La Playa

Well, Morgan and I have really started to settle down into Venezuela and its almost like home. I started my job teaching English two weeks ago. I LOVE it.. the students are really good at setting their on pace so its pretty easy. Plus most of the students are young professionals.. so I get along with them well. I think they have all been surprised at how well I know Venezuela.. they don't get why I like it here so much.

Life has been moving pretty fast for me here ever since I started work... I feel like I've come along way in my mad Venezuelan driving skills. The only regret I have so far is that I haven't been able to spend time with people nearly as much as I would like to especially those I already know from my previous trips. I guess its a good problem to have, many people I know who have moved to new countries are having difficulties making friends and I'm already blessed with so many good ones! I think it will get easier after I get settled into things better.

Now I'll let Morgan tell you about our beach reach/ lighthouse adventure over the weekend....

Debbie D =)

Hey everyone! We just got back from our Beach week retreat and it was amazing! We are so excited to share everything with you. Thanks for all of your prayers! God is so good!

Just a little update of how things are going here before we tell you about the beach:

Debbie and I have been driving around this crazy city for about 2 weeks now…and we are still alive. Phew! It really isn’t too bad you just have to be really aggressive and really defensive. So far we have only had the car break down on us 5 times. Ha. Once there was something wrong with the fuel injection and we got it fixed, three times the battery died (we got a new one today), and once the brakes gave out while we were coming down the mountain from the beach! It was so crazy/scary. The brakes got over heated from stopping and going so much and they just stopped working. Good times. J

So our Beach Reach weekend was called Lighthouse. Every year the Venezuelans get off Monday and Tuesday for a celebration called Carnival. Nobody works and most of the people go to the beaches with their families or friends. They have been doing Lighthouse for 6 years now.

Friday:

We got to the house and tried to clean up a bit before the others arrived on Saturday. Twenty of us stayed in a house about 2 minutes walking distance from one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Debbie and I and another Journeyman who is serving in Caracas were the only gringas there; the others were Christian leaders from all over the country. We even had a cook come in for the week so that while we were out on the beach he would prepare the meals for all of us. It was such a blessing; we ate very well! The house was great even though we didn’t have water for a few days; something happened with our water tank so we couldn’t shower or wash the dishes or anything. We all took showers in the outdoor showers at the beach in our swimsuits! It was great; we brought our shampoo and conditioner and just went at it! Ha! Cleaning and the using the toilets were not as easy/fun without water, but we managed. J

Saturday:

Everyone arrived at the house and we had the day to do whatever we wanted. We laid out all day and got as much sun as possible. I have a great picture (which is conveniently didn’t include on our slideshow) of me next to one of the girls from Venezuela and I seriously look like Casper! It is like night and day! Debbie and I are trying are hardest to be as tan as them…maybe one day. We came back in the evening for dinner and to plan for the next day.

Sunday and Monday:

We set up a tent right in a great location at the beach and we did free hair wraps and henna tattoos for anyone who wanted them. While one person was working on the hair wraps or tattoos another person would share Christ with that person. We also had a group of three people walking on the beach prayer walking while we were working. Almost every single person asked why we would do something like this for free. It was such a wonderful way to share about the free gift of God’s grace. We also showed a movie on the beach on Monday night with a big projector. We invited everyone who came to our tent to come. It actually ended up raining right in the middle of the movie so we had to turn it off, but Matute, our pastor for the weekend, still was able to share the Gospel with those who stayed around in the rain as we packed up. We probably shared with around 100 people and many prayed to receive Christ. At the end of the day we would have a time of worship and then share about our experiences from the day. It was such an amazing approach to ministry! The Venezuelans that were on our Lighthouse team were amazing. They just loved on everyone and made them feel so special and at ease; it was such an honor to serve with them.

Monday night:

The Venezuelans surprised us and threw a Carnival party the last night we were in Cata. They played music and we danced and played all night. It was so much fun. They taught us some new dance moves too like the meringue and salsa. They also gave out inside joke awards to everyone. One of the girls was the announcer and they called us all up and gave us a sash made out of toilet paper with our award written on it. It was hilarious…they LOVE to tease each other and they have the best sense of humor! I love it.

Now we are back in Valencia. It was really nice to come back to our little house…we actually missed our home and it was great to be back here. We will update again soon. Thanks for reading and checking up on us and thanks so much for your prayers and support. We love you all!

-Morgan