Brett preaching the Word

Kirsten singing with the praise band-

Freddie is singing beside her

Dance ministry on our last Sunday

Last blog from Venezuela

July 18, 2008

Dani Rupp




When I first arrived in Venezuela, back in November, I noticed a man who spent a lot of time at the church. His wife was involved with the dance ministry and Freddie often came with her. But he never looked happy and seemed distant…angry. He would sit at the drum set and play but wouldn’t really interact with anyone. I was confused. “Who is this guy and why does he keep coming to the church if it makes him so miserable?” But God was working in his heart. One of the first Sundays we attended church at Shalom, Freddie went up front to accept Christ. He fell down to his knees, weeping…a man completely broken before God. It was a powerful scene to witness, and though I didn’t really know him yet, I felt tears rolling down my face as Freddie accepted Christ as his personal Savior.
Fast forward 8 months. This past Sunday, our last one at Shalom, I was remembering Freddie’s story and the amazing ways that God has transformed his life. You see, instead of the angry man banging on the drums was a man up front singing with the worship team and praising God with his whole heart. In place of the man who wasn’t a Christian when we first arrived was a man who helped serve communion with his wife this past Sunday. Freddie is one of the friendliest guys I’ve met in Venezuela. He always makes sure to greet and tease you about something. If the church doors are open, you can almost be sure that Freddie will be there, smiling and ready to learn more about the man who changed his life so completely.
As I reflected about these changes, I was in awe of all the ways God was working not only in Freddie’s life, but in mine, my teammates and other people in the church. In Romans it talks about how the old has gone and the new has come. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this verse so perfectly displayed in so many ways as I have in here in Venezuela.

It was a powerful last Sunday at Shalom. We were in charge of planning the service, and praise the Lord, it went very smoothly. Kirsten sang with the worship team and Brett preached an amazing sermon, in Spanish, the Holy Spirit used us in ways we never could have imagined. We each shared some reflections from our time here. The worship team surprised us by singing “Open the Eyes of my Heart” in English. There was a slideshow of pictures with laughter, and a time of prayer and good-byes with tears. The pastors, leaders and congregation of Shalom have been such a blessing to my team and me. We might have a different nationality and skin color, but they have welcomed us in like family, like we’re one of them…teaching us, praying for us, loving and encouraging us, including us in all they do…the list could go on and on. The connections I have made will be hard to leave, but even if I never make it back to visit my new family, I look forward to the reunion I’ll have with my brothers and sisters when we get to heaven. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

Praises
God's presence in Venezuela, in Shalom and in our lives
An incredible 8 months of learning, growing and serving
Prayer Requests
Saying good bye to this chapter in our lives
We leave tomorrow for the airport at 4:30 am and arrive in Philly around midnight- pray for health and safety

Trusting in the Lord

Kirsten Miller
Posted July 9, 2008
Alyse arrived safely in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, June 25, and she is resting at home. She still has pressure on her brain and the doctors aren’t sure of the reason yet. The doctors are doing further testing for her. Please pray for spiritual protection, guidance and direction with her situation.

Prayer requests…
-restored health for Alyse…spiritual protection, spiritual guidance and discernment
-God’s grace for the rest of our team to be present & engaged here in Venezuela, the desire to serve here with eyes open to the Lord’s work
-God’s guidance and direction in finishing our work here

In the midst of the past few weeks, our team has experienced a lot of unknowns, questions, unexpected events and changes. When Brett, Jeremy, Dani and I were traveling back to Charallave from Puerto Ayacucho, with two days notice to be leaving there two weeks earlier than expected…I was journaling and processing some of the recent events. I want to share part of a prayer that I journaled…
“Lord, I don’t know what the future holds—whether or not we’ll go back to Puerto Ayacucho—if we’ll finish our time in Venezuela with five or six people—what will happen with Alyse’s health—but it’s these times of uncertainty that bring us to recognize that our Father holds in His hands all the POWER that our desperate hands are grasping to reach…to recognize that while we’re running around like crazy trying to put the world in order—He has already designed the perfect plans for us and longs to share them with us.
There is a reason that He holds all the power in His hands…He is the Father God who longs for all the people He created to become His children. The plans He has designed hold His BEST for His children (Gal. 4:6-7). He has plans to bring each one of us closer to Himself and fill us with His love (Jeremiah 29:11). So—as I sit and wonder how God may direct us and where He may take us—I must not allow myself to get swept up into the unknowns…but instead to remember that I am held in the palms of the hands of the One who knows me inside and out, and is ready to guide me along the paths He has for me. I find rest in knowing that He will fulfill the plans He has for me—in His time and as He desires (Psalms 138:8), as I seek wholeheartedly after Him. We all walk through trials and hard times…but with Him—the fires will not burn us, the deep waters will not overcome us, our hardships will not leave us defeated! (Isaiah 43:1-7!)
I am trusting that God has completed His plans for our team in Puerto Ayacucho, and that He will complete the plans He has for us in Venezuela during our last two weeks here. Wherever He takes us and however He leads us—we will be carried in the palm of His hand. Thank You, Jesus.”

We now know the answers to some of the unknowns that I wrote about, but we will always live with unknowns in this world, and that calls for us to trust in the Lord. May we join together today in trusting in the Lord.
-Love, Kirsten Miller for the Venezuela Team

Baptism in the jungle

Kasabi bread

Walking through the open plains toward the baptism site.

Entering the Venezuelan jungle.

One of the homes of an indigenous family

Swimming in a nearby river. The canoe is made from a hallowed out tree.

Roberto, Pastor Carlos, and Brett conducting the baptism ritual.

This hand-woven basket is used to collect yuca plants. As you can see, majority of the weight rests on the head.


Piling into the cattletrucks to return to the city.

Baptism in the Venezuelan jungle

Cassandra Klingenberg
Baptism - Saturday, July 14
posted Friday, June 26

Leaving two hours after our scheduled time of departure, 50 people from the church piled into cattle trucks for the baptism of eight new believers. We traveled for an hour and a half to a nearby indigenous community, consisting of three families, living in the middle of nowhere. They invited us into their school/home built of grass, mud, sticks, and homemade wood planks. Brett, Jeremy, and I wandered around the village, amazed by their simple yet ingenious way of life…drying racks made of sticks, canoes made from hallowed out trees, and outhouse walls made from palm branches. I felt like I had stepped back in time, a time where the land produced not only your own food, but also clothing, shelter, and tools.

