreat week before last with all the families who are working here in Venezuela. One of the things that struck me was the lack of MKs on the retreat, with the exception of one college-bound kid who is leaving in about a month for the States. In Ecuador, any gathering of folks from our organization would have somewhere around 20 kids from 1 to 18 years old, so it felt really weird to be at an "all adult" retreat. This tells me two things about the work here: 1) Folks will be retiring left and right in the next decade and we need new folks to come in and take their places; and 2) We have a lot of experience and expertise among those who are here and there is much to be learned from them as I get started.

The retreat was a wonderful time of prayer for all of us and I was glad to get away and just focus on praying for what we're doing here and asking God to bless and move mightily among and through us.

As you can see, the Journeymen are a lot of fun! I'm glad I've gotten to spend some time with them!

4) Big changes: At the retreat, we evaluated our personnel and team configurations now that our numbers have dwindled down so low. Right now, we have one family unit in each major city and one couple and one single in the jungle. In Caracas, there is only one couple (who is actually in charge of mobilization for the whole country) and myself. There was supposed to be a family arriving from language school in August, but the cost of living is so high, that they are being sent elsewhere for now because they have three children and the board can't afford to pay them enough to live on here.

Because there is no one in Caracas to mentor me through my first year in my specific area of ministry, I have been asked to move to Valencia to work with the two journeygirls and the one couple who are there working with university/professionals. The journeygirls only have 6 months left, but I will live with them and shadow their ministry until they leave. After that I may stay a few more months and work with the other family or I may come back to Caracas...that's still kindof up in the air.

5) Our fledgling church, Lighthouse, will be down to two people (Douglas, a college student and Dagmar a young mother) for a while as all the gringos leave and one of the three nationals (Ketty, a school teacher from the opposite end of the country) goes home for the summer. We have all encouraged these two to step up and take ownership and responsibility for growing this group. Pray that they will do so. Pray that God will just bring people into their path who are interested in studying the Bible and that Douglas and Dagmar will make the most of those opportunities and invite them to join the group. here are some pictures of the group at my "Welcome to Caracas party"

6) I have met some wonderful folks so far and am enjoying getting to know them, even though I'm sad now that I will be leaving them for a few months. I'm hoping I will be able to come back and visit at least a few times. Anna, my roommate, who is getting ready to leave at the first of July, has been attending an aerobic dance class at a local gym and I've been going with her and one of the teachers from her school. Pray for the contacts I've made there: Felipe, the teacher and Daniela, one of the other students. I am hoping to have the opportunity to talk with both of them more in the future and thanks to Facebook, already have talked to them some outside of class.

7) Lastly, but very, very importantly, this past month we have learned that the board will not be sending any more short term workers (Journeyman and ISC) this year due to lack of funds and will also be cutting back on the number of career personnel by making the application process even more stringent and selective. This is a sad day for the board and for all of us in the field who are hoping and praying for more workers to be sent, but knowing that without funds that just isn't going to happen. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering did not meet it's goal last year and we know that with the economy as it is, it would be a miracle if it did this year. And a miracle is exactly what we're praying for. We know that times are ripe for revival and on the wake of revival, growth happens...new believers, new missionaries, new churches and more giving than ever. Pray for revival. No great movement of God has ever come about without concerted, corporate prayer on the part of God's people. That's what we're praying for here and that's what we need to pray for the U.S.

I know this has been a long post and I hope it hasn't bored you to tears. Thanks again for your prayers and support! I love hearing from you on facebook and via email. Please let me know if there's anything I can be praying for you about.

Caracas at last!

So, I'm sitting in my new room, thankful that we have internet and that it's actually not that hot. I was a little worried when I got here yesterday and was sweating from the time I stepped off the plane til I woke up this morning. No need for blankets here...which is a good thing since I had to leave my big wool Ecuadorian blanket in Quito because it wouldn't fit in my suitcase. Anna, my new roommate, tells that there were a couple of nights in October or November when she actually needed a blanket. On the one hand, I'm super-glad to be back in the Texas-like weather where you can wear flip-flops and capris every day and it doesn't get so cold in your apartment that you have to put on socks and sweats every night. On the other hand, I will miss my jackets and scarves since I will almost never encounter wintry weather.

I have a really busy schedule coming up with meetings, meals and errands all planned out for me for the next several weeks. Fortunately, "rest and settle in" were the plans for this morning and I have enjoyed getting to know my apartment and making a list of things that I'll need to get. I have a lot of stuff waiting for me in Valencia, a town about 2 hours from here, but I'm not sure when I'll get to go get that. I'm sure it's on the schedule. .

