Category: Venezuela

E sent me this photo on April 15th of himself together with his brother. You may recall the photo of José’s foot and dying toe. This was one of E’s last moments with his brother before he passed away. The photo was on April 15th. José passed yesterday.

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E mentioned many of you by name and asked “can you please ask them to help me during this time by praying for me”.

José Luis Gomez was E’s only brother. He was older than E.

Thank you for your prayers,

t.

For many years, the government of Venezuela has had elementary schools inside P villages. They have a curriculum which teaches P children the basics of math and literacy. The unfortunate thing (and I’ve said it for so many years), is that even though 100% of these government funded school teachers are P, they have zero curriculum in P! It’s all in Spanish. It’s wonderful that these children are learning some Spanish and math but unfortunately they come out of school not even knowing how to read their own language.

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While I was at the Venezuelan border earlier this year, I visited with a 15 year old P who was fluent in Spanish and P, but could not read very well her P Bible. I asked her to read Genesis 1 and she labored through it, only coming out with about 50% accuracy. So here’s where things get a little interesting. A few years ago, my brother Brent got involved in a mission for under privileged children in Venezuela called Andean Aid. It was entirely “coincidental” that this outreach operates in the same country as I work. The connection was completely unrelated to my work in Venezuela. Well, one of the men in Brent’s leadership group, is a Venezuelan who happens to be Director of the Ministry of Education in one of the western states of the country.

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Long story short, Tomás (the Director of Ministry of Education) wants to help get our P literacy books to be registered and officially entered as curriculum for these P schools. If these children start learning to read P in school, it will revolutionize the efficacy of the written scriptures which we have translated in P. These illiterate children will be able to read their Bibles! Additionally, if our literacy books are the ones used, it will cement our alphabet as the official alphabet in P. (There are fringe P groups who have gone to universities who have developed strange and inferior alphabets which they are trying to get to be official.) 80% of the P’s who can read P, use our alphabet which was developed years ago by the early missionaries (Mary Lou Yount and the Findley’s).

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Tomás travels tomorrow morning and will spend 1 week visiting several P villages. The P’s are all anticipating his arrival and trying to make it special. They have invited teachers from all over the nation to be present. Tomás wants to visit the P villages, have meetings with the P’s and take a literacy primer to the Department of Education and go to bat for us.

Pray for success in this as it has powerful ramifications!

Thanks,

t.

“What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.”
Psalm 8:4-6

It is always fascinating to look at the design in which God has made things. As we look at creation, there are limitless created things to ponder and to see that they are created by God with a purpose, designed to be just as they are and to work together with the rest of creation.

As we contemplate the place of humanity in the creation of God, Psalm 8 gives us powerful insight into God’s design for humanity and the power given which rests upon the tip of our tongue. Though in Adam mankind fell from glory, in Christ glory and honor is restored. In fact, though Christ was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death (Heb 2:9), when God raised Him up a new Man, He became far “better” than the angels (Heb 1:4).

Why did God do all this to Christ? As God, the eternal Word was always God and always will be God. But through an incomprehensible mystery, the Word was made flesh. It was necessary FOR OUR SAKE that He, God, partake of flesh and blood (Heb 2:14) so that we might become identified with His form of new humanity. “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev 21:5).

I started this email to ask you to pray for Elendie. So, what does this have to do with prayer? I don’t think we realize the power which lies on the tip of our tongue, but I think these truths in the Scriptures help give us insight into the power of prayer through Christ the New Man, to whom all authority in heaven and earth is given, who is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high (Heb 1:3). All things are put under His feet – and therefore since we are members of His body, all things are put under our feet too. In short, as a new humanity in Christ,

God has made you to have dominion over the works of His hands…

…but only to the measure that you abide in Christ. You cannot ask God something fleshly and expect He will answer that prayer (James 4:3). Elendie, has become a great blessing to the P nation and to me too. I have been using his music in the daily radio programs. Sometimes I worry that fame could wreck him, (though I have seen nothing which indicates that). Nonetheless, it’s on my heart to ask you to pray for him, that God would preserve and protect his life as he serves through his music and the Scripture gives us this promise that, “God is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:4)

As we consider the above scriptures, I think we get a glimpse of what it means to pray “in Jesus name”. Would you take some time to pray for Elendie?

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Thank you so much,

t.

Here’s another song which Elendie recently composed. I used it in today’s radio program and it fit SO well with the scriptures I was teaching in John 5:20-24.

“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Here are the lyrics to Elendie’s beautiful song:

“God our creator, is so good and kind.
He sent His son to come into the world.
So let us, every soul which trusts in Him
Rejoice – we have eternal life!”

“Christ, the righteous one, we worship Him,
Thinking on our salvation, we sing full of joy,
Brethren in Christ, let us adore Him,
It is only Christ, there is no other.
There is no other, He alone, there is no other.”

“We worship Him, Him alone the righteous one,
Thinking of our salvation, we sing full of joy,
Brethren in Christ, let us adore Him,
It is only Christ, there is no other.
There is no other, He alone, there is no other.”

Hoping you might also get a touch of this and be encouraged as I was.

t.

Elendie appears to be going great guns out in Caño Iguana training the Joti to play and sing. I hear they really like music and have actually been at it for quite some time.

One of them even learned how to make guitars from jungle materials by hand. Here are some photos of the guitars that they made. Also, here are some other photos that Elendie sent me yesterday of his guitar classes.

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It’s just so cool to be a bystander watching the wonderful works of God in these remote (VERY, VERY REMOTE) places of the world, hidden from the world’s main stream, but in plain view of the One who sits on the eternal throne in the highest place of all worlds and all things.

In the meantime, Elendie found an English worship song online. He said he really wanted to know the lyrics, so this morning I translated them for him into P and he has already composed a version of “Jesus Paid It All” into P! Here is the first verse. It came fresh out of the jungle just hours ago.

Thanks for praying for Elendie and for us and for your interest in these wonderful things of the Lord.

t.