As we made our way down to the baptism site, we walked through the remains of a forest that was being cleared for farming, continued on through a wide grassy plain, and then entered into a thick jungle where we could almost smell the anacondas. We came upon a crystal clear stream where the baptisms would be performed. As the congregation gathered on the bank, Pastor Carlos proceeded to take off his prosthetic leg and hobbled into the water assisted by Roberto and Brett, who had been asked moments before to help with the ritual.

One by one, the baptism candidates entered the water and gave a short testimony. Brett and Carlos took turns praying for them and immersing them in the water, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As each of the new believers left the water, they were welcomed by their brothers and sisters in Christ with singing and thanksgiving.

For me, it was my first time to see anyone baptised by immersion in a river, let alone a river in the Venezuelan jungle. The presence of the Lord was there, as it was on the day of my own baptism, but it is a unique image and experience I will always treasure.

Alyse Haldeman

Friday, June 27
Cassie Klingenberg

For the last couple weeks, Alyse has been experiencing headaches and double vision. A week ago Thursday, upon recommendation, we took her to the nuerologist in Puerto Ayachuco. The doctor said she had high pressure in the brain which was causing inflamation in her pupil. He said she needed to return to the U.S. or go to Caracas for a MRI.

Alyse and I took the first flight to Caracas Friday afternoon. Since no hospitals did scheduled exams on the weekend, we took her to the Emergency Room Saturday night. On Monday, it was determined that the headaches and double vision were a medical side effect probably due to pills (malaria and other medications she´d been taking for an infection). The doctor said she needed to refrain from all physical activities and rest for the next few weeks. He said she wouldn´t get the rest she needed in Venezuela and highly recommended she return to the U.S. Alyse was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon and left for the U.S. early Wednesday morning. The doctor requested she do further testing there and take it easy.

The rest of the team left Puerto Ayachuco by bus last Saturday night and arrived in Charallave Sunday morning. We were all able to accompany her to the airport and say good-bye. As you can imagine, there have been alot of sudden changes for our team, and especially for Alyse. Please pray for her as she is adjusting to an early return home and for quick recovery so she can join us for re-entry training in Harrisburg.

In the plains of Amazonas with some people from the church.

the hut

The Hut

Jeremy Spangler
June 12, 2008
Wood, palm branches, and cement form the gathering place, more formally known as the hut by us a as a team, here at the pastoral house in Puerto Ayacucho. There are two houses here in which sixteen people live and most all of the activity comes down to the hut out back.
Along with the sixteen people who live in the two houses, it is where a lot of church activity and fellowship happens outside of Saturday and Sunday. At almost anytime of day the hut is a place where fellowship between believers and non-believers alike come together. The gate out front is constantly opening and closing with the flow of people coming and going. No one ever needs any specific reason to stop by and for sure no reason to call ahead. No one is ever turned away or told that they have to leave. Instead, if anyone is ever there over a meal, whenever that might happen, it will be extended to them as well.
There is no specific event to share with you about the hut that I have in mind, just some generalities. There are often times where prayer will break out for a sick person or someone who needs prayer for any given thing. We have played numerous card games with the youth and lots of joking around. We get to share with each other and learn about each other.
The hut is the gathering place, but it’s what happens in it with the believers and non-believers, the stories and the laughter, the sharing and the prayer, that really makes a difference to anyone- not the hut.
I would post pictures from here in Puerto Ayacucho but am not able to at the time.
Prayer Requests
- Pastor Carlos and his family to have time to spend alone among all the visitors
- unity...in "Centro Apostolico," our team and the body of Christ in Puerto Ayacucho
- focus for my teammates and I for our remaining weeks in Venezuela, but esp. for our time here in Puerto Ayacucho
Praises
- The team unity we have been experiencing
- A once again completely healthy team
- Relationships we have been building over the past two weeks

Amazonas

Hello everyone!
Our team has now been in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas for one week. We spent our first week working on getting used to our new surroundings and seeking God's direction for our time here. We are hoping to come alongside the people of "Centro Apostolico Internacional de Amazonas (the church we're working with)," to further their vision and work with them in reaching out to people. We are planning to focus on teaching drama to the church youth group, teaching English classes, and visiting homes of the people from the church. Dani, Alyse, Jeremy & I are living at the pastor's house and Brett & Cassie are living with a host family from the church--about a 5-minute taxi ride away from us.

The pastor of "Centro Apostolico" is Carlos Arteaga. He helped to found the church five years ago. He has shared his testimony with our team. Nine years ago, he was in an airplane with seven other people flying in the jungle in Amazonas. The plane crashed and five people were killed, including the pilot. Carlos returned to consciousness nine hours after the crash, to find himself with a broken arm, a torn-up hand, part of his scalp missing, and the bottom half of his leg destroyed. He and two other passengers had survived the crash. Three days after the crash, Carlos sent the other two to search for help, and he was left alone in the jungle for eight days, helpless and in great pain. There were many times when Carlos felt completely alone and defeated during this time, but God very clearly reassured Carlos of His presence with him. Some of the hardships that Carlos faced while he was in the jungle: fever; gangrene; animals such as Anacondas, tigers and wild hogs; worms, spiders, and ants covering his wounds. Some of the ways God revealed himself in the jungle: sending two angels to deliver food for Carlos to eat, silencing all the action and noise in the jungle two different times to speak to Carlos, and filling Carlos with the Holy Spirit to guide him in responding to the Anaconda breathing in his face and the tiger in his presence (two different times). There are so many testimonies of God's grace within Carlos' story. But one point that really stuck out to me came at one of Carlos' lowest points in the jungle. Carlos had surrendered his life into the Lord's hands and even told the Lord at one point that he wanted to die. But God brought complete stillness and silence to the jungle…the animals, wind, insects—even the stream running reside him—were stopped and silent before the Lord! And God spoke to Carlos saying, “¿Hijo, si Yo te libre de un avion, como que no voy a librarte (de esta situación)?...¿Si Yo soy el Jesús, el Todopoderoso?” (“Son, if I freed you from a plane, how is it that I’m not going to free you (from this situation)?...if I’m Jesus, the Almighty?”) At this point, Carlos had already seen God’s miraculous hand at work in protecting him, but his vision of God’s great power was clouded by the hardship in front of him. He was losing faith in what God what doing, and the beautiful things God had ahead of Carlos.

