September 18, 2006

The much-anticipated pictures and stories are finally here... Again, I
apologize for the delay, but know that it will have been worth the wait. The
pictures that go with the stories are on my site: www.MichelleMissions.com

In early 2006, the East Caracas Ministry Team decided that it was a wise idea
to accept the challenge to take a mission trip, as a church, to the Amazon.
Many of the Venezuelan preachers have become more encouraged to get involved,
but there had not yet been a campaign group to go nor anyone to work more
directly with the children. Some might see the young age of our congregation
as a hindrance in such a monumental task. We saw it as an advantage: an
opportunity to look beyond ourselves to what God can do through us beyond East
Caracas.

Many of the young people of the congregation accepted this challenge and the
plans began. If it weren't for work commitments and family obligations, we
would've had more than 20 go with us on the campaign. As it was, twelve were
able to set aside the week of August 17 - 24 for the Amazon trip. Journeys
like this start long before the 3am August 17 departure. Besides the
preparation of children's classes and materials, camping supplies and menus,
we worked to spiritually and psychologically prepare the participants for what
they would face preaching the gospel in a different culture. Even though we
never left Venezuela, it was as if we entered another country, or at least
another age/time in life. Working with the Amazon native Venezuelan Indians
was a humbling learning experience. We wanted to prepare the team to have the
spirit of Christ -- humble servants willing to learn as they taught the truth
in love.

We had been warned that the Amazon Indian culture is very sensitive and that
they are easily offended. Each community has its own special rules and all of
our words, actions and attitudes would be scrutinized as a potential excuse
for them to reject the gospel. With that warning and much prayer, we had NO
problems with offending the people and even learned to enjoy some of the
things that were challenging to previous visitors to the Amazon, like drinking
the yuca water out of the same cup as all the toothless Indians in the
community. Yuca: no, it's not "yuck-uh" -- it's pronounced "you-kuh" and
it's a root that you boil or fry like a potato. If you grind it, you can make
it into bread or if you put the ground yuca into water, it "flavors" the water
and turns to mush. Ok, maybe "yuck-uh" is a better pronunciation ;)

Cultural lessons aside, the group of fearless campaigners set out early on
Thursday morning for a 20 hour drive to the city of Puerto Ayacucho, the
capital of the Amazon state. In order to get there, one must cross three
rivers on barges and navigate very holey roads. We had to wait four hours to
cross the first river on our way down, but the travel Scrabble game came in
handy, and with our 3am departure, we arrived at our host family's home by
11pm. The church in Puerto Ayacucho is small and working to thrive in an
isolated part of Venezuela. They are also faced with the challenge of
supporting the works deeper into the Amazon... places not known as cities, but
communities for their simple life-style and small populations.

The first community we visited was Morrocoy. The church was established there
in January by Leo Rojas, the preacher in Barquisimeto. Leo, and the church in
Barquisimeto, have a true evangelistic spirit which has taken them to preach
the gospel in their own state of Lara and into the Amazon, more than twelve
hours from their homes.

Every community has a chief and in Morrocoy, his name is Oswaldo. We joked
that he was the "everything" because not only was he the chief, but also the
principal/director of a local school, teacher, referee, etc. Because that
community has a school, they were the best to host the activities coordinated
with the nearby communities as well. On Friday and Saturday nights, a movie
was projected onto a sheet and we had visitors from a new community called
"Y." It's name comes from being situated in a fork in the road.

Sunday morning, we had an area-wide service with the nearby communities and
members from the Puerto Ayacucho congregation. After church, we had a soccer
competition between the "city-folk" and the various communities. Obviously,
they won, but we all had a good time and it was a special time of fellowship.

In each of the communities we visited, we conducted classes with the adults
and had classes for the children. We had prepared skits and puppet shows,
songs, coloring sheets, and other activities. The pictures tell the story
better than I can, so please don't forget to check out the pictures online:
<http://www.michellemissions.com/> www.MichelleMissions.com

After our time in Morrocoy, we visited with the community called "La
Virgen." The chief there, Jose Antonio, built a church building that looks
like a mud hut. It was very well constructed and special memories were made
as we sat with him in that building while he tried to teach us songs in Jibi
(the native Indian tongue pronounced "he-be"). Jose Antonio is a true
evangelist and he accompanied us to the other communities we visited. It was
a blessing to have him as our guide and liaison. He also served as our
translator for those whose Spanish was more rudimentary. A perfect example
of his evangelistic nature was when Luis would preach a sentence or two and
pause for translation. Jose Antonio would proceed to "translate" for five
minutes! And to think, Jose Antonio's only been a Christian since January!

Jose Antonio first accompanied us to the community called Caño Pasa. It is
located at the end of one of the roads. Any communities beyond it can only
be reached by boat. In Caño Pasa, the gospel had never been preached. The
people were hungry for the truth and as soon as we arrived, we arranged to
teach in front of the house with the best lighting _ a single light bulb.
Because of the limited Spanish, it is best to teach with drawings and simple
examples.

The next morning, the teaching continued and the children's classes began.
Several people from a nearby community called Guaicaipuro came to hear the
truth. By midday, six from Caño Pasa and three from Guaiacaipuro had decided
to put Christ on in baptism! Caño Pasa, like many of the Amazon communities,
is situated right along the river. We accompanied the nine down into the
water and witnessed their baptisms. What a blessing to see the church begin
in a new place!

After the baptisms, we shared a meal with the new Christians in the home of
the chief and his wife. Words do not describe the blessing of being able to
fellowship with brand-new Christians over a meal and share with them about
what it means to be a Christian. A few short hours later, we had to continue
on our journey, but the congregation in East Caracas has adopted the new
church in Caño Pasa.

The last community we visited before going back to Puerto Ayacucho was
Morganito I. It is a port community on the Orinoco River (which is the
natural Colombian border). As soon as we arrived, we knew something was
different. We worked with the children while the adults received an
introductory class about the gospel. Later that evening, based on several
comments from the children, we asked for confirmation that there were no
issues with the guerrilla. Several confirmed our suspicions and in the
spirit of "better safe than sorry," we loaded up the vehicles at midnight and
headed back to Puerto Ayacucho.

This also allowed us a little more time to encourage the church in Puerto
Ayacucho before driving back to Caracas. The return trip went very smoothly
and only took us 16 hours. I wish there was a way to tell you about each of
the young people that went with us and how they rose to the challenges and
grew spiritually; how God worked through us to touch the lives of the Jibi
Indians; how God's hand was evident in all aspects of the trip. The pictures
help, so please take a look: www.MichelleMissions.com (direct link:
http://www.michellemissions.com/venezuela2006/08-06_amazona.html)

Thanks for your constant prayers and support. Please pray for the new church
in Caño Pasa and the continued growth in East Caracas. Satan's not happy
about it and has presented us with some new challenges recently, like with us
having the Tuesday night prayer meetings at Luis and Fabiola's apartment.
They have been threatened with legal action and our need for a more permanent
meeting place is growing more desperate and urgent. Please join us in prayer
for those needs.

May God's blessings be upon you all.

In Him and for Him,

M.

www.MichelleMissions.com
Donations and monthly contributions can be sent to:
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