2010 Barquisimeto Short-Term Mission

Mission Accomplished!!!

2010-08-31T00:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Lord,

Thank you for giving every single one of us the chance to serve you in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. By grace alone, we were able to have such a wonderful and fruitful time. Thank you for each and every face that we met. They are all so sweet and adorable.

Praise Your Name for those who were touched by You. May you continue to speak to them and strengthen their faith in You. May you continue to guide every one of us to follow you step-by-step.

Amen, your children.

Dear All,

We would like to share with you our GREAT JOY & EXPERIENCE. Please check it out here.

in Him,
Elizabeth, Enoch, Kevin, Nathanie, Nicole & Priscilla

8/14 - Day 13 - Leaving Venezuela and Going Home

2010-08-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, can’t believe it’s the last day and it’s the day for us to head back to the US

簡直不能相信已經是最後一天了, 我們要回美了

Last “night”, all of us slept at about 2am since we were busy packing and finished the one last evaluation for the whole missionary trip. If the previous blog didn’t say what we did “last night”, we gave comments to each one of us and telling what is good about our B&S and what they could be improved. That’s why the meeting ended pretty late. Pastor Wan and Cmo were really energetic and they were never tired of giving their all to God’s work.

昨晚我們約在凌晨二時睡覺, 我們忙著收拾之餘也因為我們要做最後的一個 “宣”後檢討. 如果之前的部落格沒有提到的話, 我們昨晚互相給了大家意見, 分享我們對各弟兄姊妹的優點和可以改進之處, 好像是我們第一次這樣給弟兄姊妹這樣的意見, 但對我們的幫助很大, 當我們知道自己的優缺點後, 我們更可以肯定神對自己的恩賜, 和更注意我們有什麼可以改進的地方. 溫牧師和師母也竭盡所能, 即使已到深夜, 但他們也盡力為短宣做到盡善盡美, 讓我們和日後的知宣隊得到最大的幫助

So we started the day by waking up at 6 am and getting ourselves ready by 7 am. Pastor Nip and Fernando (a brother at the Caracas Church) picked us up at 7:30am and we arrived at the airport 3 hours in advance. Usually in the US, we ignore the 3 hours requirement for international travel, but we found out in Venezuela we could not ignore that because it really took us 1.5 hours to reach the check-in counter (even there were not so many people) Couple things happened in the airport also amazed us apart from the 1.5 hours wait for the check-in

Wait Wait Wait 1.5 Wait for Check In 等等等一點五小時的等候

1) we have to pass through 3 X-ray check, and 2 of them were just 20 meters apart and we don’t know why after we got our bag X-rayed just seconds ago, we have to put in the X-ray belt again in 20 steps

2) Our bags got searched thoroughly: our wallet got opened, and our bible got opened and flipped. The snacks in the paper bag got taken out one by one, we joked with the officer that we could sell him each snack one dollar each

3) After the security check, we were close to the boarding time, but before we could get on the plane, there was another X-ray check. While we wonder how they could keep X-ray check our bags, different people give different answers:

a. A brother suggested that it is a kind of strategy adopted by the airport, it is use to 疲勞轟炸 the real smugglers that they will finally surrender and admit they carried prohibited items

b. A Venezuelan suggested that they want to have more X-ray check than the US to show they are superior to the US

c. I like both of the explanations, how about you?

當日, 我們六時起床, 七時多委京教會的聶牧師和弟兄Fernando接載我們到機場. 我們提早三小時到機場, 通常在美國我們會漠視三小時前check-in的要求, 但原來在委內瑞拉, 我們不能忽視這要求, 即使人龍不是太長, 但我們真的等了一個多小時才能跟空中先生相見, 還有好幾樣在委內瑞拉發生的奇事趣事

1) 我們要經過三個X-ray帶, 其中兩個只有二十米的距離, 我們真的不知道為什麼當我們剛從X-ray帶上拿完行李後, 二十步以內, 又要再把我們的行李放在X-ray上

2) 他們仔細地搜索我們的袋: 我們的錢包給打開, 我們的聖經給翻開, 我們盛滿食物的紙袋給官員完全搜索, 我們以為他很想吃那些零食, 便說笑跟他說每個一元賣給他

3) 我們經過這林林總總的搜查, 已幾乎來不及上機, 但臨上機前他們還要我們過最後一叢的X-ray. 當我們不明為什麼我們要經過這麼多X-ray時, 不同人有不同的答案

a. 有一弟兄說這是委國機場的策略, 要疲勞轟炸真的有帶違禁品的人, 讓他們受不住壓力, 自首說他們真的有帶違禁品

b. 有一委人說因為委國的搜查要比美國更嚴謹, 如果美國有兩次X-ray check, 委國要有三個

c. 這兩個解釋我都很喜歡, 不知道你喜歡那一個?

We finally got on the plane and arrived at the Miami airport, our leader originally proposed visiting a beach in Miami which is 11 mi from the airport. Of course we were all happy about that. However, some other amazing things happened to us, let me put it in points so it is easier for you guys to read it

1) We touched down at Miami 3 pm

2) It took us “hour” to walk from the gate to the custom, a brother commented that the distance from the gate to the custom was 3 mi, and all of us agreed it is the longest distance we have walked from a gate to a custom historically (just kidding, but I believe it really took us 20 minutes to walk to the US custom) I start wondering if Miami has the biggest airport in the world

3) Most of the announcements were broadcasted in Spanish, we almost want to go to the officers and ask them to be considerate about our situation (of not being able to understand Spanish) We felt like we were still in South America!