I would like to pause at this point in the story to ask if this situation is not something that we can all relate to? Maybe we have never seen God work in ways so obvious and clear as seeing angels…maybe we’ve never heard an audible voice from God…but I know that God has worked and is continuing to work in the lives of each and every person on this earth—whether it’s visible to us or not. How often do we forget the work He has done, the way He has revealed Himself to us…and become overwhelmed by the situation in front of us, become scared of the path ahead of us? I’m not placing guilt on anyone for feeling fear or pain or anxiety…I feel those things all the time. I am just challenging myself, and you, to remember the power of God’s almighty hand—the power that no one and nothing can change. I am challenging us to remember the ways that God has shown Himself in our lives—He brought us into this world, He placed His gifts in each one of us, and has plans for every person. As we grow in recognizing more deeply the power God holds and the love He has for us, we will grow in the act of faith that it takes to place our lives in God’s hands, allowing Him to guide our way.

By God’s grace, Carlos endured his eleven days in the jungle after the crash. Then he was rescued by a search team. He was taken to a hospital in Caracas, where he spent nine months recuperating. The doctors repaired his arm and hand, amputated his right leg just below the knee, and put a steel plate covered by a skin graft over his head wound. Now, nine years later, Carlos is still filled with the passion of God and is sharing his testimony of what God has done for him.

Prayer Requests....
-unity...in "Centro Apostolico," our team and the body of Christ in Puerto Ayacucho
-guidance and spiritual protection for our team
-God's vision and passion for the church here, along with our team
-energy to engage with the people and the culture here
-focus for my teammates and I for our remaining six weeks in Venezuela, but esp. for our time here in Puerto Ayacucho

Praises....
-safe travels to arrive in Puerto Ayacucho one week ago
-God's provisions and people here to welcome us
-the team unity we have felt

…may God bless each and every one of you.

--Love, Kirsten Miller

Veiw from the top of Cold Water
Brett and Sergio discussing religion

Gran Sabana, and the tepuys

Spirituality in the Lost World
by Brett Klingenberg
Carefully we walked barefoot through the shallows, one eye on our guide, Sergio, and another on the slippery rock below. As we neared the top of the falls, our senses were filled with the beauty of the Great Savanna - an immense sea of rolling green hills, valleys of scattered palm trees, and the ocasional glimpse of the mystical tepuy´s – gigantic flat topped mountains found nowhere else on earth.
We were only on the first leg of our two day tour of the Great Savanna, located in southern Venezuela, and already I was beginning to understand why the local town of 17,000 had a Hindu congregation, Buddist and Mormon temple, and several UFO sightings...this place brings out the spiritual side of life.
The next day as Sergio and I sat visiting underneath another perfect waterfall, I in my swimsuit and he in his underwear, he began to speak about how his entire family is Christian, but he is not. When I asked why, he explained that he likes to take the best of all religions, combine them, and seek to live a good life. He said he likes Buddism and Christianity, and reads the Bible a lot. He said he believes in forgiveness, and that being able to forgive the people who hurt you is the path to a fulfilling life. I couldn´t disagree. Then he said that it´s not just what you know about faith, it´s also about feeling it. "And living it," I added. I told him about my desire not only to know Jesus, but live out his commands and teachings. I mentioned how some of the men of the Mennonite Church had refused to go into the military because they desired to live out Jesus words to love without exception, and how some of them were persecuted and even killed in prison; how my own father had refused to fight in Vietnam and instead chose to serve in a hospital. I also mentioned my calling to be a pastor and how this was leading my wife and I to attend seminary and follow the Lord´s call wherever it may be. Then we changed the subject.
Did I evangelize? Did I do enough to point him to God? I think so. But I think more than these words, it was how our team interacted together...how we had fun, marveled at the land, and treated each other with kindness...that was what stuck out the most to Sergio, something he voiced more than once. I am finding that being a good listener is the key to witnessing - something Jesus taught, and that if our team had not been an example of Christian community, nothing I said would have had any weight. You´ve got to live the call.
Prayer Requests: That the Lord will empower us and lead us without fear into the Amazonas on Saturday, where we will live for a month.
That we will not be afraid when we encounter spiritual warfare, and that we will be bold in claiming the victory of Christ.
Praises - We were meant for an 8 month term, and already our team is beginning to bear even greater fruit in terms of unity, the desire to serve, and becoming completely immersed and present in Venezuela.

Good morning America!

Its almost nine in the morning in Charallave and already I'm sweating and frankly, smell bad. The days and nights are pretty much always incredibly hot but we are now entering the rainy season so now things are wet and hot. Somehow the rain does not cool the temperature and the heat doesn't dry anything. I did laundry yesterday and now have clean clothes, unfortunately none of them are dry and my host mother said I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow. Might as well wear dirty ones, I'm going to sweat through them anyway.

My team returned to Charallave last saturday from niños de la luz. It was incredibly hard to leave these boys with whom we had built relationships and will always have a foothold in our hearts. The boys come from various situations: most have parents, only their parents cannot support them, they do not know where their parents are, the parents have drug or alcohol addictions or missing mental facilities. The boys have been in and out of group homes and the streets of Caracas. As a result, a few do not know how to read or even know their alphabet. The farm on which niños is located has a small school for the boys who are too far behind to go to real school, but there is no teacher. In our six weeks at the farm, we taught school. Praise God! One boy, who struggles with retaining information and is 11, now knows his alaphabet and simple math and substraction! Another boy, can read simple sentences! We saw incredible growth in these boys while we were there, but it took a lot of time, perseverance and pouring into these boys. Pray for a teacher for these boys. Unfortunately, the host parents are either exhausted from the time they have dedicated to these kids or are fairly new and untrained. So a lot of things fall between the cracks of complete exhaustion and inexperience. All I want for those boys, is that they would be able to just be boys but circumstances have not allowed that. Niños de la Luz is an awesome ministry but they need help. There are three houses: El Camino, Manatial and Esperanza. Pray for them. There are three sets of host parents (called uncles and aunts by the kids): Omar and Josephina, Jose and Mirtha, and Soltela. Pray for rejuvenation of their bodies and minds. Also please pray for more staff. At one time there used to be six sets of aunts and uncles, that would rotate when one set needed time off. Please pray for them, your brothers and sisters in christ.

