Travel and retreats/gatherings

There's a lot going on this week for our team, so I think I'll break it down by day:

Monday, May 11:
-Please Pray for Allison Jurecki as she is flying back into Valencia, arriving around 2:30pm.
-Also pray for her and Justin as they take an overnight bus to Maracaibo. Pray for safety and a restful journey, especially for Jurecki, considering that she was a relatively short turn around time between arriving on the plane and leaving on the bus.
-Please pray that Allison Pepple, Sarah Brown, Oscar Zapata, and I can schedule appointments well as we have a short week. Pray also for discernment in what to cover in those meetings and that students would be punctual and eager to receive.

Tuesday, May 12:
-Please pray for Jurecki and Justin along with all the other city directors from around Venezuela as they meet together in Maracaibo. Pray for wisdom for them as they consider how to determine the criteria for selecting a new national director and the vision for how to continue forward with the current national director, Keith Onishi, leaving in July of next year (2010).
-Please pray again for Pepple, Sarah, Oscar, and I in scheduling and having appointments (discernment in content, punctuality, and excitement)


Wednesday, May 13:
-For energy for Justin, Jurecki, and the city leaders as they meet for another day.
-For Pepple, Sarah, Oscar, and I in scheduling and having our last appointments of the week (discernment in content, punctuality, and excitement)
-For safety and a restful trip as Pepple, Sarah, Oscar, and I take a nightbus to meet up with our leaders in Maracaibo for a team retreat.

Thursday, May 14:
-For rest and attentiveness to God's voice for Jurecki, Justin, Sarah, Pepple, and I as we spend a day with the Lord.
-For Oscar as he has a meeting to talk about Venezuelan fund-raising policy within Campus Crusade for Christ

Friday, May 15:
-For our team to be encouraged, to be refreshed, and to have fun as we spend a day together in a team adventure outside of Maracaibo.

Saturday, May 16:
-For Justin, Jurecki, Pepple, Sarah, and I as we debrief about the year and begin considering questions/preparations to return home. Pray for insight in what to share for the staff member that will be leading that time (probably Elisha or Sherri) and that we would be able to identify things necessary for personal closure for each of us. (Just for memory's sake, Pepple will leave May 28th, Sarah around June 15th, and the rest toward the end of July)
-For Oscar as he spends the day with his family after having been away for a month and a half.

Sunday, May 17:
-For our team as we visit Oscar's church in Maracaibo
-For safe and restful travel for Jurecki, Pepple, Sarah, Justin, and I as we take another night bus back to Valencia.

Monday, May 18:
-For energy, endurance, and readiness to learn for Oscar and all the other Venezuelan staff as they start a three week intensive training conference about fund-raising.
-For Jurecki, Pepple, Sarah, Justin, and I as we get back to ministry in Valencia, as we plan appointments for the week, and make plans for a parents' meeting to present who we are as a ministry and explain what is coming with summer project.

Travel safety and finishing well

Congreso came and went, hopefully I'll get a chance to post my update letter about it one of these days to fill in some blanks about what happened. As for now, I have two specific prayer requests:
1. My teammate Allison Jurecki's grandmother passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning. It's a pretty substantial blow to the family as she had lived with them for quite some time and was really an integral part of their lives. Allison is flying home tomorrow evening(Wednesday) and will arrive Thursday afternoon to be with her family until Sunday. Please pray for her safe travel, and for God's comfort for her and her family in their grief.
2. We're approaching the end of our STINT year. Allison Pepple is leaving at the end of May to go home and raise funds for a second year, Sarah Brown leaves in mid-june to do the same, and the rest of us leave toward the end of July. Please pray for wisdom for us especially in our discipleship relationships, that we would know what is important to focus on and pass on to the students before our time with them ends.

Bus

This is a slight modification to the last post:
Tomorrow (Friday, specifically at 9am) we're going to try to go talk to the director of the University to ask for a bus to transport students to Congreso. Please pray that we can get in to talk to her, that she would show us favor and give us a bus, and that we would have an opportunity to share the gospel with her.

Here it comes...