I've been told about several of the ministry opportunities I will have with our fledgling church plant called "The Lighthouse" and possible conversational English classes at the Universidad Central. I am to meet Daniel Ojeda, the man with "his finger on the pulse of student ministry," (according to my supervisors) on Sunday. He will be a great source of ministry opportunities and I look forward to making that contact.

As promised, I am posting some pictures I took today of my new place. My room is a bit sparse right now, but I have plans to get a few pieces of furniture like a night stand and bookshelf and add some pictures to make it more homey.

The living room...notice the wall of windows

Now, here are some views from that window.

My bedroom

View out my bedroom door down the hall to my roommates' rooms.

View out my bedroom door to the front door.

I'm heading to Venezuela...Finally!!!

Yes! It's true. The Powers That Be (meaning my various supervisors and the chain of command among personnel from the Board) have been discussing my situation and the fact that a missionary visa takes a really long time to get. They've decided to go ahead and bring me in on a tourist visa until the missionary visa is granted. Missionaries from other organizations have done this recently without a problem. So, after investigating to be sure it wasn't against the law, TPTB gave our business manager the go ahead to buy me a plane ticket for the end of May.
I will be flying directly to Caracas from Quito somewhere between May 21 and May 26. Hopefully, my crate that has been waiting for me in Houston will be able to join me in Venezuela not long after I arrive. I will have to look into that.

Thank you everyone who has been praying and please continue to pray for my missionary visa to be granted soon. With a tourist visa, I will have to leave the country every 90 days and return. This costs the Board money and you know how things are at this time, so a religious visa would be very helpful since it lasts a whole year and can be renewed from within the country.

As my last ministry activity in Quito, I will be helping with the FBC Grapevine team again next week as we continue to work toward a new church plant in Cumbaya. Please be praying for a productive week of ministry and lots of open doors! Thanks!

Signing off from Ecuador...next blog entry, I will be in Venezuela!!

Here are some pictures from the past several weeks. Enjoy!

Cooking at the Clifton's

Taking after my dad, I made taco soup for about 18-20 people for Matt's goodbye party

Randomness...

Texas Chicken, a local mall food court chain, gives you plastic gloves to eat your chicken with!


The journeymen, Hands-On students and I stopped on a roadtrip to have some bizcochos (really dry bready cookie things...they're pretty good dipped in caramel)

Easter

The journeymen and I spent Easter with the Clifton's, joining them for church, lunch and Matthew's first Easter egg hunt.

My friend Gaby invited me to a picnic Saturday of Easter weekend. After lunch, we played a traditional Ecuadorian game called "Avanzadas" which is hard to explain, but involves tackling your opponent as they try to sneak a little squashy ball into your team's goal. Then I taught them baseball, along with Gaby's brother-in-law, Toby and his brother, Marty, who are also from the States.

Fire!!

We had a fire scare a while back. The basement apartment in our building had some wiring problems which caused this refridgerator to catch fire. Fortunately, the other apartments were unharmed, but the poor family in the basement had extensive damage. Pray for them to recover from their loss.

Jess' Birthday Parties

Jessica Brooks had a birthday, April 7. Her 4th cousin, Brett and his wife, Brenda, had us over for dinner and birthday cake!!

We also celebrated at TGI Friday's with the Hands-On students

English Group

Jessica has started a Conversational English group that meets on Thursday nights. It's purpose is to help translators and future translators get more comfortable with their English and prepare them to help with volunteer teams. Some of them are not believers, so please pray for this to be an open door to share the gospel. (interesting tidbit: Guillermo, in the black vest, is the face on all of the IMB's Lottie Moon Christmas Offering materials. See this link

http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5428&LanguageID=1709)

March Madness

(Yes, we did watch the NCAA tourney!)

March flew by practically without my notice and here it is already mid-April! Let me fill you in on what happened in Ecuador in the last month or so.

Changes are taking place at the Board meaning several missionaries are being asked to take new roles and even move to new locations. Several families including, the Calverts, will be moving to Peru. My journeyman friends and I helped pack up their home for the big move. The Calverts have been in the States for a while and Mrs. Calvert was not able to come pack up her home, so we girls helped Mr. Calvert know what she would want packed and what could be donated or tossed.

