Venezuela Vision

Buena!

2011-08-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

We started off Wednesday with street evangelism again, this time traveling to a neighboring town of Cocorote. This is a large town with no Baptist church, although there are enough believers there to start one. One of the goals of this week is to start new churches.

As you can see from the pictures, their homes all have an outer courtyard surrounded by iron gates. We walk up to a gate, one of our Venezuelan friends call out "Buena!" until someone comes out of the house....better than a doorbell!

Our group ended up in an old folks home....Kerry was afraid they might try to keep him!

I'm not sure if we led anyone to the Lord, but we certainly made some old people happy!

In the afternoon we had another Texas cowboy hat to deliver...this one to the Director of Sports for San Felipe. He has been instrumental in helping secure the baseball stadium for our sports clinics on Friday and Saturday. Again, we share the plan of salvation with him and gave him a Bible.

His office was located at the soccer field. It was a beautiful field, but even more astounding to us from drought-stricken West Texas as the wonderful rain heading our way!

We were able to make it back to our hotel before the rain hit, and it hit hard! We believe we had a microburst....the wind was incredible, and I looked out our door just in time to see a tree fall! I could tell that it was over near the hotel office, and when we went to the office later, the cleaning crews were already well on the way to having it cleaned up!

During the evening, there was a 'block party' at the school where we have been having our meals, which is a couple of blocks from the church we have been working with. They had lots of music, a drum routine presented by some of the group from Stephenville, and an illusionist from Fort Worth...Shaggy...followed by a sermon.

It was still raining lightly all during the program, but we had found a wonderful spot to sit and enjoyed the much-cooler evening under the umbrella!

Being Good Neighbors

2011-08-03T21:29:00.001-05:00

What a day!

First let me say that before we left San Angelo, we asked our mayor if he would write a proclamation of good will to present to the mayor of San Felipe....which he did quite willingly!

Secondly, before leaving San Angelo, Kerry was able to acquire cowboy hats to bring as tokens of our good will to share with dignitaries here in San Felipe.

On Tuesday we spent the day being good neighbors!

We started the day with a visit to the home of their Senator. He was getting ready to leave for Caracas for their monthly assembly. He was so gracious is welcoming us into his home. Kerry read the proclamation of good will to him, and we presented him with a cowboy hat. We also shared Christ with him, gave him a new Testament and prayed with him and his family. It was a fabulous meeting!

Around noon we went to the sports stadium where there were games going on, and the Governor was there making a public appearance. He had agreed to see us and we planned to meet him there. Again, Kerry read the proclamation, presented the Governor with a cowboy hat from Texas, as well as a new testament. I'm sure we made the evening news as he proudly wore his new cowboy hat!

We finished up the day with a visit to the office of the Mayor of San Felipe. He also was very welcoming and gracious as he received us. We presented him with the official proclamation from our own mayor and a black cowboy hat. We also shared Christ with him and a New Testament and prayed with him. He was very open to us and has invited us to possibly have lunch with him later in the week!

In between our 'good neighbor' visits, we made a visit to the Iglesia Bautista Misionera where a medical clinic has been set up this week. We played with the children, visited with the adults, and met new friends, both Venezuelan.....pastors and church members.....and American....other team members who have come to Venezuela on mission trips.

Our dear friend Ladimiro was able to be with us for a couple of days before having to return to Merida. He has been our interpreter for all of our trips to Venezuela. Also, our friend Jacobo from Caracas was here....so I took the opportunity to get a picture of the Quatro Amigos....Kerry, Ladimiro, Buck, Jacobo!

We ended the day on Tuesday on the best 'good will' venture of the day! We had been told of a young man who had been selected for the National Selection Team who will be playing in the Pan American games. He and his family are believers, but don't have much. His ball glove had been stolen, so we brought him a new glove. We were able to give it to him Tuesday night and speak to the team. Shaggy, a Christian Clown from Fort Worth, was with us and spoke to the team, sharing Christ and leading a prayer of salvation. Most of the young men prayed to receive Christ standing there on the ball field. After Kerry presented the ball glove to Luis, he emphasized the fact that what Satan meant for harm (the theft of Luis' glove), God had turned into good (the salvation of many of the team).

It was a good day to be good neighbors!

Sharing Jesus and Making Friends

2011-08-03T20:56:00.000-05:00

Started out the week Monday morning with street evangelism. We are working with groups from Nuevo Jerusalen Iglesia Bautista. They are trying to start new churches in various areas of the city of San Felipe, so we are going out each morning this week to witness, share Christ, and invite people to church.

All the houses have iron gates in front...often we would simply stand outside the gate and share Christ with those inside....other times we were invited in.

We worked with people from the local churches as well as Venezuelan nationals who have traveled to Yaracuy for these three weeks of evangelism emphasis. These are some of the kids in our large group....we broke up into three groups in the neighborhood.

Our meals are being prepared and served at a school near the church.

Buck and Mary Smith with several new Venezuelan friends....taken inside the school cafeteria.

We moved to a new hotel on Monday. The good news is that the room is much bigger and there is a restaurant at the hotel. The bad news is that there is no wi-fi in the rooms like the other hotel, so I have to rely on having time to go to the lobby to connect to the internet. The other good news is that this is our view......nice!

Toma de Yaracuy

2011-07-31T21:59:00.000-05:00

Like many of you, we began our Sunday worshiping our Lord in the local church. We were guests in the Nuevo Jerusalem Iglesia Bautista here in San Felipe. The church service began with about an hour of music, followed by introductions and recognitions of volunteer workers who have come for this week of intense evangelism. BGCT is not the only partner in this endeavor. Venezuela also has a partnership with Mexico, so there are volunteers from Mexico and also from Panama, in addition to the U.S.

Kerry preached in the morning worship, speaking about 'preparing to meet God'. Keila Acosta, wife of Jerry Acosta who has been the 'man in charge' of Toma de Yaracuy, interpreted for Kerry. Our friend and translator, Ladimiro Urdaneta, will be here sometime tomorrow and will interpret for Kerry once he gets here. It was a very effective message, and there were about 7 professions of faith and around 20 recommitments.

This afternoon/evening was the kickoff rally for Toma de Yaracuy (Take Yaracuy). The rally was held in a local theater, and it was packed out! There were 1300 inside and another 200-300 who had to stay outside because there was no room.

The rally started with a lot of fabulous Christian music.

Then several presentations were made to some of the prominent pastors and convention workers.

Buck was recognized as having started the first Baptist church in Yaracuy in San Felipe some 35 years ago. We have met many people who have told us that Buck was the one who led them to the Lord or was the one who baptized them. He is truly a part of Venezuelan Baptist history!

Following the presentations, there was more music followed by an inspiring message from Wilfredo Velasquez, pastor from Maracaibo whom we met this morning at our hotel. His church in Maracaibo has missionaries all over the world! He has asked us about helping to provide Bibles to the people of Venezuela. For whatever reason, it is hard for people here to get Bibles. We assured him we would do whatever we could to help. Wrapping up the rally we sang again....Because He Lives and a song about "taking Christ to our town".

As we left the rally, we continued to meet people who had known Buck in the past. Then we saw people we knew! Santiago and his sister, Sonoma, and her husband who are all from Puerto Ayacucho. Their dad is a pastor there whom we met on our first trip to Venezuela 6 years ago!

After returning to the hotel, we sat and visited with some folks from New Jerusalem who had brought supper to us.....cachapa....basically a cornbread pancake with their wonderful cheese and butter inside. Pretty tasty!

San Felipe!

2011-07-30T18:25:00.001-05:00

After 41 hours of travel, including layovers in two airports, we arrived in Caracas around 6AM this morning. The upside of taking that overnight flight out of Houston means almost NO LINES at customs! We were able to get through customs and received all our luggage with very little delay.

After arriving, we boarded buses for San Felipe. We had two busloads, between 70 and 80 people from all over the United States....mostly Texas and at least one couple from Mexico.

We rode for about an hour and a half before stopping for a breakfast of arepas! Ah yes...forgot how much I love arepas!

On the road again for another 4 hours or so before arriving in San Felipe. Everyone got some much needed sleep on the bus after the overnight flight.

Of all the mission trips I've been on, this is one of the most organized....at least so far. We arrived at the church where they had computers set up to help with team/church assignments. There were close to 100 volunteers to take care of. They had currency exchange all ready for us, followed by lunch, then team assignments began. Kerry & I will be working with Jerry Acosta and his wife at their church here and will be working with all of the churches throughout the week.

Finally we made it to our hotel and were able to freshen up and take a little nap. We do have internet here, but we are going to only be at this hotel a couple of nights. So we will do what we can do while we can do it! The weather today has been warm....possibly mid 80's....but it has been humid. This evening a wonderful cloud has come down over the edge of the mountain and it has cooled down very nicely. We are sitting outside at the hotel waiting for our guy to come and share details for tomorrow and the week ahead.

And there he is now...driving in!

According to Keila Acosta, there are about 120-135 North Americans here...47 came in yesterday and the rest of us came today. She has just told me that everyone is settled in wherever they are staying...some in homes and others in hotels. PLUS, there are many Venezuelan nationals who are coming to help during the week. It has been a tremendous task.

Tomorrow will be the kickoff for the Toma de Yaracuy 2011 campaign.

Please pray for a productive, confusion-free day!

Venezuela, Here We Come!

2011-07-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

In less than 24 hours we will be off on our 2011 Venezuela Mission Trip! We are going to Yaracuy this year, to the city of San Felipe. We have never been to this area before and are excited to see another part of the country. There are seven in our team from San Angelo.....Kerry & Diane, Buck & Mary, Sherryl & De, and Jim. Several others are joining us from Texas, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

We will be flying in to Caracas early Saturday morning, then taking a bus ride to San Felipe. We will work with the churches there in an evangelistic effort including witnessing during the day and worship services at night. On Friday and Saturday we will host sports clinics. We are taking quite a bit of baseball and soccer equipment with us.

Depending on whether or not we have internet capabilities while there, I will try to post updates throughout the week on this blog.

Please pray for our team, for it's travel safety and personal safety and health while there. Pray for the people with whom we will share Christ. Pray for the pastors and churches with whom we will work.

2010-11-30T14:44:00.000-06:00

Dear friends and family,

This letter just in from Ricardo in the Amazon of Venezuela. They are beginning the end of the year river trips to the jungles of Colombia and Venezuela. Two teams have already left and others will follow. Many of them will return after January 6th, 2011. They are taking Bibles and other teaching materials with them to be distributed to the pastors and leaders.

Pray for their safety as they travel. There are dangers from river travel and also danger from the bad people that roam around looking for someone to rob or something to steal.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare hearts willing to listen to the Gospel message. Pray that His power will make known His will for their lives.

He needs help in buying the Bibles. Pray that the Lord will supply the funds.

In Him we have the Victory,
Buck

Hola mi hermano Rolando encargue 5 cajas de biblias 6000 bf con mi amigo de apure, me llegan hoy consegui las biblias a 25 bf trae 40 la caja.

Material de evangelismo, discipulado y para niños 3500bf. Quiero mandar algo a la gente que debo en colombia eso seria 7000bf que es la mitad de la deuda y que ellos retiren las biblias alla mismo osea en idioma indigena. Ayer hice la compra de la comida,aceite y hoy cargamos la gasolina y la permisologia, esto ya he gastado 2900 bf. Necesito que me llames a mi celular para hablar de esto, sobre todo de lo que quiero enviar a colombia de la deuda.

DIOS TE BENDIGA
Ricardo

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

2010-08-31T10:05:00.001-05:00

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

2010-08-15T07:08:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-08T13:04:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

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!

Back to Venezuela ~ August 6-16

2010-07-26T20:17:00.003-05:00

In about 10 days, there will be a group of approximately 83 Texas Baptists going to Venezuela to participate in an evangelistic effort in four different areas....Merida, Portaguesa, Barinas, and Trujillo. This trip is being sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas in partnership with the Venezuela Baptist Convention. We expect over 600 Venezuelans from across the country to join us in our efforts. Our goal will be to work with local churches in personal evangelism by day, revival services each evening, and church planting.

We hope you will begin now to pray with us for this effort. Alexander Montero, director of the Venezuela Baptist Convention, says that one of the goals of this campaign is to start 100 new churches. We also are praying for 10,000 souls to be saved.

Our San Angelo team will be going to the beautiful city of Merida up in the mountains. This is the home of our beloved friend and interpreter, Ladimiro. Our team is made up of 8 members from First Baptist-San Angelo: Buck & Mary Smith, Kerry & Diane Peacock, Tom & Murf Dufresne, Bobby Catt and Sandy Meeks; 4 members from Calvary Baptist-San Angelo: Sherrill & De McCleery, G.I. Norris, and Ross Davis; and 3 lay missionaries from Kingsport, Tennessee who have been on numerous trips to Venezuela with us: Matt Dykes, Richard Hanks, and Charles Harris.

