God Provides!

Dr. Mendoza and me.

Please join me in praising our Lord for His mercy and provision. By His grace and your generosity we are able to make our required mortgage payment in time to avoid paying interest on the loan. So many sacrificed to make this possible, and I simply want to say, “Thank you!”

A little over a month ago we had no idea how we would be able to meet this obligation.  But we serve a good God who has hidden treasures. You are among them.  We rejoice and give God all the glory. What a great blessing to the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela.  This means we will not have to spend almost $10,000 on interest and can instead spend that money educating pastors and lay leaders here in Venezuela.

We just finished two weeks of classes in which 3 full courses were taught. “Preaching for Response” was taught all day the first week with 35 students. What a joy it was for me to teach that class again!  Every night for both weeks, Dr. Alberto Mendoza taught “Self Confrontation” and he had 15 students.  This course has been taught several times in the past, but as a Required Course it needed to be taught again to enable some students to be able to graduate in August of this year. 

The second week I taught “The Administration of the Mission Church.” 30 students attended class, and we had a great time.  One day there was a remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit during worship.  WOW!  What a blessing it is to worship with our Venezuelan pastors and lay leaders.

Additionally we were able to attend several worship services in local United Methodist Churches.  I preached a few times and we saw God touch many lives, and several people became followers of Christ.

Last night we had dinner with a couple which has been enrolled in the Seminary for the last three years. They both have university degrees and have been successful business persons. They said even though they have been Christians for 20 years and have been in ministry in some local churches, “the Seminary has changed our lives.” They are now planting a new United Methodist Church and pursuing ordination as UM Ministers.

Additionally, we had some time with Bishop Juvenal Perez, a graduate of the Seminary. He preached one of the morning devotional times.  What a great evangelistic preacher he is! We talked at length about the UMC of Venezuela and are continuing to work with him in a consulting role. 

We also met with a student pastor who has planted 5 independent churches.  He has discovered his theological home in the Wesleyan theology of the Seminary and has started the process to lead his churches into the UMC fold.

There is so much more I would like to tell you, but time will not allow.  I covet the day you will be able to travel to Venezuela and experience what has become the most rewarding ministry we have ever experienced.  God is so good!

Dan & Nancy Dunn and Jane & I fly back to the US tomorrow (Wednesday).  The Dunn’s will be back in the U.S. only two weeks before returning to Venezuela.  Jane and I will notbe able to return to Venezuela before May, when I will be teaching again.

This is not an appeal. However, if God moves you to give to this ministry, you simply need to click on the PayPal link below or mail your check to Venezuela Now, Inc. PO Box 1655, Duluth, GA  30107.