Cara George
From Venezuela
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Hola! First week is under my belt and I am beginning to become more comfortable with Venezuela. The heat is exhausting, with some days being as high as 100 degrees! That wouldn´t be so bad if we did not have to walk 2 miles a day. The first few days here we were given tours of the city, went out to different Venezuelan restaurants, and worked on team building. We have met many students involved in the Christian organization that we are working with and have learned to love salsa dancing! The first night we arrived in Maracaibo, we were greeted by 40+ students and danced all the way to our hotel in a school bus (with built-in speakers!) God has shown me how genuinely interested each of these people are in our lives even though we just met them!
Yesterday was our first day on campus. Nothing what I expected at all! Our group, consisting of 12 people from America, was split into 3 campuses (4 people on each campus). We were assisted by a few translators, some great with speaking in English and others not so much. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to help lead 3 girls to Christ. We are using a book called the 4 Laws that Campus Crusade pushes to use on the campus. It is similar to Evangelism Explosion which I was trained for a few years ago. I told my mom I could not believe how easy it was to share my faith. We went through the entire pamphlet and then I asked if they wanted to accept this free gift. They said yes, and all three girls accepted Christ at the same time! Also funny, when we walked onto campus a few of us found a wooden board with Joshua 1:9 painted on it. It was hiding behind some trees but just noticeable. How awesome is our God to encourage us from the onset!
One of the main focuses of our trip is to not only lead individuals to Christ but to follow-up and get them involved in Vida Estudiantil (which is the Christian organization here). It is so amazing how these people accept Christ and, since Venezuela´s culture is so family- orieted, than share with their families, friends and many others. So not only are we touching these students´ lives but we have no idea how it is dispersing among their family and friends.
There is so much more so share but I think this is long enough for now. I covet your prayers and want to thank those of you already who have sent notes of encouragement.
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." I Corinthians 3:6
Thanks be to God for continually being faithful. Love, Cara George
Update #2
Wednesday, 4 Jun 2008
If there is anyone that you can think of that would enjoy reading this or is in prayer for my trip...PLEASE...forward this:) Thanks!
Well, it's official. I love Maracaibo. Yes, the heat is exhausting, the food sometimes unsettling, and the intense driving of the Maracuchans....BUT, I love it all the same. God has been so faithful! I will try to re-call what has happened since the last email. We have now been on campus 7 days so far. I can see a huge difference in my approach to sharing my faith. The first day I barely said a word and now I am going up to groups, sometimes with only one other person, and carrying on conversations that result in the people accepting Christ. So far I have seen 7 individuals personally come to Christ. I cannot even express how "easy" it is to share my faith. One instance that I thought particularly funny was yesterday afternoon. My friend, Mollie and I (note: Mollie knows a few words in Spanish and I know very little..) had an entire conversation with 2 girls who knew barely any English. We shared our faith in English while they spoke to us in Spanish. Miraculously, we understood what they were saying! The girl told how she wanted a better relationship with God. The next guy I was able to talk to yesterday asked SO many questions about what we were doing here, why we were doing it, etc. I loved it! It felt so natural to share the Gospel and after talking for about 45 minutes, I realized that he wasn't sure that he was going to heaven. I shared the entire book with him ( the book is called the 4 Laws where it covers the entire Gospel and our need for a Savior) and at the end he re-dedicated his life to Christ! Praise the Lord:)
Within our group, the girls are doing an inductive Bible study on Ephesians. It has been so good! I immensely enjoy learning about the history of Paul and digging in deeper than normal. We looked at the meaning of "grace and peace"..which is how he starts every book. He mentions grace because it is a necessity in our faith and the result of that grace is peace. So, he desires that for the people he writes his letters to. I love that.
It has been so good to get to know my group better and see how God is working in their lives back home. I couldn't have asked for a better team. They really see the importance of stretching either other and confronting others when there are problems.
The food has been great. I definitely miss having fresh fruit and vegetables but the traditional dishes we are experiencing have been good. Things are pretty cheap here too, with the exception of the mall. People are really into appearances so they spend A LOT of money on their clothes.
I can definitely tell the fields are white unto harvest here. It has been so encouraging to know that people are praying for us consistently each day. I was telling my group on engineering that when we step on campus I can literally feel God. He seems so much more real here than any other place I've been. God is doing something big here and I feel so privileged to be a part of it.
P.S. I am also being taught how to salsa/merengue dance. If anyone wants lessons when I come back, we can talk;)
Thank you again so much and I hope you enjoy. Love. Cara
Update #3
Monday, 23 Jun 2008
Hello all!