Please continue to pray for Congreso details as it is quickly approaching. We're working on videos, still don't have many details about the sound equipment, and are still awaiting confirmation on the band members.

Additionally, please pray for buses for Congreso. So far we have only hit roadblocks in trying to get one from the school, but we're pursuing the permission we're missing from higher up the chain of authority. Please pray for favor and that we would speak with wisdom and clarity. Also, please pray for all cities since they have also been having similar trouble securing a free bus from their respective universities.

Thank God for the retreat and the details he's worked out this far. The stage is going to be a whole lot easier than I imagined, and the dramas have come together too. Retreat went really well; hopefully I'll have a chance to write more about that in an update in the coming days.

Also, thank God for his financial provision. Through a quick call to my monthly supporters he has already raised enough money for us to send 17 students to Congreso 100% free. Additionally, a letter that Gustavo (one of the guys I'm discipling) wrote has so far seen the fruit of bringing in enough money for him to pay his own registration, the registration of another, and halfway toward a third person (and he still has yet to receive from a few potential donors that have said they're planning to help him!).

Details

This week is one of details. Thursday I'll be going to look at a stage for Congreso and going out to the site to make some measurements so that we have a better idea of what we're working with. We also have a retreat this weekend, so there are lots of transportation, food, content, and logistic details to work out. Please pray that Congreso details like the band, the stage, the emcees, the skits, etc continue to be worked out. Please pray for our retreat, that the details all come together, and that it would be a time for students to grow together in community and be "transformed" (the theme of the retreat).

You can also thank God for our safe travel. We got to the airport in Quito only to find out that the second leg of our journey was canceled. However, the airline lined things up and took responsibility, so we got home a mere 7 hours later than anticipated. That let us be back with enough time to prepare for the finance meeting the next day which went really well. As I worked on preparing a little talk about the biblical basis for raising funds for ministry, I came across Acts 18:1-5 and was excited to see how both "tent-making" and partnership methods of providing for needs during ministry appeared in the same passage. Overall, I definitely think the meeting went well.

Fund raising meeting & Travel

Please pray for a fund-raising meeting we are going to have Thursday. The goal is to help students learn about how they can raise funds for Congreso. My part to prepare is the biblical basis both for the "tent-making" or part time work approach to raising funds for ministry as well as the partnership approach of asking people to be a partner in the ministry by giving/providing for the financial needs. Please pray for students to come, that they would get a good idea of what Congreso is, what the biblical basis for support raising is, and practical advice/pointers/starting points on how to do it.

Also prayers about our visa renewal trip would be appreciated too. Thank God for the time of rest we've had (I'm actually writing in Quito, Ecuador now), and pray for safe travel tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and rest to recover from the traveling tomorrow afternoon.

Visa Renewal

Please pray for our visa renewal trip. We leave Saturday for Quito, Ecuador, but several details are still up in the air. I have yet to receive details from the agent issuing our tickets, and I've had similarly little success securing transportation to the airport in Caracas. Pray that those details would come together quickly and without stress, and that we would have a safe trip with lots of opportunities to seek God and reflect as a team and as individuals.

One of those weeks...

Please pray for this week in general. There are LOTS of things happening, and it has potential to be pretty exhausting. I have at 3 different meetings with different teammates to work on a retreat we're planning for mid-March, finances for next year's STINT team, and looking at how we can start impacting more campuses besides the two on which we are already focused. On top of that, our sixth teammate Oscar arrives early tomorrow (Tuesday) morning (I was slightly misinformed in my prayer request last week), we have an outreach planned for Wednesday, I have my usual discipleship time Thursday, and a couple staff members from Maracaibo are visiting Thursday and Friday to scope out the Congreso site. Pray that we keep track of all the different things going on, engage in them all well, and have energy to get us through the week.

Please continue to pray for:
-My health. While for the most part the cold symptoms seem to have gone away, I'm still dealing with a lot of thick nasal junk (I promise I put that as least grossly as I could). Please pray that those little things that are keeping me away from normal/fully healthy would be resolved quickly.
-Odds and ends. I still many to do items including Congreso items and a prayer letter. I was able to take care of my taxes and fafsa. Thank God that I finished those, and continue to pray that I can get the rest done and enjoy the process.
-Election fallout. The amendment to abolish term limits for all Venezuelan politicians passed, and so far things have seemed pretty relaxed in its wake. Pray that the peace continues to hold, especially as tomorrow is the first day back to classes after the vote.

