Monday August 5th

Today was a great day! I've slowly been getting more tired each day, and today it really started catching up to me. So much so, I have actually been drinking coffee! I hate coffee... 

I've made a good friend here in Johan. In our small groups, he shared his story with us. He had such a powerful testimony of God's work in his life, and his walk to follow God. He's been a refreshing reminder of someone who is sold out to follow God. After I heard his testimony, my energy came back to me. What was so great about his story was his honesty, and recognition of the power of God. So many times I think we are afraid to really speak the deep and vulnerable ways God has worked in us. 

The people have been so welcoming and generous to us. With the differences in our governments, I believe many Americans view Venezuela negatively or at least with ambivalence. They are such a warm and friendly people. Plus they love to have fun and joke around! My experience here with them has been such a positive experience. Later in the evening the Venezuelans presented us with a taste of their culture. It was so much fun! Here are a few photos from the evening:

These girls did a traditional Venezuelan dance

These two guys ran around the room all crazy. It was pretty hilarious. I'm pretty sure one was a bull and the other was trying to get his tail. 

This was a traditional dance of one of the state's of Venezuela.

This was the final skit of the night about all the sin that tears us down. The girl on the floor with the dress represents the country of Venezuela. It was a great skit!

This little guy did some preaching after the skit. He couldn't have been older than 10 years old, but he was tearing it up! A future preacher is in this kid's DNA. 

At the end of the evening we prayed for Venezuela. As everything they do, it was done with a lot of passion and emotion, so it was a powerful moment as they all prayed aloud for their country! They put a drawing of their flag on the ground and pastors from each state came to kneel down, including their bishop. Then Eddie Fox came to pray over them. Once they finished, they pulled out an American flag and did the same thing. I went forward to pray, and the Bishop put his hand on my head as he prayed. I just soaked it all in. I prayed that God would move in our country and that the Holy Spirit would breathe life into our dead congregation. How desperately I want to see the movement of the Holy Spirit  in America like I've seen here. What incredible renewal we would see!

I've always thought of the Wesley quote that says "Set yourself on fire with passion & people will come for miles to watch you burn." For so long I've related that quote to just me personally. To the way I live. To the way I preach. This has shown my individualistic mentality in faith. Yet I'm continually seeing the importance of God lighting the congregation on fire! Not only do we need pastors filled with the Holy Spirit, but more importantly churches that are set on fire for God. The church is not about one person leading a charge. The church is about all believer's moving the kingdom of God forward. This was my prayer for America. FULL revival of not just me but of us ALL. That is what we need in our churches! That's what the UMC, Southern Baptist, UCC, PCUSA, PCA, Episcoples, AME, CME, independents, etc.... This is what we need: The Holy Spirit to move in all believers. A full church of believers set on fire for God, and people will come from all over the world to see what is happening. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED GOD! Move Spirit. Come Lord.

Lastly the Venezuelan people circled around us, and prayed for us. It was such an incredible sign of God's church supporting God's church. I welcomed their prayers. I reveled in their support. I felt their embrace around us. 

After that service, we then played some baseball with a few Venezuelans. We had a rolled up piece of tape shaped into a ball and a bat made of tape as well. They whipped us! But it was a ton of fun! Like playing soccer in Mexico, playing baseball in Venezuela felt like I was enjoying their favorite past time with them. I learned that after two strikes that chant "ponche" for the strikeout. Perhaps I'll bring that back to USA when I go to a Braves games. 

This trip continues to be such a blessing. I am so thankful for being here, and I can't wait for what God has in store to finish these last couple of days.