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Venezuelan Team of Ten Update ... |
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Day One - Saturday, April 4, 2008 Our flight from Orlando to Miami was scheduled to depart at 7:10am which meant lots of alarm
clocks going off around 4:00 am. We all arrived at Orlando International Airport on time, only to learn that the flight had been delayed for 2 hours due to mechanical difficulties. The good news was that we would
still arrive in Miami in time for our 11:40am American Airlines flight to Caracas, Venezuela. With the 2 hour delay, we had plenty of time to hide all of our cash in our money belts. The delay in Orlando also
allowed for the dice game, Farkel, to be introduced to the "Team of Ten." And the delay provided an opportunity for Luis to frantically wonder where his camera was. It actually took a phone call to his
wife, Ivonne, to remind him that if he put on his glasses, he could find the camera in his carry-on backpack, right where he had packed it.
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When we arrived in Caracas, we knew that a Venezuelan lady named Olga Cortes, who works for the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, would be looking for our group. What we did not
realize was that Olga would be looking for a really old group of retarded Americans (somehow the adjective "retired" kind of got confused with "retarded"). So, who do you suppose Olga
flagged down first? Yep, it was Scott, the youngest in our group. All our luggage successfully made the trip, and it wasn't long before we were on the chartered bus, cruising the 17 miles from the
Caracas Airport, nestled alongside the Caribbean Sea, to downtown Caracas.
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Talk about 10 sets of eyes being wide open, ready to take in all the scenery. And it didn't take long to realize we were smack dab in the Andes Mountain range. Caracas, itself, is positioned
in a bowl, surrounded by mountains on all sides. On the steep mountain sides, overlooking the modern city of Caracas, were some of the most troubling living conditions we would witness during our stay. Shacks and
shanties, stacked on top of each other, for as far as the eye could see...that's a pretty accurate description of how many, many Caracas folks live. It was not a pretty sight, and we were told by Olga that it would
be unwise for us to even think about going into any of those mountain side areas where crime had a strong foothold.
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Pastor Ted Krey is the Lutheran Missionary in Caracas. He is the last ordained Lutheran minister/missionary in Venezuela, but he is working hard at training pastors for the
future. After our dinner at a local restaurant, "Caracas de Ayer" (Caracas of Yesterday), where we experienced our first Venezuelan cuisine (arepas and cachapas), we headed back to our living
quarters for the evening and a surprise visit by 6 young men, 4 of whom were Seminarians under the guidance of Pastor Ted. We quickly realized that whichever churches call these young men will be well
pleased with some very talented, spiritual individuals. |
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For the sake of documentation, listed here are the names of the Seminarians: Luis Miguel (age 18, made wrist bands for us), Rafael (age 18, chatterbox of the group), Alonso (age
19, the "big guy"), Angel (age 19, the quiet one), Isaac (age 19, with two of the most beautiful sisters in the universe), and Juan Carlos (age 30, father of two children). The six came to Caracas from all
parts of Venezuela, and they were in a concentrated study program for one year. Each weekend, they headed out on the road to assist with Sunday services, sometimes up to 8 hours away from Caracas. Pastor Ted would
parade the skinniest of the Seminarians in front of the congregations and then make a plea for a basket of food that they could take back to Caracas. The plan worked, and that's how the Seminarians acquired many of
their meals.
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The "Team of Ten" and the Seminarians exchanged several questions/answers. Bottom line was that the Seminarians were impressed that 10 individuals were eager to spend a
week in Venezuela, working on The Farm on a strictly volunteer basis. And the "Team of Ten" was equally impressed with the quality of young men about to enter the ministry. We were somewhat
remiss that Ascension, with a membership of 1000, had not produced any Seminarians in recent years.
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