Less than 100 North Americans will go, but thousands will be left at home praying for those who go....will you be one of those? We cannot do what needs to be done without the prayers of those back in the States. We need you!!

Really??

2010-07-26T20:09:00.002-05:00

Really? It's been TWO years since there was a post to this blog? Although there has been an obvious lack of activity on our blog, there has been plenty of activity in Venezuela in the arena of sharing the Gospel. In 2009 there was a big crusade event in Maracaibo, and there have been numerous smaller mission trips to various cities throughout Venezuela. At a recent meeting of UBLA (United Baptists of Latin America) in Costa Rica, it was reported that the number of new believers in Venezuela is growing faster than the population! Go back and read that again! Can you believe that? When we went to Caracas in 2008, there were approximately 60 New Testament churches in the greater Caracas area. Now there are a little over 100 churches, most of which were direct products of the Caracas evangelistic effort in January of '08. And this does not even take into account the number of house church groups that have been established since that time. God is alive and well in Venezuela, and the people are sitting up and taking notice!! Praise God!!

Caracas Report from Leo Guerra (Austin, Tx)

2008-08-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

In October of 2007 the Venezuelan Baptist National Convention entered a partnership with the BGCT. While in Amarillo for the convention, I had the opportunity to speak with two leaders from Venezuela. One of the guys was Jacobo Garcia, and he asked that if I went if I could speak to the men about our ministry and how to start a men’s ministry there in Venezuela.

I really got enthused about the trip and prayed that I would be able to join my Christian brothers from Texas. I was not sure if I was going to be able to go. I needed financial help. After some communication with brother Isaac Rodriguez I was told that there was a scholarship for people interested in going to Caracas. I spoke to Kerry Peacock, sent my money and I was ready to go.

I was in Caracas from very early Saturday the 15th. to Wednesday the 23rd. Those five days were very special to me.On Saturday I spoke to Paul, who heads the men’s ministry for the Venezuelan Baptist Convention that morning. We set a date for when I would get to speak to the men about our men’s ministries here in Texas.

On Sunday we were one of the last groups to get picked up to go to church. The pastor’s name who picked us up was Jesus Pinto of Bethel Baptist Church. They cancelled their morning service and decided to have it at 3pm. They were waiting for people to come from all over the country to be part of an evangelistic team who would be working from that church. I had a chance to meet many nice people. One person I met was a lady named Rosario who heads the Venezuelan WMU. And I also met a young man who heads the youth for his church.

I translated for Jacob Harris from Georgia who brought the sermon. I enjoyed being with him and Tommy Holtzclaw from Tennessee. Pastor Jesus showed us several churches before we went to his church. One of the churches was a Korean congregation. After Sunday I did not see my new friends anymore.

On Sunday night several of us went out to eat, and it was fun to talk about what we had done that day.

On Monday we went out to evangelize with some people from a church named Luz del Mundo. The pastor of that church was sick so his wife spoke to us of what we would be doing. They gave us New Testaments to give out and some other material. There were four people in our team.

In the morning we were only able to visit one apartment, but the lady did accept Christ. We walked back to the church and had lunch. After lunch we went to a different place, it was one of those areas that has homes on the side of the hill. We had to take a jeep to get there. We went there with a lady who lived there. We visited with three of her neighbors and two accepted Christ.

After we left that neighborhood we went back to the church, and then we took the taxi back to the hotel. Not many of the other folks had gotten back, so it was just a small group that went to have supper at a nearby restaurant. I purchased a steak and it was very large so I shared it with one of the others in our group.

On Tuesday morning a pastor picked up Miguel Conseco and myself got to go to the church where I was going to go speak to some pastors and men’s ministry leaders.

I felt very honored because I was the main speaker. As president of the Varones (Baptist Men) of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, I was unofficially representing Texas Baptist Men. I spoke about how to start a Baptist Men’s unit and also spoke about the different ministries of TBM.

On Wednesday I flew back to Austin. It was an event that I will never forget.

Too Long Without a Post

2008-08-03T20:48:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I posted on this blog! As you can tell, it's been a busy summer. But I have had several e-mails from people who have discovered our blog and wanted more information about our work in Venezuela. AND...my apologies to Leo Guerra...as I have had his report since April. We were serving meals to the FLDS women and children back in April and ran across Leo who was down here with the Texas Baptist Men. He gave me his report then, and I never got it posted to the blog. So I am going to do that TONIGHT!

Many have asked what is next on the agenda for Venezuela Vision. While we do not have specific plans for a trip right now, there are several ideas being tossed around. Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance on our next steps. I have asked Buck to get some information together for me to put on the blog, so that will be coming in a week or so.

One of the ideas we are praying about is the distribution of one million New Testaments in Caracas and surrounding areas. We would like to get some of the Directors of Missions in the Baptist Associations involved and, in turn, get them to get some of their pastors involved.
We are also talking about another crusade or perhaps a week of revivals perhaps next April. Again, this is all up in the air...in prayer...and we are awaiting the Lord's direction.

One project that Buck is working on right now is raising money for another missionary house. I will get the details on that for another post.

For those of you who have been watching the blog for updated posts, thanks for hanging in there! I'll try to do better! Now...I've got to get Leo's Caracas report posted!

Jeff Siegel's Photos

2008-03-27T21:56:00.004-05:00

Jacob Harris & Bill Cashion with a couple of young baseball players at one of the clinics.

Jacob Harris, Bill Cashion, Dave Altopp and several other team members went to the Tiberones playoff game

"La Luz del Mundo" Iglesia Bautista

"The Light of the World" where Jeff shared his testimony on Sunday morning.

A young man and his son who helped with the baseball clinics all week

A group of kids at a baseball clinic listening to Bill Cashion share the Gospel with his Evangi-cube

Boys praying following the testimony time

North Americans and Venezuelan baseball clinicians and interpreters

Dave Altopp & Hector Rodriguez

Jeff Siegel with Carlos, a young man who helped with the clinics

A very young baseball enthusiast and clinic attendee!

Don & Maud Thorp's Pictures

2008-03-27T21:12:00.009-05:00

Zach Olson and the student interpreters

Joyce Graves and De & Sherryl McCleery with a family they befriended in the market

Mike Brown playing the guitar during a group session for House Church Team

Mike Brown leading a ministry team in praise and worship on the campus of the University of Caracas

Don & Maud, after a worship service at the Caracas International School

Buck Smith speaking during orientation (Diane Peacock, Cathy & Jim Mellon, Mike Brown, Joyce Graves)

De McCleery sharing Christ with a Caracas family

Don & Maud Thorp singing in a house church setting

Kurt & Zach Olson with Aura & Soily, interpreters

New believers, a couple with their little girl, pictured with Melody, De, Sherryl, Don and a couple of women from the local church

Buck Smith, Maud & Don Thorp at a Bible Study

Pictures from Melody Wong

2008-03-05T13:47:00.005-06:00

Rebecca Portillo & Tia Maud Thorp

Melody & Raquel

Aura & Melody

Don & Maud Thorp with Melissa Portillo (Buck's daughter/Melody's sister who lives in Caracas)

group looking out down below from the dining room window

Maud & Don Thorp sing for House Church in Las Minas

House Churh with the Guyanese from Rios church

Photos from Lorene Heskett

2008-03-05T12:56:00.008-06:00

A cloud in the Bible was a symbol of the presence of God. We had been praying for God to pour out His Holy Spirit on Venezuela, and He did! Amen!

The pastor and his wife who live in Las Minas. Anna Lee & Lorene worked with them.

Anna Lee & Lorene visiting in the home of one of the church members. It was 72 steps UP the mountain to the street level of this house!

The Venezuelan flag flying over a city of 6 million in need of the freedom in Christ!

#1, trying to follow the example of the big boys and the leaders...awesome responsibility

Jeff Siegel signing a baseball.

Christopher, the boy in the striped baseball shirt, is 12 years old. He has never been to school because his mother did not register him when he was born. Since he wasn't registered, he doesn't 'exist', so he can't go to school. One of the ladies in the church has taught him to write his name. He is very intelligent. God arranged a divine appointment and Buck met a man who is in the department of education. Buck talked to him about Christopher's situation, and things are in the works to help him learn and take the test until he catches up with his level.

This is a picture of a mosque with it's tower for the call to prayer. However, notice the cross on the church steeple across the street reflected on the mosque. It's shadow is resting on the mosque. The cross of Christ covers it all!

The lady in the gray slacks and white top had just prayed to receive Christ. This is her family and friends.

Look at that smile! This is Tigisoy, the lady who cleaned our rooms every day. This picture was taken just minutes after Lorene shared Jesus with her, and she prayed to receive Christ! Lorene was tired that day and was resting in her room. They had given her a Bible and when she came to bring towels, she asked Lorene for another Bible for a friend. Lorene asked her if she had ever asked Jesus into her life. She said no. Lorene asked if she would like to know how, and she said yes. Praise the Lord!

These are some of the children in the church that Lorene & Anna Lee worked with.

In the middle of the excitement and noise of the baseball field, this dog was king of the gravel pile, asleep in his comfort zone and oblivious to the world around him. How can we see the spiritual hunger and close our eyes to it, content in our own little world? We have a choice to get involved in the work and excitement around us and be blessed, or close our eyes and sleep contentedly through it.

Jacob's Pictures

2008-02-13T14:38:00.001-06:00

Venezuela - Ripe for Harvest

2008-02-13T13:56:00.001-06:00

It was my pleasure to spend time and minister in Venezuela. I travel the world using baseball as our platform to reach the lost for Christ. The Lord used Kerry Peacock and Bill Cashion to bring to my attention the need to come to Venezuela. As I ministered in this place I realized that this country may be the most ripe for harvest in the world. A few simple decisions and investments into lives are the key in this place. We need to strengthen the infrastructure around Pastor Jacobo of the Venezuela Baptist Convention to help him train others to by facilitate and take some of the administrative responsibility from him. He would then be free to set the vision for evangelism and work in his country.

During my time in Caracas I worked with Carlos Subero's baseball foundation doing evangelistic baseball clinics and we built great relationships. I had dinner at the home of Carlos and his national sports foundation representatives were present. We have agreed to continue to work together in Venezuela and Cuba. Working together in Caracas and additional cities we did 6 days of baseball clinics in multiple places per day. We saw over 400 people make public confessions for Jesus Christ. Many Spanish New Testaments and Carlos Subero's testimony tracts were given to everyone in the crowd. At our hotel a Christian man handed out New Testaments and Carlos Subero's testimony tracts to everyone going up the elevator. What was mind blowing about this is that this residence hotel is where Hugo Chavez government officials and Honor Guard of his Army lives. Brother Ladimiro had the opportunity to share with 20 people including Chavez honor guard and led 2 of them to Christ.

At the beginning of the trip I met a woman named Sol. She is the President of a 2,000 Christian Business Women Coalition and serves in the Chavez Government Ministry. She is in charge of Social Services to the poor in her country and a woman of great influence. She has been involved in building homes for the poor and is also trying to build drug rehab centers for women. It is her intention, Lord willing to set up a meeting in the near future for me to meet with President Hugo Chavez and share Christ with him. She has invited me to come as her guest with my wife Terri for 15 days to visit in her areas of influence in Venezuela and I have free hand to share Christ. We gave her 15 cases of Bibles and they will all go into Cuba with her and will be waiting for me in May of 2008 when I go to Cuba to minister and train pastors.

Pastor Ladimiro who is a University Professor was involved in the meetings with Sol and me. He also asked me to come to his state and do 3 day leadership training for pastors and their wives. Both Jacobo and Ladimiro met with Dave Altopp and me to ask if we would put a team of up to 20 baseball instructors and come to Venezuela and do baseball evangelistic programs in 5 major cities with the help of the local churches.

I truly believe that the Lord is now moving in South America and this is his next big move. Venezuela is key. For my personal life I am open to investing my life in Venezuela.

Jeff Siegel - Global Youth Baseball Federation, Inc.
www.baseballwithoutborders.com

Cesar's Evangelism Pictures

2008-02-06T13:47:00.001-06:00

Report from Cesar Gabriel

2008-02-06T13:09:00.000-06:00

First I want to say thanks for the prayer and financial support for this trip. It was a big blessing for me and my ministry. I was assigned to Iglesia Bautista Emanuel at Caucagua, a mission of a church in Caracas.
I arrived at the church at Caucagua on Sunday and preached at the evening service. The team was formed by 6 people, and one more joined later. On Sunday we did door-to-door evangelism that morning, every home that opened their door also opened their hearts to Christ. My partner was a young man from Maracaibo who did mission work in the Amazonas jungle. The door-to-door evangelism work in Caucagua was all day Monday and Tuesday evening, because in the morning we helped with "Pan de Vida", a ministry from the church feeding and helping poor kids. On Wednesday I preached a funeral, and on Thursday we went to Higerote, a fast growing community. Again, we did door-to-door evangelism and had evangelisitic services. Pastor Francisco took me back to Caracas on Thursday evening.
When I left the mission field, our team had seen more than 60 people come to Christ. Praise God!

