"October" Prayer Letter

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

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

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

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

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)

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.

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