January Update from the Herrins in Venezuela

In October, we welcomed a wonderful team from the Marietta First UMC that came to renovate two day-care centers that are a part of the Lugar Altisimo ministry in La Concordia. They were able to both paint the centers and provide delightful VBS programs for the children in the mornings. In the evenings, we shared and worshiped in several of Lugar Altisimo’s other ministry areas.

In early November, Calhoun First UMC brought a team to help in the completion of the Lugar Altisimo church…a long-running project that all are thrilled to see come to completion. The team sanded, dug, painted, erected, poured, welded…you name it! And, they left funds to finish the last part of the project—the floor! We hope to have all completely finished by the end of January.

In mid-November, we took a long weekend and went with the Cosbys to visit Pastor Raul Lavinz at the First UMC of San Cristóbal in the state of Táchira in southwest Venezuela. We enjoyed the LONG and beautiful drive there and back, and enjoyed a Sunday worship service together in which Jon preached. It was so good to see another expression of God’s people here in Venezuela, and we had a fun time sharing with our missionary friends.

Over Thanksgiving, a team from the Mount Pisgah UMC in Alpharetta came and made some huge strides in the construction of the children’s home that will be a part of the Lugar Altisimo ministry. This team of five men gave up Thanksgiving with their families and came to work alongside the Venezuelans. Thank you...to all the teams!

We have continued to help on Tuesday evenings at the Camino de Santidad mission just outside our city of Cabudare. Jeanne and the girls are working with the children there, and Pastor Jeremias and I are examining some possibilities for a rented space for the church to meet. Right now, the group meets on a large patio of a home.

The work of our pastors continues to go forward. They will all be gathering on January 22^nd for a week of seminary, and we are thrilled that Bishop Lindsey Davis of the North Georgia Conference will be our professor that week. It will be a wonderful time of sharing, learning, and making further steps towards the formation of a national church.

We are thrilled and amazed that God has allowed us to have a part in all of this! Small as it may be, we do what we can to encourage and teach and help the Church go forward in this part of God’s wonderful world.