As a hen gathers her brood

I came to Venezuela as a volunteer for the Tierra de Gracia agricultural mission in the eastern state of Monagas. This was a working farm with three goals:

1. Generate revenue to support a pastor for small rural parishes in an economically depressed area.
2. Help the people improve their skills to find higher-paying agricultural jobs. 
3. Encourage them to grow as much of their own food as possible. 

After Luz Maria and I were married, we both lived in Monagas and were involved with the Tierra de Gracia mission for about a year. We lived on the farm where one of our chores was caring for a flock of chickens. Many people in the surrounding area were eager to buy eggs and chicken straight from the farm.

Late in 2004 we returned to Luz Maria's property in the western state of Barinas and start our own mission there. This was a parcel of land where Luz Maria had planted many fruit trees in the 1990s. We learned a lot working with former missionaries, Dale and Sandra Saville, But since we envisioned our mission as a center for Christian education, at first we did not expect what we learned about agriculture in Monagas to be as important as it has become.

Now Venezuela is going through the worst economic crisis it has faced in decades. With oil prices at an all-time low, the country is largely unable to import essential food items or medicines. Street protests over the shortages have turned violent, and people have begun ransacking businesses for food. The crisis is severely affecting the country's educational system as teachers and students abandon classes to search for food.

In the face of this crisis, we have planted more food crops on our land, including cassava, eggplants, plantains and papaya, in addition to our orange, grapefruit, avocado and mango trees. We are increasing our flock of chickens to 30 laying hens. Not only is this helping us to support ourselves and provide breakfast every day for 10 to 20 preschool children, but we are sharing our extra produce with neighbors, and incorporating gardening and raising backyard chickens into our preschool activities.

Above all, we are trusting in the Lord's providence to sustain us through hard times. We are teaching this to the children as well. In telling them the story of Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, I emphasized that here was a family that had to deal with a food shortage, as many do in Venezuela today. The Lord helped them through this crisis, and later, even when all the men in the family died, God did not desert the two women who placed their trust in Him. Ruth was able to support herself and Naomi by gathering grain that the harvest crews left in the field. Then God blessed her with a new husband, Boaz, and children who would form the lineage of King David and our Lord Jesus Himself.

"The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:12

With these words, Boaz praises Ruth, who had gone out into the fields to gather the remains of the grain harvest for herself and Naomi, not only  for her devotion to her mother-in-law, but also for her faith in the God of Israel who had determined Ruth’s course. These words are echoed in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34, where Jesus compares His concern for the people of Jerusalem to a hen gathering her brood under her wings. These New Testament verses are the only direct references to chickens in the canonical Scriptures. The apocryphal book of 2 Esdras 1:30 describes God as saying to the unheeding children of Israel, “I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence.”

Old Testament references to "fatted fowl", such as 1 Kings 4:23, could mean pigeons or geese. Chickens are believed to have been domesticated in India around 2,000 B.C.  They appeared in Egypt before the 14th cent. B.C., so the Israelites may have known of chickens before the Exodus, and there is a remote possibility that chickens came to Palestine from Egypt. The earliest archeological evidence from Palestine so far is a seal showing a fighting cock, found at Tell el-Nasbeh, c. 600 B.C.

In Deuteronomy 32:11, Moses compares God's love and mercy toward His people to a mother eagle gathering its chicks under its wings. This passage also is echoed in Christ's call for the people of Jerusalm to repent of their sins in Matthew and Mark, an example of how the promise of God's care for those who seek refuge in Him is repeated throughout the Old and New Testaments.




Nuestro Proyecto Agrícola from David Ernst on Vimeo.

Alonso Franco joins us as vicar

Alonso Franco was installed as vicar at Corpus Christi Lutheran Church on Sunday, January 18, 2009. He will serve in Barinas and La Caramuca for three months before being transferred to Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Lutheran Church in Puerto Ordaz.

Alonso led the Service of the Word, Pastor Eduardo Flores preached the sermon, and I led the Service of Holy Communion, with Alonso assisting in the distribution of the sacrament. For the next three months, Alonso will preach at least two Sundays per month and lead Bible studies at Corpus Christi. I will be responsible for reviewing his sermons and Bible studies and lending him whatever counsel and aid he requires.