Only through the love of God above,

Alyse Haldeman

Praises:

- For the time we spent with the boys at the farm. For what we learned and what we taught them.

Prayer requests:

- For the needs of Niños de la Luz

-We are leaving for Brazil this coming monday to renew our visas. Then at the end of May until the beginning of July, we are going to be in the Amazonas. Please pray that God will prepare the way for us and go before us. Especially with all the fish (including eyes and heads), yuca (otherwise known as yucka), monkey brain and snake (don't worry, I think these were jokes) that we are going to eat.

Leading evening devotional singing Girls night
The boys, staff, and yes team at ninos de la luz

Boys from the farm helping to clear land for corn. It was always a good activity for them when they got restless.
Cassie helping teach multiplication to one of the boys
Brett accompanying the boys as they sang spanish worship songs and played homeade drums
Jeremy gathering the morning eggs

When a Park Bench is Your Bed

By Dani Rupp

As dusk set in over Plaza Altimira in Caracas, the neon green vest of a policeman caught my eye.
"Give me what's in your hand, " the policeman demanded to a young teenage street boy, dressed in raggedy clothes and no shoes.
"No," the fiesty boy responded, struggling to get away from the authorites. Despite his small size he held is own.
"Give it to me!" the policeman ordered again.
Again the boy refused, a wild, glazed look in his eyes.
The policeman grabbed the boy's hand tighter and the teen finally relented, giving up two small white pills. The boy, still agressive, walked angrily way, shouting threats and obsenities.
"Wow, he's usually not like that," one volunteer for Contactos de la Calle (Contacts in the Streets) sadly obsereved. "He's usually well mannered and calm, but tonight he's high."

This was my first encounter with a boy living on the streets of Caracas. Last Friday night Brett, Cassie and I had the opportunity to go out with Contactos de la Calle, an organization that pairs up with Niños de la Luz to help kids on the street. We me up with about ten Venezuelans and split into three groups to hit different parts of the city. After buying bread and pop to hand out to the kids, my group headed out. Besides the boy mentioned above, the plaza was mostly vacant of kids, as the presence of the police scared them away. We kept moving around and over the next hour or so we met up with mostly older teenage boys, talked, ate and prayed with them. It was eye opening to see where some of the boys we work with at Niños probably came from. After seeing kids on the street first hand I have a better idea of how to pray for the boys still living on the street and for the boys living at the farm.

Prayer Requests
* Niños de la Luz- for the boys living there and the staff, especially since they are short on help
* Contactos de la Calle- continued strength in their ministry and for males to volunteer to make going out at night safer
* Kids still on the street
* Our team as we leave Niños, prepare to renew our Visas in Brazil and then head to Amazonas

Praises
* Health and safety
* Connecting with kids and staff at Niños
* All the memories made the past 6 weeks at the farm

Ninos de la Luz

Brothers Joseph (11), Matt (10), and Luke (7) who have lived at Ninos de la Luz for almost two years. (Names of the children have been changed for confidentiality purposes)

Jeremy helping learn the alphabet in the school.

Cassandra Klingenberg
4/14/08

When we moved to Ninos de la Luz, we expected to be busy, but didn’t know with what. Within three days, we realized there was a need to teach at the Esculita, a school on the farm for the boys who are not yet ready to enter the school system. Only weeks before our arrival, the teacher of eight years left. We are serving as substitute teachers until they fill her position. Some of the boys can’t go to the public school because of behavior, learning disabilities, or being academically behind. I’ve been working especially hard with Joseph, age 11, who struggles with identifying numbers, colors, and letters. He’s slowly been progressing as we combine learning the numbers with BINGO, UNO, and flash cards.

Joseph’s dream is to be a pastor one day. Before bed each night, he asks Brett and I to pray for him and his little brother, Luke (7). If we forget, or come in late, he’ll whistle quietly until we come into their room. I’ve never seen a young boy so hungry to pray, sing, and learn scripture. We feel the presence of the Lord is upon him, and believe one day he will be called to be a pastor.

Praises:
-The relationships we have been able to build with the boys
-We have successfully cleaned over 20,000 eggs in the last 3 weeks!

Prayer requests:
-Discernment as we will need to leave the country in a month to renew our passports again.
-Continued energy and strength as we pour into the lives of the boys

Vigilia

Jeremy Spangler
April 1, 2008

Vigilia. What does that mean? Over the months that we have been here, I have learned quite a bit about this word. It is Spanish for wakefulness or vigilance. In our first month here, I had a roommate named Johnny. Johnny said this word to me one evening in a conversation not long after we got here, and I did not know what it was, so I looked it up. I was still confused as to what he was getting at, and over the next month with him I saw what he meant. Johnny works as a plumber with long hours. He would spend the night in the upper room of the church next to our house and he told me he would read and pray until about midnight, then sleep for about three hours and get up and read and pray then go to work at five.
The night of Thursday, April 28, about 120 people from the Shalom Congregation gathered in the front yard Brother Carlos in La Mata, not far from central Charallave to have what was called La Gran Vigilia: Adoremos al Rey (The Great Vigilance: We adore the King). We stayed up through the night praying and worshipping and having theatre and singing contests. It was a lot of loud music, testifying, and passion, all for the King, all night long. The reason for a vigilia on this night was because it is ‘the night’ that Jesus prayed and sought the guidance of God before he was crucified and in the same way we adored the King and sought his guidance through the night.
The one thing I saw through the whole night was love. Love for our King and love for each other, which represents all the more loving our King. It did not matter how someone sang, acted, performed, or anything else, it was known they did it because they loved the King and wanted to adore Him.
The next day I asked Pastor Ceferino about noise annoying the neighbors and he responded, “Ni importa, están acostumbrado.” Which mainly means it does not matter, they are used to it. It is not unusual here for parties to have extremely loud music, which can be heard for blocks and can go for hours into the night. Though we have been here for the time we have, it does not mean that we are used to it though.

Deliverance – by Brett Klingenberg

This past Monday as I slept soundly in my bed above the church sanctuary, Pastor Ceferino was casting out demons below.