Oscar and elections and extraneous odds and ends

Please pray for:
*Oscar- We have a sixth member of our team joining us this coming weekend. He's from Maracaibo, and what is known as an MP4, a 4 month missionary intern. Please pray that he'll feel welcomed here (especially since he's never lived away from home) and learn a lot about God and evangelism during his 4 months in Valencia. Please pray for safe travel too.
*Elections- This weekend is a nationwide election on a proposition that if passed would allow President Chavez to stand for unlimited terms. Last December (2007) when a constitutional reform that included a similar article was up for vote, there was rioting leading up to it and once it was voted down, huge celebration. Pray that people would be safe regardless of the outcome of this election, and that any protests would remain peaceful.

Please continue praying for:
*Odds and ends- I still have lots of details to work on for Congreso, a prayer letter that needs writing, some taxes and fafsa paperwork to finish up, and several other things on my agenda. Pray that I can get them all done and enjoy the process.

Thank God for:
*Health-I think I'm pretty much over my cold, and I finally made it in to see the dermatologist today. She said it was definitely a scar, confirmed that there isn't any wart left in it, and gave me some cream to help the scar continue healing.
*Men's/women's time: The ladies had 5 girls over for a their sleepover, and almost a dozen guys came to the game day we had in the men's apartment. I think both activities went well, and both made for good environments to keep building on relationships.

Mens'/Womens' Times and To Do Items

Please pray for the womens' time happening this Friday morning and Saturday morning and the mens' time happening Saturday. The hope is to spend some quality time together and build a little bit more community in which people can cultivate caring and encouraging each other in their faith.

Also please pray for me and the various "to do" type things that I really want to get done within the coming week. Among those are catching up on some correspondence, getting some Congreso details worked out, writing a prayer letter, and other things that aren't coming readily to mind.

Please continue to pray for my health as this cold has peskily been holding on and not going away.

blech

Please pray for my health. On Monday evening, my throat was feeling a little sore or scratchy. It got a little worse Tuesday, and by yesterday, it was affecting how much I wanted to talk. Yesterday congestion started as well, so it seems to be a full blown cold. Pray that it won't progress any further and that I could get appropriate rest to get over it. Pray for a balance of relying on God's strength to power through to still meet with people and of recognizing and taking opportunities that he's giving me for rest and recovery. Pray that I'd be relying on him and seeking him in all cases.

Follow Up

Please Pray for:
Follow up: I'm finally just going to do it. I've got an appointment for tomorrow morning (Tuesday) with a student named Jorge who I was hoping to follow up with as Christmas break started. He felt sick that day and didn't make it, and I've finally managed to set up tomorrow to talk to him. I originally told him I'd like to hear about his church background and I pray for the opportunity to take the resulting conversation deeper to really talk about the character of God and knowing him. I texted another student, Rafa, to see if I could talk to him on Friday, but I have not heard back from him. Pray that God would be at work in both of their lives and hearts, and that he'd use my intentionality in seeking them out to bring about his transformation.

Please continue to pray for:
Follow up: Even as I feel like I'm finally at least making a start, there's part of me that still doesn't feel like I know what I'm doing and is a little afraid that I'll somehow screw it up and botch this person's chance at being drawn to a real life changing relationship with Christ. That's silly because it's the Holy Spirit that is at work in them and in me, and it's not my job to make any change happen, but I guess I sometimes get concerned that I'll get too caught up in trying to be systematic and will fail to care enough. Enough for what is a good question, the most obvious seeming answer being to cause the change, which gets me right back to needing to remember it's ultimately God at work and not me. I guess ultimately that's a request that I care for the people that I meet like Christ cares for them, and that I wouldn't see them as a bullet point on a to-do list, or simply another task as part of my job.
Wart remains: I still haven't gotten to the doctor to have the is-it-scar-tissue-or-is-it-wart-making-a-come-back spot on my knuckle looked at. Continued prayer for healing would be appreciated.
Congreso: Having worked on a few things in preparation for Congreso today, it has reentered my mind that prayer for God to provide our every need for Congreso is really important. Pray for him to provide so much that all students could go free of charge and experience 100% gracia 100% gratis (100% grace 100% free). Please also join me in consistently praying for over 60 students to go to this year's Congreso from Valencia.

