Report from Dan and Nancy Dunn

The week before Christmas, during the Christmas break from his Doctoral Studies, Dan called several of our international friends to wish them a blessed Christmas and see how their ministries are doing. He talked with Efrain (pictured alone in Venezuela ), Carlos (Costa Rica), Yolanda (pictured wiht children in Venezuela), and Yuni (Venezuela), plus left messages for several others. Pastor Efrain and his church and family are doing well, and they recently celebrated the conversions of 6 adults and 13 children. Pastora Yolanda will be baptizing 20 new believers in January. It was a great joy to talk with so many wonderful Christian friends, and it reminded us once again about the global nature of our evangelistic task. We are so appreciative that God allows us to be a tiny part of that task with you.

(Dan and Nancy's report continues) "For Christmas lunch, James and Sylvia Anderson (pictued below in Wilmore, KY) were with us. James and Sylvia have been in Christian ministry for over 20 years. Currently, they are feeling a call from the Lord to do mission work in Latin America. As part of their discernment process, James will be going to Venezuela with us in January. Please pray for God's guidance for James as he seeks to do God's will."

Venezuela Now, Inc. Logo

Here is our new Logo. It utilizes the ancient Ichthus (fish) Christian symbol and captures the colors and stars reminiscent of the Venezuelan flag. Pray for laborers in this rich harvest field.

Orphange Construction Continues

Men from these three dynamic Alpharetta Churches recently traveled to Venezuela to continue the work on the Orphanage at the site of Lugar Altisimo UMC and the future site of Wesley Seminary of Venezuela. Working with men and women from the local community, they poured columns that will support the upper floor and the roof system of the orphanage.

Additionally, they worked with children and took several of their Venezuelan co-workers to a Barquisimeto Cardinales Baseball gave. Venezuelans and Americans love thier baseball!

Dan Dunn, Vice-President of Venezuela Now, Inc. accompanied the team and served as their translator, even though Dan is in the last days of the fall semister of his first year of PhD. studies at Asbury Theological Seminary.

While working with the Team, Dan had time to visit with Yolanda, our pastor at Lugar Altisimo. He heard two wonderful stories from her experience at the Wesley Seminary:

1) Yolanda was in Kay Lindsey's class on Christian Education 2 years ago in the Seminary. Yolanda took that material and taught it in a very in-depth way in her own church for 8 months. Fidalina was in the class at Yolanda's church. Fidalina only finished the 7th grade and didn't feel capable to take the class, but Yolanda encouraged her to do it anyway, telling her that the Lord would water and bring to harvest any seed that she would plant. Long story short: today Fidalina teaches the 11-13 year old Sunday school class at Lugar Altisimo every week, and she also leads a small group of 21 children and 5 adults in Sector de La Fe every Friday afternoon. Go God!

2) Yolanda also mentioned that she heard Warren and me continually hammering the point home in the Seminary - reach out to the lost! reach out to the lost! don't be a closed-in church only taking care of yourselves, but reach out to the lost! One day in Seminary she was sitting there listening to us hammering on this, and that's when the Lord gave her the vision of going to El Pandito to do ministry. They now have a weekly children's activity there. Additionally, Eliana leads a woman's small group there every week. In that group there were 3 old women, who were folk Catholics, meaning they mixed Catholic beliefs with witchcraft beliefs.. Long story short: those 3 women came to Christ in Eliana's small group, and for one of those women, her 2 sisters and a cousin also came to Christ. Go God!

Maybe its time for your church to send a team to Venezuela? Contact us and we will be glad to help you arrange one of the most meaningful trips of your church's life.