Here is the scoop. Pastor Ceferino received a knock on his door around midnight Monday morning. It was urgent. There was a man in town who was possessed by an evil spirit and was going crazy; he had a machete and was threatening to kill his family.

Ceferino said he would meet the man at the church. On the way to the church he passed by the hospital where the friends of the crazy man had brought him to try to calm him with some medication. When the demon inside the man saw Ceferino, it recognized the power of God in him, and caused the man to begin barking like a dog and trying to get away from him. Ceferino told the group to bring the man to the Church.
Once at the church, Ceferino began to preach; first to the friends and family that had accompanied the possessed man, especially the four men who were trying to restrain the one. He told them that he was afraid that once he cast the demon out that it would go into one of them and encouraged them to become Christians in that moment. Apparently everyone accepted Christ at that point. Then Ceferino began to pray that the man would be delivered from the evil spirit. I’m not sure how long it took, but it came out and the man fell to the ground like he was dead. By the way, he commanded it to come out silently so as not to wake us up upstairs. Ceferino told the family not to worry, that he was just sleeping (of course he has done this type of thing many times). After an hour and a half, the man finally came to. He sat up and asked where he was, and after it was explained to him what happened, he accepted Christ.

This is a very short account of the events, but we wanted to share about it because it is just another window into our lives here in Venezuela. The spiritual world is the focus here: from being ‘slain in the spirit’ during worship, to deliverance ministry, to the witch doctor living across the street from us. It has taken a bit to get used to, but now it all seems much more normal and those passages in the Bible where Jesus casts out demons are starting to become more relevant.
On Monday night a handful of people became Christians because they saw first-hand the power of God delivering their friend from evil. And for me, I didn’t even have to see it to believe it.

Prayer requests: Smooth transition as we move to the boys home near Caracas today.
That we would remain connected with the Shalom Church while we are away.
Once again that we can renew our visas within Venezuela.

The Venezuelan Culture

Newsletter #15
Kirsten Miller

Observations of the Venezuelan Culture, as perceived by Kirsten Miller

1. As typical of Latin-American culture as a whole, Venezuelan culture is centered around relationships, rather than time and the accomplishment of tasks. Scheduled times are relative, activities are quickly set aside to spend time with a friend who stops by at your house, and plans seem to be changing continually.
2. Typical greetings: a cheek-to-cheek “air kiss” is used in greetings between girls or a guy and a girl. Guys normally shake hands to greet each other.
3. People are generally very openly affectionate
4. Everybody teases each other…“gorda” and “feo” (fat and ugly) are commonly used terms, in love of course!
5. Many people “point” with their lips
6. Someone wrinkling their nose can be the equivalent of shrugging their shoulders
7. Most Venezuelans have a scar on one arm from a vaccine
8. Red is the color for Chavez and Chavistas, this is important mainly during times of voting or political events
9. People are very generous, giving lots of gifts. The general rule: if someone invites you out to eat, they pay for your food.
10. When someone enters a room where someone is eating a meal, or when two people are eating together, they say “buen provecho” (enjoy your meal).
11. “Dios te bendiga” (God bless you) is a very commonly used phrase—the response from the recipient of the blessing is “Amen.” People can “ask” for a blessing from older, close family members (parents, aunts and uncles) by saying “bendición” (blessing). The response from the elder person is, “Dios te bendiga.”

In other notes…
Starting on March 24, my team and I are planning on relocating for one month, possibly two, to work with a Christian organization that provides homes and families for boys who come from living on the streets in Caracas. The organization is called “Niños de la Luz” and is located in a ranch area in the mountains, on the outskirts of Caracas (http://www.ninosdelaluz.org/). It’s in a pretty secluded area, about a mile away from the closest town. We will be about an hour away from Charallave and, although we’re hoping to, we’re not sure that we’ll get a chance to come back to Charallave during our time with “Niños de la Luz.” There is no internet or phone connection “on the grounds,” so we don’t know yet how much communication with home we’ll have during this time.
The program is set up with fifteen boys ages 5-19, divided into three houses, with three sets of house parents. My team’s biggest role will be to support and provide help for the long-term staff. We will take part in different activities and duties, such as cooking, playing with the kids, work projects on the grounds, and participating in a short Bible study/worship time every night.

Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Oriente

Newsletter -Oriente

Alyse Haldeman

About a week ago, Jeremy, Dani and I returned from a trip to Eastern Venezuela, also known as Oriente. The trip was muy chevere (Venezuelan slang for cool). Early friday morning, (the 29th), the three of us and about thirty others from the church got on a bus to Caracas, and another one then to Oriente. We
took up most of the bus with people and several gigantic trash bags that held supplies for the children's bible school.

Friday night was spent praying, singing and talking (also some last minute planning) about the next day. Jose talked about preparing the way for Jesus, bringing heaven to earth. I kept thinking about the seeds of love, life, freedom and joy we could be planting in hearts of the children the next day. My prayer was that those children would not be so worried with the cares of this world that those seeds would be choked. That those seeds wouldn't be stolen or reasoned away. That their hearts wouldn't be hard but would be ready to receive them and that God could make them grow. We stayed up close to midnight praying and talking, which I normally wouldn't have thought anything about, except we were getting up at 6 the next morning.

It was about midnight when we were all ready for bed. Luckily, I remembered it was Dani's birthday the next day. The other seven girls in the room joined me in a count down to midnight. If everyone hadn't already been awake, we might have had some very grumpy Venezuelans coming to our room. As it was, we only got in trouble twice. The girls in our room were infected with the sleepy haha's and from there on out was plain silliness. The craziness in our room did not end with the admonitions, only became a softer, if possible, even more silly room.

We woke up rather unwillingly around 6 the next morning, ate, got ready and then canvassed the area to invite every child to bible school. For the few houses we went to, tons of children came. I was surprised and also a little overwhelmed. There wasn't much organization for the kids. They didn't have games for the kids to play while they were still setting up. So, along with the help from one of the youth, Rachel, we played duck, duck, goose. Only a few of them knew the game but they caught on rather quick and loved it. It was difficult at first, explaining the game and especially since one of the young boys was both deaf and mute and another had down-syndrome.

We gave all the kids, smilely face white shirts that said, "Yo soy de Jesus" (I am of Jesus). I don't think I've seen more thankful children before. There was so much joy, laughter and smiles. I bet living in such a remote place, those children don't receive much attention or entertainment, they just loved it. I want to go back sometime.

