Thursday August 1

We arrived here in Venezuela last night. It was quite the entrance into the country as we got our bags, went through customs, and had our bags checked all in one room! We had a ton of bags with AV equipment, so they were really inspecting our bags. It took a little patience but finally we got through and to the seminary where we are staying. 

Today we got started with the conference. It is interesting to be a part of this bilingual experience. We have these ear pieces we wear in one our ears for translation. A guy sits in the back and translates both English and Spanish so we can all understand what is being said. 

Here's me sporting the piece now! 

Things started off a bit slow as we got into the conference. We had to work through the kinks of translation and going over the ground rules. But tonight after dinner we had a communion service that was something special. These Venezuelan people love to sing. The room rings as they sing their worship. It is really awesome. 

I love being in a worship service that isn't in my language. It forces me to focus upon the movement of the Spirit, and that always leads to an awesome worship experience. I've always believed that it's not about the amount of people in a room, the quality of the singers/musicians, or the mood set in the room, but it is heart of the people worshipping. If the heart of the people is right and fully worshipping, then the power of worship is incredible! I truly felt that presence here tonight. 

One of the things I wanted to learn while I was here was to observe a Latin American culture of church. From what I can tell, they love singing. They sang passionately at worship. They sang as we took communion. They came alive when singing. So as I go home, I will remember the value of worship music for Latino/American cultures.