Cesar Gabriel

Iglesia Bautista Trinidad, Laredo, Texas

Photos from Sammy Fuentes

2008-01-31T22:05:00.001-06:00

A Memorable Experience

2008-01-31T21:02:00.000-06:00

We knocked on doors and witnessed to hundreds of people in the city of LOS TEQUES near Caracas, Venezuela. “Beatriz”--one of the 147 people who received the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior asked if we would start a CELL GROUP Evangelistic Meeting at her house. “Si” …“Yes!” I said. She invited our entire group of about 18 witnessing Christians into her home. I glanced toward the back of her home and saw a vacant lot. I asked if she knew who the owners were. She said, “It is our lot and we want to sell it.” I asked if she would consider selling it to Primera Iglesia Bautista of LOS TEQUES so that we could build a church building. She said…. “ SI SI YES!” It is now being negotiated. Another Baptist Church will go up in “San Pedro de los Altos” near LOS TEQUES. AMEN ! and Praise the Lord.”

AMEN…PRAISE THE LORD.
SHARING LIFE IN CHRIST UNTO ALL in CARACAS, VENEZUELA

A report from Sammy Fuentes, team member from Corpus Christi, Texas

Numbers and Testimonies

2008-01-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

This is a preliminary report from Jacobo....we believe some of these numbers to be low...

There is indescribable joy when, in compliance to the mandate of "Go and Preach", we see that men and women respond to the call to deliver their lives to Christ Jesus.

God in His grace granted us a group of beloved in the faith to work in evangelism January 21-27, 2008 in the five zones that compose the capital region (Caracas, Altos Mirandinos, Guarenas-Guatire, Edo. Vargas and Valles del Tuy), and to see several thousands of people coming to the feet of Christ. To HIM we give the glory and to all the ones that cooperated, our deep gratitude.

Some numbers for your information:
1. People that received Christ: 3,908
2. People that reconciled themselves with the Lord: 322
3. Presentations of the gospel person to person: 9,720
4. Groups of biblical studies initiated: 53
5. People involved in the personal evangelism:
5.1 Of the interior of the country: 385
5.2 Of the United States: 70
5.3 Of the churches of the Capital Region: 715
6. Churches that participated: 32
7. Some testimonies:
7.1 More than 100 people were converted to Christ Jesus, impacted with the testimony of Carlos Subero. (We believe Jacobo was either referring to the baseball clinic which Carlos attended OR to the wonderful trifold salvation tract Carlos prepared which included his testimony and prayer for salvation.)
7.2 Various soldiers that participated in the custody of the presidents that were in Caracas because of the Summit were converted by the Lord.
7.3 A Jehovah’s Witness accepted Christ as his personal Savior.
7.4 In the two nights of preaching that was outdoors, more than 100 people received Christ Jesus.
7.5 Various employees of the Hotel Anauco Hilton came to the feet of Christ.
7.6 Seven baseball clinics were carried out with success, with more than 400 people converted.
7.7 In the presentations that were carried out of the strategy "Festivals of the Street" there was more than 300 converted.
7.8 There has remained a great motivation in the churches that participated in this great evangelism event.
7.9 There were churches, like the IB Emanuel of Caracas, where more than 400 people received the Lord.
7.10 So many of the participants that came from the interior of the country as influenced by those from the United States were impacted tremendously; there were moments when the groups met to pray and they cried glorifying the precious Lord as He blessed the work carried out during those days.
8. Our great challenge for the next months. Upon not having the possibility of carrying out the massive crusade in the University Stadium as was our intent, we have been challenged to carry out that effort April 24-27 in the sports complex "United Nations". We have a call to work intently to contribute to the development of those men and women who during these days have opened their hearts to Christ Jesus; to cry out to the Lord for this city of Caracas, for the attainment of resources and the good disposition of our churches for a great impact during the next month of April. I believe with all my soul that God is giving us the honor to live in the best historic moment to present the gospel. During these days we have seen that of each 10 people to the ones that we have presented the gospel with clarity and simplicity and under the power of the Holy Spirit, 6 of them have been converted Christ. We do not know how long this great door will be open, I invite you to unite hands, knees, minds and hearts so that a greater number of the people that live in this country by you can be saved. We invite you to be included.

Lemons to Lemonade

2008-01-31T18:27:00.000-06:00

This is an edited report from David Ripley who joined us for a few days toward the end of our week in Caracas.

It is just unbelievable what we sensed in Venezuela. I liken it to the Communist countries when the wall was torn down. Especially Romania where we saw the Holy Spirit just hover over our teams and the openness to the Gospel. I liken it to Korea during the 80's when the mighty revival swept that land. I never experienced people coming to Christ as I did then in my five years of ministry in Korea. I believe this is what is happening in Venezuela.

Lemons to Lemonade ... Two years of planning, praying and organizing with a major stadium Crusade in the city of Caracas. 40,000 Bibles - 70 Believers from the States joining 350 Believers from Venezuela under the local leadership of Jacobo and Ladimiro and under the American leadership of Kerry Peacock, with the Evangelist to be Dr. Richard Jackson, well known leader and pastor from the States. They were expecting 30,000 people per night. At the last moment, literally on January the 4th, the Government revoked the signed contract for the stadium and the event was cancelled. What do you do? The Teams are on the way from the States, the Bibles are already there. But, God! Let me tell you what He did.

We joined with the 70 going into Caracas to every venue possible. Universities, sports clinics, hospitals, prisons. Joining with 37 local churches. Conducting 5 simultaneous small venue crusades and saturating every place with the Gospel Message. Some of the teams are still on the ground there in Caracas. A follow-up team of house church planters will be continuing until February 4th starting new house churches with the new converts. Over 5,000 converts. Over 10,000 Bibles distributed.

The hotel where we stayed was in the center of Caracas. A strategic location. Across the main boulevard is the Alpa Hotel, formerly the Hilton, that the current Government is now using for Governmental purposes. While we were there, the Presidents of other Latin American countries were having a five day Summit. We knew that something major was going on because of the security. There were soldiers all around the area - in our hotel lobby, restaurant, etc., etc. Each morning we noticed an elite military squad of about 16 men and a commander. We had been praying for them. Then we would see them again at night. (They were all business.) On Saturday morning, with my friend Ladimiro (he is a college professor), whom we have worked with for 7 years, along with many of the American Team, we were praying to share Christ with these men. We did not know their purpose for being there, but we saw an opportunity. As we prayed, Ladimiro asked the Commander could he share with his men. He said, Yes. He presented the Gospel. The Presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong two of the men openly received Christ. Every one accepted a Bible. Because of what was happening with the Team from America in that hotel, God touched the management, and they asked for Bibles so they could put them in every room and to be given to every worker in the hotel. Finally, and most important, the Bibles were given by Dr. Richard Jackson, one of the great Evangelistic Preachers of our generation. This Bible is tremendous. It has the plan of Salvation and is totally marked and detailed to be able to present the Gospel in order for a person to come to Christ. Only eternity will reveal the results of these Bibles. The leaders of Venezuela are praying for a million more of these Bibles! The vision of Kerry, his wife Diane and many of his friends saw the mighty working of God. Please continue to pray for this great movement of God in one of the major "hotspots of the world".

Caracas 2008 Pictures I

2008-01-31T16:37:00.001-06:00

How many ways can you say WOW?

2008-01-26T17:28:00.000-06:00

Sorry we haven´t been getting reports out... The ¨hot spot¨ in the hotel lobby is not always ¨hot¨, and it´s not always convenient to get over to the internet cafe...where I am tonight. It has been a glorious week...how many ways can you say ¨WOW¨?

We have been seeing from 650 to 750 decisions per day...Wow! Teams have been working with local churches, in the baseball clinics, at the universities, on the street corners, in the neighborhoods...the Word of God is being spread out over this city! The New Testaments are being distributed like crazy! The pastors are giving them out, our teams are giving them out, baseball coaches are giving them out. One of the managers at the hotel asked last night if we would give some to the hotel! He wants one for EVERY employee and one to put one in EVERY room! They have over 200 employees and over 300 rooms! Gloria a Dios! as they say here. They are not ONLY going out across this huge city of Caracas, but we have met a person who wants to take 1000 New Testaments into CUBA!! WOW!

Continue to pray for a great harvest. The workers for the Church in the House group will be in charge from Monday through the rest of the week. We are believing God for a great number of new house churches.

We have so many stories to tell you that they will not all fit in this brief note. We promise to fill you in with details when we get back to the States on Monday.

Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers...we feel them every day. They are what sustains us while we are here, along with the Holy Spirit, and the excitement of hearing reports from the other team members of leading people to Christ.
Love to all,
Kerry & Diane

Let's Play Ball!

2008-01-21T19:32:00.000-06:00

What a day! We spent the afternoon at the ball field where we held a baseball clinic. Several of our guys, Dave Altopp, Jeff Siegel, Jacob Harris, Bill Cashion, Tommy Holtzclaw, and Jim Havlik together with four of our Venezuelan interpreters worked with several Venezuelan professional baseball players. The clinic was held for boys from about 4 through 13 or 14. I'm not sure how many kids were out there...probably a couple hundred or so. They were divided by age and each group rotated around the HUGE field to different stations teaching the fundamentals of batting, catching, pitching, etc. It was SO much fun! I took about a hundred pictures plus some video. After the skills training, all the boys and their parents were invited to the center of the field where each trainer gave his Christian testimony. Then Bill shared the plan of salvation using an EvangiCube...a wonderful witnessing tool for children. There were about 100 decisions made and many more seeds planted in the lives of these children as well as their parents! Afterward, all the guys were autographing the kids' balls, gloves, hats, even their their t-shirts! I was even asked for MY autograph!!! The official photographer whose only claim to fame in the area of baseball is playing baseball with Caleb in the backyard!!! And by the way, they had a little team playing as we were finishing up our testimony time and all the kids on this team looked to be about 3 or 4, maybe 5. And they could play! They don't mess with t-ball around here...they go straight to baseball!

Afterward we took all the ball players to eat and had a wonderful time sharing with fellow brothers in Christ. We went to a wonderful chicken rotissirie place...there were were 18 of us and we had 8 (EIGHT) chickens, plates of boiled yucca and fried yucca, salads made with lettuce and tomato, hearts of palm, and avocado. It was all WONDERFUL!

When we got back to the hotel, a woman came to speak with Jeff Siegel. Jeff is a Jewish believer who had the opportunity to win Fidel Castro's son to the Lord. Jeff is an awesome guy! He has asked for the opportunity to be able to speak to Chavez. This woman who came works very closely to the people who can make this happen. If you haven't prayed for anything before, you must pray now! Pray that the opportunity will take place. Can you imagine what will be in the future of Venezuela if Chavez becomes a child of God? And Jeff is the one who could do it! He has an awesome testimony and is passionate about winning the lost to Christ. And because of his baseball background, he has connections in high places!

We have heard many wonderful reports after getting back to the hotel. One of our Texas hispanic pastors, Cesar, reported that his team has led about 30 people to Christ over the past two days. It is estimated that there were about 100 professions of faith on Sunday in the churches where our team members worked. There is no way to tell every story. Just know that the Holy Spirit is working here because of your prayers. Please continue to pray.

Another big day is planned for tomorrow, so I will close. I am sitting here by myself in the middle of the back lobby in the ONE AND ONLY place where I can connect to the internet! It is like a ray of sunshine...a ray of internet connection!

As you pray for what I have already mentioned, pray for the travel of the rest of our group coming in on Wednesday...the house church planters. Gail Graves, the head of this team, arrived today.

Thank you for your prayers...they mean SO MUCH!!!
Love to all
Diane

Sunday Worship in South America

2008-01-20T20:41:00.000-06:00

Many of us learned today that Sunday worship in South America, while similar in many ways to worship in North America, is quite different in many ways. The team divided up today and attended about 15 different churches across the city of Caracas. We have heard many wonderful testimonies from the different team members as they have returned to the hotel tonight. One of our teams was on their way back to the hotel after church and Rogelio led the taxi driver to the Lord! You never know when the Lord will put an opportunity to lead another soul to heaven...whether you are in Caracas or at home! Another team member left his Bible in a taxi, with money in the Bible...within a half hour, the taxi was back and the driver, who found the Bible, returned it and the money! Many saw people come forward in the church services this morning although we do not have a total count. Kerry and I went with Buck and our interpreter friend, Ladimiro, to a park where over 200 volunteers from all over the country are coming in to help in the churches this week. They come to the park to register and get their assignment. We saw many friends whom we have met on our previous visits to Venezuela. Then we went to Emanuel Baptist where they have 3 services, each one TWO HOURS LONG! Gloria a Dios! as they say here! We also had a group of young people come in to serve as interpreters for us...about 15 of them. They come from all over the country and part of a ministry called E-3 or Global Missions.