Saturday night was spent with a worship service for the adults. Freddy, Oscar and Eddison all gave their testimonies after Graciela's "sermon." Both Oscar and Eddison had experienced physical healing and Freddy accepted Christ after his wife had been praying for him for a long time. After the service, Charlys, Noemi and I sat around singing and playing the guitar. Eventually other people joined and there was an impromtu worship service. It was broken up, however, by one of Eddison's niece's accepting Christ. The joy was contagious. We prayed for her and she joined our worship service. It was broken up again by a short rain. It was fine, though, because when we moved into the house, another niece accepted Christ. At this point, any last remaining resevor broke. It was joyful mayheim. About 20 people jumping up and down, singing, "Te doy Gloria", I give you the glory.

Praises:

-Brett's family was able to visit us for a week, and blessed us with chocolate, stories, and laughter (i.e. blade of grass).

Prayers:
-La vigilia is on the 20th, which is an annual all night praise, worship, and prayer time with the theme of wakefulness in order to engage in spiritual warfare.

-Ceferino has talked many times of his dreams for the expanision of the church in different ways, i.e. a church van, a building with more classrooms and bigger area for the church. Please pray that money will come, following God's direction.

Colonia Tovar

Newsletter #13
Cassandra Klingenberg

Last Wednesday, the pastors Ceferino and Graciela Quintero, took the team to Colonia Tovar. Colonia Tovar is a little piece of old Germany lost in the Venezuelan cloud forest. This tidy and scenic town of red-tile-roof cabins lies scattered on a mountainside in the Cordillera de la Costa, about 60km west of Caracas (Lonely Planet).

People here don’t seem to travel much. If young couples in the church are able to take a honeymoon, Colonia Tovar is a popular vacation destination, even though it’s only a couple hours away. We have discovered that few people from the church have ever visited Angel Falls (the world’s highest waterfall), Margarita (one of the most well-known island destinations in the Caribbean), or Merida (a hiker’s paradise nestled in the Andean peaks).

For the Quintero’s children, Luz (12) and Brian (8), it was their first time to visit Colonia Tovar. In fact, it may have been their first vacation ever. They were so excited to leave that they woke up at 5:00am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. During our ascent up the mountain, Brain peered out the window the entire time. When we arrived, we walked around looking at souvenir shops and eating the local favorites. Brian’s eyes grew huge as his gaze fell upon a bright red, caramel apple. Although we stayed only a few hours, Brian and Luz had the time of their life.


Why hasn’t the congregation of Shalom seen much of Venezuela, a country boasting five diverse eco-systems? It may be that few people own a car of their own. Although a tank of gas costs only $1.00, a taxi to Colonia Tovar runs between $200-300. Public transportation is more economical, but also very time consuming. The 30 mile trip to Caracas costs $2.00 by bus, but could take up to two hours. With the average income ranging from $10-25 a day, it could be that traveling is a luxury and can’t often be afforded.

Ceferino has spoken about a need for a church van. While he doesn’t own a car of his own, he is more concerned about getting a van for the church than himself. The purpose of the van would be to assist missionaries, pick up visitors from the airport, and continue outreach in the barrios. But in the meantime, irregardless of cost, the Shalom congregation continues to bless us with their time and generosity.
Prayer requests:
English classes that are starting this week
Renewed focus in ministering to the people here

Praises:
Kirsten's family was able to visit and bless our team in many ways

The Visas...

Week 11
Jeremy Spangler

This is with Stanley, our host in Aruba.

After several failing attempts to find a way out of the country before our visas ended, we finally had it…or not. Thursday (14th) evening, we thought we had it, but it slowly fell from our grips, so we had to try again Friday morning and we had everything in place with Brett in Caracas to buy the tickets, and I was in the church office at eight to call the airline. It all went down as planned, and God worked it out for us to get out of the country by the time it needed to happen. Now it is strange to think of God arranging a trip to Aruba in the last minute, but that is the way it happened and we praise God for his mighty hand in it all. We spent four days there getting to know many different parts of the island, seeing God’s beautiful creation, and experiencing His powerful ways many different times. Upon returning to Venezuela everything went great and they are allowing us to be here another ninety days.
Praises
new visas
seeing that God does have a purpose though at times we do not understand it
Prayer
contiunued team unity and strength by God's hand
open and willing hearts to step out and do whatever God may ask

Hodge Podge

Venezuela Update Week #10/#11

By- Dani Rupp

Please excuse the tardiness of this update, as I have found myself to be quite adjusted to the Venezuelan view of time. According to that, I’m still early. Team V has been busy lately with upcoming events. Here’s an overview of what is happening in the land of arepas and beans.
Carnival- Last week was Carnival, a week of parades, parties and vacation. Though we went down to watch some of the parade and had water balloons thrown at us, we did not participate in any of the stereotypical festivities. It is considered a pagan holiday by the church and therefore they discourage attending the local events.
Lent- We did have an Ash Wednesday service as a team. I have never attended an Ash Wednesday service, nor have I ever really understood lent. I always joked that I gave up lent for lent, but Brett talked to us about the history of it and challenged us to think of something to focus on during the 40 days of lent. On Ash Wednesday we all shared our focus and/or sacrifice and had a time of prayer and anointing with ashes. As a team we are striving to encourage and challenge one another with the commitments we made.
Visas- When we came to Venezuela, our team was only able to obtain traveler’s Visas, which are good for 90 days. After a hectic few weeks of trying to figure out if we could renew them in Venezuela, we found out that is not possible and we need to leave the country, renew our Visas in another country, and then reenter Venezuela. Due to timing issues we will be leaving tonight (Friday) and will be back by next Thursday. The past few days have been full of trying to find a cheap place to travel to. It has been stressful and there have been times of anxiety, but we are trusting in God and we know He has a plan. This situation is teaching us to rely completely on Him. Right now we are planning on taking a bus to an airport and then flying to Aruba. Prayers for our upcoming travel plans and our sanity would be appreciated.
Oriente- At the end of February, Alyse, Jeremy and I (Brett and Kirsten will have family here) will be going with the youth from Shalom to the Aguanape (in Southwest/Central region of Venezuela) for a weekend. We will be working with a church there and other than that I do not know many details. I do know the church has been focusing on spiritual warfare a lot in regards to this trip, so I think it is a place that is fairly dark and needs the light of Christ. Please pray for this upcoming ministry opportunity.
Teaching English- March is full with Kirsten’s family going back home after their visit, Brett’s family coming and a few weeks later Cassie’s family arriving. In between the craziness, we are hoping to provide English tutoring, as well as classes, at the church on Saturday mornings. We are still not sure what this will look like, but we are praying about how we can best use this as a ministry opportunity.
Ninos de la Luz- In April we will be living in Caracas for at least a month with an organization called Ninos de la Luz. It is a Christian-run organization located on a ranch that houses and helps kids from the streets. We are excited about this opportunity and the ability to use the gifts God has given our team. Check out their website- www.ninosdelaluz.org
Amazonas- It is looking like we are going to be in the Amazonas, southern Venezuela, for the month of June. We will be living in Puerto Ayacucho and helping a church there with outreach to other tribes in the area. This is an opportunity to join in Shalom’s vision of planting a church there. We have been told that we need to be prepared for experiences with spiritual warfare. Though this is still quite a few months away, please pray for our preparation for this trip.
Prayer Requests:
All of the upcoming events mentioned above
Continued health and safety
Continued healthy team dynamics
Praises
God working out our Visas situation, maybe not in the way we wanted, but His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8)
Upcoming ministry opportunities
Personal, team, and church growth

