February 2019 Newsletter

Dear friend,

             Greetings!  This past month we have been busy ministering in many different ways. I have been recording a lot of radio messages at my home in Venezuela since because of the protests and unrest where I live, churches and radio stations were closed. Before the protests, I was able to preach live on the radio. I have been recording preaching videos to play for the Indians at the far away tribes and for churches. Veronica and I have been preaching at churches in the cities and towns here in Venezuela, preaching at leadership meetings, preaching at evangelistic meetings, and at Indian tribes. I also have been making many books and Bibles in the Yukpa language here at the house in Venezuela. 

           This past month I started to record videos of my radio messages that I preach live on the radio stations in Maracaibo. I got a phone tripod so I can record with my phone. This way I can do both at the same time- video record as I preach live on the radio. These are the videos that I send with my team of Indians that take the generator and video projector to the Indian tribes high in the mountains. These tribes of course do not have any electricity so this is something exciting for the Indians- seeing something projected on a screen!  

           This past month I was able to format, print and bind the New Testament in the Yukpa Indian language. It was quite a job. After figuring out how to change all the old format, I formatted the whole New Testament but I did something wrong and I had to start all over. I finally got it done, and it looks good. In the pictures below, you can see the New Testament and my book binding machine that I have in Venezuela. The books will be given out to the Indians leaders at my bible school. It is planned for February 7th. 

           I wanted to share with you a testimony about one of my Indian leaders whose name is Benito. Benito is the Indian pastor in the tribe of Sharipta. Benito shared a testimony about how he accidentally lost his bible and how it caused an unbeliever to accept Christ in his heart! Here’s his story: After our bible school last month, my leaders filled up the big flatbed trucks that come to take them back to their tribes. For some of them the trucks will take them all the way to their tribe. For most of them, though, the trucks take them to the last tribe that you can arrive to on a motored vehicle. From there they have to walk back to their tribes. (Some have to walk up to 18 hours to return to their home tribe.) Well Benito got off the truck and started his walk back to the Sharipta tribe. While traveling back he accidentally dropped his bible without realizing it. When he got back to his hut, he looked in his Indian-made satchel and realized that his bible wasn’t there. He decided to retrace his steps. After he walked a while along the dirt road he saw up ahead another Indian with a bible in his hands. When he got closer he realized that it was his bible. 

           When Benito saw him, the Indian had a surprised look on his face. When Benito asked for the bible back the other Indian said that when he was walking along the pathway that he had pain in his body. Then he got a glimpse of Benito’s bible that was in the bushes. He said, “I had terrible pain in my body, but when I picked up that bible, all the pain that I had disappeared. He then walked back with Benito to the tribe. As they walked, Benito preached the Word to him. When Benito finished, the Indian accepted Christ in his heart, because he believed the bible healed his pain. 

            After the bible school I will be sending another 3 or 4 groups of Indians to the isolated tribes in the mountains of Venezuela and Colombia. On January 4th I sent 4 teams that went out to the mountain tribes. As you can see in the picture below at the Pishicacao tribe we gave away clothes to the people. There they don’t have shoes and clothes is very limited. I am planning on the next trip to buy as many blankets as we can to help the believers at the isolated tribes located high in the mountains of Venezuela and Colombia. They have nothing in those tribes. But really, lately what I have seen in Venezuela is that the tribe Indians are almost better off than the majority of the people in the towns and cities because even though the Indians don’t have much, at least they have their crops that they can harvest. 

             This week the mules are going to be loaded up with the materials to build a church for a group of Christians who live high up in the mountains. This really helps the Indians especially during rainy season since most of the mountain Christian tribes have church services every night!

             Well thank you for your prayers and support. The country of Venezuela is in desperate need of prayer. God bless you.

                                                      

                                                                                            In His service,

                                                                                          Doug, Veronica, James & Ana