Alonso's father, Pastor Alcides Franco, served as president of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela for 14 years, and also as pastor of La Santa Trinidad (Holy Trinity) Lutheran Church in Caracas, and La Ascensión ( Ascension) Lutheran Church in San Felix de Guayana before becoming pastor of La Reforma (Reformation) Lutheran Church in the same city.

His older brother, Pastor Jonathan Franco, served for a number of years as leader of the national Lutheran youth organization, and is currently treasurer of the national church. Jonathan also has been chosen to go to Argentina for advanced theological study at Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires. Of course, this means someone else will have to be selected as national church treasurer, but we cross every bridge when we come to it.

We loaned Alonso a microwave oven to use while he stays in the pastoral residence at Corpus Christi. Luz Maria saved up some money and bought the microwave last year, but about that time the wiring in our kitchen died and we have yet to replace that. So up to now we had not even taken the microwave out of the box. I should add that the preschool has its own, separate kitchen where the wiring still is more or less okay.

Luz Maria has been working very hard on completing her thesis for the fifth-level teaching degree. She will finish by the end of this month. However, since the semester does not end until July, she will have to wait until then to receive her degree.

Christian art workshop a success

Twenty-three people attended the Christian art workshop that Luz Maria organized in Caracas on January 9, 2009, including myself, Luz Maria, and Luz Maria's daughters, Yepci and Charli. The emphasis was on visual art (rather than, say, music) in the form of liturgical vestments and paraments, banners, crosses, crucifixes and the like. The attendees included clergy and laypeople from Barquisimeto, Barinas, Maracay, Caracas, Barcelona, Maturin and San Felix de Guayana.

Yoxandris Marcano of Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church in Maturin gave what was perhaps the best presentation. In fact, it was a well-organized PowerPoint presentation highlighting not only her own work, but that of several other members of Cristo Rey. She had stored presentation on a USB flash drive (which are everywhere in Venezuela now, one gigabyte costs about $20 to $25, two gigabytes about $40 to $50). To show it, we used my laptop computer and a projector borrowed from Elsy de Machado (there was no screen, we just used a blank wall).

This may only mean something to my readers who have been to Maturin on short-term mission trips, but Yoxandris is a niece of Dagnys Marcano, who is now married to Pastor Francisco Cabarcas, and Oveida Marcano, former manager of Tierra de Gracia Lutheran Farm. Oveida recently married, but I do not know her husband's name. Yoxandris' father restored the walls and put a new roof on what is not the pastoral residence at Tierra de Gracia. It is rather exciting to have lived in Venezuela onl five years, yet to see already a new generation of leadership emerging within the Lutheran Church of Venezuela.

Yoxandris made the red stoles that were presented to Eduardo Flores, Sergio Maita and myself upon our ordinations. She has also made for me a purple stole for use during the seasons of Advent and Lent, and paraments for our altar in La Caramuca. Our altar consists of a green plastic table about the size of a card table, but without foldable legs. Nevertheless, it looks fairly impressive when covered with the white altar-cloth bearing the alpha and omega symbols in front.

Others who made presentations at the workshop included:

• Natasha Sanchez of La Fortaleza Lutheran Church in Maracay, banners and vestments;
• Luis Miguel Silva, La Fortaleza, wooden crosses and other items crafted from wood and leather;
• Pastor Luis Moya of La Reforma Lutheran Church, San Felix de Guayana, speaking on behalf of his wife, who makes banners and vestments;
• Yepci Santana, Corpus Christi Lutheran Church of Barinas, banners.

In addition, I presented slides of the wrought-iron version of Luther's seal incorporated into the gates of our mission in La Caramuca and the work that inspired it, the windows of Roca de Eternidad (Rock of Ages) Lutheran Church, Quebrada Seca, Monagas. Like many buildings in rural Venezuela, the church in Quebrada Seca does not have glassed windows, but rather ironwork on the outside of the windows to keep out intruders. And the ironwork in every window in Roca de Eternidad has symbols of the Holy Trinity, Baptism, Creation and other themes.

I also showed a picture of the beautiful Advent wreath made for Corpus Christi by Ludy de Tarrazona (the one that caught on fire).