Since not many teams were coming in March and I still don't have a regular work schedule, I've had a lot of time to fellowship with the other missionaries and go on some crazy adventures (including mountain bike rides and two vocano-climbing expeditions). If you're on my facebook, you've already seen these pictures, but here are some for those of you who haven't.

Volcan Pinchincha

Here I am climbing Volcan Pinchinca, part of which can be seen from my kitchen window. The vegetation was gorgeous at that altitude...plants I've never seen and this green stuff that covered everything...it looked like the Shire where the Hobbits live in Lord of the Rings.
Yes, we were climbing sideways...basically walking across a wall of rocks!

My foot found the mud puddle at the end of that wall of rocks...that's what happens when you're too short to jump beyond the mud like everyone else did.
Robyn and Valarie tried to see who could trow an apple core the farthest off the side of a volcano...I think Robyn won.

Volcan Pululahua
This is Volcan Pululahua (Poo-loo-LAH-wah)...the crater of which is one of only two inhabited volcanoes in the world.
Climbing back out of the crater was a little tough...I got winded a few times.
The path got really narrow in places, but was beautiful
Here's a view of the inhabited crater...from up above.
Here are the Hands On students down in the bottom of the crater. Left to right, Robyn, Valarie, Jackie and Jason
Jessica Brooks and I at the bottom...going down was the easy part...we still have the climb back up at this point
Who knew that trees and grass grew inside volcanoes...I guess if it hasn't erupted in about 200 years, that's possible...the ground is really fertile.

Biking Trip #1

Hiking and Biking...I'm becoming quite the outdoorsy type! Here are our before, during, and after poses

One of the views from the bike trail was this raging river down below...pretty, huh?

Biking Trip #2

Anna Kurtz, who would be my roommate, if I were in Venzuela came to Quito last week for her visa renewal trip. Here she is on the left posing and pondering the great view from this rest stop.

Jessica had to have a picture of this door that reminded her of "The Secret Garden"

My bike got a flat right after this picture was taken and I had to walk 4km back to the entrance of the trail
Here's Jessica posing in front of Bessie the cow.
Anna seemed to like the bike ride.

I did manage to do some ministry this month as well as all the adventures. Here's a recap:

1) The last Sunday in March, we had our second monthly girl's Bible study at Vida Nueva Church which had about 15 attendees...it was during the Ecuador vs. Brazil soccer game which was in the stadium right down the street, so we could hear the game both live and on the pastor's TV as he watched it downstairs. We still managed to have a good discussion of family relationships, focusing especially on the commandment to honor our father and mother. Pray for Lalita and Roxi who are leading the study. They are doing a great job!

2) While working on my Esther study at a local coffee shop, I met a girl named May (pronounced My) who is a design student at a local college. She and I talked for a while and exchanged numbers...we were finally able to get together again a couple of Sundays ago. We went to a movie, then on the drive home, we talked about church and a little about the differences between Catholics and evangelicals. She expressed interest in going to church, so I plan to invite her this week, since her family was out of town for Easter. Pray that she accepts my invitation and for an open door to share the whole Gospel with her.

3) Jessica Brooks and I have been going out to Carapungo, about 30 mins outside of Quito to play with children at a local clinic and to visit house church members in their homes. One such member has five children, none of whom are in school. That makes for long days in their tiny home with a holey roof, where rain pours in every afternoon. Jessica will be going every Friday (an I will go when I can) to play with these kids and their neighborhood friends and try to start a "kids club" type ministry. Pray for Janette and her children and for Jessica as she starts this new ministry.

4) On Tuesday evenings, I meet with the Journeymen and Hands On students for a Bible study. We going through the book of Colossians. Pray for us as we study God's Word together.

5) On a personal note, pray for me as I am attempting to build more structure into my week, including regular Bible study times, excercise, ministry and fellowship. It has been a difficult month as the time stretches out with still no word on my visa to Venezuela. From the looks of things I'm not going anywhere for a while and that is a bit disheartening as my heart and my work are waiting for me in Caracas, not to mention all the stuff I have packed in Houston waiting for my permanent placement.

If you made it to the end of this blog post, thank you for your time and support and most importantly for your prayers. I know God is orchestrating every detail and I simply must trust Him and "be where I am," glorifying Him with all I am here in Ecuador. Pray for me!

February--long overdue report from the field

February was a busy month! I helped with two different teams, went on a project with a local church, started a Bible study for single girls at another local church and went on a missionary ladies' retreat. Oh, and I also had a birthday! Here is a recap of the month with pictures (that do not want to cooperate and stay where I put them!).
Enjoy!