4) As I have mentioned, we touched down at Miami at 3 pm, and takes 20 minutes to walk to the custom, 10 minutes to wait in line to get our “I-94” stamped L Guess how long does it take for us to get our baggage? We don’t know how long, but we took a picture when we got the baggage, which is at 5 pm. Wow, 2 hours from the time we touched down at Miami. Since the boarding time was about 6 something, so our plan to check out a beach in Miami got canceled. But thank God that everything goes smooth and we were able to enjoy Haagen-Dazs ice-cream at the departure level

5) Once we were at the departure level, everything becomes different, at arrival, the Spanish words were as big as the English words, but at departure, the Spanish words become smaller and were probably vanishing. So we start being able to understand the announcement again :)

MIA -> SFO

最後我們終於上到飛機了, 也抵達了邁阿密的機場, 我們的領隊提議我們到邁阿密的沙灘一趟, 我們當然舉手贊成, 可是, 有更多的奇事趣事發生, 讓我分點說明那大家便容易看了

1) 我們在三時安全降落邁阿密機場

2) 由閘口到過關需要步行 “一小時”, 有弟兄說閘口到過關的距離大約三英里, 我們每個人都同意這是歷史上距離最長的閘口到關口的距離 (說個小小的笑話而已, 但我們真的用了二十分鐘的快走時間才到過關地, 也在懷疑邁阿密機場是否全球最大的機場)

3) 大部分的廣播也是用西文的, 我們就來要叫當地的職員顧及我們這些不會西文的人的感受, 我們覺得我們真的仍在南美 :)

4) 第一點已提及我們三點降落, 二十分鐘走到過關的地方, 十分鐘等他們蓋印在我們的I-94 :( 請猜猜我們什麼時候拿到我們的行李? 我們不知等了多久, 可以當我們拿到行李時, 已經是五時了, 我們到沙灘的希望幻滅了, 但感謝神, 我們開心的享受了我們的哈根達斯雪糕和別緻的壽司

5) 當我們在離境層時, 整個感覺更截然不同了, 西文的字變細了, 廣播已經沒有了西文了, 想不到只是一層之差, 我們猶如在兩個不同的世界了

兩小時後終於拿到行李了 Getting our baggage after 2 hours!

Finally we arrived at SFO, our HOME. We were treated with honor as we got 3 cars to pick us up: Beatrice taking Kevin and Enoch, Ronald taking Nicole and Priscilla, Wilson taking Nathanie and Elizabeth. Then we went to the ABC at San Meteo and took the picture below:

最後, 我們終於抵達三藩市, 我們的家, 我們受到了星級的待遇, 有三架房車接載我們, 有培瑩接載逸安與之諾, 建安接載詠姍與瀅茵, 國偉接載燕妮與質政, 跟著我們便到了在聖馬刁市的甲乙丙餐廳, 還拍了以下的照片

ABC at San Meteo 在聖馬刁的甲乙丙

Thank God that we have a wonderful and perfect trip. We learned a lot and we gave little but we achieved a lot because God worked with us. We were all very happy and fulfilled and we will be sharing with you more in the passage that we were mandated to write and the presentation that we have to sharing the coming Friday (8/27) So stay tune with us!

感謝神我們有著完滿的短宣. 學了很多, 付出不多卻因著神的作為而得著很多, 我們每人都很滿足, 很開心, 但我們的短宣不停在這裡, 我們還要寫我們的分享文章, 也要在這個星期五的團契分享我們的所感所得, 所以, 請繼續留意我們的消息

Prayer requests:

1) See the sad face above? Nathanie lost her I-94, please pray for her so this will be settled

2) We were so used to sharing gospel with people we don’t know in Venezuela, please pray that we will do the same in the US, like now we are in Fantasia, 2 sisters are planning to share gospel with the strangers around. Please pray that our passion of sharing gospel will keep going and will not die down

3) We were very serious preparing the program in the church in Barquisimeto, please pray that our attitude will last and we will be as serious when we prepare program in AGCC

4) Through this STM trip, we treat praying seriously, we prayed when someone got stick, we prayed when a seminary student had trouble entering Venezuela, in the morning we praised, shared and prayed for an hour, we prayed before we out reached, we prayed during we were outreaching, we prayed after we did the out reach, we prayed before the night program, we prayed during the night program, we prayed after the night program, we prayed when we sowed seed, we prayed when we did the harvesting, we prayed for those who received Christ, we prayed for those who were not ready receiving Christ, we prayed those who were weak in us, putting the following into practice:

¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5)

代禱事項:

1) 看見了上面的傷心樣嗎? Nathanie遺失了I-94, 請為她代禱讓她的I-94能找回來

2) 我們在委國習慣了跟陌生人傳福音, 請為我們代禱, 讓我們的習慣能延續. 現在我們在夢咖啡, 希望神能為我們預備人讓我們能跟他/她分享福音

3) 我們在巴城很認真的為神的工安排, 希望我們認真的態度能延續, 讓我們在全恩堂也能全力以赴

4) 我們這個短宣後看重了祈禱, 有人生病了馬上祈禱, 有人進不了委國國境馬上祈禱, 早上有一小的早禱會, 出門探訪前禱告, 探訪時禱告, 探訪後禱告, 預備聚會前禱告, 聚會時禱告, 聚會後禱告, 傳福音播種時禱告, 傳福音收割時禱告, 為接受福音的人的成長禱告, 為還未接受福音的人禱告, 為我們當中軟弱的弟兄姊妹禱告, 實踐了聖經所說的:

「要常常喜樂，不住的禱告，凡事謝恩；因為這是神在基督耶穌裏向你們所定的旨意。」〈帖撒羅尼迦前書五：16-18 〉

8/13 - Day 12 - Leaving Barquisimeto to Caracus

2010-08-29T00:04:00.003-07:00

Time flies! It's finally the day of leaving Barquisimeto!

These two weeks have passed by very quickly without our notice. On Day 12, we were all packed and ready to leave for Caracus, but we left our hearts with the brothers and sisters in Barquisimeto. Brothers and sisters from IBCB came at 745am to give us ride to the bus station where we took the bus to Caracus.

After settling down our tickets and luggage, we had a quick breakfast with these brothers and sisters. Same as the first day, they were busy buying food and drinks for us. This is exactly the example of “serving one and other with love”. We were all very touched!

Our Bus

The end of this quick breakfast marked the time of leaving. We walked back to the station and stood in line for getting on the bus. We all knew that we will miss everybody in Barquisimeto so much!

It took us around 6 hours to travel from Baquisimeto to Caracus. Thanks God that there was a rest stop where we could move our legs.

Lunch at the Rest-Stop

It was around 4pm when we arrived Caracus. Pastor Nip and a brother, Fernando, picked us up from the bus station. We first put down our luggage at the church where we stayed for the night, then they were very kind to take us to buy some souvenirs as we did not have any chance to walk around (well, we walked around a lot but not for sightseeing nor shopping! :P) in Barquisimeto. We then had dinner with Fernando’s family.