Praise God:
Movement meeting: It went well, did not go too long, and we got some good feedback from students as well as getting a general idea of what events we'll be doing this semester. That was good for both us and the students to have.
Discipleship: Even though I didn't feel like I had really good direction going into my discipleship meetings last week, I came out of the week feeling like I all the meetings went really well. I felt like I had relevant things to speak into the guys' lives even though I hadn't necessarily planned them, and that all parties walked away edified.
Safe travel: Sarah's parents got here fine. It appears they are enjoying their time here. If you can pray for their safe travel home on Friday, that would be appreciated.

Thursday movement meeting and other details

Please pray for:

Movement meeting: Thursday we'll be getting together with the students to talk about a concept of "transformational community" and how we really want to see one develop this semester. We'll also be talking about some specific events we're hoping to see and how we hope they'll help toward that goal. Please pray for focus and clarity in communication. Meetings with students that focused on the movement as whole have in the past had a propensity for tangents that prolong meetings and distract from the original purpose. Pray that God's direction would really be presented and that students would be excited to get on board with it.

Discipleship: I've got meetings this week with my disciples, but I've been wondering a little bit about what exact ground I should be covering with them. Pray for continued guidance and discernment and attentiveness to areas where I can help foster growth.

Wart remains: I had a wart frozen off several times in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. On my last visit to the dermatologist, it seemed that the wart was dead and all that remained left to do was allow time for full healing. It's now been two months, and I'm beginning to wonder if the skin on the affected knuckle looks funny because it is scar tissue or because the wart is returning. I had hoped to finally return to the doctor today to have it looked at, but I didn't make it and probably won't have time until next Monday. Pray that it really is just scar tissue and that it continues healing and start looking less suspicious.

Safe travel: My teammmate Sarah's parents are coming down to visit for a week, arriving this Friday. Pray that they'd have safe travel, a quick recuperation from the time in transit, and an enjoyable stay.

Call it a new year's resolution

Please pray for:

Consistency in communication: Sometime in the last couple months, I sat down to think about goals I want to pursue, things that I want to be true in my life. One of those is being in better communication with people. That means taking the time to call friends at home, but it also means being more consistent to post prayer requests here. With the new schedule that we've set up, I think I can be consistent with posting on Mondays. Now I have a day to post regularly. Pray that I'd stick to it.

The schedule: we made several adjustments to our weekly schedule over the break, but I think it will be good for us. It reflects realities of Venezuela, and gives us a better flexibility in the afternoon, and much fewer evenings dominated by language lessons. It even factors in time to work on things ahead of time, so definitely pray that I utilize that well (old procrastinating habits from college die hard...). Also, this week is a little topsy turvy with our team leaders coming back midway through the week from a retreat, moving our staff meeting and rearranging a few schedule elements. Pray for their safe travel and for smooth schedule rearranging.

Praise God for:
Our internet: Having not posted in a while, I see the last post was about the internet. I think we got it about a week and a half later. I recall it being something like November 12th because I think I remember it still possible to consider it a gift to correspond to my birthday on the 11th.

I'll leave it at that for now. Hopefully more next Monday if not sooner.

Internet and Discipleship

Please pray for:

Internet: We went and filled out the paperwork to get internet in our apartments exactly one month ago today. They had said something about a 3 week wait for cable modems, but then 2 hours after we missed a text message at 6:30am (somewhere around week two, two and a half), the technician said he'd already installed the modems elsewhere and was once again out. I called the company a week later, and then finally went in and talked to them in the office a few days later (I think Tuesday of this last week). They took my information again and said we should be getting a call from the technician this week. We didn't, and so we are still without reliable internet in our apartment (I say reliable because we can get one 5-minute trial per day of one signal and can occasionally get other stray wifi connections, which probably aren't that secure). In any event, please pray that we'd hear from the technician this next week and have internet installed in our apartment by Friday at the latest.

