Finally Father's Day and rites of passage

On July 4, 2024, the last day of preschool for the 2023/2024, we celebrated a belated Father’s Day party with the children and their families. Also we highlighted the different regions of Venezuela with examples of their cuisine, music and dance. The opening devotional text for our July 4 celebration was the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The father in the parable represents God the Father, the prodigal son represents the rebel whose rejection of God is obvious, while the eldest son represents those who think they have earned God’s favor by good works. God's forgiveness is granted instantly and fully, without restriction, and with exuberant joy, to the penitent sinner. He also desires the repentance and salvation of the self-righteous. When God reveals himself to us as our heavenly Father, it is a revelation of His love and mercy. This should be considered a model for earthly parents. "And what man is there among you, to whom if his son asks for bread, he will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will give him a snake? If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:9-11). Also, Ephesians 6:4, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” 

A service of thanksgiving

On July 7, the sixth Sunday after Trinity, we gave thanks for the promotion of all students in the community’s preschools, elementary school and high school. Visitors that Sunday included teachers, parents and children from Rafael Urdaneta State Initial Education Center. with teaching staff, and boys and girls. They were invited by Emmanuel David Sánchez, who with his classmates will begin first grade in September. Emmanuel, Luz Maria’s grandson, was baptized in our mission on June 5, 2018, and attended our preschool until he was three years old. The last graduation ceremony in our preschool was in 2020. The age range for our preschool had been six to six years (the year for starting first grade), but it became clear there were no early education programs in the area for children under three years of age, so we changed our age range to two to three years. The sermon text was Psalm 19:7-10. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

 In addition to Emmanuel, we rejoiced with Diana Carolina Torres, who will begin her first year of high school in September. Diana was baptized in our mission on August 1, 2017, and received her first communion on October 31, 2021. Two of Luz Maria’s afterschool tutoring students, Reiner Ortega and Erick Jiménez, also will start high school in the coming school year. Emmanuel, Diana Reiner and Erick are past recipients of scholarships to continue their education from LeadaChild, one of our sponsoring organizations. 

Another afterschool student, Mateo Córdoba, will begin first grade. We were pleasantly surprised when Daiyimar Aranguren, a former preschool student, sent us a photo of herself studying medicine at a university in Barinas.