Postcards to Grandma

2009-05-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
A couple weekends ago, I had the
chance to go visit Merida, where I lived
last year. On our last day there, I went
"canyoning" with a few friends.
Canyoning is basically hiking down a
river, rappeling down waterfalls with rock
climbing harnesses and ropes, and the
occasional jumping down short rapids.
I've been a few times, including with Dad
when he and mom visited in 2007. It's
always a lot of fun. God bless, Eben

2009-05-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
A couple months ago, we went to a beach on one of the keys just off the coast of Venezuela. Here are my teammates Justin and Oscar and I on the 20 minute boat ride to get there. It was quite an adventure, and as you can see by looking at Justin, we got pretty soaked on the way there.
God bless, Eben

2009-03-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
A few weeks ago, our team took a trip to Quito, Ecuador to renew our traveler's visas. While there, we went up a cable car high into the mountains overlooking the city. We also got to go visit the equator. I think my favorite part was watching water drain in a clockwise swirl on one side of the line, a counterclockwise swirl on the other side, and without a swirl on the line. God bless, Eben

2009-02-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
About 3 blocks away from our apartments there is a botanical garden. I finally went and explored it about a week ago. There were all kinds of birds; I saw some black ones with bright yellow tail feathers, a hawk, a woodpecker, and many others. In the middle of the garden there is a clearing for this giant, epic tree. It was much bigger and its limbs sprawled further than any of the other trees. I think it is probably now one of my favorite places in Valencia. Love, Eben

2009-02-09T20:06:00.001-08:00

Dear Grandma,
A few weeks ago on our way to and from the beach, we drove by a "forest" of palm trees. I don't think I've ever seen so many in one place before. On closer inspection they seemed to actually be planted in rows, so I think it was probably a coconut plantation. However, even though it may have been man made to some degree, it was still a pretty fascinating sight. God bless, Eben

2009-01-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
I think in a prayer letter a while back, I mentioned that we were praying for an apartment with hammock hooks. Well when we found this apartment, the landlord told us we could put in hammock hooks, and we finally got them installed back in December! We've enjoyed the hammock ever since, especially because we can fit two people in it (they call it "matrimonial" size here). It's been a fun answer to prayer. God bless, Eben

2009-01-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
The little corn-meal patties I'm cooking up in this picture are a typical Venezuelan food called arepas. I learned how to make them last year, and I have been called upon several times by my teammates to make them this year in Valencia. I enjoy making them; it is fun to knead the dough and get the right consistency based on touch. They are kind of pita like in that you put meat or other sorts of sandwich fillings in them. God bless, Eben

2009-01-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
Over the break, my friend Darwin from Merida invited me to his house to learn how to make pan de jamon, a traditional Christmas food. It literally translates to 'ham bread" but it has ham, bacon, green olives and raisins in it. We got to be part of the whole process, from the first step in activating the yeast for the dough, to kneading it, to putting the ingredients inside and rolling it, to glazing it, and finally to baking it. It was a lot of fun, and in the end delicious. God bless, Eben

2008-11-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
At the end of the trip with the girls from UP to Merida, we went to a beach to review the week. The beach was on an island, and this shipwreck was there. It reminded me of the Peter Iredale wreck, though this wreck seemed a little more popular with the pelicans. I also caught a hermit crab to look at him close up before letting him go. It was a lot of fun, and the water was perfect temperature for swimming. God bless, Eben

2008-11-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
This last weekend I went to a men's retreat at the beach behind me, called Cata. The waves are pretty good size and really fun to body surf. Since the retreat was for guys from all over Venezuela, I got to see some old friends and make some new ones. We had great food, several discussion times, played soccer and other games, and had lots of time on the beach. It was an all around great weekend. God bless, Eben

October Prayer Letter

2008-10-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-10-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
Two weekends ago we went to a local orphanage to help out by playing with the kids. This one found a popped ball and decided I should wear it as a hat for a while. I had been carrying him around for quite a while, when all of a sudden he leaned in close and clamped his teeth into my neck! Fortunately he didn't break the skin, but it definitely made the experience all the more memorable. Even so, the experience was definitely good, and I'm glad we went. Love, Eben

2008-09-16T22:02:00.001-07:00

Dear Grandma,
Here is the view from the girls' apartment here in Valencia. We have not been able to secure an apartment for Justin and me, though today we did find out about another one for rent on the second floor of this same building. I think we'll try to look at it tomorrow, and hopefully we can get into it because it would be such a perfect location (we had a really hard time last year finding an affordable apartment nearby the one we had). Thanks for your prayers; you are in mine. ~Eben