Black Market Bologna
Brett Klingenberg - February 3
When you live in a country where food is rationed, going to the supermarket is like playing the lottery; you are probably not going to get what you want, but occasionally you get lucky. However, when the stores do have your desired item, you can only buy a limited amount. Last Tuesday, Cassie and I got lucky and found wheat flour, which is being rationed along with bread, rice, milk, and sugar. The store only permits a family to buy two packages at a time, so we did as Venezuelans do and split up, each buying two. It’s not uncommon for a shopper to pull up behind you in line with a cart full of ‘rationed food’ and ask you to buy for them, while at the same time handing you cash behind the conveyer belt. It’s an interesting system.
Milk is also weird. We buy our milk at the bakery, of all places. When we ask for milk, we do so quietly so as not to alert other customers that there is milk here. Then the bakery guy goes over to the fridge and pulls out (no more than two!) cartons of milk. He hides the containers under the counter as he puts them in sacks. I make the exchange; he nods politely, and we casually walk out as if nothing happened; I guess nothing really did happen.
When food is rationed, panic and fear follow. It is interesting to watch people line up hours before the stores open just to get a couple bags of flour.
I have also been affected. When I go to the supermarket I shop as fast as I can, trying to get everything before someone else grabs it. I’ve become more possessive and unwilling to share.
Despite the rations, the people of Shalom continue to show incredible hospitality. Just today the pastors gave us a carton of milk, for no reason. Yesterday we were invited to a birthday party where the hostess made a huge cake. It probably required an entire bag of flour, yet she shared generously. I know God will bless her for that, and it gives me hope that I can change. Jesus said not to worry about what we eat or drink, but it is difficult.
Every Sunday during offering time, people can give food donations that go to the poor of the church. Cassie and I gave a bag of flour today. I’m making progress.

Praises - we are becoming more integrated with the culture

Prayer Requests - Direction for upcoming decisions regarding our ministry

-new desire to break established routines and be willing to be uncomfortable

-visa renewals

A Change of Culture

Kirsten Miller
January 29, 2008
Week #9

One of the adjustments I’ve been experiencing in Venezuela is the clash that results from the United States social culture in me, meeting the social culture of Latin America. Coming from the U.S. culture, it is easy for me to evaluate my days based on how much I have accomplished or completed. The Latin American culture, however, is centered around relationships, rather than time and the accomplishment of tasks. Scheduled times are relative, activities are quickly set aside to spend time with a friend who stops by at your house, and plans seem to be changing continually to accommodate peoples’ needs. In order for me to engage more fully with the people of this culture, I need to learn to hold my time and my plans more loosely in my hands, allowing God to shape them as I go through each day. At times, this means forgetting about the list of things I have waiting to be finished, and just sitting and talking with people. If I’m always caught up in what I want to accomplish and the schedules I have lined up in my head, I am going to miss a lot of opportunities that God has for me. At times, learning this lesson is harder than other times, but I hope to return to the United States reflecting a bit more of the Venezuelan culture and mindset in my life.

Praises:
-general health of the team
-the opportunities and lessons God has brought to us

Prayer Requests:
-continued health and safety
-the renewal of our temporary visas by Feb. 26... we hope to be able to do this inside of the country
-the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives...that God would open and close doors as He desires
-that we would have God's eyes in considering new outreach opportunities
-Shalom: the church congregation and our relationships with them