Everyone was excited by the talent and resources on display. There were four major concerns:

1. That Christian art might give members of Lutheran congregations an avenue to use their God-given talents;
2. That promotion of Christian art might preserve Venezuelan folk arts and crafts, which some fear are in danger of disappearing;
3. That artistic expression through liturgical tradition might help the Lutheran Church of Venezuela develop a distinctive identity in Venezuela and a sense of solidarity with other confessional Lutheran church-bodies throughout the world.
4. That liturgical art might serve to express and teach Lutheran doctrine.

Workshop participants favored the inclusion of formal art courses in the curriculum of the Juan de Frias Theological Institute and the formation of committees to promote Christian art in every congregation.

International perspective on abortion

This week marks a definite regime change in the United States as well as the 36^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion on demand. Exit George W. Bush, whose record shows him to have been the most pro-life President so far, and enter Barack Obama, who at the very least promises to be the most pro-abortion President ever.

Here is an on-line chart which shows the status of abortion laws in nearly every country in the world as of 2007. You may notice that while abortion on demand tends to be the rule in the United States and Europe, Latin America is something of a mixed bag. Here in Venezuela, abortion is only legal in situations where the life of the prospective mother might be endangered by bringing the baby to term. Neighboring Colombia is more permissive in regard to abortion than Venezuela (although I am told pious, practicing Roman Catholics are more common there), but more restrictive than the United States. Direct abortion is illegal under any circumstances in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Chile, although the Chilean government in 2006 authorized the sale of the abortifacient "morning-after" birth control pill.

This Sunday Bolivians will vote on a new constitution that, if ratified, would throw open the door to elective abortion. Please pray for Bolivia and also for other nations that are under pressure to change pro-life stands.

Please pray also for the United States and other nations that, hardened in sin, refuse to recognize the sanctity of human life and marriage, and the rights of the unborn, that they may repent before judgment falls.

Gates of beauty

Open now thy gates of beauty,
Zion, let me enter there,
Where my soul in joyful duty
Waits for Him Who answers prayer.
Oh, how blessèd is this place,
Filled with solace, light and grace!

These words comprise the first verse of Catherine Winkworth's translation
of an 18th Century German hymn based on Psalm 100. During her lifetime (1827-1878), Winkworth translated more than 80 German "chorales" dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries for use in the Church of England. Her work has never been equaled and her translations are well-known not only to Anglicans, but also to English-speaking Lutherans around the world. She is credited with introducing a distinctively German musical form to a culture shaped by the English language. Winkworth also had 44 of her original poems published (in English), as well as two books documenting the foundation of mission work among the poor. The daughter of a wealthy textile mill owner, she herself was involved in charitable work among the disadvantaged in Victorian England and was a tireless advocate of higher education for women.

"Open now thy gates of beauty" ran through my mind as I gazed upon the newly installed gates to our mission. God willing, this will be a place of His solace, light and grace. There are three gates, one large one for vehicles and large groups of people, and two smaller ones for normal entrance from the street. All three incorporate Luther's seal (the
cross inside a heart inside a rose) as part of their design. The plan was to have Luther's seal on only one gate, but the man who did the ironwork was really taken with the design. Luz María was at pains to explain to him that the seal is not just a decoration, but is meant to identify who we are and what we believe.

Recently Luz María ran across a new community profile of La Caramuca that someone had printed up. Under the "Religion" heading, it said that there were two churches in La Caramuca, one being the Roman Catholic church on the plaza and the other being "Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones" ("Christ For All The Nations"). The second one would be our mission, because we dutifully distribute tracts printed by CPTLN, the Spanish arm of Lutheran Hour International Ministries. CPTLN has been broadcasting on Venezuelan radio and television since the 1940s and the phrase "Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones" is a familiar one, but CPTLN is not as strongly associated in people's minds with the Lutheran Church of Venezuela as we might like.

The struggle to establish an identity for the Lutheran Church of Venezuela takes on an added note of seriousness when you consider there is a decidedly non-Christian group active in Venezuela with a history of copying Lutheran symbols. This would be the Rosicrucian Fellowship, which has 20 lodges and chapters across Venezuela, including nearly all the cities where the Lutheran Church of Venezuela has congregations.