2008-09-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
I'm glad I got to see you just before I left. I met up with the team in Atlanta, and we arrived in Venezuela without any problems. We visited the campus to get to know where we'll be working and took this goofy picture in front of the lagoon. L-R are Justin, Allison J, Allison P, me, and Sarah. It's going to be a fun year. God bless, Eben

2008-08-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
It was good to see you Thursday, even though it was a short visit. I just got my camera back (it's been broken the last few months), so I decided I'd send this picture from visiting Elsa last Wednesday. This is Greenlake, the area near Seattle where Elsa is looking for a new place to live (I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers for the process). We took Blaine's dog for a walk around the lake and had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the scenery. God bless, Eben

Post Congreso Prayer Letter

2008-04-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Three weeks ago yesterday (Saturday), the final two busses rumbled off into the night, taking with them the last moments and participants of Congreso Nacional 2008: Prueba de Fuego (National Conference 2008: Trial of Fire). I have sat down at least four times since then to try and write this letter, but every time the words either do not seem to come out right, or I end up otherwise occupied with other tasks. So at last, I hope to not only share about the conference, but about the busy weeks since. It’s enough that I need two pages…

CONGRESO FIRSTHAND:

From my perspective, Congreso is pretty well hyped by staff and students that have been before, and I think I went in subconsciously expecting to have an amazing ‘Congreso Experience,’ essentially to witness God work mightily in students lives and learn something profound myself alongside them. However, being there to help run it instead of just attending it (I was pretty much in charge of setting up the stage and supervising the technical aspects of the main program), I felt like did not have the chance to take in much of the content or do much interacting with the students. It actually left me a little frustrated, feeling like it had been busy and stressful work instead of the rewarding, inspiring time I had expected.

Since I knew that Congreso was much more than how I experienced it, I asked two guys in my bible study to share their experiences. Both wrote in English since they study foreign languages, but please forgive the grammatical errors as both are fairly early in their studies :

“In my opinion, I think that Congreso was WONDERFUL, AMAZING, MARVELOUS. I mean, it's an experience I'd never known before. I really, REALLY loved it. I must confess that, in the beginning, I was like "ok, I have NO idea of how it's gonna be like", and I actually got to think it was gonna be a little boring. But WOW! I couldn't ever imagine that it would be so great, even though the trip wasn't good at all, it worthed it! I never knew how really wonderful God was until that Congreso. The workshops, the talks, the time sharing with our friends, and of course, the praising time (that was the thing I LOVED the most).” - Leonardo

"I really learnt how to keep a good communication with God, how trust him. One of the most activities that I loved more was the [main sessions]”... “I really liked it because while we were singing those songs we could felt like God's love through us. I also like when we went to the beach to share with other people our faith. At the beginning I was really nervous and worried at the same time because I had not done that before. I mean, I had shared before but not like by myself , I always were the translator so it's easier”… “But when you trust in God you never are going to feel afraid of anything. Fortunately, with the guys that I was sharing, they were really good doing it, but I [prayed] and I talked to God in order to he could helped me of not feel any [fear] or insecurity of myself while I was sharing with other people. After I [prayed], I really felt good”… “I did it really natural. I could not believe that I had shared and I was not scared of it. But now I feel confident about share my faith with someone else. I really like that conference. I hope the next year I can go to the following one.”

– Neuro (slightly condensed, some spelling corrected)

THIRDHAND CONGRESO: During our staff retreat after Congreso, I learned that over 20 students had attended a lunch for those interested in either a 4 month or year long full-time ministry commitment. At church the following Sunday, one student, Jesús, talked about personally seeing 15 people make decisions to follow Christ during the 2 hours of sharing on the beach Friday of Congreso. Waleska shared about having her perspectives changed on missions, Yuliana shared how God established the path He wants her on in the future, and Angela shared that it was simply impactful to her that God provided to take her there and that she’d really been ministered to by a staff couple there. Saturday of that week we had time for students to share about Congreso, in which Darwin talked about being challenged to please God in the little things, Leonel said he was able to see how much he’s grown since last year’s Congreso, and Jatniel explained how a workshop helped him see how he can be distinct from the crowd to reflect Christ to them.

BY THE NUMBERS:
4 days, 3 nights (Mar 19-22)
180 Students
-30 from Merida
-9 from Santa Barbara
20 Ohio State Spring Breakers
26 National Staff (e.g. me)
9 Cities represented

SINCE CONGRESO: So even though I didn’t necessarily enjoy my own experience at Congreso, in light of so many positive testimonies, I’m really beginning to see how much God used it. Even for myself, I’m seeing how He’s been leading me to scripture (like Psalm 91) about taking refuge in Him and His sufficiency, and as I consider how little I did so at Congreso, I’m relearning how vital it is. It is definitely a learning process, especially in the craziness of the past two weeks.

