Hello from Venezuela!
We want to start by expressing our heartfelt thanks for all your notes and emails checking on our safety and well-being. We’ve truly felt loved and supported by each one of you.
Venezuela has been going through challenging times. The people here are afraid, discouraged, and anxiously waiting to see what the future holds. While it’s not wise to share too much detail, I urge you to pray earnestly for the future of Venezuela and the freedom of its people.
In this letter, we’d love to share the major highlights of each month and give you a glimpse of what God is doing in our ministry. We've been visiting churches, participating in outreach events, mentoring other pastors, discipling new believers, working on our church building project, and keeping up with everything at home, including the children's schooling and Nataly’s university studies. We're so grateful for your prayers and support.
January: We returned from our furlough and began settling in. We visited the Open Door Baptist Church in the mountains and spoke to over 100 parents and teachers from a nearby school about family and raising children according to the Bible.
February: We took time to reconnect with everything happening in Venezuela, the church, and our personal lives. (Most of this was mentioned in our last prayer letter).
March 24th: We were invited to share with the Open Door Baptist Church (Mountain Church) for their 16th anniversary. This church has been under the care of National Pastor Julio Reina for the past three years. It was an honor to be present with the congregation as they celebrated God’s many blessings. It was beautiful to see this ministry so committed to sharing the gospel and serving their community.
April 14th: We celebrated our second anniversary at Anchor Baptist Church (in the city of Barquisimeto). We were blessed with a full house of 370 people in attendance. Eleven people made professions of faith, and we praise the Lord for His mercy in everything that took place that day.
April 24-28: We visited the coast to spend time with a pastor and his family, whom we’ve been mentoring. We were present for the ordination of a young man in whom we had invested several months in premarital classes. We also participated in a church evangelistic outreach ministry and concluded our visit by attending the church's anniversary celebration on Sunday.
May 12th: Mother’s Day was a special day at Anchor Baptist Church, with a full house. Three visiting mothers accepted Christ that Sunday, making our celebration even more meaningful. We also started dividing the children into four classes for Sunday school instead of three. Praise the Lord for what has been accomplished! Please continue to pray for the classrooms, as they are still a work in progress.
June 15th: For Father’s Day this year, we hosted a “Breakfast with Dad” event and were blessed with a good turnout. God was truly present that day. We invited a National pastor and his wife, whom we've been mentoring in their marriage, to preach and fellowship with us. God used him mightily. To top it off, one of the visiting fathers accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.
July: July was a busy month filled with meetings and preparations for Women’s Camp. In Venezuela, we celebrate Children’s Day, similar to Mother’s or Father’s Day. We use this opportunity each July to organize a special Children’s Church service where the kids lead the entire service. They teach, pray, lead the music, and help with other responsibilities. This gives the children a chance to learn, be more involved in the church, and also creates an opportunity to invite parents who don’t attend regularly to come and see their children participate.
August: We held our Women’s Camp with 88 women attending from several churches, including 28 from Anchor Baptist Church and another 14 from Open Door Baptist Church. Praise the Lord! Now, we are preparing for Youth Camp at the end of this month and our second VBS at our church, which will take place at the beginning of September.
Our Children and Their Schooling: Our son Santiago is moving on to 7th grade, Gabriela will be starting her junior year, and Nataly has just completed the first three months of her first year of college here in Venezuela.
Update on the Church Property: We are so grateful for the progress that has been made on our building project. We now have four classrooms for Sunday school, and work has begun on the new church bathrooms. While there’s still much to do, we praise God for all we’ve achieved so far and trust Him for what remains to be done.
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