"Rosicrucian" is derived from both the Latin and German words for "rosy cross" and it is no accident that the Rosicrucians have an emblem that incorporates both a rose and a cross like Luther's seal.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship is one of those groups that seek esoteric or "hidden" knowledge under a veneer of Christian symbolism and terminology. Invariably such groups deny the sufficiency and clarity of the Bible as the rule of faith and seek a "deeper" source of knowledge.

At first the Rosicrucians claimed to have discovered the "philosopher's stone" (the secret of transmuting metals, especially lead into gold) and the key to physical immortality. Nowadays the Rosicrucians run newspaper ads making more modest promises of health and wealth. The main distinction between the Rosicrucians and other esoteric groups, from the Cathars of the 12th Century all the way back to the Gnostics of the early Christian era, is that the Rosicrucian movement emerged in 17 Century Germany, that is to say, against a background of Lutheran orthodoxy. Imagine, if you will, that the more recent New Age Movement in the United States had started in Wisconsin rather than California.

In fact, one of the founding documents of Rosicrucianism was written byJohann Valentin Andreae, a grandson of Jakob Andreae, one of the signers of the Formula of Concord in 1577 and an editor, along with Martin Chemnitz, of the Book of Concord in 1580. Johann Andreae was something of a wayward youth, having been expelled from the University of Tubingen for playing a practical joke and later flunking his ordination exam at the Stuttgart Consistory. Eventually, however, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor and became quite the respectable citizen. He freely admitted writing in his younger days the document that had come to be associated with Rosicrucianism, but claimed it was intended as a parody of similar writings. Not everyone believed this, and Johann Andreae's name still had enough of an association with the occult for him to be identified as one of the Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion, a "secret" organization actually founded in 1956, but which claimed origins in antiquity. The Priory of Sion was exposed as a hoax by scholars and journalists in the 1960s, but its false claims were asserted to be factual by author Dan Brown in the preface to his notorious novel, The Da Vinci Code.

The Rosicrucians later developed ties with the Masonic Lodge and piggybacked on the movement of Freemasonry throughout the world. As I have written before, the Masonic Lodge also is quite active in Venezuela.

Candles in the dark

On Sunday, October 19, Pastor Adrian Ventura, president of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, visited Barinas. That morning at Corpus Christi Lutheran Church, Eduardo played the guitar, I led the opening Service of the Word, and Pastor Adrian preached and administered the sacrament of Holy Communion. His sermon was excellent, but perhaps the most notable aspect of the service was that as it was underway, Venezuela experienced its third nationwide power blackout in the last six months. The electricity was cut off that morning and for most of the rest of the day.

The church has no air-conditioning, but there are two banks of fans on each side of the sanctuary to provide ventilation. However, these were not working during the blackout. Pastor Adrian and I both were wearing white albs over our regular clothes. Generally Venezuelans handle the tropical heat better than North Americans, but I noticed Pastor Adrian's face also was shining with sweat by the end of the service.

Later that afternoon, Pastor Adrian visited La Caramuca with Eduardo and Armando Ramos, former pastor in residence at Tierra de Gracia Lutheran Farm.

The following day, October 20, we experienced another blackout in the evening. This one was local, affecting only La Caramuca, although that did not make a lot of difference to us. In addition to the three nationwide blackouts, there have been an increasing number of local blackouts nearly every week. Like most developing countries, Venezuela suffers from a lack of
adequate infrastructure (roads, telephone and electrical lines, waterworks). Years of inadequate public investment in infrastructure have resulted in a decaying power grid that is no longer capable of meeting consumer demand.

Nevertheless, despite the lack of electric lights, Luz María and I hosted our regular Monday confirmation class by candlelight. We have five young people who have been faithfully attending confirmation class on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. One of them is Sandro Peréz, the boy
who recently was hospitalized for dengue fever. We thank God that he is completely recovered. Our goal is to have these five confirmed by Pastor Ted Krey on November 2, when he visits Barinas for perhaps the last time before leaving Venezuela for the Dominican Republic.

Three visit the farm

On April 29, 2004, a crowd of people from Maturin, Banco de Acosta, Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca gathered at the farm to welcome our visitors, pastors Jorge Groh and Phil Bickel.