In three concepts, the last two weeks have been servant team, finances, and moving. As a team, we created a new model for our team of student leaders (aka servant team). Instead of the current model of a group of core students helping plan all aspects of ministry together, the new model has core students in smaller groups, each focused on a particular aspect of the ministry. It’s been a process of trying to specify those key aspects of ministry and trying to figure out what core students we should invite into the leadership roles. Please pray for the process as we are hoping to finalize who to ask this week and ask them for a decision by the beginning of May. In the finances department, Congreso costs along with upcoming events(including a trip next week to help jumpstart a movement in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital), made for enough financial details that I took all day last Thursday in my role as team administrator to organize them. Please pray for clarity and accuracy in that department as there is a lot to track, especially with the new apartment. Speaking of moving, our money exchange contact has an apartment we can use temporarily while we keep looking for something longer term. So Tuesday and Wednesday we spent the afternoons packing, and moved here to the new apartment Wednesday night. It is not close to the girl’s apartment and is a little on the expensive side, but it is a Godsend to have a comfortable apartment in a nice part of town in the timeline we needed that even includes good relations with the landlord. Please keep praying for long-term housing solutions for our whole team, seeing as I was told Friday that the girls need to move before the team ends its year here in July.

Finally, thank you for your prayers. I recently looked at last month’s letter and realized that God provided a bus the same day as bus details appeared on the calendar. Your prayers are powerful and effective, and I love that I get to see Him answer them specifically. ~In his hands, Eben

"March" Prayer Letter

2008-03-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

2008-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
Our travelers' visas (our permission to be in Venezula) expire every 90 days so every three months we take a short trip to a nearby different country. This last trip we went to Trinidad and Tobago, which is just off the northeast coast of Venezuela. Our last day there, we went to a beach in Tobago, and as we were leaving saw this sunset. It was a great way to end the trip. You are in my prayers, Eben

2008-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
Today I thought I'd send you something kind of random from my day to day life. This hole in the fence at the humanities campus is the easiest way to get off the campus and onto the street where our office is located so we end up climbing through it quite often. Every vacation somebody wires it shut, but within a few days students have it back open because it's so well used. Anyway, sorry it's been a while since I've sent a card. You are still in my prayers. Eben

2008-01-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
After Christmas, my teammates and I went to the plains, or Los LLanos, region of Venzuela for a few days. We got to see a lot of really cool and exotic animals including an anaconda, piranhas, turtles, iguanas, caiman (basically alligators), freshwater dolphins, tons of different birds, anteaters, and even capybara (in the picture and also the largest of rodents). It was a lot of fun.
God bless,
Eben

"December" Prayer Letter

2008-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,
The first two weeks of December flew by before students left for their three week break from classes. My parents visited the next week, and it was a lot of fun to show them around Merida and have family here to make it feel a little bit more like the holidays. They left the 23rd, and as my team celebrated Christmas and New Year’s together, we learned that both eves are fiercely celebrated with fireworks at midnight. Since the noise finally died down around 2am on the 1st, it’s been pretty peaceful around here, giving me a chance to reflect some on my time here and think about not so much New Year’s resolutions, but New Year’s hopes: things I desire to see from God this year. Whether they are somewhat vague notions without any idea of how he will accomplish them, or a little more concrete, I’d really appreciate you taking them to the Lord in prayer with me:

Vision Meeting: We had originally planned to meet with the students in the movement to see what vision God had set in their hearts and get them thinking bigger picture than simply maintaining what already exists. It never happened due to some miscommunication with the servant leaders. I would love to see it happen as we begin this semester and see where they want to strive after God, trusting Him for bigger things.

Men’s Ministry: I desire for the guys here to be instilled with an understanding of what it means to be men of God. I’m not entirely sure what that looks like, but I’m considering a series of guys’ nights that would lead up to a men’s retreat similar to CRUX (retreat back home incorporating shared adventure and talks). Ivan found a list of biblical masculinity topics, and I’d also like to look at the life of David, a man after God’s heart. Please pray for wisdom on how to proceed and how to make the adventure (CRUX is usually rafting) economically reasonable for the guys.

Initiative: Last semester I think I for some reason felt obligated to focus very heavily on evangelism or helping initiate others’ faith, and I somewhat neglected my greater passion to strengthen or deepen faith. Please pray that God would provide me with initiative to pursue individual time with involved students and wisdom of how to pour into their lives.