While so many wonderful things are happening and the Lord is working miraculously in big and small ways, Satan is also at work, bringing up petty little things to have to be dealt with...such a bother! Please pray that Satan be bound and that he will have no power whatsoever in the midst of this huge city this week.

We are excited as our team members will be going out tomorrow to visit in the neighborhoods and as we begin our baseball clinics. We agreed as a team on Saturday to claim 1000 young souls for Christ through the baseball clinics...won't you join with us in praying this? Pray for our team members. Continue to pray for Kerry and me as we oversee all that is going on...it is a huge task which we have never done before, but an exciting task that God has given us to do.

It is late...I will report back tomorrow!!!

Love to all,
Diane

Arrival and Orientation

2008-01-20T20:39:00.000-06:00

What a day yesterday! After traveling all day, catching flights in airports across the country, twenty-nine members of our team arrived in Caracas. After arriving, we had the pleasure of standing in l – o – n – g lines at immigration, claiming baggage, and then standing in another l – o – n – g line at customs. The whole process takes from an hour to an hour and half. Then we had to load up all the baggage and drive about 30-45 minutes to the hotel. Kerry says it is like running a marathon, then having to run a sprint when you get to the finish line! By the time the last ones arrived at the hotel it was 3:00 in the morning. Two of our members, Mike & Maria, did not make it until today, having had two separate problems with their plane in Dallas and missing their connection in Miami. But what a testimony they have! God had work for them to do, people who needed their ministry and testimony, while sitting on an airplane! Three members of our team had arrived early, so there are 34 of us here now. Another 18 (our house church planters) will be coming in next week to complete the team.

This morning (after a very short night!) we had an excellent time of getting to know one another, I felt like I already knew all everyone from the many phone calls and e-mails involved in setting everything up. I was so glad to meet people at the airport last night and others at the hotel this morning and be able to put faces with names! Richard Beal, one of our IMB missionaries, gave a brief orientation on our stay in Caracas, and Jacobo gave a little pep talk, thanking us for coming to Caracas to help share Christ with the people here. He also shared some of the history of the church here in Venezuela.

This afternoon is pretty much a free time for everyone…some are catching up on their zzzz’s, taking the traditional siesta. Others have ventured out to explore the neighborhood around the hotel. Some of the guys are going to the baseball game tonight.

Tomorrow we will all go to different churches. Each team member will be assigned to one of the local churches.

Everyone is so excited about the upcoming week and is eager to see how God will move among His people. I am excited about writing this report every night (I hope!) and sharing our week with you. After getting here I have learned that the internet access is only in the lobby, and the connection is not very strong. I can't pull up the blogspot tonight. So it's e-mail....I'll try the blog later.

Keep praying...you don't know how much it means to us to have our friends and family praying for us. And prayer is what makes the difference in our witness here and in the saving of souls. So pray, pray, pray!

We are exhausted...going to be early. Tomorrow will be a long day.
Love to all,
Diane & Kerry

(I posted this on Sunday night...finally got a connection!)

A Change in Plans....

2008-01-10T22:51:00.000-06:00

Friends and Family,
This is a copy of a letter we just sent to all of our team members, explaining a change in our plans. We want each of you to be aware of what is happening so you can better know how to pray for us. PLEASE PRAY...prayer is the most important part of an undertaking such as this. Satan is working hard to keep us home and to keep us from doing what God wants us to do in Caracas. We cannot allow him victory! We pray that only God will have the victory and glory in our work in Caracas.

Dear Team Members,
We have a major development that affects our ministry in Caracas. When Chavez called for the referendum vote on December 2, all baseball games were canceled for the week. That delay caused the baseball season to be extended one week, which in turn caused us to lose our contract on the stadium. Therefore, we will not have the city-wide crusade, but will work through the local churches conducting week-long revivals and various outreach activities. We will still participate in daily one-on-one ministry and evangelism during the day, and our baseball teams will host clinics for the children. Also, the house church planters will work in the local communities to start new congregations.

In regard to your lodging and flights, nothing has changed. Everything is going forward as planned. There is still much work to do in sharing the Gospel and winning lost souls to Christ. Many, many people from all over Venezuela will join us to distribute Bibles and tracts. I believe that God will bless our time with many souls.

Jacobo Garcia and his team of local pastors are planning a crusade in Caracas for the second week in April. We have not yet decided as to our involvement in that effort.

Yours in Christ,
Kerry & Diane

There are over 50 on our team...about 2/3 of them will arrive in Caracas on Jan 18 and stay 10 days. The other 1/3, mostly house church planters, will arrive Jan 23 and stay until Feb 4.
You can get a daily report on this blogsite while we are gone.

Thank you for your support and your prayers!
Kerry & Diane

Lack of Blogging

2008-01-06T22:02:00.000-06:00

Yes, you are right...I have been lax in keeping you up to date in our process. The holidays have been especially busy and hectic, it seems. We went to San Diego one weekend to see our youngest son who was not able to be home for Christmas, I went to Odessa one Saturday to a Christmas event with my mother, I was sick for a week just before Christmas, my sister and her family came for the weekend before Christmas, we had our kids and grandkids in the week after Christmas, then our annual New Year's Day open house, followed by more out of town guests this past weekend (my niece whom I have mentioned before on this blogspot and her four children)...and that brings us to today which has been spent trying to get information and name tags in order to mail out to all of the team members tomorrow or the next day. And yes, my Christmas trees and decorations are still up...maybe they will find their way to the boxes this week. At least Kerry got the outside lights down this afternoon!

I will try to do better, but no promises. The next 12 days will be filled with packing up Christmas, packing suitcases, going over lists and charts making sure everyone on the team has everything they need, making last minute decisions that should have been made already but could not be until now...does that make sense? Read my other blog for today, and maybe you will understand.

I understand the hotel where we will be staying will have internet access, so hopefully I will be able to post an update each day while we are gone. Check it out...and pray, pray, pray!!!

The Time Is Upon Us!

2008-01-06T21:53:00.000-06:00

How can you work and plan for something for over a year and come down to the final two weeks and still have everything in such chaos? We leave for Caracas in 12 days; the crusade is to start in 18 days. Do we have everything in order? NO! Three weeks ago we were ecstatic because we finally got permission to use the stadium for the crusade. Now, we have just found out that the baseball season in Venezuela has been extended one week because no games were played the weekend of the ‘referendum’ vote. That means they will be playing play-off games IN the stadium during the nights scheduled for the crusade! Buck has already gone down to Caracas, and he and Jacobo will seek this week for a new location. Publicity is at a stand-still until a new location can be found. We still need a sound system…not as big as we once thought, obviously. That, too, is put on hold until a new location is found so we know what size system is needed.

This is definitely teaching us that no matter how much we think we have things under control, God is really the only one who has control. As we’ve said all along, God knows all the answers to the how and where of this crusade. And He is certainly stretching our faith as we travel on this journey!

Please be in fervent prayer these next two weeks that God will direct and guide us in these final days of preparation. Then be in prayer the following week as we minister and evangelize in the city of Caracas. Here again is the schedule:

January 18 – the first group (20-25 of us) will arrive in Caracas
January 20-23 – revivals in the local churches with many of us preaching and singing
January 21-26 – ministering and evangelizing one-on-one with the people of Caracas
January 23 – the second group (10-15 more) will arrive in Caracas
January 24-27 – the city-wide crusade held each evening
January 25-Feb 3 – follow-up of new believers and start-up of new house churches

We are supposed to have internet access in our hotel suites, so I will try to write a daily update each evening on this blogspot.

One big answer to prayer…the New Testaments arrived safe and sound in Caracas about 3 weeks ago! Forty thousand of them!!!!

I have been busy finalizing team members’ information, making name tags, printing a letter to mail out tomorrow, etc., etc. At this point, we have 39 people going from the US with the possibility of another 3 or 4 signing up before we leave. We also have 1 person, possibly 6 more, from Africa! Apparently God didn't need as many folks to do this as we thought He might! Also, there will over 200 across Venezuela who will travel to Caracas to help.

We will spend the next week and a half preparing and packing to take not only ourselves and our personal belongings, but all of our “office” setup that we will need there. Again, praying and lifting us up before God is the best thing you can do for us.

Hopefully I will have time to post at least one more blog before we leave.

Diane Peacock

Critical Weekend for Prayer

2007-11-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

This is the weekend we typically set aside to say "Thank You" for our blessings...although we all know we should be thankful every day of the year. So after you have thanked the Lord for everything He has done for you, thank Him for what He is going to do in Caracas in January.

There are three critical areas that need prayer this weekend. First of all, the December 2 election in Venezuela...a referendum which, if passed, will do away with presidential term limits. Much of what we are trying to do will be affected by the outcome of this election. Second, many of the ballplayers are making decisions in these next few weeks whether or not to participate in the crusade. A couple of BIG name players will make their decision this weekend...we NEED them...pray that they will be able to be a part of this. Along this same vein, many coaches and minor league players want to go but need funds...pray that God will provide for them. Third, the New Testaments are en route and have hit a small snag...we think everything will work out, but it is definitely a matter of prayer that the Bibles get to Caracas before January.

There are many of you who have been so faithful in your support of us and this vision to share the Gospel with the people of Caracas and Venezuela. We thank God for you. You have prayed with us, prayed for us, encouraged us when we were discouraged, given sacrificially to the cause. And we thank you.

It is our prayer that you enjoy your blessings...your family, your health, your place as a child of God.

Thanking God for you,
Kerry & Diane

Baseball and Jesus

2007-11-05T17:38:00.000-06:00

Peanut butter and jelly…socks and shoes…little boys and frogs…some things just naturally go together. We found out this weekend that baseball and Jesus go together! We met with men who have spent years using baseball to bring people to Jesus! What a concept!

We met in Atlanta to discuss and plan how to use baseball clinics and professional baseball players to our advantage at the crusade in Caracas. These are the men who sat at the table:
Dr. Bill Cashion…the first sports evangelist for the International Mission Board who spent nearly 12 years building churches in Caracas through baseball clinics. He currently pastors in Georgia and is our man-in-charge for lining up baseball players to share their testimonies at the crusade and to lead baseball clinics for kids.
Dave Altopp…Executive Director of the Baseball Ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He coached baseball and led students to the Lord for 35 years, retiring at Lee University in Georgia. He was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame that night following our meeting!
Don Gordon…played professional baseball for 10 years (Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians) including 4 off-seasons in Venezuela. Now Don is the International Baseball Director for SCORE International organizing Christian baseball clinics around the world.
Carlos Subero…manager of the Caracas Leones when they won their national championship two years ago and stood before the cameras on national television giving the glory to God. Carlos has just been hired by the Chicago White Sox to manage their AA team in Birmingham. He is also involved in a foundation in Caracas that ministers to young people through baseball.
Hector Rodriguez…pitched for the Caracas Leones and managed teams throughout Europe. Hector is the president and founder of an international motivational organization in Venezuela called 100% Actitud de Vencedor (Winning Attitude) and works with local churches in starting sports ministries. He will soon come to the U.S. to pastor a small Hispanic church in Clinton, Iowa.

WOW! What a group of guys who use their love of baseball to share the love of Christ to others! And they all share our vision of bringing all of that to Caracas in 2008! We truly believe that the meeting was a success, that God has brought all of these guys together for a purpose. We came home with a list of nearly 20 professional baseball players who will be contacted over the next month about going to Caracas to share their faith at the crusade. Many other minor leaguers, umpires, and coaches will be contacted about going to lead baseball clinics for the kids. The plan is to have at least 10 clinics a day throughout Greater Caracas (which includes 5 “zones”) for 5 days.

Of course, we also came home with more prayer requests. In addition to praying that God will prepare these players, umpires, and coaches to go (and have the funds to do so), pray for these:
1. Accept the challenge to pray that God will pour out His Spirit on His people. Caracas 2008 will be the beginning point for His Spirit to spread throughout the country.
2. Pray that new believers will be cared for adequately by the local churches.
3. Everything is in the hands of the President…he says yes or no…about the stadium, about the hotel, about everything. Pray that God will allow us to have the use of the stadium and the hotel and every area that is needed to carry out His plan.
4. The month of November is very critical and dangerous in Venezuela. Riots have already begun on both sides of the political issue. Pray for the small groups already being formed that they will grow and be cared for so they might grow and multiply. This will begin a network of groups all across Caracas.

Baseball and Jesus…they go together quite nicely!

You Can Be a Part of This!!!!