Event #1-Medical Clinic with Enterprise Baptist Church, Littleton, North Carolina
February 2-6, I joined up with a volunteer group, several other IMB missionaries and a local church to do a medical clinic in Carcelen, a suburb of Quito. We saw about 300 patients (I think...it was a lot, that's for sure!) and everyone who came through the clinic heard the gospel. There were many decisions for Christ and Thursday night of the clinic, the local church hosted a movie night where they showed a Christian film and had a time of evangelism and fellowship. Overall the clinic was a huge success, despite many people having to wait hours to see the one doctor of one of the two nurses we had. Here are some pictures from the week.

Since moving to Ecuador, I've gained some unexpected new medical skills: blood pressure and glucose testing...cool, huh?

While the adults waited their turn to see the doctor, the children were entertained with games, crafts and a tooth brushing clinic. They seemed a lot more willing to wait their turn than their parents were!

Mariela, a translator, and Greg and Carla, members of Enterprise Baptist, worked together in the triage tent to make sure everyone got their vitals taken.

Matt, a journeyman, and Craig, a member of EBC team up to share the gospel with patients.

Retired missionary, Jim Muse and his wife, Patricia joined us this week also. They have a gift for evangelism and spent most of the week making sure everyone had an opportunity to accept Christ. Here, Jim takes a break to pose with some of the children.

We had a tent for the clinic since we didn't have indoor space. Here is a line of folks waiting their turn for the doctor.

Here are some pics from our sight-seeing day at the end of the week.

:)

Yay, I'm a llama again...wait!

Event #2-My Birthday!!

My roommate, Jessica Franks, and I celebrated our birthdays together this year. We actually ended up having two parties, but both of them were for both of us, so that was fun! First, we had a party on my birthday, February 13, at our house. I cooked chili and we invited several nationals and a few other missionaries. The hands-on missionary girls made two cakes, a bundt and a brownie cake. They were yummy, especially the bundt (I can't say that without thinking of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where the Greek mom doesn't know what a bundt cake is, so she puts a flower in the hole in the middle!) The Ecuadorians brought roses, one of their main exports, because that is their b-day tradition. Here are some pictures from that party.

Our second party was at the ladies retreat (more on that in a minute) on Febrary 15, Jessica's birthday. The ladies decorated the dining room of the hotel and many of them gave us gifts. It was cool to be 'accepted' by the group that way.

Event #3-Ladies Retreat

February 15-18 all of us female missionary types made our way to Rio Bamba, about 4 hours from Quito. The facilities were gorgeous and the food was excellent, but the best part of the retreat was the way God spoke to me through Marvina, a retired missionary from Florida. The theme of the retreat was Surrender and we talked about areas of our lives that we must continually bow to the Lord. The one that hit me the most was "Bowing My Times of Waiting." Through this session, God helped me understand that even though my life lately has been a lifestyle of waiting (waiting for Mr. Right, waiting for my Venezuela visa, waiting for the right ministry opportunities, etc. etc.), this period of my life can be one of the most powerful if I allow God to use and teach me through it.

In addition to powerful and challenging sessions, we also took time to relax and to play. Sometimes, it was card games like Hand and Foot or Phase 10 and other times, we played silly group games and relived our youth group days!

Told you it was beautiful! Left: The front of our hotel called Abraspungo, a Quichua word that I have no clue as to the meaning of! Right: My roomies having a little quiet time on the back patio.

Our retreat speaker, Marvina. She has a gift for making every person feel loved!

My small group-we met after each session to discuss the topic and pray for one another.

Meal times were lots of fun, especially when we went out to a local restaurant like this pizza place owned by some believers who were reached by one of our missionary couples.

Most of the group, though a few were still inside paying their check.

Event #4-Saturday Medical Clinic with Iglesia Bautista Getsemani

Saturday, February 21, I was asked to drive a truck (I took the Explorer, actually) for Getsemani church to help them haul tables and sound equipment about two hours out of Quito for an evangelistic event. We had a clinic, a clothing give away and child evangelism activities. Each person received a Bible as well as a few articles of clothing. The good folks at the host church wanted to feed us, so they made chicken soup...it's slightly different from what you might be used to. Check it out!

Yes, there are whole chicken feet in this bowl.


Upon closer inspection, I also found a whole chicken heart, completely intact. I graciously gave it to the lady across from me who was more than happy to eat all the parts I didn't want. She actually described the parts of the heart as the ate them. Her 'lucky' daughter had a brain in her bowl. The lady ate that too. I was told I couldn't be a missionary if I didn't eat all of it, but I was ok with having failed that test!