Dr. Groh is the new director of missions in Latin America for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Phil Bickel is missions pastor at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Minnesota, the church that commissioned me to serve in Venezuela. He came as a representative of the Venezuela Lutheran Mission Partnership, a mission society dedicated to working with the Lutheran Church of Venezuela for the evangelization of Venezuela.

I believe both of them were pleased with the number of people who turned out and with the work that has been done on the farm. Pastor Bickel was under the impression that the farm was farther up in the mountains, but no such luck, I am afraid.

Just a few days before they arrived, there was a big grass fire on the farm. No crops were harmed, but the workers were hard-pressed to keep the blaze under control. In the end, however, the fire cleared away a lot of heavy growth and eliminated the need to mow before tilling the land.

But it seems the dry season here may be ending early. The farm has received much rain this week. On Monday, in fact, work had to be called off for the day because the rain was so heavy.

Luz Maria spent a week in Barinas taking a big step of faith. When we were married, she
received six months of paid leave from her job at a preschool in Barinas. She hoped that there would be the opportunity for her to become involved in the farm project and she indeed has become a vital part of it.

Nearly every day she was gone the workers would ask me when she was coming back and one of them said to me, "Señora Luz is a gift to us from God." As I was waiting for the bus to Maturin one day, an old man that I had never met before came walking by and asked me, "Where is the señora?"

However, she has been greatly concerned about providing for her two youngest daughters, Sarai (15) and Charli (18) without the steady paycheck from Barinas. There are plans to support her work as well as that of Armando Ramos as the farm's pastor with revenue generated by the farm as well as contributions to an evangelism fund.

The farm, however, is still about six months away from being a self-supporting enterprise. The main irrigation pump broke down at a critical time for the papàya crop and much revenue was lost due to the drop in production. Also, repairing the pump was a major expense.

Dale Saville estimates the farm needs to gross one million bolivars every week to be self-supporting. Presently it is grossing about one million bolivars per month.

Despite this shortage of funds, Luz Maria has decided to leave her job in Barinas. In part, this is because I promised her that I would provide the $300 per month that she needs for her daughters regardless of whether she received any support from the farm project.

This increases my need for financial support, of course. Any help in this regard would be appreciated. Also please consider contributing to the farm project itself as more workers are needed and much equipment needs to be repaired. Financial support can be sent to:

Venezuelan Lutheran Mission Partnership
3089 Leyland Trail
Woodbury, MN 55125

or

St. Michael's Lutheran Church Venezuelan Ministry Fund
9201 Normandale Blvd.
Bloomington, MN 55437

And please continue to pray for us. Although we have material needs, these are not the greatest
challenges that we face. Everyone involved in the project has been or is being tested spiritually
by an enemy that knows our every weakness and shortcoming.

This is a place where the roaring lion does not bother to hide his true nature. I am reminded of the words of Jesus to the church in Pergamum in Revelation chapter 2, verse 13: "I know where you live - where Satan has his throne..." (NIV)

In my final lesson in the Gospel according to Matthew course, my instructor, Amichel Ventura, and I discussed the sovereignty of God as it relates to the prevalence of magic and witchcraft in Venezuela. Amichel told me how his grandmother would regularly visit a brujo (wizard or warlock) and he demonstrated for me part of the brujo's ritual for healing the sick. There are many people in Venezuela who prefer a brujo or bruja (witch) to a doctor of medicine.

Every year brujos and brujas from all over Venezuela gather on a mountain in the state of Yaracuy. Maria Lionza, the fertility goddess whose 15-foot-tall statue can be seen from the Caracas freeway, is supposed to live in this mountain. There is great danger, including physical danger, for anyone who visits this mountain during the brujo convention, Michel said.

But the point of my lesson was that the power of God is greater than that of witches and evil spirits, and that those who follow the path of faith and prayer will prevail with His help.

Looking for land crabs

My life will not be complete until I see with my own eyes a live land crab.

A land crab is, as the name implies, a crab that lives on dry land rather than in the water. I had no idea such a thing existed before I came to Venezuela, but a little research tells me land crabs are found throughout the Caribbean region and, in fact, as far north as Florida.

Dale Saville and I found some fragments of a land crab shell on the farm a few months ago. Just two weeks ago, Luz Maria and I found a complete exoskeleton. It looked like the crab was alive, but there wasn't anything inside the shell.

