01/24/03: Tribal Update: Turmoil in the country

Hello folks:

Greetings to all of you in Christ's precious Name from South America! Trust you are all fine.

Well, today is the 54th day of the national strike in here in Venezuela. Things are not looking too good and the streets of the major cities like Caracas continue to be filled with marches and protests and some violence. More and more people are getting hurt because of the stone throwing, snipers, military action, and there was even a pipe bomb that went off yesterday. The number of those killed continues to increase and yet, even with the bloodshed, no solution seems to be forthcoming. The opposition is striking to oust the president while he is doing everything possible to maintain his foothold. Many have come from different countries to offer their counsel but so far the two sides are dead-locked. We missionaries are safe so far and continue to carry on with our work. Surprisingly enough, shortages are still minimal and so we are all doing fine.....even if we can't have coke with our pizza!

For quite some time now, we had planned a trip back into Triballand. We were so excited about getting back in there to see our dear Tribal friends and just be able to hang out with them and encourage them. However, it has become obvious that the guerrillas have scouts in the area who are asking about us and when we might be there again. And so we have canceled our trip. We were going to visit Jan 30 - Feb. 3 but that is not to be. We praise the Lord for giving us these signs and protecting our lives. We now look to the Lord for His timing when we should try to go in again. Thanks for praying with us about this.

Earlier this month Teresa and I went to Bogotá, Colombia to attend some meetings having to do with strategy development for finishing the missionary work among the Guajibo people who live in both Colombia and Venezuela. And while we were there, how exciting it was to see a new model for discipleship that is being used with real success in the context of guerrilla-controlled tribal areas. The folks in Colombia have had to be very flexible in how they carry on their ministries and so have made many changes. And so now, Teresa and I are making plans to bring out some of our Tribal families for a month at a time, live together on another tribal station where there is an extra house, and just do life together with these families for a full four weeks! If we can't go to them, then we'll rendezvous with them in another area where its safe! Our times together would include formal as well as informal teaching. The whole goal of course is like the apostle Paul said, to disciple "until Christ be formed in them". We are tentatively thinking about doing this three times a year and that would still give us 9 months to give toward the translation project and Bible lesson development. Needless to say, we are very excited about this. So anyway, we just wanted to let you know what we have up our sleeves and ask you to be praying with us about this.

Praise and Prayer:
-praise the Lord that Marcos, our parking-lot guard here at the apartment complex, was saved and is now very interested in pursuing missions. We are discipling him and it is exciting to see him grow in the Lord. Please pray for his continued growth and for God's direction in his life
-pray as we continue on with the translation of Acts and the preparation of Bible lessons for the book of Titus
-pray for our Venezuelan co-workers in Tribal land, Jose and Elia Ruiz, and Jacinto and Ruby Porrello, that they will be encouraged and really learn that language well in order to be able to effectively minister. Pray for their ongoing protection in there too. Pray for the 3 Ruiz children as well who just left the tribe to go back to the mission school out in town.
-pray for continued development of Tribal leadership in the churches there. Got a great tape from one of the Tribal leaders and it is so encouraging what he shares. (will tell you more about it in a future update)
-pray for the school program, that many Tribal would be good readers and that the teachers would be encouraged and really teach well
-pray for God's will regarding the political situation here in Venezuela and for His continued protection
-pray for God's leading as we plan to disciple these different Tribal families

Okay, guess that is about it. Thanks so very much for your prayers and partnership in the Tribal work. We thank God for you over and over again.

In His Grip,
Merrill and Teresa