Hi all! I hope you are doing well! Thank you for taking the time to catch up on all the wonderful things God is doing here in Venezuela.
We have been in the city Barquisimeto for the past week and a half. It's been really nice. We are staying with an Irish man, Nigel, and his wife, Monica, who run a ministry called Drop Inn where they host teams like us. We have been working with Yoe's church, on I our leaders, this past week. At the beginning of our stay here we did a lot of street ministry. Lots of kids came an joined us, so we had to change up our routine a little bit to make it fun for them which worked out great! Last Thursday night during ministry I was given the chance to give a short message and a call for prayer to accept Christ. So many people took the step in accepting Him! It was so amazing! Since being here in Venezuela we have seen loads of people accept Christ!! Their willingness to listen to a bunch of white people tell them about God is so awesome! They are very eager to learn more about Him. We were also able to join the church in some Christmas parties they were having, so that was fun too!
Now, I'm sure you are all wondering how it was spending my first birthday and Christmas away from home. I wouldn't say it was a breeze, but it wasn't difficult. We had so many festivities going on here that I really enjoyed embracing the culture and spending the holidays in a new country. Plus, Nigel and Monica gave me wifi so I could talk with my family and then the whole team got it on Christmas eve and Christmas so we were very happy! Here they celebrate Christmas on the 24th. It reminded me a lot of America's New Year and Independence Day mixed. The people shoot off lots of fireworks and they don't start partying and eating until 9:30 at night and then it continues into the next day. Baby Jesus, not Santa, comes at midnight and everyone opens their presents then. We went to Ruben's, our leader, family's house to eat. They cooked us a traditional Venezuelan Christmas meal and a person from each country on our team made a dish and a dessert from their country. It truly was a Christmas feast I'll always remember! For those of you wondering America was represented by homemade apple pie! Christmas morning we all slept in until about 10 which is the latest I've ever slept on Christmas haha, but we didn't get home until 2 in the morning so I had a good excuse! We made a gigantic Christmas breakfast and all sat around the table and ate together as a team. Then, we finally opened presents. We had drawn names a few weeks ago I do a secret Santa. Everyone did a great job picking out presents. It was very cool to see how well we know each other and to see the thought beyond put into picking out the perfect present. Christmas night we had a candle light service here at the house with just the 19 of us. It was very cool and peaceful just spending time with my YWAM family. So this Christmas season was very different from any other I've ever experienced. It will definitely be one I'll never forget!
Yesterday we were given the opportunity to do a trash pick up an then go to a hospital to hand out food and drinks. It's amazing. How something so simple can bless someone. So many people came up to us and thanked us for picking up the trash. At the hospital I talked with a lady who was going through a really rough time with her husband and just really angry at God. I told her my story and her eyes filled with tears. I prayed with her and she gave all her anger and resentment to God and said she would trust Him with her marriage and accepted Christ again. It was absolutely too amazing to put into words. I didn't know when I walked up to her that that was going to happen. I just went to say hey and she spilled everything to me. I'm so glad Go led me to talk with her.
We have three weeks left here. Time has really flown by. Our next stop is Higerote. It is a town very heavy into witchcraft. Please be praying for protection for us mentally, physically, and spiritually. God is doing some awesome things here and the enemy is definitely not happy!
As always if you need prayer for anything I would love to pray for you! Feel free to send me an email and I will join with you in praying!
Thank you so, so much for your continued prayer and support. It means so much knowing I have a great support system like you, and I am so happy we are on this journey together! None of this would be possible if it wasn't for your dedication in coming behind me and saying we want to see a change in the world and I'm so glad God has blessed me with you!
Dios te bendiga
Brittney
Brittney Timberlake