Shopping

Waiting for Dinner

Post-Dinner with Fernado's Family

We went to visit Pastor Nip’s church after dinner. We also had the chance to listen to the sharing of Pastor Nip, his wife, and one of the deacons of the church. Mrs Nip’s sharing was very touching and encouraging – even though she has kidney problem which requires her to go to the hospital three times a week, she still put her faith in God and use her own sickness to testify God’s grace. She shared that although she is always tired after medical treatment, she always feels energetic on Sunday morning! She believes that God gives her energy to serve Him on every Sunday and she treasures it very much!

After the sharing, we went back to the church where we stayed. However, our night didn’t end there. We still had our final evaluation! We were asked to say make appreciation and suggestion to every other team member. From this evaluation, we knew what we had done well and what we need to work on more. This is really beneficial to our future serving.

It was around 1 to 2am…we finally got to take shower and go to bed! We needed to get up early the next day to catch the flight back to the US!

8/12 - Day 11 - Revisiting, Answering Challenging Questions and Farewell

2010-08-29T00:04:00.001-07:00

We began the day with the morning prayer meeting led by Kevin. Kevin's sharing had a really nice conclusion about the whole missionary trip :) After that, we went to revisit the people whom we outreach before to say goodbye with them. Enoch, Marion and Nathanie went to revisit Carolina, Lisa, Linet and Wai who have received Christ previously and dropped them Bibles. Please pray that they will know about God more through reading Bible. We also went to say bye to the nail lady Fong Siu Lam, David (worked in the same store as Caroline and Lisa) and Jenny who showed interest on Jesus. We were really encouraged that some of them said they wanted to go to church the past Sunday but due to something happened so that's why they couldn't come. Kevin, Nicole and Eliz also went to say goodbye to other folks they had previously talked to. Please pray that God will remove the obstacles so they will be able to go to Church the following weeks.

It was our last evening at IBCB, the church has invited us to hold a Q&A session for the brothers and sisters. Prior to our trip, the brothers and sisters from IBCB have prepared for us a set of tough questions mainly regarding the issue of salvation. That evening, our team tried to answer those questions based on biblical teaching, and Pastor Wan concluded the meeting with a presentation explaining God’s grace and human’s responsibilities on the issue of salvation and Christian living.

After the meeting, the brothers and sisters surprised Pastor and Mrs. Wan and our team with a very special gift. They have custom-made for each one of us a mug with our pictures on it. We were very surprised and touched by this farewell gift and the love the brothers and sisters have shown to us during our stay in Barquisimeto. And of course, there was some more picture time...

Our gifts :) 我們的禮物

Group picture 團體照

At the end of the night, it was hard to believe that we have already spent about two weeks in Barquisimeto. We are still very amazed and encouraged by the power of the gospel, and the presence and guidance of God in all the ministries that He has allowed us to take part in during our stay. And, we are all very excited to see people coming to Christ everyday and that the brothers and sisters at the church come to learn about God and His Word. It has been such a blessing to witness God’s great work among His people! God is good!

And you know what, on our last day in Barquisimeto, God brought us 2 fruits. Do you remember Ah Fa's housemate Ah Fung? Her Husband Mr. Sze To came to the meeting at night and Kevin and Cmo shared gospel with him and he was willing to receive Christ. Ah Fa's another housemate's Ying Ying's Mum also came to the meeting at night and she was willing to receive Christ as her Savior as well. Praise the Lord, Fa's whole family received Christ and we heard that they just had a bible study session in their house the week after we left Barquisimeto. There were a total of 6 people:
Ah Fa, Fa's husband, Ah Fung, Fung's husband, Fa's cousin Chun, Fa's housemate Ying's mum
How Great is our Lord!
Please pray that the bible study session will continue in their home and they will grow in Christ continually

And for those who have been reading this blog along the way, we simply want to thank you for your support and prayers, for we know that it is all because of His grace and power that this trip could be so wonderful! May all the glory be unto Him.

8/11 - Day 10 - Outreach, Follow-up and Prayer meeting

2010-08-21T22:06:00.001-07:00

Time flies, it's the second Wednesday already, and tomorrow will be our last day here in Barquisimeto. Words are not enough to count God's blessings throughout.

Today, once again, we targeted our outreach to strengthen some new believers in the church or those who have accepted Jesus Christ last week. We divided into two groups. Kevin, Nathanie and Nicole went to Fa's home. They have arranged to meet with Fa and her husband (Wai), Wai's nephew (Chun) and a lady who lives in Fa's house (Fung) to go over the first chapter of a discipleship booklet. The session went really well and each of them showed a seeking heart towards God's words. Kevin also took the chance to encourage Wai as he still has the habit of smoking and finds it difficult to quit. All in all, it's evident that God is working through Fa to her friends and families.

Enoch, Elizabeth and Priscilla went to visit the shops workers on Carrera 22 who have accepted Jesus Christ last week. Marion and Carolina from the youth fellowship joined them as well. They first visited Lik, the owner of a candy & snack shop. They gave him a booklet of discipleship material in Spanish. Marion and Carolina invited Lik to study the discipleship lessons and also invited him to go to the spanish youth fellowship. Then they moved on to visit a couple, Chiu and Miu Yu. Chiu works at a Hi-Fi shop and Miu Yu works in a small grocery just a block from Chiu. Although it was difficult to talk long with them individually due to the the surroundings, the group encouraged them to continue to read the devotional booklet and go to the spanish fellowship. En-route to the last visitation, the group visited Isabel's (JuJu) grandma to say Goodbye. They saw Adolfo at the shop and they also went to see Adolfo's dad, Kwok Wa - one of the leaders of the church, as well. The last visit is for Miu Miu, a girl who works at a home supplies shop. Elizabeth and Priscilla introduced Marion and Carolina to her so that they can care for her spiritual needs continuously.

Wednesday night is again the church's prayer meeting. In addition to the regular chinese congregation, the mission team invited the spanish speaking youths to come for a special prayer meeting as well.