There are many other creepy-crawly things here. We have received a lot of rain recently, and since then I've heard weird wailing cries outside at night. Dale tells me I am probably hearing tree-frogs. There also are iguanas and other types of lizards running around.

Some of the creepy-crawlies are dangerous. Luz Maria encountered a scorpion a short time after we found the land crab skeleton. She immediately whacked it to pieces with her shoe. Okay, first she screamed and then she whacked it to pieces. There are many venomous snakes as well. People here often carry a machete all the time. If they see anything that looks like a snake, it's off with its head in one clean sweep of the machete.

I made myself a machete with some help from Elio Rengel. I found an old blade, oiled and sharpened it, and fashioned a handle from a piece of bamboo. For practice, I tossed a tomato into the air and sliced it into two halves with the machete. I hope I do that well with a snake's head, should the occasion arise.

I feel pretty tough walking around the farm with my machete and Linda, the big German Shepherd-collie mix, by my side. Wherever I go, Linda goes. She does what I tell her to do, too, except when she gets really excited, which is often.

Luz Maria has split the Bible school into two sessions, one for older children on Tuesdays and other for the younger children on Thursdays. Between 30 and 40 children have been attending each session.

We went to Bethel Lutheran Church in Rio Chiquito last Sunday. There was no pastor there this time, but an older fellow named Nicolas Fajardo read from the Bible and played songs on his cuatro (four-stringed Venezuelan guitar).

Getting to Rio Chiquito is rather complicated. We have to take the bus from the farm to a little corner just past the "Rio Chiquito" sign. It takes a little over half an hour, usually, but that's the easy part. The church is seven miles from the highway, so then we need to wait for a "carrito." This is like a taxi, only not as fancy. Somebody drives around in an old beater of a car and picks up passengers until there is absolutely no room left for any more. There is no set schedule for the carritos. It's possible to walk the seven miles, but in the blazing tropical sun that's quite a hike and takes an even longer time. We walked part of the way Sunday, anyway.

It's good exercise.

Living on the farm

We're back on the farm after an eventful week in Caracas. In fact, Luz Maria and I have moved out of an apartment in Maturin and are living on the farm.

There are two reasons for this. First, and most important, is that we are moving forward
with the farm's evangelism program and Luz Maria, who is qualified as a deaconess in the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, is an important part of it. She begins every day with prayer and Bible study for the workers on the farm and is making visits to people in the surrounding communities. Today she is in Quebrada Seca. Later this week she will be teaching Sunday school classes at the farm.

Luz Maria will work closely with the farm's pastor once that position is filled. There are three candidates under consideration. Soon there will be a special account for contributions to the evangelism program.

The other reason we have moved to the farm is the increasing need for security on the property. The farm looks more well-tended and prosperous every day. Unfortunately, that means it is becoming more of a target for thieves. There must be as many people as possible on
the property at all times.

We have already lost a portable irrigation pump due to a security lapse. For the first and only time it was left in the river while not in operation. The workers near the river left for lunch and when they returned, it was gone.

Despite this problem, it is very peaceful here. Compared to the turmoil in Caracas, it's like a
different country here. The protests and marches are something we watch on television, not part of everyday life. While Caracas might be compared to New York City and Washington, D.C., combined, Monagas is Venezuela's answer to Iowa. Maturin is as wild and wicked as Des Moines.
The other day as I was hoeing some weeds in front of the farmhouse, Rafael, an older fellow who is a frequent visitor to the farm, stopped by to talk. He was eager to share his faith in Jesus Christ with me. I asked him if he believed Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world. He said that he did and that because of that fact all who believe have the assurance of eternal life. But Rafael was quick to assure me that he was Roman Catholic, not "evangelical."

In Venezuela, the word "evangelical" means almost anything that isn't Catholic, including non-Christian cults like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Most Venezuelans will tell you that they're Catholic if you ask them, but unlike Rafael have only the vaguest idea of what Jesus' death on the cross might mean. To them, being Catholic means you might have a priest perform a ritual on appropriate occasions and that's about it.