Here is the 'kitchen' where our soup was prepared.

One of the medical team examines an elderly man who couldn't make the trip down the hill to the clinic. House calls, Ecuador-style.

This man also lived in the same house with the man in the previous picture. It's the village's version of a nursing home. They even have a care taker, who I think may be related to one of them, but I'm not sure.

Here's the kitchen...we didn't see the sleeping quarters, but I'm imagining something pretty rudimentary.

Nothing like a few cows to make you feel right at home...of course the mountains in the background don't exactly look like Texas!

The children seemed to enjoy the puppet shows and stories. Yes, the one in the picture above does have a cell phone...it's amazing where you'll see those things!

Event #5-Senoritas' Bible Study at Vida Nueva Church

It was a long time coming, but I finally managed to meet with the pastor and some of the girls from Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva to plan and hold a single ladies' Bible study. We had our first meeting on February 22. About 15 girls 14-40 years old were there and we had a good time of sharing. Lalita and Roxi, members of the church helped lead and will keep it going after I'm gone. For now, we're only meeting once a month, but I think it will become a weekly thing soon. Here's a picture of me with Lalita and Nancy, the pastor's wife.

Event #6-Cumbaya Mission with First Baptist, Grapevine, Texas

This is my second time to work with FBC Grapevine volunteer missionaries on a church planting project in an affluent suburb of Quito. The Lord again surprised us daily with incredible things Here are just a few of the amazing things that happened:

• God opened doors for three team members not just to go on campus, but to actually give guest lectures in 4 classes at San Fransico University! In those classes, every student gave them email addresses and phone numbers and one of our college semester missionaries who accompanied the team members will be following up with them.



• We met with the administrator of a strip mall who allowed us to have a Christian illusionist come and do a show in the center. Also, we met or reconnected with several business owners in that mall who are interested in being involved with Bible study.



• The hands-on missionaries prepared a skit to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse which we performed in the main plaza and a mall food court. We had many great conversations after each performance and have at least one contact, a local university student, that Matt, the journeyman will be continuing to follow up with. Pray for Roberto-he has a lot of questions about Christianity and the Bible.



Pic #1-the skit; Pic #2-Robyn, one of the Hands on students shares with two ladies in the park; Pic #3, Kelli, FBC Grapevine team member plays with a little girl as her aunt looks on. This lady just needed someone to talk to about life and faith.

• We had about 50 people come to the hotel dining room to watch 'Fireproof' on Friday night. At least 5 people accepted Christ afterwards.



• We followed up with a contact from the October trip-a guitar maker who wanted to host a Bible study. The guys from FBC Grapevine along with Matt and Jason, the Hands On missionary went to the shop Thursday to start that Bible study. Jason and Matt will be continuing that study in the guitar maker's home with his whole family and possibly some friends. Two days earlier, the man's daughter had a friend over who was talking about church and the wife asked "whatever happened to that group from Texas that was going to start a church here in Cumbaya?" Two hours later, one of the Grapevine team members knocked on their door and asked if they were still interested in having a Bible study. In October, we learned that the wife has been praying for 2 years for a new church to be started in her town.

Me, Matt, Jason and Jessica Franks on a mountaintop overlooking Quito. We rode a cable car, then hiked about a mile to get up there.

Grapevine Team members, Dave, Brian, John and Bill minus their token female, Kelli, who stayed back in Quito to be with her sister, Vicki, a missionary here.

Keep up the prayers!!

I've just heard from the field that my visa is still "ok" according to the lawyer's investigation, but the people with the power to move it along are all out trying to "up the vote" for Sunday's referendum. If you don't know what that is, check out the following link: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Jan16/0,4670,LTVenezuelaReferendum,00.html

I've been asked to encourage everyone to keep praying for the vote, my visa and the work God wants to do in Venezuela. As my supervisor says, "Only the truly called make it to Venezuela." It's the second hardest country to get my type of visa...the first is that little island south of Florida. Richard (aforementioned supervisor) says that many other missions organizations also have personnel praying for my visa, as it will open the doors for their people also. There's a lot more riding on this than just who my roommies are and when I get my crate from the wharehouse in Houston. We expect to know more even as early as next week!

Also, if you're on my facebook, you've probably seen pictures of last week's medical clinic. I will add a report on that soon, but don't want to take away from the urgency of prayer right now for my visa situation!