Down to the last week and I am having mixed feelings. I am excited to come home to see family and friends but am sad about being ripped away from my new family here. A lot has happened since my last email so I will add as much as is appropriate. Two weeks ago my team traveled to Merida, VZ for a few days. Being on campus everyday along with having outreaches/ministries is draining. Staying up all hours of the night and waking up early really made me value my sleep. We had a short retreat in Merida for team building and "resting." The reason I put quotes around resting is because that's what we were supposed to do. Let's just say, I am a busy body and was too entertained to stay indoors. Merida is a beautiful touristy city in VZ. People all over the world come to experience outdoor adventures. Settled in the middle of the Andes! , it's a nature lover's dream! I was able to go zip-lining in 75 ft. high trees with 3 stoppage points. Our stoppage points consisted of us being 75 ft. high standing on chicken wire and 4x4 boards. hah. oh well. The next day we went canyoning. Needless to say, it was amazing. Waterfall rapelling, hiking, rock climbing, and many other things were compiled in that day. Each day we had great team meetings with Bible studies and personal devotions. It was great to sit back and reflect on what God had done already and what He would do in the last remaining weeks.
When we returned back to Maracaibo, we hit the ground running. The last few weeks have been extremely busy with doing sharing on campus in the mornings, discipleships in the afternoon, Bible studies at night, English clubs on private campuses, Cru meetings, and just hanging out with students. The emphasis this summer is follow-up. So whenever someone accepts Christ we are expected to record their information and follow up with them in the next few days to a week. That's why it's so draining. We follow up with them, witness to new people, and are still expected to reach out to the members of Campus Crusade here already. Tiring but fulfilling.
I am still so amazed at the acceptance of these people. They will sit with us for HOURS and talk about anything and everything. They actually enjoy talking about God. How sad it is to say that but so true. Individuals in America could care less about God and will do almost anything to avoid a "religious" conversation.
I have had the opportunity to share with numerous translators and am amazed at just how big our God is. To have a conversation with someone in different languages but to understand is powerful to me, especially when God uses me as a vessel to guide them to an understanding of the Truth.
Last night we had Algo Diferente (Something Different). It's a praise/worship meeting geared for the Christian students already involved in Vida Estudiantil. My group (consisting of 3 people) were in charge of the meeting. We showed the youtube video Everything skit- Lifehouse and I talked about Hosea. I asked the students if there had ever been a time in their life where someone had turned their back/forsaken them? How did it feel? I also asked was there ever a time in their life that they had turned their back/forsaken someone? Do they remember the look in the person's eyes they had hurt? We are similar to Hosea's wife, in the fact, that we "commit adultery" with the world everyday. We are consumed in ourselves that we, the Bride of Christ, forget our first love (Revelation). It was so encouraging to hear the testimonies after that of people moved to tears and saying how they are so into routine that they don't even think about God anymore. How true is that of us?
I mentioned in the first email that I had seen a sign with Joshua 1:9 on my campus the first day. My aunt and uncle had given me a journal with that verse inscribed on it the day before I left. I was sitting in church today and looked over to see one of my friends. On his shirt was written Joshua 1:9. How great is our God? He continues to speak to me through "small things" but I am so thankful for those moments.
The English club I mentioned previously was such a huge step of faith. URBE is the name of the private university and has been closed off to any outsiders. The only other time anyone has been able to get onto campus that is not a student was when a team came for spring break from Virginia Tech and talked with students about the shooting at their school. So, Vida Estudiantil (Campus Crusade for Christ, here) asked URBE if a group could come and do an English club on their campus. It took months of phone calls, emails, and 2 face-to-face meetings for the English Department to give an agreeance. We had our first English club last week and it went phenomenal. We were able to talk about Vida Estudiantil and some of the people came to the meeting the following day. God opened the door to share with the group and I know He is working there!
There is so much more but I think this is long enough for now. Some ways to pray for us: 1. My friend, David, has a burden on his heart to join staff here in Maracaibo. Unfortunately, he has no funds to support himself and has 10 days left to stay in his home. After that, he will be homeless. He continues to stay encouraged but want to ask you to lift him up in prayer for financial support. He is a sweet brother in Christ and a dear friend. 2. One week left and I am sad to be leaving these people. I pray for more opportunities to know the students on a deeper level. 3. That we will take EVERY opportunity to share our faith. To follow up with people and get them involved.
Thank you. love, Cara