Returning: Coming in to this STINT year, I was considering it a one year commitment, after which I would enter law school and pursue a career in patent law. However, students began asking me in November if I’ll be returning, and I’m now wondering if God might be calling me back for a second year. My understanding is that the deadline for the decision is not until March 1, but it is definitely already on my mind. Your prayers for discernment are greatly appreciated.

Hoping your Christmas was merry, your New Year’s happy, and your 2008 blessed, ~Eben

2008-01-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
It was a little strange to be away from the family for Christmas. Our team celebrated together by having a pot roast for dinner and reading the Christmas story on the 24th, and exchanging gifts the morning of the 25th. It was a little odd to be sitting there opening presents when it was 80 degrees outside, but it was still a good time together.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Eben

2007-12-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
Mom and Dad got here Sunday afternoon. Yesterday we took the Merida cable car ('teleferico' in Spanish) up to Pico Espejo, about 15633 ft high. It was interesting to go from a sunny tropical climate to a snowy peak in a matter of hours, but we had a lot of fun. I heard about the storms there in Astoria, and I hope you're doing well and comfortable in the aftermath.
God bless,
Eben

"November" Prayer Letter

2007-12-05T17:52:00.001-08:00

Updates…
Dear Friends,
Last month I shared a need for prayer for several events. Here’s how God has answered:
RETREAT:
Forty-one students attended the Merida retreat two weekends ago. Students told us that God’s hand was incredibly evident in the weather for the entire weekend. First it downpoured Friday afternoon, causing riots to disperse and allow students to reach campus to leave. The next day, the sun shone and dried out the whole venue so the bonfire was able to proceed as planned. The stars shone in the clear sky during the bonfire and weren’t covered by clouds until everybody was back inside for fun and games. The students also commented on the excellent talks from the speaker and most agreed that it was the best retreat Merida has had yet.

TRAVEL:
The wedding in San Cristobal was incredible, both as a cultural experience as well as an opportunity for extended quality time with several students. As is common here in Venezuela, the reception was incredibly high energy and lasted until about 4 am. The next week I was in Maracaibo to begin planning our national conference and spend thanksgiving with the whole Venezuelan Campus Crusade Staff. It was encouraging to feel part of a larger team there and made me thankful for my even larger team of prayer and financial supporters back home. (I don’t think I say it enough, so THANK YOU!). Finally, the last week out of the country to renew our Visas also went smoothly and provided a chance to relax and recharge a little before returning to finish the semester. Overall, the two weeks of travel went smoothly and God kept us safe every step of the way.

VOTE:
The NO vote won and the controversial Constitutional Reform was denied! Talk about celebration! As the results were announced around 1 am Monday morning, a great clamor of banging on pots, voices yelling, and loud noisemaking firecrackers filled the streets. The next day, in the evening, as we left from our servant team meeting, the streets were packed with rejoicing Venezuelans in cars and on foot waving flags, honking horns, dancing, and generally making noise. We walked the 15ish blocks back home, and even stopping for dinner, still reached our apartments before cars that we had seen as we started walking. About two blocks from our home, we saw a large group of students with a HUGE Venezuelan flag. They would bring it low, then lift it high in the air and direct cars to drive underneath it. It is definitely a huge praise, especially considering that many people rejoicing now would likely be rioting if the vote had resulted differently. Instead, we have the opportunity to enjoy the celebration and our continued safety. ~In his hands, Eben

And additional prayer needs.
Pray that we would finish the semester of ministry well as students leave for Christmas vacation Dec. 14th.
Pray for safety, fun, and smooth travel as my parents visit the week before Christmas.
Please continue to pray for a new apartment with a good landlord to open up near our current location.
Pray for a Christmas outreach dinner event at which we’ll help at a local church this Saturday, Dec. 8th.

"October" Prayer Letter

2007-11-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Grandma,
This picture is a little random and late in coming, but I hope you still enjoy it. Over a month ago, we went to the Merida zoo for a Saturday outing. Many of the cats were sleeping but the lion was awake long enough to grace us with some fun pictures of him. The zoo itself is a pretty nice place, it even has a waterfall that feeds into a river that runs through the center of the property, adding extra habitat for some aquatic species.
God bless, Eben

2007-10-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
This last Saturday we took about an hour bus ride from downtown Merida and went hiking in a region called La Culata. We climbed this rock on our way up, and then had lunch next to a little stream. It sprinkled a little, but for the most part the weather stayed pleasant; the clouds kept it from getting to hot. It was quite the adventure, and as you can see, the scenery was pretty spectactular too. I hope everything is well there at home.
You're in my prayers, Eben

