VENEZUELAN NEWS
Dear Friends in Christ,
We pray that all of you are enjoying your summer
vacation. Ana will be finishing with her school on the 25th of this month. Due
to the two month national strike, her school had to make up for lost time
with Saturday classes and an extension of the school year. This week she has a
presentation at both her dance school and her elementary school. The
rehearsals have kept all of us very busy and we will be glad when it is all
finished!
Dan finished all of his classes on the last day of June
and he is now in the process of preparing for the next academic semester
that will begin in September. He has been boning up on his Greek and Hebrew
in preparation for these two courses that he will be teaching.
This last week he gave a two day liturgy seminary in
Ciudad Ojeda. During his time there Dan also had the opportunity to
speak live on a radio talk show about the relevance of the liturgy in the
21st century. Both the seminar and the radio program were well received.
The economic recession in Venezuela has its humorous
side: Last week, a couple that we know ordered a home delivery pizza. The pizza
parlor said that they could deliver it but due to the lack of containers the
couple would have to put the pizza on a plate right away so that
the delivery boy could take the pizza box with him. The pizza arrived in
a well worn cardboard pizza box that obviously had been used
many times. The pizza was put on a plate and the delivery boy took the pizza box
with him to be used another time. Sometimes the truth is stranger than
fiction!
The national church continues to move forward
with their responsibilities. On the 18th of this month, the Iglesia
Luterana de Venezuela held a conference to determine the direction of the
theological education program. Ricardo Granados, the national rector, has a
great challenge before him as he assumes his position. By the grace of God, he
will be equal to the challenge. We thank God for the enthusiasm of the
nationals!
We give thanks for:
+ The successful completion of the academic semester.
+ The national pastors who will be directing the theological studies
institute.
+ The prayers and support of our TIM congregations.
+ Dale and Sandy Saville, our agricultural missionaries. Check
out
their agricultural project at:www.guayuta.org
We pray for:
+ Increased offerings for world mission.
+ The volunteer construction project that will take place in
Valencia
during August.
+ Safe travel for the many people who are on vacation during
these
summer months.
+ The Venezuelan national Lutheran youth encounter.
+ The health of our national president, Juan Vielma.
Soli Deo Gloria
Dan,Kathy, and Ana