Discipleship: we are finally starting some formal discipleship relationships. This last week I met with 3 different guys (Ingve, Samuel, and Gustavo) to try to nail down regular times to meet with them. Please pray for another few that I haven't been able to meet with and that I don't know yet if they want discipleship (Anthony, Deivids, and Alan). Also please pray for relevancy in the material we cover, that God would use these interactions to draw both them and me deeper into his love and plan, and that the guys would be able to take what we do and model it into discipleship relationships of their own in the future, hopefully before this STINT year is over (if you feel like asking for something seemingly ridiculous or on a level that only God can bring about, pray that they'd be ready by the start of classes in January after the Christmas vacation).

October Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,
Three Sundays ago, my alarm went off at 2:15 am, signaling the start of my part of the Fall Break Merida trip. Four hours later, I was in the Caracas airport, welcoming Christine and Ashley to Venezuela. Even though their trip had started Saturday morning, they still chose to go to church with us. It was the first of many instances in which these girls from University of Portland demonstrated their character and trusted God with the details. It made for a great week.
Later that day, we had “Christmas in October,” opening the suitcase of rare-to-Venezuela-goodies that my mom had sent down with the girls. We started our week-long study of Galatians, covered schedule details, and then spent some time together as one big team, eating dinner and talking. Monday, we went to Universidad de Carabobo here in Valencia and the girls got their first experience sharing in Venezuela, striking up spiritual conversations and presenting the gospel. During that time, Ashley saw a guy and a girl pray to receive Christ as their personal savior. That night Sarah, Ashley, Christine and I got on an overnight bus and embarked for Merida.
Once in Merida Tuesday, we went up to the humanities campus and met with Keren, one of the student directors of the Merida ministry. After a time of worship and fellowship with another Christian group on campus, we once again went out sharing. Christine paired up with Keren, and while sharing, saw another girl pray to receive Christ. We finished out our day with another student-led activity: a prayer walk around the university grounds. On Wednesday, the girls handed out weekly meeting flyers and continued to meet Merida students during the games, worship time, and teaching time of the meeting itself. That night at a fiesta, after playing games, dancing, and talking more with students, both girls were asked to give their testimonies. Even though it was really impromptu and hard to hear over the torrential rain outside, both did an awesome job of sharing their stories. After a typical round of Venezuelan goodbyes (hugs/cheek kisses to every girl and handshakes/hugs between guys) to everybody in the room, we ran through the pouring rain, crossed a few shallow rivers (aka streets), and finally caught a taxi back to our hostel. Thursday, after an early lunch of arepas with the student leaders (arepa: traditional Venezuelan cornmeal pocket/patty), we went sharing on the technical campus where, as I translated for Ashley, we saw one more girl accept Christ.
Friday morning we arrived back in Valencia, and the girls had a relaxed day as our STINT team met with the student leaders here to plan for a few weeks. Saturday we went to a nearby beach and a spent a little time debriefing about the week and a lot of time enjoying God’s creation. Then, early Sunday morning, we were once again in Caracas, this time to see the girls off to Oregon. As the girls left us to go through security, I felt a deep sense of affirmation that the trip went well. While there were a few learning moments for me, I felt like I engaged and initiated throughout the trip and did not hold anything back. In short, I would not change a thing, and I am incredibly encouraged by the fruit of the trip. Christine and Ashley felt accepted by our team, they connected with the students in Merida, and God changed lives through their being here. I feel like that is exactly what I had hoped to see, and God made it happen. To Him be the glory. In his grip, ~Eben

Please Pray:
-For wisdom and time for filling out reimbursements for Merida trip expenses; that it would process quickly.
-For God’s continued work in those we shared with, especially that they could connect with other Christians.
-For our STINT team as we start establishing discipleship relationships; that what we relay would be relevant, and that we would develop a fully functional method for us and for students to follow up with new believers.

