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