2007-10-23T14:24:00.000-05:00

Are you interested in being a part of one of the most exciting events ever? If you have read many of these blog posts, you know of the exciting things in store for Caracas in January of 2008. If you haven't read them, I encourage you to do so to learn of the plans being laid out for a great evangelistic crusade in the city of Caracas, capital of Venezuela, home to over 6 million people, and only 39 Baptist churches! Caracas is the largest unevangelized city in South America. Yet the door is open and people are hungry to hear the Word of God. We have experienced this firsthand.
So, what do you do after you read the blogs and learn all there is to know about the Caracas Crusade? Hopefully God is leading you in at least one of three ways...
First of all, you can pray. Everyone can pray. You will find prayer requests throughout many of the postings on this blog. Many people come to us and say, "We can't go, we can't give, all we can do is pray." What they don't realize is that praying is the single most important thing they can do! Without prayer, none of this is possible. And believe me when I say that when we go down to Venezuela, we feel the prayers of the people back home. It is such an awesome feeling...I can't really describe it. So pray, pray, pray.
Second, perhaps you can give. We estimate this crusade costing close to $250,000. We have been handed the responsibility of raising almost all of this. The people of Caracas...the local churches and the national convention...are doing what they can, but basically they are a poor nation relying on our help. We believe God gives to us so that we can give back to Him. All we ask is that you pray about it and ask what God wants you to do, how much He wants you to give. Some of you have great resources from which you can give; others of you live on meager means but will feel led to give what you see as a small portion. Whether great or small, all gifts are precious and all gifts are worthy. And God will bless all givers, no matter the size of their gifts.
Third, maybe God wants you to go! Yes, go to Caracas in January to be a part of this massive effort in leading 25,000-30,000 people to Christ in a 4-day city-wide evangelistic crusade. Here is what you need to do: Contact us at venezuelavision@gmail.com and let us know you want to go with us. Or call us at the Vision Office at 325-657-2900 or 877-657-2939 and talk to one of our office volunteers. We will then send you a registration packet...we can e-mail it to you, snail mail it to you, or fax it to you. Cost for the trip is $1500.00. You will need to return pages 3 & 4 of the packet (with all your pertinent information) and $1000 as soon as possible. The remaining $500 will be due January 1, 2008. We encourage you to get your registration and first payment in as soon as possible in order that we can get airline reservations secured and begin the process of making all the other arrangements such as hotel reservations and trip insurance. Also, please make sure your passport is in order. If you do not have one, begin the process immediately...because of the new regulations, there are more people seeking passports, so it will take a little longer to get one. If you have any questions, call the office! If one of the volunteers cannot answer your questions, they will refer you to us, and we will be glad to talk with you!
Please pray about how God wants you involved in Caracas 2008. Many of you are already involved, and we praise God for you. Many of you have been praying continually, checking this blog daily, and encouraging us all along the way. You have given back to God a portion of what He has given you, and we are so grateful. Some of you are already signed up and ready to board that plane heading south in January. Praise the Lord! We love everyone of you!

Vision Banquet

2007-10-23T14:07:00.000-05:00

Many of you have been wondering how the Vision Banquet went...it went pretty well. We had a number of no-shows which was a little disappointing, but those who attended responded well in their financial commitments to the Crusade. We are still receiving commitments and offerings, so it is hard to give an actual accounting at this time. The banquet itself went quite well. The students of First Baptist served as our waitstaff, and we had a marvelous meal. Following the meal we had a program which included music by Julie Eustis (singing Ray Boltz' "Thank You"), a presentation to Buck Smith honoring him and Ila Mae for their years of service on the mission field in Venezuela, and a word from our keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Jackson, who challenged the group to follow the Great Commission and to be obedient as well as visionary. Larry Shotwell shared his testimony, a glimpse of his experience in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006, and asked the group to pray about how they could be involved in this effort. Kerry shared the vision for Caracas and Venezuela and we showed a video clip made in Caracas, a video invitation from the pastors and church leaders there, asking us to come be a part of the Evangelistic Crusade in January 2008. We also shared a power point presentation showing the work that had been done at the crusade in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006 as well as pictures of Caracas, all set to the words of Wayne Watson in "For Such a Time as This."
There were several who attended the banquet who expressed an interest in going to Caracas with us in January. This is exciting as we are down to the wire in getting people to commit to go. We are busy this week following up with everyone who has expressed an interest. Because there have been questions and comments on this subject, I will address it more in a separate post.
In the meantime, I ask that you continue to pray for the crusade, for the people of Caracas, for those of us who are in the directors' chairs, for the remainder of the funds needed, and for the people God will lead to be a part of our team.

Gideon's Army in Caracas

2007-10-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

Good Brothers and Sweet Sisters,
Thank you so much for praying. In answer to prayer God gave us the opportunity to speak to hundreds of evangelical Christians concerning little churches that multiply. Tony and Felicity Dale lead six hour training sessions in six different areas of Caracas for all who wanted to start house churches. Team members and Venezuelan leaders were incorporated into the training process. 300 were trained and commissioned into the harvest. There were reports of several churches being started since our brief visionary visit in June. In Puerto Ayacucho on the edge of the rain forest of the Amazons 85 were trained and commissioned. The meetings were so Spirit filled that it was said the mosquitoes were humming, ‘There is Power in the Blood.’ Please continue to pray as training opportunities continue to develop and we move toward the stadium crusade in Caracas January 24-27, 2008.
Your rejoicing brother,
Gail

Endurance and Encouragement

2007-10-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

A new post is long overdue. We have been working feverishly on the fundraising banquet which will be this Saturday evening. We had hoped for 25 tables...we have 23. But we still have two days left! And we expect some to come who were not officially invited by a table host...friends from church who are interested in coming and supporting the crusade. So we are hoping for the best and leaving it all in God's hands. Pray with us for this...pray that God will have there the people He wants to participate and that everyone will make it a matter of prayer as to how much to give. I know, it's that ugly thing about asking people for money. But you know, I've learned that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to give of their resources to causes such as this, especially when they seek the Lord's guidance about it. Those who give of what has been given to them know that they will be blessed many times over. I'll try to post a report early next week, so be sure and check back and see how God blesses His vision!

Sometimes I look at all that needs to be done, both for the banquet and for the crusade and for the trip itself, and I just feel overwhelmed. How can we do this? It is an enormous task! But it is a task that we feel God has presented to us to do, so we go along, trying to follow His guidance and do what we can do. We just have to ask God to bless our inadequacies and blunders and send us good, mission-committed people to work with us who can share the vision God has given us.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)

Buck is back from Caracas and arrangements are going well down there. His task is to enlist 50 teams of 2 people each to go with us and work with the local churches in Caracas. (Yes, this is a hint...if you are reading this and are interested in going or know someone who is, let us know as soon as possible!) Gail Graves has a brief report from Caracas as well about the house church training. (I'm at the Vision office this morning and cannot access his report...I'll post it after I get home.)

Time is getting short for enlisting folks to go with us. We have heard from the group at Colonial Heights in Kingsport, Tennesse, and there are about 6 from there who want to go...including our friend, Matt Dykes, whom we have gone with before. This will be added to the updated prayer list at the end of this post. We need PEOPLE to sign up to GO as QUICKLY as possible! So many have voiced an interest in going, but we have yet to get them to commit definitely.

Another prayer...the New Testaments. They have been shipped and are on their way. Pray that they get there in time, that all the paperwork is in order, and that a place is secured to store them until January. 50,000 New Testaments...that's a lot of boxes!

One more thing...pray for our good friend Tom Robuck who has been our liaison with the BGCT. Due to budget cuts, many jobs were eliminated (effective Oct. 31) at the BGCT, and Tom's job was one of those. We are not sure where that leaves us in working with the BGCT, but we DO know that this leaves Tom without a job and looking for answers at a crucial time in his life.

Time for a praise! Several people have already given substantially toward the crusade and we were able to send $38,500 as a deposit to secure the hotel in Caracas. I know this seems like a lot for a deposit, but they required half, and we are reserving the entire hotel with its apartment-style accommodations.

OK...the PRAYER LIST:
1) The Fundraising Banquet, Saturday, October 20, 7:00pm
2) The New Testaments
3) People to go with us in January
4) Tom Robuck and other employees whose jobs were eliminated at the BGCT
5) Still need assurance that we will be able to use the Baseball Stadium
6) Upcoming meeting in Atlanta on Nov 2 with Bill Cashion and the baseball players
7) Pray for Kerry and me and Buck as we continue to seek God's guidance on the planning; that He will give us strength and endurance.

Greater is He that is in me...

2007-10-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within...Praise His Holy Name! God's mighty hand is apparent at every turn.

I have just returned from Caracas where I met with Jacobo and several members of our team...Buck Smith, Tony & Felicity Dale, Gail Graves, and Sheryll & Deitra McCleery. Our goal was two-fold: 1) work out many details of the Crusade with Jacobo and 2) further train workers in the Church in the House effort.

Jacobo and I met for about 10 hours of intense discussions. Many areas needed to be "hammered" out. Much was accomplished. There was a great spirit of cooperation! Praise the Lord!

The training sessions were a great success! To accomplish God's purposes, we divided into 5 teams: 1) Tony Dale, 2) Felicity Dale, 3) Deitra & Sheryll McCleery, 4) Buck Smith, and 5) Gail Graves & Kerry Peacock (accompanied by Ladimiro). Reports were good. It was a long day, but we saw God work to encourage over 600 people in their participation in the Crusade. I truly believe that God is going to give us a great tremendous outpouring of His Spirit! The people of the churches are so receptive!

In the coming days, please continue to pray for the power of God's Spirit to go before us. We walk by faith. There are so many things that Satan is doing to try to prevent this effort. We claim the promise that "greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world!"

One area of particular need is still the financial area. We are planning a fundraising dinner on October 20 at First Baptist Church in San Angelo. We are asking God for $200,000 of commitments from that dinner. That will certainly not cover all the expenses, but it will be a start! Your prayers and support would be extremely welcome!

Also, we are planning a meeting in Atlanta on November 2 to gather our baseball players with the team including Dr. Bill Cashion. Part of our needs include video of the ballplayers that can be used in promotion of the crusade. This is crucial for a great turnout at the Crusade. Please pray!

Dr. Jackson and his team are working hard to insure that the 50,000 New Testaments will be there for distribution during the Crusade.

Director of Missions Ed Jump, Baptist General Convention of Texas liaison, Tom Robuck, and Buck Smith comprise the team that will be organizing pastors who want to go and lead revivals in the churches of Caracas in the beginning part of the week of the Crusade.

Come go with us! Share your resources! Pray for a great move of God!

Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!

Kerry

Group leaves for Venezuela Thursday, Sept. 27

2007-09-26T12:41:00.000-05:00

From Gail Graves, Simple Church Team Leader:
Co-laborers in Christ: Greetings in Jesus’ name. Please pray into the training of several hundred simple church advocates in Venezuela. Our Lord is calling out laborers for the harvest in Venezuela. Hundreds are availing themselves to training in simple church core values. The training dates are September 29, 2007 thru Tuesday October 9. We leave for Venezuela tomorrow. See the team members below. Our hope is that our Lord will begin a church multiplication movement that will reach the entire nation in Christ and beyond. Please join our Lord in what He is doing there in prayer. Your brother, Gail.

Venezuela House Church Training Team
Deitra McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Sherryl McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Mike Birrer; Tucson, AZ
Felicity Dale; Austin, TX
Tony Dale; Austin, TX
Gail L Graves; Boise, Idaho
Bill Rowland; IMB Missionary, Venezuela

Please join me in praying the Luke 10:2 prayer. Set your cell phone alarm at 10:02am and pray each day to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest

Kerry also leaves tomorrow...he will return on Sunday. He will take care of several issues while down there such as hotel reservations and other details with Jacobo. Buck left on Monday and will be with the group listed above. They will travel to Puerto Ayacucho toward the end of their stay for a few days with the pastors and churches there. Buck will return on the 15th. Pray for safe travel, safety while there, the training taking place, and the details being ironed out.

Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

2007-09-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

While this wasn't the sermon text for this morning, it was referenced by our pastor. My mind just seemed to grab hold of that thought. The Christ that is in me IS my hope...without Christ in me, there is nothing I can do that is right, nothing I can do that is good enough, nothing I can do that will make a difference. It is only through Christ that I can be called a child of God, only through Christ that I can endure this life on earth, only through Christ that I can be assured of an eternity with Him in heaven. And it is my obligation, my responsibility to share this hope with others...both here and through our mission efforts in Venezuela.

It's amazing how everything I hear, everything I read seems to turn my thoughts to Venezuela. Probably because we are in the "crunch time" for the crusade in January. Our Sunday School director put up a display in our room this morning...a Venezuelan flag and an American flag connected with a row of crosses...depicting what we are trying to do...carry the message of the cross to Venezuela. And he had this written on the board....124 days. No, that is not how many shopping days until Christmas. And it is not how many days left in 2007. It is the number of days until the crusade in Caracas. Then he said...if you cannot do anything else, you can pray for the next 124 days.