Merida Trip

The two girls coming down from University of Portland (Christine and Ashley) to go help in Merida for the week arrived this morning. It's been a long first day, so please pray for their/our rest and energy for this week. Pray that God's vision would be cast in this trip, and for safety in all the traveling we'll be doing. We're overnight busing to Merida tomorrow (Monday) night, and coming back on another overnight bus on Thursday. Pray for a fruitful time in Merida, and for good connections to be made and for the student leaders to be able to follow them up. Also pray for Friday as we'll be meeting again with students here in Valencia to continue planning for the first 6 weeks of classes. Pray for our debrief activities for the UP girls Saturday, and their safe journey home Sunday, that they would return to their classes rested, ready, and radically met by God.

Apartment update

The apartment I mentioned in the last post fell through; the owner backed out and decided he didn't want to rent from us. His reasons weren't incredibly clear, but most likely a big part was the documentation we had available at the time to confirm us as good potential renters. We've slowly but surely been working on acquiring more of these such documents, and are finally starting to get them in hand. We looked at another apartment yesterday and found out about one today that is in the same building as the girls'. Please be praying that we would be able to get in and see this new apartment ASAP, that it would be affordable, and that we would be able to have adequate documentation to move in soon. (If you feel like asking for something really wild, pray that it will have a place to hang up a hammock...)

On a different note, a wart on my knuckle that I had frozen off while home in the US has returned in a substantial way. Please pray that it would either go away on its own, or that I would be able to find a doctor here soon that can treat it to eliminate it once and for all without causing any other lasting damage.

Arriving and Apartment

A few praises:
-I arrived to Valencia with my new team last Wednesday night (Sept 3).  All of our flights went smoothly, we didn't lose any baggage, everything was still in our luggage, we met up with our director without any trouble, and had an uneventful bus ride to our apartment in Valencia.
-So much was already set up and ready for us when we got here.  Summer project had rented a couple apartments, one of which we were able to keep for the year.  It's in a great location, close to the university with plenty of stores, etc nearby.  It also gives us a great head start instead of having to stay in hotels while we try to figure out housing (since we are the first STINT team to Valencia)
-Within 24 hours we found another apartment in the same complex for the same rent and are currently in the process of getting all the documentation set up.  In case you don't realize just how miraculous this is, the first team in Merida (a smaller city) spent several months trying to find apartments available near each other, and my team there last year spent over 4 months trying to find a new nearby apartment and ended up having to move across town.  Finding a second apartment that quickly, close by, and comparably priced is pretty much unheard of in Venezuela.

Prayer requests:
-Wisdom and discretion in finances as we transfer money and start buying additional appliances/furnishings for our apartments.  Pray that we would find good quality items for affordable prices.  Pray that all the details would work out so that the money transfers go through quickly so that we can move into the apartment and get money to live on.
-Pray for Christian Vivas, our city director.  Pray for him and his wife as they are expecting a baby early next year and are still trying to finish out their support.  Pray for health for him and his wife, as both have been experiencing some illnesses of late.  Pray that the details of our apartments and transfers would be resolved quickly so that he can finish his part in them and return home to his wife.  Pray for his safe travel.
-Pray that we would continue to start the year well.  So far, I feel like our team is bonding and getting along well.  Pray for our continued unity, especially as ministry will soon be starting in earnest.  Pray that we would continually deepen our relationships with God and each other and that we would be empowered to serve from an overflow of the love of Jesus Christ in our lives.

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Family Emergency

Please pray for Elissa Adams(a fellow STINTer this year in Maracaibo, Venezuela): she just found out that something severe happened to her mom. It sounds like a brain aneurysm, but last I heard they were transporting her to Greensborough, NC to larger medical facility to find out for sure. Elissa was up here in Merida for the Maracaibo project's mid-project retreat when she got the call from her sister this morning. She's currently in a taxi to Maracaibo (the fastest, most reliable method of getting there) where she might be trying to get a flight home tomorrow. Pray for safety and wisdom in travel, peace and provision for her family, and restoration and healing for her mother.