Singspiration

Kevin, Priscilla and Nathanie was in charge to hold the adults prayer meeting. The focus of this prayer meeting is to encourage them to learn how to pray publicly. After singspiration, Kevin and team continued to leverage the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) praying pattern. But this time, everyone has to take turn participating in praying out loud. In God's grace, the prayer went really well and everyone had a chance to pray publicly.

Adults' Prayer Meeting

On the rooftop simultaneously, Enoch and Nicole led the prayer meeting for the spanish youths. They also introduced the ACTS praying pattern. To everyone's surprise and in awe of God's blessings, 26 youths came even knowing how danger it could be for them to be out at night. It was more than double the number of adults (12) who came. During the third part (T - Thanksgiving), Enoch asked the youths to try sharing things that they thanked God for. Amazingly, every single one of the 26 shared. It was evident that God was speaking to all of their hearts. Manuel, the spanish youth pastor, was also able to attend the prayer meeting. The mission team pray that God will use Manuel to strengthen the prayer mission for the youths.

Youths' Prayer Meeting

Amen.

8/10 - Day 9 - Outreaching and Preaching Practice

2010-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Enoch began the day by sharing Jeremiah 29:4-14, which is about the Lord's love and faithfulness towards the Israelite exiles in Babylon. Enoch likened the Chinese in Venezuela to the Israelites, who are living in a different country and being captured by the burdens and desires of this world. However, the Lord is compassionate and Jesus came to free us from our captivity. All of us need to accept Christ as our Savior. Not only we have eternal life, we can also cast our worries and burdens in this life onto Him.

Buying fried chicken at a Chinese Restaurant

Our lunch!

Today our visitations were scheduled in the afternoon, thus we stayed at IBCB in the morning to prepare for the upcoming programs. At about 2pm, we divided into teams and headed out.
Kevin, Pris and Nicole went to visit a friend of Lily's, who came from a Catholic background. She and her husband have a Chinese restaurant in Barquisimeto. Although she was born in Venezuela, she spoke fluent Cantonese and she was very willing to share about her life. She shared that she was kidnapped about 3 months ago. While in captivity, she kept praying and had faith in God that she would be released. Praise God that she was finally released after 12 days and her outlooks on life completely changed. Having been in a life-threatening situation, she realized that it's much more important to spend time with family members than making more money. Although she knew of God and had faith in Him, she did not have the assurance of salvation. Thus we shared the Gospel with her and invited her to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Praise God she accepted Christ right away and Lily prayed with her in Spanish as she invited the Lord into her heart! Later on her husband came to say hi to us but he was too busy to chat. At the end, we left him with some Gospel tracts and invited him, his wife and his mother-in-law to church. May God continue to protect and guide this family so that they will all eventually turn to Jesus!

Enoch, Eliz, Nathanie and Marion went to revisit Fong Siu Lam (the nail lady) and Eliz dedicated her nails to God's work and willing to get her nail job so that she could share gospel with the nail lady. The lady showed interest and willing to talk to us for 2 hours. She was so nice that she gave Eliz a free manicure. Please pray that she will be willing to receive Christ one day. Also, Marion guided us to a store where there is a Chinese there. Nathanie and Eliz went to share gospel with the Chinese guy called Wai and he was willing to receive Christ at the scene. Please pray that he will be growing in Christ and will be able to go to Church despite the poor safety in the city.

At night, there was preaching practice #2. It's brother Keung and sister Ling's turn! We paid close attention to them as they preached God's words in Psalm 8 with fervency and shared their personal testimonies with passion. Their faithfulness to God is exemplified by their humility and willingness to serve at the church despite their daily duties. We all learnt a lot from their sermons and constructive criticism from Pastor Wan. For non-preachers, it's equally important to learn how to listen to sermons so that we can understand God's words better and apply them in our lives.

Praise God for another great day filled with His grace and love!

8/9 - Day 8 - Home Visits and Chinese Adult Fellowship

2010-08-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

After the programs on Sunday, we were amazed by how the Holy Spirit worked in each of us. He did not only show His power when we were preaching the Gospel to others, but He also empowered us individually when we needed the courage, strength and the right words to say. =) In the morning we headed out to different stores again to preach the Gospel. We were glad that Marion and Carolina teamed up with us and happily we dashed into the busy streets of Barquisimeto with our Gospel tracts and tools. Maybe because of the traffic and smog from cars I felt a little peculiar sometimes when I crossed the streets. It's like a parable reflecting the life of Chinese in this city, that they're obscured and choked by the smog of fear, because of the frequent robbery and kidnapping. Their souls are like the lost sheep in the Bible, and the Gospel is the only way to lead them to Jesus, our Good Shepherd. He is the Prince of Peace and King of Glory!

So off we went, we walked from door to door, and Praise the Lord that four more people accepted Christ as their Savior. One of them is Alex, who worked in a grocery store. He's born in Venezuela so he couldn't read Chinese. Our team prayed for his heart at the back while one of us was talking to him, amazingly he turned to Christ and accepted Him. Jesus says, if you have the faith as small as a mustard seed you could move mountains. Indeed during the trip we saw how God moved the hearts of people like the mountains. When Kevin, Nicole and Priscilla first talked to Aunt Wan, they were muddled by her Yanping dialect. For the first 10 minutes, as they didn't understand anything she said, they prayed to God in their hearts together. Then surprisingly they could understand what she's talking about afterward and shared the love of Christ with her.

Enoch, Marion and Nathanie went to revisit Carolina, and since Carolina was busy, Nathanie and Marion had a chance to share gospel with Carolina's sister, Lisa. Once again, Nathanie spoke in English, Marion translated and thank God that Lisa was willing to receive Christ. We also had a chance to visit a Manicure lady Fong Siu Lam, unbelievably, we share Christ with her for more than half an hour and she was so nice that she treated us some soft drinks. She showed immense interest about Christ and was moved by the gospel of God. Please pray that God will open her heart and she will be receiving Christ as her Savior

At night we had a scrumptious supper cooked by the lovely brothers and sisters from IBCB. Their smiling faces and hospitality reminded us so much of AGCC. We enjoyed much the fellowship with IBCBers! It is Jesus' command to us that we ought to love each other, and that's what brought us here. :) Jesus is our shelter, and in Him, we share our laughter and tears, and we are one big family in Christ after all no matter where we are from.