That is so true. Yes, we need funds...we need assurance that we will have the stadium...we need other things to fall into place in order to hold a crusade in a city of six million people. But more than anything, we need prayer. And everyone of you who are sitting there reading this blog can pray. So we are asking you...please pray. Scroll through the previous postings and find the prayer lists. There are plenty of things to pray about. Be specific in your prayers...everything from the obvious (open hearts to the gospel, souls saved, churches started) to the not-so-obvious (decent weather, health and safety of team members). There are things that need to be prayed about that we don't have listed, because we do not know everything God has in mind. When we held the crusade in Puerta Ayacucho in 2006, there was a Christian radio announcer who showed up, on his own, driving 27 hours, bringing his own equipment, who broadcast the crusade on the radio for 3 hours every night. We did not know he was coming. The pastors there did not know he was coming. But God knew...God sent him. So ask God to put needs on your heart to pray.

I started out this posting talking about hope, and ended up talking about prayer. I guess they really do go hand in hand. Take from this what you will...it may seem like rambling...but it is what is on my heart this Sunday evening.

God bless you...have a great week!

Diane

God Meets Our Needs

2007-09-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

My niece called me on Tuesday to share this scripture with me. My niece who is like a daughter to me. My niece who I have been the one to encourage through the years. Now this niece is calling to encourage me! And share scripture with me! Of course, I know this scripture. But sometimes in my humanness, I forget. I forget about all the other times He has supplied everything I needed. I forget about all the times He has supplied everything my family has needed. In my humanness, I forget.

This niece of mine...let me tell you about her. She has 4 kids and is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband works in the oilfield in West Texas. She is a consultant for Home & Garden Party. She informed me a couple of weeks ago that God had put on her heart that she needed to help us in our Caracas endeavor. "But what can I do? I can't go!" She questioned God, and He reminded her of Kerry's sermon at our family reunion (where we had our own little church service on Sunday morning). Kerry spoke about using what is in your hand, using Moses, David, and the little lad with a lunch as examples. Then she realized what she could do. She explained to me that she is developing a fundraiser through Home & Garden Party, selling candles, and will give all the proceeds to Venezuela Vision! Wow! I never cease to be amazed at how God works!

So, Maggie, I know you are reading this...thank you! Thank you for being willing to let God work in your life. Thank you for doing what little bit (in your eyes) you can for God's Kingdom. (He, of course, does not think it is a little bit...nor do I!) Thank you for your interest and participation in our Venezuela Vision. Thank you for calling to encourage me when I needed encouragement. I love you!

Diane

Planning Banquets and Enlisting Ball Players

2007-09-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

As we get closer and closer to January, we have a tendency to panic that plans are not going according to schedule...we tend to forget that God has everything scheduled already, and His timing is not necessarily our timing.

I'm not sure why the fundraising got left in our hands, but apparently God has a reason for this. We have been able to delegate most of the other areas (i.e. baseball players and clinics, house church groups, follow-up and discipleship) to others who have embraced the vision of evangelism in Caracas. But God has left the gathering of resources in our hands, so we are doing what we know to do.

Our efforts these last few weeks have been on putting together a fundraising banquet. We seem to be getting bogged down in enlisting table hosts and underwriters for our Vision Banquet. We have asked our good friends Rick Williams and Charlie Smith to help in this area. Pray with us that God will lead people to step forward to this task. This is a critical part of a successful fundraiser. Time is getting short to enlist people who will commit to asking others to attend the Vision Banquet who will be helpful in funding the crusade in January. The date of the banquet is October 20. Pray that all the planning and enlistment will come together, that we will have a peace about the whole process, and that God will use the event and speakers to gather His resources that will be needed.

The other problems we have encountered this week have been in getting our Venezuela Vision office set up. Our friend Robert Thorn has been helping us get all the equipment set up, but there have been problems with the phone service and having the phone lines set up as needed. This has delayed our getting the office up and running. We DO have volunteers, however, who are waiting to begin serving in this area of the ministry. They will be there to answer the phone and do other office tasks that need to be done. They will also be helpful in the office work required for the banquet.

On an upbeat note, we are excited about the professional ball players who have committed to go and share their testimonies at the crusade. We are meeting in Atlanta on November 2 with Dr. Bill Cashion who is spear-heading this facet of the crusade. We will meet with many of the ballplayers who will be a part of the clinics and the crusade. Jacobo, from Caracas, will be here as well, having just been to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual convention in Amarillo. We have several ballplayers on board, including Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, and several more we are waiting to hear from, including Mariano Rivera, Omar Vizquel, and Edgardo Alfonso. Jeff Siegel of Global Youth Baseball is on board with his ministry that conducts clinics all over the world. Jeff is also our link to SCORE International.

So a recap of this week's prayer needs:
1) Vision Banquet: the planning and enlistment of table hosts and underwriters, the gathering of guests who will embrace the vision and help financially, a calming peace for Kerry and me.
2) Meeting with ballplayers in Atlanta: traveling mercies for all who will attend, God's presence in the meeting, God's leading in expanding our vision to them.
3) The Venezuela Vision office: the set-up and quick opening of the office, the volunteers who will help, gratitude for those helping us.
4) The House Church teams: the enlistment of teams to go in January to work with local church members in setting up groups, the small contingency going at the end of September to help train local church leaders in Caracas.
5) The shipment of Bibles: The 50,000 New Testaments are ready to ship. Pray that they will get to their destination, that all of the paper work will be in order, and that they will be delivered as planned to the group in Caracas. There are numerous horror stories of shipments from the US being confiscated or held in port because of faulty or "mislaid" paper work!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers. And if you are interested in being a part of our trip in January, let us know!

Diane

Watching God Move

2007-09-06T14:23:00.001-05:00

Excitment is building and resources are coming together as we enter into these critical days of planning for the crusade in January. God continues to bring people to us who are able to embrace the vision and have committed to help in the planning process as well as participate with us in Caracas.

Most recently we have been in contact with Ed Jump, Director of Missions for the Corpus Christi Baptist Association. He was just waiting for our call and is ready to recruit pastors from his association to take part in the the crusade. Also, his wife has committed to leading a women's ministry there in Caracas.

Bill Cashion, who is our team leader in charge of the baseball players and baseball clinics, is setting up a meeting in early November with many of the ball players and our planning team, including Jacobo from Caracas. Please be in prayer for that meeting.

Gail Graves and Sherryl & De McCleery have just returned from the annual National House Church Convention where they were able to speak and share our vision for taking the Gospel to Caracas and starting 1000 house churches. They had a very positive response, especially from a delegation of Chinese Christians who had come from China for the convention. They want to be a part of our group in January! How amazing is that?

On the local front in San Angelo, we are busy putting together a fundraising banquet scheduled for October 20. We have many close friends, most of whom are from our Sunday School department, who have committed to help us as we put this together. Pray that God will lead us to mission-minded men and women from our community who will be willing to host a table and invite their friends to become a vital part of this endeavor by sharing the resources God has given them.

One of the most exciting aspects of this whole thing is watching God work and move His people together! It is amazing what He can do when we take our hands off and allow Him to work in the lives of His children! Our favorite quote these days is from Henry Blackaby...Don't ask God to bless what you are doing...find out what God is doing and get in on it! That is our prayer for us and for you!

Have a blessed day!

Venezuela: An Invitation to Harvest

2007-09-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

This is a post copied from the House Church blog by our brother and fellow team member, Gail Graves.

Our Lord is very much at work in Venezuela. Evangelical leader and DAWN Ministries International associate Jocobo Garcia says, “These are perilous times in Venezuela. Now is the hour for Spiritual awaking in our country.” North American house church advocates have been asked to help start 1000 house churches in Venezuela. Venezuela evangelicals are planning an evangelistic stadium crusade in the capitol city of Caracas January 2008. Caracas is the most unevangelized large city in South America with only two percent evangelical Christians. They are expecting 10,000 to 30,000 professions of faith. All Christians need help especially the new ones. To follow up this many decisions for Christ is an overwhelming task for Caracas believers. Please consider ways that you can join the harvest that our Lord is multiplying in Venezuela.

1. Commit to pray. The one way and the most important way that everyone can join our Lord in this endeavor is through prayer. This is a spiritual battle. It will be won in prayer. Each of us can join our Lord and Venezuela believers in a concerted effort of prayer. Your investment of prayer may seem like a small thing. Remember in God’s economy little becomes much. When we pray in faith, mountains are moved and walls come tumbling down. Ps 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations.” The precious people of Venezuela rightfully belong to God. Let us ask for the nation.

2. Ask the Lord to use you and your network in putting together a church planting team. Travel together to Venezuela in January for a minimum of ten days to start a new network of house churches. Venezuela crusade leaders will place in your hands 100 to 300 decision cards over a five day period of new Christians located in a specific part of the city. Contact each of them by phone in the first 24 hours of their new walk in Christ. Make appointments for meeting together and introduce the rest of their family to Christ. Help them form new churches. Extensive HC training is being conducted thru the remainder of this year with established Christians in traditional churches who are excited about simple church life. Feel free to start free churches or you can partner up with a trained simple church advocate native to Caracas. Venezuela leaders have committed to help furnish bilingual interpreters to help in the process. As you are there you will discover and build relationships with persons of peace. When you return to the states you can keep in touch through inexpensive modern communications to help nurture the new networks over time. God will show you how to proceed.

3. You can help make it possible for someone else to go. There are hundreds of capable network facilitators in North America who are stretched to the limit with their time and resources. ‘Many hands make light a heavy load.’ God possibly could use you with the help of others to make it possible for a capable simple church advocate to be able to afford the time off work and travel expenses to participate. Our Lord has led Venezuela evangelicals to stretch their faith and attempt what only God can do. Please consider joining Him and them as He extends Himself to the precious people of Venezuela in the building His church. For more information see this link http://venezuelahousechurchvision.blogspot.com/ or contact Gail Graves gailgraves@msn.com.

Prayer List Update

2007-08-13T21:07:00.000-05:00

Answered Prayer:
1) New Testaments: The Jackson Center of Evangelism at Howard Payne University is taking care of printing and shipping 50,000 soul-winning New Testaments to Caracas.
2) Office: Offices have been set up in both Venezuela and in the States to handle details of the crusade as well as registration of team members.
3) Equipment: A laptop computer and video projector were purchased and sent to Caracas to help with the training sessions leading up to the crusade as well as for follow-up discipleship training following the crusade.
4) Baseball Players: Several players, managers, and coaches have committed to going to Caracas to share their testimonies at the crusade; also, Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to organize and manage the details for the ballplayers as well as set up the daily baseball clinics.

Continued Prayer Requests:
1) Pray that the needed funds (approx. $250,000) will be raised soon!
2) Pray that we get permission to reserve the baseball stadium.
3) Pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for the salvation of President Hugo Chavez.
4) Pray for the baseball players who will share their testimonies and work in the baseball clinics...some have committed to go, others are needed.
5) Pray for 1000 house (or simple) churches to be established following the crusade. Church leaders in Caracas will be trained in establishing house churches September 28-29 and again at the end of November.
6) Pray for volunteers who God will lead to go and be a part of this evangelistic effort.
7) Pray for Richard Jackson, evangelist for the crusade.
8) Pray for Jacobo, head of the crusade team in Caracas.
9) Pray for the U.S. planning team (Kerry & Diane, Buck Smith, Gail Graves, and others who God has brought to us to help).
10) Pray for the people of Caracas...pray for the churches of Caracas as they reach out to the lost.
11) Pray for the translators...we need bi-lingual team members as well as Venezuelan interpreters.
12) Pray for affordable accommodations for the team while in Caracas.

It is NO Coincidence!

2007-08-13T20:43:00.001-05:00

Praise God for what He continues to do! So much is happening that it's hard to tell everything. In the spirit of openness, I want you to know as much as possible.

We are excited to tell you that we will be opening an office for the Caracas Crusade 2008. We praise God for the generosity of First Baptist Church, San Angelo, for allowing us to use an office there. The phones will be installed tomorrow (8-14-07). We hope to have the office ready to receive team member registrations by September 1, 2007. The office will be staffed by volunteers with Diane overseeing the project.

A registration form is near completion. We are waiting on some critical information regarding the cost of housing and transportation. We are excited to report tht Buck (Rolando) Smith's son-in-law, Leonel, has become a travel agent and will be able to save us a lot of money in the purchase of airline tickets.

In the house church area, Gail Graves is excited that Tony & Felicity Dale, who met with us in Dallas a few weeks ago, have invited him to speak at their annual National House Church Conference in Dallas on Labor Day weekend. It is my understanding that Sherryl and Dee McCleery (part of our team) will be accompanying him. Pray that hundreds of people will feel led to go to Caracas to help start 1000 house churches following the crusade. This is one of the most critical parts of the entire plan.