On the other hand, the most common alternative to Catholicism are independent "evangelical" churches that are as far from being Catholic as you could imagine. They rely heavily on emotionalism and subjective experience, have leaders with little or no pastoral training, and often are close to being cults. These churches also impose a lot of rules on their members, such as no drinking, no dancing, and women must wear skirts that fall below the knee. No
makeup, either, ladies.

This is, of course, largely a reaction to the prevalence of alcohol abuse and sexual infidelity in Venezuela and the enormous damage to family relations due to such things. But it also means to the average Venezuelan, the term "evangelical" has the connotation of a religious nut, the kind of person who knocks on your door early in the morning and tells you exactly what kind of fun you can't have.

One has to take all these things into account when sharing one's faith in Venezuela, not putting them down for beliefs that you might not agree with, but affirming them when like Rafael they realize what is truly important. And, of course, pray that more might come to know what "evangelio" or Gospel really means.

Rudy Blank leads Communion services

It was a homecoming of sorts. In August 2002 I traveled to Venezuela for the first time and visited two rural churches in the state of Monagas. On Sunday, February 22, 2004, I returned to Bethel Lutheran Church in Rio Chiquito and Roca de Eternidad (Rock of Ages) Lutheran Church in Quebrada Seca. The occasion was the first Holy Communion services at these churches in nearly five months.

I traveled with Pastor Rudy Blank, who worked in the area as a young Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod missionary in 1963, his wife Ramona, my wife Luz Maria and her daughters, Charli and Sarai, and two members of Cristo Rey Lutheran Church in Maturin, Amichel Ventura and Richard Cartagena.

The churches in Rio Chiquito and Quebrada Seca were established 50 years ago and at one time were flourishing congregations. However, neither church has had a fulltime pastor for 10 to 15 years. Although the faithful still meet for devotions and Bible study, lack of leadership has led to declines in active membership. There are many children who have been baptized but never confirmed, and many children waiting to be baptized.

Some of the rural churches in eastern Venezuela have closed their doors. At San Felix de Caicara, for example, someone now keeps a fighting rooster in the room where Sunday school was once taught. One of the main reasons for this is as the economy of Venezuela has declined, poverty in rural areas has greatly increased and the remaining members of the rural churches can no longer afford to pay fulltime church workers. One of the goals of the Monagas farm project, with which I am involved, is to generate income to support support church work in these areas.

As we started early in the morning for Rio Chiquito, I was reminded of a major challenge for any evangelistic outreach in rural Venezuela: transportation. The roads, I am told, were worse before they were paved, but even now they're not in the best of shape. Many of the rural towns are high up in the mountains and thus geographically isolated. The sign for Rio Chiquito is on the main highway where buses run regularly between Maturin and the resort town of Caripe, but Bethel Lutheran Church is located seven miles from the highway at the other end of a winding secondary road. Fares are low for the buses and other forms of public transportation in Venezuela, but the tradeoff is you can't expect to cover a lot of territory in a short time.

The people were waiting for us in Rio Chiquito. There were about 20 people at the service. Richard led everyone in song with his guitar. There were no other musical instruments. It happened to be the Sunday of the Transfiguration and Pastor Blank preached sermon comparing the Transfiguration with the masks worn during Carnival.

It is the time of Carnaval in Venezuela. Carnaval is celebrated during 40 days before Good Friday. Most businesses shut down for a four-day weekend.There are parades and lots of partying, and people dress up in all kinds of outlandish costumes. Actually, in some cases, "dress up" is not quite the right phrase. Let's just say this year's Superbowl half-time show would not have raised a lot of eyebrows in Venezuela. But, I am told, Carnaval in Venezuela doesn't get as wild and crazy as Carnaval in Brazil.

Anyway, the point of the sermon was that during Carnaval people dress up as characters stronger and more beautiful than they really are. But CarnavLa Iglesia Luterana Betelal is only an illusion and afterward they are still the same people with the same problems. But in the Transfiguration, Christ for a brief time took on His true form and was revealed in His power and glory.

Afterward all of us went to visit the families of the farm's workers from Rio Chiquito. These included Russbelia and Helio Rengel, and Marelis Bolivar.