After the dinner coffees were served, and Mr. Leung led us to praise God and devotion. Although there were things in the passage they didn't understand, they were eager to seek the answers and listened to Pastor Wan's explanations. Happily and freely they shared their points of view, and at the same time the kids were having a good time in the room as well. The church was filled with liveliness and joy.

Another heartening story of prayer I would like to share is about our Venezuelan sister Marion. Her parents are missionaries and she was taught how to pray for the nations since she was a child. Therefore she has a devoted and loving heart for God and His kingdom. Before the missionaries from Hong Kong and our STM team came, she already spent much time praying for IBCB. She mentioned that IBCB was like a baby in her eyes and growing in God's hands day by day. Not only she supported the church with prayers, she also joined us to preach gospel to Spanish-speaking Chinese. It's totally God's abundant grace He sent His daughter to serve the Chinese community! Even though she's not Chinese, her love and care to them reflected the love of Christ. How about us? Are we willing to pray for the Chinese Christians around the world, or even the people of different colors?

8/8 - Day 7 - Sunday Service and Sunday School

2010-08-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

Love Feast before Sunday Service

We had love feast with brothers and sisters of IBCB before Sunday service (at 12:00pm). Their Sunday Service started at 3:30pm since some of the brothers and sisters need to work in the morning on Sunday.

Sunday Service

Sunday Service started at 3:30pm. We were in charge of the worship and Sunday School program. Although we were all a bit anxious, it was very exciting to praise God together with the brothers and sisters at IBCB! Each of us picked up different role: Nicole was the chair person of the service, Enoch lead the worship, Priscilla was the pianist, Jimmy and Aldofo from IBCB played the guitar and drums, Nathanie and Elizabeth shared their testimonies, then it came the sermon from Pastor Wan. Thanks God that the joy of the holy spirit filled the whole service, and it's precious to see how God used our gifts to serve the brothers and sisters.

Sunday School Sharing

Sunday School started after Sunday Service. We were invited to share on different roles in the Sunday Service -- chairperson, singspiration leader, accompanist, children and youth ministry.

Enoch shared on service leader

Elizabeth shared on singspiration leader

Nicole shared on accompanist

Kevin shared on translation

Nathanie shared on youth ministry

Priscilla shared on children ministry

8/7 - Day 6 - Local Market Visitation and Preaching Practice

2010-08-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

星期六我們到了街市, 有點像香港的露天街市. 根據溫牧師所講, 這是一個中國人聚集的地方. 即使我們七點已經到達現場, 我們已經看見很多中/西人在擺檔, 也有很多中國人在趁墟, 藉買餸的時間去會親朋戚友, 通常中國人在巴城都會受到西人奇異的眼光, 惟有在這個墟, 中國人才真正找到自己的身份. 我們負責派單張, 中信月刊, 教會傳單, 希望人們能回到教會認識耶穌, 即使他們不能到教會, 神仍能透過單張和月刊對他們講說話, 吸引他們到主前來

Saturday was the day when we went to a market, it is just like a farmer’s market. According to Pastor Wan, it is a place where Chinese people gather together. Even we arrived really early (we left hotel at 7am), we already see tons of Chinese people in the market. Usually when Venezuelans see Chinese, they look at Chinese with a strange look on their face. However, when Chinese gathered in the market, they could find their identity and feel the place like their home. We met couple people we saw during out-reach and they all show friendly faces and attitudes. Even we do not get a chance to talk to them like when we were doing out-reach, but we were happy that we were able to distribute gospel tracts, Church meeting time and CCM magazines. May God use the gospel tracts and CCM magazines to draw their heart to Jesus and so they will be willing to go to church

在下午的時間, 我們每人都忙著預備主日崇拜與主日學. 我們短宣隊每人都要分享我們在教會事奉的經驗, 我們要分享的, 分別有

之諾 – 主日崇拜主席

逸安 – 翻譯

詠姍 – 司琴

質政 – 領詩

燕妮 – 青年主日學

瀅茵 – 兒童主日學

During the afternoon break time, we were busy preparing for the Sunday Worship Program

Each one of us has to share our experience of serving at a certain position in the Sunday Worship:

Enoch – Chairman

Kevin – Interpreter

Nicole – Accompanist

Elizabeth – Worship Leader

Nathanie – Youth Sunday School Teacher

Priscilla – Children Sunday School Teacher

之諾, 詠姍與瀅茵更要為主日崇拜領詩, 主席與司琴的崗位勤於準備, 之諾努力準備主日崇拜流程, 他們三個人都為領詩而努力練習詩歌, 不用領不用彈不用唱的人有幸可以欣賞他們美妙悅耳的歌聲與琴聲

Enoch, Nicole and Priscilla have to prepare for the Worship part of the Sunday Service. Enoch prepared the flow of the Sunday Service, three of them busy preparing the Singspiration.

感謝神讓到我們在美國全恩堂有很多事奉的機會, 讓我們今次可以用我們所學的服侍巴城的弟兄姊妹, 與他們分享我們的經歷與經驗

We praise the Lord for our opportunities to serve in AGCC for a decent number of years and be able to serve and share our experience with the brothers and sisters abroad

晚上我們有試講實習, 巴城的弟兄姊妹試講靈修分享與講台訊息, 我們負責提供意見, 感謝神我們在這晚上學習了很多分享/講道所需要注意的事項, 每人都得著不少

The night program was the preaching practice by the B&S in ICBC where three of the B&S have to preach a sermon or lead a devotion sharing. We STM team will have to give comments. We praise the Lord that we all learn a lot from the program and we have better idea on how to interpret a sermon and what are needed to be paid attention when one preaches a sermon.

8/6 - Day 5- Visitation and Youth Fellowship

2010-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Time flies! Can't believe it's already Friday! Early in the morning we had bible devotion led by Kevin on Mark 14: 3-9.

