Venezuelan Blessings...Pic heavy

I'm baaaaack! What an experience! Venezuela was such a blessing to me. The people there are so hospitable, loving, and kind. The travel part was very hard on me, though. We traveled for more than 24 hours and was up for 48 hours. Not so good on my body. But, I am home now and have one full nights sleep in and boy did it feel good! I will share some pictures with you that speak louder than words, but first wanted to share some of my favorite things about the trip...

Favorite things about Venezuela...Top on my list was coming out of one of the homes bathrooms and stopping to say hello to the lady of the house. She was speaking with another woman who was told at the hospital that she could find hope at the 12th of October Church so she stopped by. She confessed her sins and accepted Christ right then. It was such a blessing to be a part of that. I love how they witnessed to her and got right down to it. :) Her name is Joanna if you want to keep her in your prayers. Other favorite things...the passion and heart of the people for Christ when they worship, the hospitality, scenery in the country, love that was shared, the food, how they love each other, their music, the laughter...I just can't say enough of how blessed I was by them. So glad God was gracious enough to allow me to serve there.

Worship outside

Breakfast first morning at a restaurant.

Little girl with my same name. She was so adorable. :) Got to hang out with her the whole week.

This is how we traveled. Standing in the back of a pickup...I got to sit on a seat back there. :) It was fun!

 Getting started on the roof structure.

My handsome hubby!

The half finished roof. We ran out of supplies, but they made it into a beautiful place anyway. Now they are at least covered.

We were given pins and gifts during service. This is the woman who I was blessed to witness come to Christ. Her name is Joana. She wanted to personally put the pin on me. :)

We made so many friends and formed so many bonds that will last a lifetime. :) This is Helys.

The hospitality was amazing! We were blessed to have our meals (aside from a few) in the homes of the local church members. They fixed us traditional Venezuelan food like Arepas, Cachapas, Yucca, Plantian, etc.

The music was amazing! This is a traditional instrument (can't remember the name)

We visited a school up in the mountains and this was all the students. :)

Taking a break. :)

Another worship service at another church we helped out at. We painted windows and set up electricity. The girl with the microphone was helping with translating. :)

 

 Their passion for worship was so refreshing and encouraging!

They presented us with plaques for help. We were taken aback with their generosity. We didn't feel like we needed a plaque for doing the Lord's work. :)

 We are going to miss their faces. Hated to see them cry when we left...