Long-term Mission Partnerships Available!

Just above this post is a link to an exciting mission training event in October at McEachern UMC in Powder Springs, GA USA. One of the great lessons to be shared at this event, co-sponsored by Venezuela Now, Inc., is the great value of Long-term Mission Partnerships. They are transformational for the sending and the receiving church.

Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela is a great place for your church or mission group to develop such a Mission Partnership. If all goes as planned, next week we will close on the property pictured here. It is located in La Piedad, Venezuela, a suburb of Barquisimeto. It has five buildings including a two story building which will probably house the Women's Dorm and the Library and a couple of offices; a very large building to house the Men's Dorm, Reception Area, Offices and Two large Classrooms; the Cafeteria and kitchen building; a large home and a small home.

God willing, we will have our first graduation on August 16 in the two-story building. Then the work really begins. What is the need?

Obviously money. You will certainly hear more about this later, but we have six months to raise the $250,000 needed to pay off the property after we pay the $110,000 next week. The Seminary will also need about $100,000 (we think) in additional funds for a commercial kitchen, improvements to existing buildings, and furnishings.

The Seminary also needs Long-Term Mission Partners. These are churches and teams which will come to the Seminary year after year making constant improvements on the facility. Immediately, the need exists for masonry teams, painting teams, landscaping teams (you can grow anything in the tropical paradise), roofing teams, etc.

Please begin now recruiting a team and setting a date to come to Venezuela. You can contact us for more information. We can pick you up at the Caracas airport (or one of the other international airports if you desire), transport you to Cabudare and the Mission house, provide you with transportation, food, housing, and translation in a safe, comfortable and affordable environment. You can work as hard as you please along side some of the finest Venezuelan Christians you will ever meet. You just have to pay your expenses and raise money for construction supplies for the project you want to complete (from a list we can supply).

Also, pray. Everyday. Make the Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela a part of your church's prayer list, your Sunday School or Bible Study Prayer list as well as your personal prayer list. The work is difficult here, but the rewards are eternal!

Call or email me at:
Warren Lathem
Venezuela Now, Inc.
wlathem@aslangroup.com
770-889-6423
text message me at 404-502-5678

Here are some pictures from the seminary site as we visited it today:

Report from Sunday

Sometimes we are asked, "Why are you so passionate about Venezuela?" The long answer is too long for this post. The picture at the left gives the short answer.

Sunday was Children's Day in Venezuela. We attended the Ondas de Paz United Methodist Church of Venezuela along with the mission team from the Tucker UMC in Tucker, GA. You will see a picture of their team below.

What a great day of celebration we enjoyed at Ondas de Paz! The Sanctuary was filled and some adults were outside. The worship music was GREAT! The presence of the Holy Spirit was so real, no one there doubted we had been in the presence of the Lord. There were dozens of children and the service was designed for them. The pastor, Alexander and his wife Amerylis led the children in worship. He then preached a short, but effective sermon to the parents and congregation on our responsibility to the children.

The service was followed by hamburgers and playtime on the trampoline, inflatable castle, face painting, etc. It was a very special morning and afternoon in the life of Ondas de Paz and especially for those of us in attendance from the US.

The Tucker Team arrived safely to Carbudare on Saturday and were warmly welcomed Saturday and again on Sunday by the Church at Ondas de Paz. They commenced a construction project on Monday. Their goal this week in working with the people of Ondas de Paz is to remove a church office, creating more badly needed worship space in the sanctuary, build a new office on the rear of the structure and, if time allows, add a small addition on the sanctuary, again increasing the seating capacity. It is clearly obvious this space is needed.

Sunday was also a special day for our daughter in law, Lim, and our son, Jared, and granddaughter, Zoe. Lim got to return to the home she grew up in. This was after 3 years of absence from Venezuela following her marriage to Jared. It is the building that houses Ondas de Paz. Her father and mother, Efrain and Bethsaida Morales, planted the church in their home, then donated the building to the Wesley Association of Venezuela when they moved to the United States to start the Hispanic Ministry at Snellville UMC.

Stay tuned for more reports from Venezuela... And pray for the resources needed for this work. Also, please consider making a financial gift to Venezuela Now, Inc. You can mail it to the Post Office Box indicated above in the masthead.