Notes from Venezuela

I recently returned from a visit with our sister church Puerto Seguro (Port Hope) in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.

Puerto Cabello is a port city on the north coast, about 250,000 people. There is every kind of sin imaginable in this city -- like Corinth of old -- and the Gospel of our Lord is active and changing lives! (You can see some nice satellite pictures if you go to maps.google.com and search for "Puerto Cabello, Venezuela")

In addition to visiting with old friends and making new friends, plus the obligatory trip to "la playa," we spent time with the pastor of Puerto Seguro to understand his vision and strategic planning for the next few years. We think there will be plenty of partnership opportunities to build up the church leaders.

I also taught an adult class about Christian friendship (see John 15) using Barnabas as an example. Christian friends help one another stay in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25) by identifying the evidence of the grace of God and encouraging them to remain true to Jesus with all their hearts (Acts 11:23)

One of the funny moments of the trip happened while I was teaching. I mentioned that when Jesus called the disciples His friends, putting them on par with Abraham and Moses, it "knocked their socks off." My translator looked at me, puzzled, and I repeated "knocked their socks off." She went ahead and translated for me (I noticed it took a long time). I found out later that she basically said, "I don't understand this but the disciples must have been wearing socks and Jesus didn't like it. So he knocked off their socks because he was their friend."

Lesson learned -- some colloquialisms just don't translate well!

Visits here remind me of many things:

• In the US I basically live in DisneyWorld compared to the majority of the world.
• Going where the people are -- the ones who need to hear the Gospel -- means I need to overcome fears and get into some uncomfortable situations.
• My personal safety is in the hands of God. (Let me give you an example. There is only one stop light in all of Puerto Cabello. Most intersections in the narrow streets are blind. Most standard driving "rules" are more like suggestions. So driving around Puerto Cabello is like playing a perpetual game of chicken.)
• God gives us personal knowledge to better worship Him, and to serve others. Knowledge which does not lead us into worship and service is trouble.
• God is working all over this world!
• It is sometimes easier to listen to God's voice in a different environment.

God is so good. I am a privileged man to be able to travel, teach, and encourage others!

You can see some pictures from my trip here:
http://www.teachtochangelives.com/VZ