Newsletter # 7

by Alyse Haldeman

When you hear the words, remodeling, you picture professionals, lots of fancy tools and a generally "clean" job. Well, in Venezuela, you get one out of one out of three. You can hire professionals, unfortunately, everything else depends on what you provide. In my host mother's case, she provided her living room floor to mix all the cement.
So, everyone came over to our house to help Mary Carmen last saturday to lay the bathroom floor. Little did we know, it would be quite the experience. We were under the charge of a man named Daniel, we mixed up cement, carried it to the new bathroom, dumped it, leveled it off, blocked it off and protected it from the cats. All by hand, no machines, only shovels, two tools that I don't know the names of, and elbow grease. The cement was, of course, mixed in our living room. We filled buckets full of dirt and tiny rocks from outside, carried them down steps and dumped it in the middle of the cleared room. We then added sand, cement and water. Lots of water. We got shovels and mixed it. A toss here, a cha-ca, cha-ca there and wa-la, enough cement to cover Miami. Well, our at least our entire living room floor. We filled the buckets previously filled with rocks and dirt with wet cement and carried it to the bathroom. Although the bathroom is only 20 ft. away from the living room, even the boys had trouble getting the buckets there. They were that heavy, Brett said it felt like 300 hundred pounds, mas o menos. We all ended up straddling the buckets and waddling towards the end of the hallway. We eventually made a race out of it. I think we are pretty good about making things fun. When we ran out of cement, (two times), we started the whole process over again. Plu,s when we ran out of dirt and rocks, we had to go down the street and get some more from the mountain of rocks in one lady's court yard and wheel barrow it back to my host mother's, fill the buckets with it, carry it down the steps and unload in the living room, again. I think my real mother would have freaked at the mess.
Mary Carmen and Johanna had lunch ready for us when we finished laying the floor. It was so good. The chicken and rice was AMAZING. I don't know how they make it but I'm sure it involves a lot of grease. With our arms sore and bellies full, we had the pleasure of seeing a nice new, beautifully level bathroom floor.
That day was the start off a very busy week. The Monday afterwards, we started language study, which involves a lot of traveling and many funny moments. We had to get up at 5 in the morning to get on the 30 minute long train ride to Caracas. However, where it ends in Caracas, still involves another hour to hour and 20 minutes of travel. Also, we hardly ever are able to sit, since some Venezuelans believe in running and pushing in front of you, regardless of lines. I guess you can say the same for some Americans though too. After we get off the train into Caracas, we needed to take a short train to the metro station in El Valle, where we can get on another metro that will take us to Plaza Venezuela, which is the central hub-bub of Caracas, where we get on yet another metro to Chacaito and then walk a couple blocks in order to get to our 8:45 class on time. We often feel like we are at the races in Kentucky. As soon as the doors of the metro are open, people race off to get on the their next train, regardless of whether it is leaving in 20 minutes. After all that out-running in front of everyone else and testing strengths by pushing, they are so exhausted, they just want to sit. If you sit and watch in at a metro station, you could probably tell who is not Venezuelan, by who isn't running. I don't have any pictures of the metro or train station because we aren't allowed to take any, or eat, or sit on the floor or run, but they do that anyway.
I think my favorite funny moment was when we were waiting to get on the subway at Plaza Venezuela. An empty train came by, and at that point we knew all bets on lines were off. If you wanted get on, you used any available part of your body to do so. So we were ready...
Apparantly not. We got on the train, only because the momentum behind us pushed us onto it. Which caused several very awkward situations. I felt I was up in everyone's grill around me. I stopped complaining though when I realized I couldn't hold onto anything, so if I fell, I would have a cushion in the people around me. Leave it to me to find the plus side. I am trying to do more and more of that here.
Prayer requests:
-Still for direction, we have ideas for ministry now, but what to do with them
-health and safety as we are traveling so much
Praises:
- We can now walk around with out an escort.
- Our weeks are starting to look full of activites that we are planning, and doing with our group and also with the youth and people from the church
Thanks for your support!

reflections on the fast

Venezuela Team Newsletter #6
Cassandra Klingenberg
1.12.2008

I had never fasted for three days, but at Shalom, the New Year means bringing your first and best to God. So on the morning of January 2nd, we joined church members in the sanctuary to begin a time of fasting. As a church, they pray and seek direction for the coming year. Our team also had the privilege of leading them in singing, dramas, scripture reading, and a message given by Alyse in English and translated by Kirsten into Spanish. The following is a glimpse into how I experienced and observed the Lord working through the people…

Indeed, the Lord met us on this final day of fasting. We began the third morning of fasting with worship and prayer. Hungry and thirsty, we laid it all before the Lord, knowing only he could quench the emptiness we felt inside. While lifting up our voices in praise, Edison, the worship leader began praying. As the passion in his voice grew, the music also climaxed in intensity and volume. Then un-expectantly, his voice began to break and he cried out, sobbing as he prayed. He lowered himself to the ground and fell on his knees, face-down before the Lord. The music softened and the Holy Spirit seemed to pour Himself out upon all who gathered. The members of the band stopped playing altogether and joined the others for a time of silence.

As I looked around the room, the congregation was on their knees, their faces to the ground. Some were standing with their arms wide open. Others were sitting on their chairs, waiting expectantly for the Lord to meet them there. I glance up to the very front of the room and see pastor Ceferino kneeling in front of his chair, hands folded in reverent prayer.

“Lord, you are here. You are in this place. I can feel your presence; it is so close I could reach out and touch it. It is silent. Lord, something is drawing me in. I don’t want to leave this place of peace within. You can feel the brokenness in the air as your children cry out to you, longing to be filled with your presence, prostrating themselves before you, Father. I see your body, broken, humbled, and loved.”

Bringing in the New Year

Venezuela Team Newsletter #5
Jeremy Spangler
January 4, 2008

The festivities in Charallave for welcoming in the New Year had long since started when ours began with some of the members of the church around 9:30 PM. There was a lot of noise being made throughout the city all afternoon, and even here at the church. We have come to be somewhat acquainted to the way they do things here, so we were not so concerned about the night starting any too quickly. So we were prepared for a late night and to say the least it was. We didn’t even start to think about starting the grill until after ten in the evening. Even making the food was a relational thing. We spent the evening getting to know some of the people here better and joking with them.
About eleven in the evening Kirsten was going to return to her home to spend the rest of the night with her family. Since it was dark, a small group of us walked with her back to her house. I was expecting to go there and return to the church right away, but her host mom, Carolina, met us at the door with other plans. She said to us, “Pase” as to pass through and enter her house. We were standing there and Kirsten’s host parents, Carolina and Julio, asked us if we wanted to eat with them. They already seemed determined that this was going to happen. The table was already set with traditional Venezuelan food, some of which was hallacas, a potato salad (sounds Mennonite), and pan de jamon or ham bread. We were all smiling and laughing and I was surprised by this turn of events. They finally did convince us though to sit down and eat with them. I was so amazed at their hospitality and how welcoming they were to these unexpected guests. One of Kirsten’s sisters, Kristian said ‘Buen Provecho,’ which means good appetite more or less, and we all dug into the delicious Venezuelan meal before us. We did not spend much time with them, but through the time we did I was blessed and humbled by their welcoming and servant hearts. We returned to the church to bring in the new year with a scripture and a passionate prayer in thanks for what God has done in the past year and will do in 2008.
Then the fireworks really started. Some were set of from our place at the church, and others set off all over the city. By 12:30 A.M. there was a cloud of smoke hanging over the city from all the noise making fireworks. We fell asleep on Tuesday morning to the sound of them continuing steady.

Prayer Requests

• patience with our current spanish abilities
• continued understanding of our purpose with the Shalom congregation
  

Praises

• The 3 day fast with the church and the way we saw God work through it.