Regarding the athletes and their participation, I am excited to report that Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to be our point man in the coordination of the professional athletes and the baseball clinics that we envision. Bill has been a missionary to Caracas/Venezuela. He used ball players to help start over 20 churches in the Caracas area. Bill has worked with many leaders in the sports area of Christian outreach. Dave Altopp with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Eddie Waxer are familiar with Bill's ministry. God is so good! And it is no coincidence that Bill is an advocate of the House Church ministry...wow!

Brian Harper with Saddleback Community Church has consented to help us with several pieces of literature that we will need for the training of simple church leaders. It is no coincidence that he knows Gail Graves, Bill Cashion, and others on our team! Tom Holiday, brother-in-law of Rick Warren gave me Brian's name. I am praying that Saddleback will get even more involved.

I do have one area of concern that I need you to pray about. As of this moment, we don't know how God is going to fund it all. I am planning several fund raiser dinners as well as talking to every church that Diane and I get the opportunity to talk to about the crusade. We need $250,000...and we need it NOW! We need to reserve the stadium. We need to reserve the hotel. We need to get sound equipment. We need to start the publicity. Please pray with us!

Praise God for all that He is doing!

Answered Prayer....It's a God Thing!

2007-07-31T22:53:00.000-05:00

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

A GOD THING….

Buck, Diane & Kerry left San Angelo Friday, July 27, to drive to Dallas for what Kerry says was one of the most blessed weekends he ever spent in his 59 years. As we drove, we talked about all that we hoped the days ahead would bring. The weekend was all about our dream…a crusade in Caracas, Venezuela in January of 2008. We were to meet with Jacobo from Venezuela, Gail Graves (former SBC church planter, now a Simple Church planter), Tom Robuck (partnership coordinator, Baptist General Convention of Texas or BGCT), and Drs. Tony and Felicity Dale (authors, physicians, and national leaders in the house church movement). God had brought these people together at this particular time to follow His will into a great adventure for Him.

As we drove, we talked about the hopes and fears. We discussed the need for professional American league baseball players from Venezuela to agree to share their faith during the crusade…they are key to drawing the 40,000 to 50,000 people we expect each evening. We need money, close to $300,000, to fund the various aspects of the crusade, including buying a sound system capable of handling a large stadium. We need offices both in Venezuela and in the U.S. to handle all the logistics of sending hundreds of North Americans to Venezuela. We need permission and funds to rent the baseball stadium there in Caracas, the largest venue available. We need to get the publicity rolling. We need to know what the BGCT will do and how they will help. The questions seem never-ending.

As we neared DFW Airport, we realized that we have several immediate problems. We know that Jacobo is due in from Atlanta at 5:55pm on Delta…but what gate? Will he know to look for us at the baggage claim exit? How can we contact him? Gail is coming in from Boise, Idaho…we do not know when or which airline. As we turned onto Hwy 114 and approached the toll plaza into the airport, Kerry’s cell phone rang. It was Gail! His flight out of Boise was delayed, and he was put on another flight going through Atlanta…and he found Jacobo on his flight! Their plane had just landed, he said, and they would be at Gate E-23. As we pulled into the arrival area, there was Gail and Jacobo. They had just walked out the doors only moments before. We all agreed…it was a “God thing.”

He answered their prayers, they trusted in him. 2 Chronicles 5:20

GIVING THE VISION BACK….

The five us sat in a circle and prayed, asking God to reaffirm the vision if it was from Him. There were still many unknowns and unanswered questions hindering our progress in the planning of the crusade. We still had no assurance in reserving the baseball stadium for the crusade. We still had no commitments from any professional baseball players to go and share their testimonies. We still had many logistical details to work out.

We were in our hotel room, having spent most of the evening talking about what we felt God wanted us to do and how we could make it happen. There we were…Jacobo, Diane, and Kerry sitting in the floor, and Gail and Buck sitting in the two chairs in our room…and we did the only thing we knew to do…we prayed. We realized that we alone could not make it happen…only God could. And we needed to be reassured by Him that we were indeed on the right track. We agreed as one to give the vision back to Him, laying it before Him and taking our hands off of it. We prayed for guidance and direction and for open doors and made ourselves available to His work, fresh and anew.

Wow! Don’t ever pray like that and not expect something to happen!!!

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

AND THE ANSWER IS….

The morning came early. We all met together in the breakfast room about 8:30. After breakfast, the breakfast room became our conference room. We began to plan and strategize for the crusade and in preparation for the afternoon’s meetings. As Gail and Jacobo worked out plans for the ten-day Simple Church leadership training in September, Kerry felt an urgency to get in touch with Juan Rivera, outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. Kerry had tried the night before to get into his office e-mail where he had phone numbers for both Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, manager of a farm team for the Texas Rangers out of Bakersfield, California. He had not been able to connect, but on a hunch, he decided to try again. He was able to connect immediately! He got the phone numbers and called Juan. He told him who he was and that Carlos had given him his number. He told him that he wanted Juan to share his faith at the crusade in Caracas. The phone went dead. Perhaps he thought it was a prank call. Kerry’s heart sank, and as he told the group what happened, he could see the disappointment in their eyes. However, a few minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang. It was Juan! They spoke a few minutes, then he handed to phone to Jacobo to speak to Juan in Spanish. When they finished, Jacobo related that Juan had agreed to be at the crusade for 3 days! Wow! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, FCA! Thank you, Carlos Subero!

About 15 minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang again. It was Carlos! Kerry told him he had just spoken to Juan and what his response was. Carlos was ecstatic! He had contacted two other athletes, one a soccer player who is on one of the best teams in Venezuela, and they had both agreed to come. At this date, we believe that we have 4 professional athletes committed to share their testimonies at the crusade! Yes, it’s still a “God thing” and yes, He does answer prayer!

Many, many other things were accomplished including searching through Google to find a phone number for Bill Cashion and talking with him about working with the ballplayers during the crusade. We adjourned for lunch, basking in the victories God had given. (And we got to have lunch with one of our grandsons who lives in Lewisville…icing on the cake!)

At 2:00 Tom & Libby Robuck arrived at our breakfast room conference room. They are a warm and very caring couple who have passion for missions. Tom had just gotten back that morning from a mission trip to Brazil. As we talked, he let us understand that the BGCT leadership had decided to make the Caracas crusade a “project” as opposed to a part of the partnership between Texas Baptists and Venezuela set to begin in 2008. This would allow more immediate freedom to fund and form teams for the crusade. They have even already begun to publicize the crusade in a couple of events and have received quite a bit of interest! Wow! What an answer to prayer! The details began to fall into place. Our thoughts and hearts began to meld together. Tom and Jacobo make a great team. Tom speaks Spanish quite well, and the plans began to roll. Another answer to prayer!

At 4:00 Drs. Tony & Felicity Dale showed up, along with some of our friends from San Angelo, Sherryl & De McCleery, who are involved with a house church here and plan to be a part of our Caracas team. The Dales are well known across the nation in the area of simple churches. They have written books for the House2House group and have had one of their books translated into Spanish by Rick Warren’s group to use as follow-up material. What an honor it was to meet them. There was an instant affinity with them and our group. They will be going to Venezuela in September (as will the McCleerys) to help Gail train the simple church leaders! Praise God! They will be with us in Caracas for the crusade! Praise God! They will give Gail time at their national convention to present our dream for Caracas! Praise God!

Often during our meetings we stopped to pray and offer praise to God. It was hard to go to sleep that evening. Wow! God had given so many answers, so many open doors, so many assurances. All we needed to do was step back, walk by faith, and let Him work.

Sunday morning we took Jacobo to the airport early for his day of travel back home to Caracas. (As it turned out, it became two days of travel because of bad weather in Miami.) We were able to send back with him a notebook computer and video projector to be used in the office and in trainings there in Caracas…another answer to prayer! Buck, Gail, Kerry & Diane drove to Frisco to attend Stonebriar Community Church where Chuck Swindoll pastors…and where our kids Rich & Christi attend church. Chuck was away, but we did get to spend time with two of our other grandchildren! After lunch, we took Gail to the airport for his flight back to Boise, then we, along with Buck, began our trip back to San Angelo. It was a journey punctuated with praise, plans, and Dairy Queens! We probably got great gas mileage on our way home because we were floating…it had been such an awesome weekend.

It is our prayer that we not get to where we are asking for God to bless what we are doing but to find out where he is working and join him in it. We believe God is working in South America, and we believe He has placed in our hearts a passion for the people of Venezuela. And we will do whatever we feel led by Him to do in order to share the Gospel with them.

Praying for the City

2007-07-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

While we were in Caracas for our planning trip, our group really wanted to have a time of prayer for the city. Of all the large cities in South America, Caracas has the smallest percentage of Christians among their population. While discussing what we could do with our free afternoon on Friday, someone suggested riding the cable cars up to the top of the mountain to look out over Caracas. We decided this would be a great opportunity to look out over this huge city of 6 million and pray for its people. So the seven of us...Kerry & Diane, Buck, Gail, Jacobo, Ladimiro, and Bill...rode up to the top of the mountain. We weren't very high before we began to see the city spawling below us in every direction. We saw the stadium where we hope to hold the evangelistic crusade in January. We saw hundreds of highrises which housed the people of Caracas. We saw the different areas of the city where pastors and leaders will be trained for the crusade. We saw the houses built up on the side of the mountain, in every little crevice and valley. The higher we went, the more we saw. But this is the rainy season in Venezuela, and there were dark clouds threatening around us. Sure enough, just before we got to the top, we were enveloped in a cloud. Stepping out of the cable car, the air was cold and misty...you could barely see twenty yards down the path, much less the city down below. As we walked along the path on the top of the mountain, surrounded by a cloud, we knew we were also surrounded by God, and He was encouraging us to do as we had intended...to stand and pray for the city of Caracas. He just wanted us to see it, not through our physical eyes, but through our spiritual eyes...through His eyes. Even if we could have seen, we would only been able to see buildings. Through our spiritual eyes, we began to see what God saw...each and every individual thirsting to know of His love. That is how we prayed...that God would begin now to prepare each and every heart in the city of Caracas...some would be led to be a part of the leadership team...others would be led to attend the crusade, perhaps hearing about Christ for the first time...still others would be led to bring a friend, a family member, a neighbor. We prayed that all would know of the grace and mercy and salvation known only through Jesus Christ. Then we sang a couple of praise songs, standing in a circle, under a flagless flagpole, in the midst of a cloud on top of a mountain. We sang in English, then with the help of our translator, we sang in Spanish. Our hearts are still burdened for the people of Caracas, but we continue to pray for each and every man, woman, boy and girl. We pray by faith, and not by sight.

Simple Church Vision Trip

2007-07-09T02:41:00.000-05:00

Message written 7/7/07: Greetings all from Boise, Idaho USA. Thank you so much for praying with me on the Venezuela adventure. The reception to simple church core values continued through the entire trip. As the adventure continued to Porte Ayacucho (over 100k pop, gate way to the Amazon rain forests, roads end just south of here and it is foot and river for hundreds of miles inhabited by the tribes of the Amazon, some of them yet unnamed) we met with Christian leaders. Every one with whom we met embraced simple church values. There were two large group meetings of about 100 and 60 respectively. These are people who relate to the tribes of the Amazon. Many have come out of the forrest. Virtually all have family ties to tribes in the jungle. It is obvious how difficult it is to fit western traditional church into the jungle. When simple church vision was presented it was like they were waiting for someone to tell them that little churches are real churches and near to the heart of God. They have asked for some one to return and teach more fully. The meeting with the Bible Institute of Porte Ayacucho faculty was overwhelming and they want to set up further instruction. Upon returning to Caracas we met with a group of respected evangelical leaders of the city. Thomas Moreno the DAWN coordinator for South America joined us. Again the reception to simple church core values was received as a revelation from God. These are people of tremendous influence in evangelical circles. We met late at night with the Sr. pastor of the largest church in Venezuela. We would call it a mega church. He is president of the Evangelical Alliance of Venezuela. He has more respect from evangelical Christians in Venz than any other. The meeting was terrific. He and I sat and talked for 45 minutes. His English is better than mine. They have a strong cell group ministry. He is very interested in learning more about encouraging cell groups to become free churches and what that will mean to Caracas. We will set up phone conference meetings with experienced and capable HC advocates in the USA to help him grasp the vision more fully. Thanks again for your prayer and please continue to pray for the precious people of Venezuela. Your brother, gail.