"While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly. "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

It's indeed a very good reminder, that we have to seize the opportunities to serve our Lord wholeheartedly and with our best! We ought to prioritize things in our life, because there are too many distractions and temptations in this modern era that pull us away from God. Let us remember to place God the highest when we rank our daily responsibilities, and only God alone can satisfy our hearts and give us hope. It's one of the lessons we learned from this trip.

When we saw the brothers and sisters at IBCB thirsting for God's words and teachings, and still holding on to their faith in this chaotic and dangerous environment, we couldn't help but give thanks to God. We are indeed very blessed to have Pastor Lee and Mrs. Lee shepherding us, and go to church without any fear. Psalm 146 says, "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, He hears their cry and saves them, the Lord watches over all who love Him, but all the wicked he will destroy." We believe that their voices are heard and God will show His abundant love and grace to them.

In the morning we visited different stores to preach the gospel. Thank God that some Spanish-speaking youths who have the compassion of spreading the Gospel came with us. We came to know Ah Lek at the first store we visited, a young man from a Yan Ping family but was born in Venezuela. At first we were not confident enough that he would understand what we were talking about since he spoke very little Cantonese and English. But God touched his heart thus he understood the Gospel and accepted Christ with joy! From this we experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. Many people yearn for the peace and assurance from God. On the same day, three more people accepted Christ as their Savior. Praise be to God!

In the evening, we were in charge of the youth fellowship. One of the most memorable experiences was gathering together and learning hymns in Spanish. Enoch led us to sing the hymns that night and with Tommy's (Keung's son) help on translation, we sang "As the Deer" together in Spanish! Tommy, Adolfo and Nicole accompanied our voices on the guitar, drums and piano respectively.

Nicole shared 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." The youths enthusiastically read and memorized the verse together.

Then Elizabeth led two ice-breaker games. One of them is called "Affirm me", in which they had to share with us their gifts and good traits from God. The game was followed by a message from Galatians 5:22, about the fruit of the Spirit. Praise God that all programs went smoothly, and most importantly we got the chance to talk to the youths and enjoy the sweetness of God's teaching together.

See our the happy faces? :)

8/5 - Day 4 - Visiting, evangelizing and preaching workshop

2010-08-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

Can’t believe it’s the 3^rd day in Venezuela, since we always have stuff to prepare, time really flies.

Chicken Tail Bun 雞尾包

Fishball lai fun 魚丸瀨粉

Dumpling 餃子

Similar to yesterday, we went to visit people on the street. Since we were in another group yesterday, let me brief about what happened yesterday. Yesterday, Pastor’s group went to visit a sister’s dad. Amazingly, the person went from having a lot of misunderstanding about church to actually willing to come to church the same night. How wonderful our Lord is to touch the heart of the person. At the beginning, he thought that only people with problems came to church (divorce, drug addicts/alcoholic) After the Pastor talked to the person using Bible verses and prayed with him, the person has a new perception about Bible, Church and God. The day ended with the person coming to the church with 3 of his kids for a prayer meeting and had a 1-2-hour sharing with the Pastor

Today, we went to “sweep the street”, which means going to store after store to share gospel with strangers. The visit ended with 2 people receiving Christ as their Savior. Their names are Carolina and Linet. Praise the Lord for touching their hearts to receive Christ. Please pray that they will continue to go to church and grow spiritually. The rest of the people who showed interest but did not receive Christ at the scene included David, Jenny, Ah Lok, Elaine, Ah Mo. Please pray that God will continue to work on their hearts so they will be able to receive Christ as their Savior. They stated that they are interested in coming to Friday’s fellowship. Please pray that God will stop the work of Satan and allow them to come to the church.

Visitation report and sharing 探訪後報告與分享

Departure of seminary students 神學生的離開

One thing that impressed me is, the people here really trust in Lord and place God in the first place. They give thanks to the Lord for everything and in everything. Even life might not be smooth for abduction of Chinese happened all the time, they still praise God for having a day safe. While people start not going to church at night for safety reason, for those who come have been experiencing the protection from God.

Preparing preaching workshop 準備講道學習

Prayer/Thanksgiving items (in addition to the bolded items above)

1) We are preparing the Spanish Youth Fellowship tonight. There will be games, message sharing and we invited a lot of people on the street. May God draw their heart to Him so they will know God more and will be willing to keep coming

2) Thank God that Sister’s Ling sister-in-law Sum Yu Ching was released yesterday (Thursday) and the kidnappers were arrested. But Sister Ling still worried that the kidnappers will take revenge since they did not get the ransom. Please pray that God will keep their whole family safe and the kidnappers will not take revenge

真的不能相信我們已在委內瑞拉第三天了, 因為我們常常都有東西要預備, 所以時間真的過得很快

好像昨天那樣, 我們再一次向附近中國人的店鋪傳福音. 因為我跟昨天的blogger不在同一組裡, 所以讓我簡述我們組裡發生的事

昨天我跟牧師到一個姊妹的爸爸那裡探訪, 那爸爸因為一些事對教會有很大的偏見, 又覺得有問題的人才會到教會去. 可是, 經過了和牧師的對話, 聖經分享和祈禱後, 那爸爸開始對教會改觀. 當夜, 那爸爸更攜同他的兩個兒子和女兒到祈禱會去, 牧師師母跟他分享後, 他開始都對神開放了, 感謝神奇妙的工作, 希望神繼續在那爸爸心裡動工

今天, 我們又去掃街, 所謂掃街, 就是到每間店鋪跟當地的中國人傳福音. 這次的探訪收獲豐富, 有兩人馬上願意接受主作決志禱告, 有四個人願意參加教會的聚會, 請大家為到決志者(Carolina & Linet)的栽培禱告, 亦為到有興趣來到教會的人(David, Ah Lok, Elaine, 阿武), 神能攔阻魔鬼的攪擾, 讓到他們星期五真的能夠來到教會的青團

一件最讓人深刻的事, 就是這裡的人很會倚靠神信靠神. 即使這裡的治安 “恐怖” 他們還是滿有喜樂的感恩他們有一天的平安. 即使有好些弟兄姊妹因為安全問題而沒有參加教會的晚上聚會, 但有參加的人就因著信靠神而繼續參加晚上的聚會, 他們的信心真是可敬可佩可學習的

代禱感恩事項 (除了上述粗體的)

