Some praises…
Dear Friends,
A month has passed, and there are several reasons to thank God. Four weeks ago, I started a bible study. Seven guys showed up the first week, and we started studying Romans. The whole study was in Spanish, excepting the one moment when I slipped into English and had a student help me translate the thought I was lacking the vocabulary to communicate. Since then we’ve continued meeting for lunch and the study every Friday at noon, and I think I’m been getting better at doing it all in Spanish. I’ve enjoyed the chance to share in the guys’ lives, and it is encouraging to see them coming back.
This last Saturday, we also threw a fiesta, mostly on the premise of it being my birthday. We had a pretty good turn out, and besides the cake and piñata, I had the opportunity to share a testimony from my life. Like the bible studies, it was all in Spanish. By the time I had finished, I was relieved to find that I was not frustrated at my inability to speak, but rather felt like it had been understandable. I spoke about my repeated experience of stepping out in faith and seeing God respond, offering the question or challenge for the listeners to consider if God may be offering them a similar chance to trust him and see him come through. There were not any immediate responses, but as with all our work here, I am trusting that God is using it even if it isn’t immediately evident as to how.
And some prayer requests…
I mentioned a few prayer needs briefly at the very end of last month’s letter that warrant a little more explanation now. The first of these is our Merida Retreat, November 23rd-25th. The theme centers on families, a subject that seems to be a common area of hurt and/or need for students, whether new to the movement or not. The talks will progress through having a foundation of Christ, how that can mark an individual to their family, and then God’s ability to also restore family. Unfortunately, the venue for the retreat was only available when our STINT team is away for a staff conference, so our team of student leaders will be running the whole event. Please pray for the elimination of barriers to student attendance (such as finances or schedules) and for the servant team as they take on the challenge of running a major event without our presence.
In addition to the just mentioned staff conference (a week with all Venezuelan staff to do some country wide planning), the following week we will be out of country to renew our traveler’s visas. Add my trip this weekend to the wedding of two students, Inder and Kelly, (pictured at right before a dance competition earlier this year), and it amounts to a lot of traveling for which prayer would be appreciated.
Last month I also mentioned our need for a new apartment, as our landlord will be selling our current place. He is anxious to get us out, and our relationship with him is deteriorating. Pray for God’s provision in the face of rentals being hard to find, needing one that is near the girls’ apartment, rising prices, and a short timeframe.
Finally, there have been some riots in response to an upcoming referendum to amend the Venezuelan constitution, Dec. 2nd. Besides knowing that there’s no safer place to be than where God has me, we are also generally pretty safe because the riots almost always center around campuses. This makes it easy to keep a safe distance; however, it also severely affects how we can do ministry. Pray for safety as well as wisdom and creativity in how to minister in such situations, especially as much of December is likely to be turbulent.
~In His hands, Eben
