July 2019 Newsletter
Greetings! I’m writing this newsletter a little early because I’m leaving for Colombia tomorrow. I will be preaching at different churches and teaching at meetings for leaders and pastors.
This past month I started a new church in the town of Machiques, Venezuela. June 16th was the first service and there were over 60 people in attendance. I preached live by video through the internet. (It works great because even when there is no electricity, I will still be able to preach live using the generator that we take to the mountain Indian tribes. I am going to get a new one to take to the tribes.) I’m renting a building that is near the center of town. Being in the middle, it’s a wonderful location for people to attend because with no gasoline, transportation is very limited. Once more Indians find out, they will start to fill up the church on Sunday mornings. I’m paying my pastor friend and his wife, Diomedes and Madelyn, as the overseers. They will stay at the church, and do pastoral work in that area and meet the needs of their congregation during these hard times in Venezuela. There is a group that plays praise and worship at the church also. We have a regular church service. We pray, have praise and worship, I or Veronica preach, give an altar call, pray and are dismissed. Veronica or I will preach by live video at the services on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, and Friday nights. Diomedes also will preach. He and his wife will give personal attention to those who come to the altar for salvation or for prayer. Also, because of the dire economic situation, to help the people, we are feeding them after the church service.
At the new church in Machiques, we are going to have an all-night church service on the 28th of June. Then after that we will have the all-night services 2 times a month on Fridays. I will be preaching. The all-night service is the Indian’s favorite type of service. It’s something they really look forward to. We are also going to feed them at the service. Also I am excited that I will be able to have my Indian Bible school at the new church. The Indians can stay at the church, and we can have the Bible school all day and have services in the evening. At the church location there are 3 rooms, the sanctuary and a kitchen.
By preaching live through the internet it doesn’t matter where I am, I can pastor in Machiques, Venezuela! Even when we can go back to Venezuela, I would probably do most of the preaching live by video because Machiques is 3 hours from our house, and there is basically no gasoline in Venezuela. My one friend who pastors always writes me when he is in the gas line because he gets bored. In the last 3 weeks he has written me 3 times, and all 3 times he has had to stay 3 days and nights in the gasoline line to get 1/2 tank of gas (a little less than 8 gallons is the maximum you are allowed.) I have other pastor friends (in the town where I have the church services) who have had to wait a week in the gasoline line- that’s all day and all night.
At a later date we might expand and start more churches in other areas with the live video preaching. I have been preaching on the radio live, recording radio messages, making live video preachings, and recording preaching videos for a long time, and I really love it. I started preaching live on the radio probably 12 years ago, and ever since, multimedia has been an important way to get the message out.
I was asked to do a weekly Bible School teaching live by video for a church in Colombia so that will be starting soon.
This past month I have sent out different Indian groups to evangelize and disciple the mountain Indian tribes in Venezuela and Colombia. I am looking forward to hearing their testimonies.
I want to share with you a recent testimony from one of my Indian leaders. He is a pastor and his name is Benito Romero. Here is what he shared: “I felt clear direction in my heart that I should fast, though I didn’t have a motive or reason to fast that I knew of. I fasted for 3 days. The 3rd day was a Sunday. That morning I had church service at my tribe where I live and pastor named Shirapta. During Sunday service it so happened that they brought me my grandson. His body was totally paralyzed. Everyone was scared, wondering what happened. At that moment I realized that this was the reason why the Holy Spirit directed me to fast and pray for the last 3 days. I put my hands on my grandson and prayed. I prayed, quoting Mark 11:24. As I prayed for him the paralysis left him and he was healed, and remains healed, Glory to God!”
I want to thank each and everyone of you for your prayers and financial support. It makes all of our work in Venezuela and Colombia possible. God bless you.
In His Service,
Doug, Veronica, James & Ana