2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
This picture was taken from the parking lot of our apartment complex. I hope it gives you an idea of what our apartment buildings look like from outside and what our amazing view of the Andes is like. Ivan, my team leader, took the picture when he was struck by the oddness of a palm tree and a snow peaked mountain in the same view. I guess it is a perk of living in relatively high altitude in the tropics.
You're in my prayers, Eben

2007-10-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,
Last Wednesday we went to the inaugural ceremony of UVINES, the intercollegiate games of Venezuela. The athletes processed into the arena, there were fireworks, and we stayed for several choreographed events on the field. It feels like a smaller scale version of the Olympics, but I'm not sure if we'll end up seeing any of the actual sporting events. This morning, a few people at church told us they saw us in the crowd on the televised coverage. God bless, Eben

(First Prayer Letter)

2007-10-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Half the adventure was getting here…
Dear Friends,
A month ago, I boarded a plane with my new team, finally embarking on this adventure of serving God here in Merida, Venezuela. We arrived in Caracas late Sept 12th and learned that one of my bags had been left in Atlanta. After much assurance that it would follow me to Merida (it did a week later), we left the airport for our hotel. The next day, we successfully navigated baggage check, airport tax, and security before boarding. As we then accelerated down the tarmac, the cabin pressure suddenly changed. I looked up just in time to see the emergency door topple inward four rows in front of me! A passenger next to it jumped up and pounded on the cabin door until the pilots managed to slow the plane to a stop, aborting the lift-off. Several pictures, a few hours, and a new plane later, we were once again airborne. However, a mid-flight announcement of an airport rain closure rerouted us to a nearby airport and resulted in an hour long taxi ride into Merida. When we arrived, Claudia, our Venezuelan teammate, let the rest of us (L to R below: Me, Chelsea, Amanda, Sarah, and Ivan) into our apartments, finally concluding our journey to our new home.

And the other half has been adjusting and starting ministry…
The weeks since arriving have been full of adjustments and new things, both positive and negative. Among the good is waking up to a majestic view of the Andes out my bedroom window. Among the less pleasant are the car alarms. In their abundance, they seem determined to allow no more than 3 minutes of quiet at a time. However, they are pretty entertaining in the heavy storms as large cracks of thunder tend to trigger them all at once, creating a symphony of wailing, chirping, and blaring. The storms are nearly daily since it’s rainy season, but there are many enjoyable stretches of blue sky and tropical temperature in between the sudden torrential downpours (and the occasional accompanying power outage).
Though somewhat expected, Spanish is probably the biggest adjustment. After two weeks of intensive language school, various bill-paying experiences, and time sharing with students on various campuses, I’ve seen that I still need to improve. In general, students are quite warm and open to spiritual discussion. Last week when I was on the technical campus with Jatniel, a student in the ministry, we sat down and talked with a student named Alexangel. The day before he’d been intrigued by a verse on his friend’s shirt and decided he needed to start studying the bible to see what it said. Jatniel answered Alexangel’s many deep questions more quickly and thoroughly than I could have hoped to do with my level of Spanish, and Alexangel decided to put his trust in Jesus Christ. In that conversation and others, I am really encouraged by the evidence of God’s orchestration, and I am looking forward to seeing His continued work. ~In His hands, Eben

Please pray for:
-The spiritual growth of Alexangel and the other new believers of the past weeks.
-Merida Retreat (Nov. 23-25). We’re praying for 80 students and still need to do a lot of planning.
-Team health to continue. Beyond some initial intestinal issues, our team has been healthy.
-Continued improvement in Spanish (understanding and speaking) for our entire team.
-Wisdom and clear communication in my role as team administrator (in charge of finances).
-A new apartment. We recently learned our landlord will be selling our current place.

2007-09-27T10:08:00.001-07:00

Swiss Mountain Horn
Originally uploaded by Eben Allen

Dear Grandma,
We've been taking language classes for the last two weeks. I've got two days left, but I've met some interesting travellers including a Swiss on sailing his way around the world (Phillip) and a very tall Swede (Martin). A few days ago, Phillip brought his swiss mountain horn and played it in between class, making for an unexpected alpine cultural experience in the middle of Venezuela.
You're in my prayers,
Eben

2007-09-23T15:12:00.001-07:00

Arriving
Originally uploaded by Eben Allen

Dear Grandma Edla,
I wanted to share with you about the time I'm spending here in Venezuela, so I decided I'll occasionally send you postcards (via an internet company). Don't worry about responding; the mail system here isn't very reliable. The picture on the front is me just after arriving in Merida, the Venezuelan city where I've been for the last week or so and where I'll be spending this whole year as a missionary. Praying for you,
Your grandson, Eben