After stopping for fire-roasted chicken and salad in Guana Guana, we headed for Quebrada Seca in the afternoon. There they hadn't heard we were coming, so Luz Maria and Cruz Rodriguez, one of the mainstays of the Roca de Eternidad congregation, quickly canvassed the area and invited as many people as they could. In the end there were about 12 to 15 people at the service. In the last picture you can see Luz Maria's daughter, Charli, entertaining the children before the service.

We finally made it back to Maturin after nightfall. The carryings-on for Carnival were only getting started unscathed and dry (a favorite pastime during Carnival is throwing water through open windows of slow-moving vehicles, and if you have to maneuver around Carnival activities, you will be driving slowly).

Christmas on the farm

On December 17 we threw a Christmas party for the farm's workers and their families. Counting the children, there were about 60 people there - and this represented only part of all the people whose lives have been touched by the farm project so far. Pastor Adrian Ventura led the group, which was larger than some of the registered congregations in the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, in a devotion on the true meaning of Christmas.

Some of you have asked how they celebrate Christmas in Venezuela. Well, it's obvious many holiday traditions have been imported. Christmas cards for sale often feature snow-covered landscapes. Many holiday displays feature Santa Claus and even Frosty the Snowman. They call him San Nicolas here, but it's still the same guy with a long white beard dressed in a red jumpsuit with white fur trim. There's holiday music on the radio, although it's more likely to be Trini Lopez singing his 1960s hit, "Feliz Navidad," than Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas."

But there is one distinctively Venezuelan Christmas tradition and that's the hallaca. It is kind of like a tamale, but instead of a corn husk, it's wrapped in a leaf from a banana tree. The filling includes three kinds of meat: beef, chicken and pork. Other ingredients vary according to region and the individual tastes of the cook. The hallaca was a featured item on the Christmas party menu along with salad.

The carrots and potatoes in the salad were actually grown on the farm. Luz Maria and I peeled the vegetables the night before - enough for 60 people. Talk about romantic. I also peeled a pineapple for the first time in my life. It was much like peeling the carrots and potatoes, only trickier because of the spines.

Nearly everyone had a good time at the Christmas party. The only exception was Linda, the farm's watchdog, who was tied to a tree for the occasion. She suffered a high degree of canine anxiety because of her inability to thoroughly investigate all the unfamiliar people.

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Back in Maturin

We're back in Maturin after a hectic week in Caracas. I now have a little card stating my visa transeunte is in the works. I should have the actual visa within two months. The visa transeunte is good for one year. At the end of that time, I will be able to apply for a "permanent" visa, good for five years before I have to apply for a renewal.

It's great to be back on the farm and see the incredible amount of work done by the workers. White beans, black beans and corn all have been harvested. Soon the lechosa (papaya) will be ready to harvest. The tomato vines look healthy and are growing steadily. Thanks be to God, the farm has received a considerable amount of rain, reducing the need for irrigation.

Some of the workers have been busy fixing up a house as a dormitory. This will enable more workers to remain on the farm overnight and reduce the need for transportation. It will also augment security, an ever-present need in a country burdened with poverty and a high crime rate. Right now security is provided by the few workers who stay on the farm overnight and by Linda, a large German Shepherd.

Linda means "pretty" in Spanish. Linda likes me. She will bathe in the dirty river water and jump in my lap, confident that I will be overwhelmed by her enhanced body odor (she's right about that). Often she will untie my shoelaces. She thinks this is clever and a lot of fun. She also enjoys biting my arm or leg - not enough to break the skin, just enough to show her affection.

Luz Maria is looking forward to participation in the farm project's evangelistic outreach. She wants to travel to Quebrada Seca with the group of women from Cristo Rey that have meeting with the women there for Bible study two Saturdays per month.

Luz Guerrero, a volunteer sponsored by Woodbury Lutheran Church of Woodbury, Minnesota, had been coordinating this effort. However, Luz returned to her native Colombia to visit her family the last week in October and has not returned. Because of bureaucratic complications with her visa, she has not been able to re-enter Venezuela and her planned one-week vacation in Colombia has been extended indefinitely. We pray that Luz will be able to return and resume teaching English as a second language, but in the meantime Luz Maria hopes to encourage the women of Cristo Rey to continue the Bible studies in Quebrada Seca.

Please pray for continued efforts to help Luz Guerrero return to Maturin and for evangelistic outreach to rural Venezuela.