Message written July 1, 2007 FYI: Greeting all from Caracas. As most of you know Venezuelan evangelicals have asked simple church advocates in North America to help start 1000 house churches as follow up for a stadium crusade next January. I am in Caracas sharing simple church core values accompanied by a small team now. The response is overwhelmingly positive. Virtually all the pastors and leaders attending the addresses over 160 total have caught the vision for simple church life. The Spirit descended on each meeting. There was a Holy hush on each address as simple church life was revealed. My hope was to help traditional church leaders tolerate simple church and some of them encourage it. The reception seems unanimous with strong enthusiasm for those attending. They are asking for intense training to understand in the fullest way possible. The rector of the Baptist seminary in Caracas wants to schedule some extensive time with himself and his faculty for training. We are working on this for September. This is way beyond my expectations. This is something only God could do. We met with the second pastor of the largest pentecostal church in Venezuela today with a very encouraging reception. We will meet with the Sr pastor on Wed. We meet with an influential non-denominational pastor later today who has indicated strong interest. Their involvement is a significant factor. We will travel to the Amazon river some 500 miles south of Caracas tomorrow to share simple church life with leaders in and near Porte Ayacucho. This city is a major gateway to the rain forests of Venezuela. Thanks for your contribution of prayer and please continue to pray. Your humbled brother, gail.

Prayer List

2007-07-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

Praying for the Crusade for Family Values in Caracas, Jan 27-Feb 1, 2008

1) New Testaments - printing and shipping of 50,000 New Testaments
2) Baseball Players - Venezuelan baseball players who play in the U.S. major leagues and who are Christians...to share their testimonies at the crusade each night
3) Office - in Caracas to deal with all the details and logistics of bringing close to 1000 volunteers in from the U.S. to help with this effort and in San Angelo to deal with the details of those 1000
4) Equipment - a laptop and video projector to be used in preparation of this effort
5) Location - permission to use the stadium for this event...or another place which will accommodate the anticipated crowds
6) Political climate - continue to pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for Hugo Chavez
7) Funds - pray that people will give generously to fund this effort...approximate cost: $500,000 U.S.
8) Translators - pray that God will provide the 200+ translators from Venezuela needed for this event as well as the fund to pay them for their services.
9) Dr. Richard Jackson - pray that God will protect and guide Dr. Jackson, evangelist for the crusade, in these weeks and months leading up to this evangelistic effort.
10) Other details - there are many other details and contacts involved...pray that God will direct the planning team as well as those He has in mind to be a part of this event.
11) Volunteers - pray that God will begin now to impress upon the hearts of those He will direct to be a part of this crusade effort, that He will protect them and their families and make it possible for them to join Him in bringing the people of Caracas to know Him as their Lord and Savior.

Planning Trip to Caracas ~ June 28-July 1, 2007

2007-07-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

What a fast four days! Almost from the time we got settled into our hotel on Thursday until we left for the airport on Sunday morning, we were in planning mode. From our 'scheduled' meetings to our meetings at mealtimes to spontaneous planning while driving from one place to another, God was with us as we tried to determine how best to do this thing we are calling La Cruzada para Valores Familiares.

We were met at the airport by Buck Smith and Gail Graves who had flown in the night before. We got settled in to our room, then left for a late lunch at Leonel & Melissa's house...Melissa is Buck's daughter. (We finally got to meet Buck's famous grandchildren!) This turned out to be our first meeting. They gave tremendous imput and shared their thoughts on our endeavor, offering to help in many ways. From there we went back to the hotel where Jacobo and Ladimiro were waiting for us...the first of our 'scheduled' meetings. Bill Rowland, IMB missionary near Caracas, joined us and spent the weekend with us, planning and translating. We discussed many aspects of the crusade itself; then Jacobo briefed us on the meetings which would take place over the next two days. We followed that with a huge dinner while watching the US soccer team get slaughtered by the Argentinians in the America Cup. All the while, the planning never stopped...

Friday morning we traveled to the Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel and met with a group of pastors and church leaders. Kerry shared the vision God had given him concerning the crusade and encouraged them to be a part of what God is doing in Caracas and throughout South America. Gail shared the concept of the House Church or Simple Church with the group and told testimony after testimony of how people had come to know Christ as Lord through these small groups.

There were training sessions in five areas of Caracas on Saturday, and we met with two of the groups, again sharing the visions God had put before us. The response was positive on every front.

Friday afternoon, our little group of seven rode the cable car up to the top of the mountain to pray for the city of Caracas. (See "Praying for the City" post.) The planning never stopped. We had coffee and hot chocolate at a little place on the top of the mountain, and Jacobo was making notes on a napkin as we continued to discuss details and logistics. That evening, Jacobo's wife, Sarah, and daughter, Rose, and grandson, Santiago, joined us for a light dinner at a place familiar to us all.....Wendy's! It started pouring down rain while we were there, so we were stranded there for a while...no problem....more time to plan.

Saturday evening, after a full day of meeting with churches (and a quick trip to a "Commercial Center"...their word for a mall...for some pizza in the food court) it began to rain again, so we quickly ran next door to a small sandwich shop. You guessed it...eating and planning...and watching Venezuela win their game against Colombia in the America Cup...oh, what a celebration in that city that night!

We left very early Sunday morning to return home...full of new ideas, tasks to be done, and additions to our prayer list. (See 'Prayer List' post) Buck, Kerry and Gail will return at the end of September to meet with the other groups in their training sessions. Gail will take a team to train the church members in organizing Simple Church groups.

Yes, it was a fast four days...so much was done...so much remains to be done. We are excited as the Lord continues to lead us on this journey, allowing us to be a part of His work in Venezuela.

An Impossible Dream

2007-07-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

Our goals for the Crusade for Family Values in Caracas in 2008
1) filling a baseball stadium which seats 25,000 for 4 nights,
2) seeing 30,000 professions of faith during those 4 nights,
3) distributing 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
4) starting 9 new standard churches, 500 cell type churches, and 1000 house churches,
5) strengthening existing churches in Caracas,
6) having Christian baseball players give their testimonies in the evening services,
7) sponsoring baseball clinics for the children during the day,
8) allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to bring not only Caracas but all of Venezuela to a saving knowledge of Jesus,
9) pleasing God!

Some answers to prayer which we have already seen include
1) the donation of the 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
2) a connection with the D.A.W.N. (Disciple a Whole Nation) organization in helping start house churches,
3) a connection with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to help line up baseball players and organize baseball clinics,
4) The BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) will recommend a three to five year partnership with the Venezuelan Baptist Convention...a group of BGCT representatives are in Venezuela this week (June 16-23) to meet with churches and pastors across the country,
5) orientation and training of pastors has been set up for June 30, September 29, and November 24...Buck, Kerry & Diane, and Gail will travel to Caracas to meet with these groups June 28-30.

Additional prayer requests include
1) acquiring a sea container big enough to ship the 50,000 New Testaments and a truck to haul them to port,
2) getting the contract to use the 25,000 seat stadium,
3) lining up six to ten professional baseball players who will share their testimony on TV and at the stadium each night,
4) raising funds for the crusade, estimated at $500,000,
5) asking God to speak to President Hugo Chavez and to his spiritual needs,
6) asking God for volunteers who are willing to go and do house to house witnessing during the weeks of January 20 - February 3, 2008.

A Report on the Crusade in Puerta Ayacucho ~ April 9-16, 2006

2007-07-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

The following is a report I wrote on our return last year following our city-wide crusade in Puerto Ayacucho. On our layover in Caracas following the crusade week, we had dinner with Jacobo and Sarah Garcia. Jacobo is head of the Evangelism division of the Venezuela Baptist Convention. He asked us at that time if we would consider doing the same type of crusade in the capital city of Caracas in 2008...hence the birth of another dream...the dream of 'La Cruzada para Valores Familiares' (The Crusade for Family Values) to be held January 31-February 3, 2008

Thirteen of us arrived in Puerto Ayacucho on the 7th of April, ready to begin the experience of a lifetime. God’s power was demonstrated through each and every one who went…some preached, some sang, some translated, all shared their faith and saw people come to receive Christ in their hearts. The first part of the week our team divided into five teams to work with the five local churches. Revival services were held at night and visitation during the day. By Wednesday night close to 200 new believers were brought into the Kingdom.

On Wednesday, two more arrived to add to the team…Dr. Richard Jackson and his friend, Mickey Eddins. On Thursday, Larry Shotwell left to return home to San Angelo.

Larry Shotwell led a seminar on the basics of Sunday School on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings at the Bible Institute there in Puerto Ayacucho. He had about 70 church leaders attend his classes. Many of the churches have Sunday School for children, but only a few have Bible study classes for adults.

Larry Rice, a retired music missionary to Venezuela who now resides in South Carolina, taught classes in Baptist Doctrine. He had about 25-30 in his classes which also met in the Bible Institute.

Kerry and I were assigned to the Puinave church which actually serves not only the Puinave tribe, but three or four other tribes as well. Kerry preached, Esperanza (a friend of my mom’s from Odessa) translated, and I sang. I even sang in Spanish! There were at least 200 there every night…one night there were more people outside than inside! The little church building will hold about 200 packed in, one side is crude benches and the other side is set up with plastic patio-style chairs. We saw many come to know Christ…one lady for whom they had been praying for three years! Her sons were already believers and leaders in the church. What rejoicing there was that night! Two different pastors came and wanted to align their churches with the Baptist association there in Puerto Ayacucho…one from the Jecuana tribe and the other from a Puinave group across the river in Colombia! This little church is very mission-minded and has 22 missionaries who go deep in the jungle on both sides of the river to the villages to spread the gospel. Tribal leaders who become believers then come back to the city to be discipled and taught how to share Christ with the rest of their village.

The crusade started Thursday night. It was so exciting to see our vision being fulfilled. The Holy Spirit was definitely in our midst. There were about 5000-6000 in attendance every night. Each night there were about 30-35 buses which went out to the villages to bring in people. Ten additional buses were added the last night of the crusade. It was exciting to see the buses pull up to the gates of the Concha Acustica, bringing hundreds of villagers to the crusade. Many people traveled hours by road and by river to come.

Dr. Jackson preached simple, to-the-point, evangelistic sermons. The gentleman translating for him, Ladimiro Urdaneta, is head of the Linguistics Department at the university in Caracas. The two men worked wonderfully together in their preaching. Hundreds came to the front each night…many of them making professions of faith, some rededications, some just wanting a Bible. Almost 1000 were registered as having prayed to receive Christ. We know there were hundreds more that did not get registered because there was a shortage of counselors. We just pray that whoever brought them to the crusade follows through with them and/or they begin attending one of the churches so the church can follow through. We know that some came forward only to receive a Bible, but at least God´s Word is going out. It is our prayer that there be at least one person saved for every New Testament that was given out.

In addition to being able to share the Good News to 5000-6000 every night at the crusade, thousands more were hearing it on the radio! A radio announcer drove 7 hours to come and broadcast for 3 hours every night of the crusade! A wonderful Christian man, the announcer interviewed people before and after in addition to broadcasting the service.

Thousands of New Testaments were given out throughout the city and surrounding villages and deep into the jungles. There were five teams of local people who were working in the jungle during the week while we were working in the city. They shared the Gospel with almost 700 people, distributed almost 500 New Testaments and 400 tracts, had 134 professions of faith and 69 rededications.

Almost 200 believers from all over Venezuela came to Puerto Ayacucho to help the churches in their revivals and with the crusade. Some led music in the churches, some worked with the children, and almost all helped in the daily visitation and witnessing.

God answered all our prayers, and then some! The radio broadcast was a complete surprise to us…but not to God! The team stayed healthy…no one got sick or hurt, travel was uneventful (aside from the usual Venezuelan delays), new friends were made, a unified effort was accomplished. The weather was not a problem…the first night of the crusade (in an outdoor setting), storm clouds gathered, but parted around us in that part of the city. The second day, it rained in the early afternoon, but cleared by evening. The third day was overcast but no rain. The last night, it rained heavily just before the crusade began (causing a late start) and then lessened to a light sprinkle, but the people still came. We had as many, maybe more, as on the other nights! Friday night all the power went out during the middle of the service (right after I sang!)…the entire area was out, the people remained calm, the worship leader led the group in songs while we prayed and waited for a generator to be hooked up…God answered our prayers and the power came back on before they could get the generator out! It was so exciting to see God working in so many ways…so often we pray, only halfway expecting an answer, and then are surprised when He answers! It was different this time…we prayed, expecting God to do as He promised…use us to share His word with His people in the Venezuelan Amazon. And He did! Hallelujah!

There are still prayers to be prayed…some of the most important work of the crusade is yet to be done…the follow-up and discipleship. Pray for the local pastors and churches to draw in all of those who made professions of faith and show them how to grow in their new life in Christ. Also, many New Testaments will be finding their way into hands of unbelievers both in the city and deep in the jungle. It is our prayer that at least one person will come to know Christ for every New Testament that has been given out. The Bibles are marked with scriptures leading the way to salvation. Dr. Jackson designed and marked them as if he (or anyone else) were sitting down with the person, leading them through the scriptures, leading them to know Christ.

Our 10 days in Venezuela were definitely a time to be remembered…one of those rare times when you find out what God is doing and jump on board. He blessed each one of us by allowing us to be a part of His work. And we thank all of you for your prayers and concern. You may not have made the trip with us, but we could not have done it without you, our family and friends, supporting us.

We love you….and it’s great to be back home!
Kerry & Diane