1) 我們現在 (Day 5)正準備晚上的西文青年團契, 時間有限, 籌備事項眾多, 希望神能讓到整個過程順利, 最重要是希望西青更多認識神, 而新朋友願意透過這次活動而繼續到教會去得到靈命上的成長

2) 玲姊妹的弟婦在我們祈禱會後被釋放, 神馬上答應了我們的禱告! 可是因為綁架者被捉拿, 又沒有收到贖金, 他們有可能會尋仇, 請繼續為玲姐一家的安全代禱

8/4 - Day 3 - Visiting, evangelizing and prayer meeting

2010-08-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Since it's a bit chilly in the hotel, Keung and May (IBCB Church leaders) kindly brought us blankets at midnight. We are all touched by their generosity in the love of Christ, and they are indeed wonderful examples from which may learn how to love brothers and sisters. In the morning, Keung and May brought us to a European cafe for breakfast. After being energized by the delicious aroma of German pastries and

Venezuela

coffee, we were divided into three groups to reach out to the Chinese in the local stores.

Walking through the streets and alleys, we noticed that there were many Chinese working in the stores. When we approached them, they were very friendly and willing to share with us the bits and pieces of their lives in Barquisimeto. Most of them are from Yanping District (the northern part of Fujian province of China) and came here with their family for business. Since the safety of the neighborhood is endangered by the kidnappers and robbers, most of the Chinese in Barquisimeto get off work at around 630 pm.

We visited about 10 stores and over 20 people in total, from teenagers to middle-aged. Most of them have been living here for more than 10 years, while some of them might have been here for only couple months. When we talked to each individual, we usually began by asking about their lives in a

Venezuela

, then asked if they had heard about Jesus. If not, we would try to share the Gospel with them and invite them to come to the local church here. Praise God that most of the people we talked to were willing to listen and share. One of the girls Eliz talked to made the decision to accept Christ! Please continue to pray that the seeds of the Gospel will continue to grow in their hearts and they will be able to come to church.

After lunch, we came back to church to prepare for the prayer meeting at night. At about 7pm, most of the church leaders showed up and the meeting began. Priscilla first led 3 hymns, then Kevin shared Psalm 103, and lastly Nathanie gAuided us through prayer using the ACTS model (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). We first shared some thanksgiving items and prayer requests, then we were divided into 4 groups and started praying. Praise God for a precious time of sharing and praying tonight!

Prayer Requests/Thanksgiving Items:

Direction to move to a new place
Sister-in-law of Sister Ling, Sum Yu Ching, got kidnapped for 2 weeks, please pray for the release of Sum Yu Ching
Cantonese speaking Pastor/Missionaries for IBCB who could pastor and train the B&S there, appointed to take care of the growth of the B&S and the church
Specialist to carry out discipleship training, follow-up training and visitation training for the B&S there.
IBCB B&S will be able to apply and put into practice of what they learned in the prayer meeting

The seeds of the Gospel will continue to grow in the hearts of people who just received Christ and were visited by the STM members and they will be able to come to church

因為旅館有點冷, 教會領袖強哥與他的太太媚姐為我們寒風送暖(冷氣的寒), 我們為到他們基督的愛深受感動。他們實在展示了如何在主裡愛弟兄姊妹的好例子。早上強哥和媚姐帶我們到一個歐式的咖啡店吃早餐, 自得到從德式麪包和委式咖啡所提供的能量後, 我們分為三組去街頭探訪當地店鋪裡的中國人。

超個一個Block的銀行龍, 委內瑞拉的效率

當我們走到街上時, 我們發現很多中國人在店鋪裡工作. 當我們接觸他們的時候, 他們非常友善, 也願意與我們分享他們在巴城生活的點滴。他們大部分都是來至恩平(福建省的北部阿政說的, 根據google map恩平好像在廣東省的西部, 有待大家商榷)) 他們通常都是為著生意的緣故, 跟隨著他們的親戚來到委國。因為最近的綁架個案頻起, 大部分的商店都在下午六時半關鋪。

生草的電線 Grass bearing power line

我們探訪了十間店鋪, 二十個被探訪者, 當中有青少年到中年人。他們大部分都已在那裡居住了十多年, 但有一些只是在當地幾個月的時間。當我們跟他們每一個人傾談的時候, 我們通常都會問到他們當地的生活狀況, 跟著我們就會問他們有沒有聽過耶穌。如果沒有, 我們就會跟他們分享福音, 也會邀請他們來到IBCB。感謝讚美神, 大部分的受探訪者都願意聆聽與分享。有一個女孩還願意在阿政分享後接受耶穌! 請繼續為到福音的種子在他們心中成長, 以及他們能夠持續地來到教會聚會。

太累了... Too tired...

聚會檢討 Meeting evaluation

準備祈禱會 Preparing prayer meeting

祈禱會的領詩 Prayer Meeting Singspiration

午飯後, 我們回到教會準備晚上的祈禱會。大約在七時正, 大部分教會的領袖抵達後, 聚會便開始。 Priscilla 首先領了三首詩歌, Kevin分享了詩篇103篇, Nathanie 用ACTS (A- Adoration 讚美, C- Confession 認罪, T- Thanksgiving 感恩, S- Supplication 祈求) 的祈禱方式帶領我們的祈禱會。我們隨後分享了代禱與感恩事項, 跟著便與當地弟兄姊妹分成四組, 開始用以上的方法禱告。實在感謝神讓到我們有這麼寶貴的分享與禱告的時間!

Prayer Meeting 祈禱會

代禱感恩事項

從神得到搬到新堂址的指引
Ling姊妹的弟婦岑玉清, 被綁架了兩星期, 希望她會盡快被釋放
盼望能有一對熟識粵語宣教士夫婦前來負責牧養及教導事工，培育信徒和領袖，一同肩負信徒和教會的成長
專門人訓練當地弟兄姊妹作門徒訓練, 跟進與探訪訓練，過往在多次佈道會上決了志的人，因跟進不及時，而流失不少
當地的弟兄姊妹能夠運用在祈禱會所學的, 實踐在日常生活中
福音的種子會繼續在被訪者/決志者的人的心中成長, 他們能夠持續到返到教會

8/3 - Day 2 - "City tour" + Devotion and Bible Study Sharing

2010-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

After a good night rest, we’re ready for our first day in the city! We had our morning devotion time at the hotel, then Pastor Wan took us back to the Iglesia Bautista China de Barquisimeto (IBCB), which is a 10-minute walk from our hotel. Sister Cissy & Sister Lai Fun, who are seminary students from Hong Kong, kindly prepared some delicious breakfast for us at church.

After breakfast, the sisters showed us around the neighborhood and we visited some of the stores owned by the brothers and sisters here. We had an afternoon off to prepare for the Devotion and Bible Study sharing. Also, sister Lai Fun invited a native Venezuelan, Jean, to share with us the culture of Venezuela.

Brothers and sisters of IBCB started coming in at around 6pm. They prepared a big feast to welcome us! The love between brothers and sisters in Christ is not limited by age or cultural background!

The Devotion and Bible Study started off with prayer and singspiration. We were really glad to see a group of teenagers among us. Even though they cannot understand Chinese completely, they were still willing to join us. We also had the opportunity to share our experience on devotion with them.

Another group composed of Adult Chinese joined the Bible study group. They are very motivated and willing to share in the bible study. Some of them shared that they learned a lot from the meeting. Praise the Lord

Prayer Requests/Thanksgiving Items:
1) B&S will absorb what they learned in the devotional sharing and bible study sharing, apply it and put it into practice. Their spiritual life will grow continuously

2) Venezuela's Safety, Politics and Economy. It has been heard that abductions have been happened to a lot of Chinese, include some of the B&S's relatives in the church

3) STM Team's safely, health, physical strength and heart to rely on God

4) Thank God for the hospitality of the B&S in IBCB

Please continue to support us through prayer. Thanks!

經過了一晚的睡眠後, 我們準備就緒去視察當地的環境. 我們首先在旅館有靈修早禱的時間, 然後, 溫牧師帶到我們到距離旅館十分鐘行程的巴城第一浸信會(IBCB). 由建道神學院的Cissy 與麗芬姊妹為我們準備了豐富的早餐

早餐後, 姊妹們帶我們視察了教會附近的環境, 我們探訪了弟兄姊妹的店鋪. 過後我們便回到教會準備我們晚上帶領的查經與靈修聚會, 麗芬姊妹也請了一個當地的委內瑞拉人, 與我們分享委內瑞拉的文化

IBCB的弟兄姊妹在下午六時多開始來到教會, 他們為我們預備了豐富的筵席! 弟兄姊妹間的愛實在不會因為年齡或文化背景而受到阻隔!

我們以禱告和領詩去開始查經靈修會, 我們實在很高興看見青少年人在我們當中, 即使他們不能夠完全明白中文, 他們仍然願意參與其中. 我們都有機會與他們分享我們過往靈修的經驗

而查經組的組員由當中的廣東成年人所組成, 他們都很活躍, 願意分享查經的領受, 有些更主動分享他們透過這個查經活動而有所得著. 感謝神!

代禱/感恩事項
1) 巴城弟兄姊妹吸收在查經靈修會學到的, 願意運用與實行. 他們靈命的成長
2) 巴城的政治安全與經濟. 近日都有很多綁架中國人的個案, 弟兄姊妹的親戚朋友都有涉及其中
3) 短宣隊的安全, 健康, 精神, 願意倚靠神的心
4) 感謝神讓到短宣隊與當地弟兄姊妹有良好的相交, 受到友善的款待

請繼續以禱告支持短宣隊! 謝謝!

8/2 - Day 1 - From San Francisco, USA to Barquisimeto, Venezuela

2010-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

From San Francisco to Miami

From Miami to Caracus

Caracus

Arepas

Barquisimeto (Hotel)

After 20 hours flying and waiting, we finally arrived in Barquisimeto! …And we didn’t lose any luggage or any team member. Pastor Lip from Caracus, Pastor and Mrs. Wan (i.e. our team leader) welcomed our team at the Caracas airport. Pastor & Mrs. Wan and our team had our first snack - Arepas, which is a bread made of corn very popular in this country - together in Venezuela while waiting for our connecting flight to Barquisimeto.

We arrived the hotel in Barquisimeto around 9:30pm (Venezuela time is 2.5 hours ahead of California time). Though everyone is physically tired after a long day of traveling, our team is very grateful and excited that we are finally in the city of Barquisimeto! Please keep following our blog!

Prayer Request:

1. Devotion and Bible study sharing on Tuesday night (8/3)

2. We will start our daily visiting on Wednesday (8/4)

3. Adapt to new environment (food, weather, and culture)

經過二十多小時的行程, 我們終於到達巴城, 感謝神我們沒有遺失任何行李或組員。聶牧師, 溫牧師及溫師母在Caracus機場迎接我們, 我們更首次嘗到委國的小食Arepas（由粟米製成的包類）。我們等了數小時後就和溫牧師及溫師母一起乘飛機往巴城去。

我們在晚上九時三十分抵達巴城的酒店（巴城的時間比加州快兩個半小時）。雖然我們身體疲累, 但我們都非常感恩及興奮, 因為終於到達巴城了! 請不要放棄留意我們的動向！

代禱事項

1 星期二晚上(8/3)靈修與查經分享聚會

2 由星期三(8/4)開始的探訪

3 適應新環境（食物, 天氣及文化）

8/1 - Day 0 - Leaving SFO

2010-08-02T00:42:00.000-07:00

2010-08-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

謝謝你們的禱告!!

Thanks for your prayers!!

STM Schedule

2010-07-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our schedule is posted! :)

10 more days to go...

2010-07-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

We have only 10 days left before going on our STM trip. In the past month we have been preparing for the trip -- selecting songs, gathering materials, getting ourselves familiar with the place that we are going, Venezuela, etc.

Beside all that, things that we need the most are -- quiet time with God, preparation of our hearts, and your prayers!

離開出發日只剩下10天...在過去一個月我們都很努力地籌備短宣的各項事宜 -- 選詩、搜集相關材料、認識將要去的國家 -- 委內瑞拉、等等。

但是, 我們最需要的卻是在神面前安靜的時間、心靈上的準備、以及你的代禱!