(Life in Venezuela)

News from the Simpson Family

Youth With A Mission, Mérida, Venezuela

Volume 8, Issue 2 December 2004

To Mexico and back: LTS 2004

When Darlene Cunningham (Loren Cunningham’s wife, cofounder of YWAM) arrived at the YWAM base in Guadalajara, Mexico a few weeks prior to the three- month Leadership Training School (LTS) she would be directing, her heart sank. The base was still under construction! The third floor of the new dorm that would house 200 staff and students wasn’t even completed! Not only that, but the teams of construction workers that had come to serve from other cities and other countries were going HOME! “This can’t be happening!” she thought. All the prayer, hard work and preparation for this school, and now this! Even though they called in more construction workers and spent the next three weeks hammering, sawing, plumbing - you name it, when the students arrived on March 31, there were still no doors on the dorm rooms, no beds for the many families who were moving in, there were gaping holes for windows, and there was no running water in the three-story dorm! Darlene was beyond frustration. “Why have you allowed this to happen, Lord??”

God knows what we need. On the day before the opening session of the LTS, a smiling, seven-year old girl came up to Darlene and announced enthusiastically, “Hi! I’m Michelle, and I LOVE this place!!! The peace of the Lord came over Darlene, as Michelle’s simple, honest words ministered deeply to her heart. Our little ray of sunshine was used by God even before the LTS began. The next morning, Darlene shared this story with the staff and students. We’re including a photo of Darlene and Michelle, because this is something special that we will always remember. We would soon come to

realize that God not only had a purpose for Blake attending the LTS, but that our children’s lives would be impacted forever.

Can you imagine spending three months living in community with 300 missionaries (including children) from 52 different nations? It was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives, and we now literally have friends all over the world! Marion from Jamaica, Josephine from Uganda serving in Sudan, Martín & Lupita from Mexico serving in Nepal, Simon from Australia and his wife, Sujin, from Korea, Mark & Krista from the U.S. serving in England, and the list goes on and on! Jeff’s best friend, Mike, was born in Germany and is moving to South Africa, Michelle’s best friend, Jolinda, is from Finland, and Rachel’s little friends, Arianna and Edna, live in England and Nepal! An international experience never to be forgotten!

Not only that, but the leadership training we received was excellent and lifechanging. We’ve returned to Venezuela with more vision than we know what to do with!

Ever since I (Blake) came to work full-time with YWAM in 1988, I’ve longed to do an LTS. After all, even though I’d never been a natural leader-type, I found myself leading teams and projects nearly from the start of my missions career. So when the opportunity came for me to be a part of this school, I jumped. In spite of the giant bugs and primitive (oops, I meant “pioneer”) conditions, this was the single most important experience in my time in YWAM, apart from my Discipleship Training School (DTS) back in 1987. I found myself time and again

hearing teachings and concepts during classroom times and wondering to myself, How did I ever function not knowing this stuff? I can only thank God that I was able to receive this input prior to pioneering the Musicians’ DTS (see below) later in 2005. Besides the spiritual and practical input we got, we also feel a renewed relationship with our international YWAM family. (We’d been feeling a bit isolated here in Venezuela lately.) There’s no room here to elaborate on the many amazing speakers, teachings, and messages throughout the LTS, but one in particular that struck me was God’s question to each of us, the one he spoke to Moses in the desert: “What do you have in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2)

God showed me during this time that part of my responsibility as leader of creative persons is to be creative myself, and that there’s as much value in my playing good guitar, drawing or painting a good picture, or writing a good editorial as there is in my preaching a sermon or leading worship. The ideas and visions I received in Mexico sometimes came faster than I could scribble them in my notebooks. I’m more than amply stocked up on vision and enthusiasm for future ministry (“ministry” now being defined as whatever God calls me to do). And did I mention the amazing networking we’ve established with YWAMers from all over the planet? Many thanks for your prayers and financial support that enabled us to go to Mexico and to become further equipped as leaders for our mission here in Venezuela.

Alongside the LTS program for the adults, there was a “Young LTS” program for kids ages 7-15. The kids had worship and prayer times, learned to hear God’s voice, received teaching, played sports, went on field trips, ministered to street people, gave presentations in local schools, did service projects, arts and crafts, etc. We are blessed beyond words by the way the YLTS leaders invested in our kids and poured their lives into loving and discipling them! Wow! We had no idea that our kids would receive every bit as much as we would. After spending three months with about 85 missionary kids from around the world – kids who are called to the nations just like they are -- Jeff and Michelle now sense a greater calling on their lives from God, and they want to make a difference for here in Venezuela!

And they are doing just that! Astrid, a university student, who lives one floor below us, has been our friend for a number of years, and we’d been praying for an opportunity to share the Gospel with her. We invited Astrid to participate in our evangelistic car wash on July 31, and she was excited to join us in washing cars for this event. The day before, Jeff, Michelle and I were reading through the car wash tract, because the kids wanted to not only wash cars and get all wet, but they also wanted the chance to talk with people about Jesus. I suggested that tomorrow at the car wash might be a really good time for them to share Jesus with Astrid. Jeff said, “Tomorrow? I don’t want to wait ‘til tomorrow! Why can’t we tell her today?” Astrid just happened to be coming to babysit in about 15 minutes, so we followed Jeffrey’s lead. The three of us sat on the couch with Astrid, we read through the tract and talked with Astrid about what it means to know Jesus personally. After months of being around our family and other Christians as well, Astrid knew she wanted this relationship with Jesus. Right there in our living room, she prayed and asked Jesus to forgive her sins and to come into her heart. Jeff and Michelle were so excited to be part of leading someone to Christ. That’s what being a missionary kid is all about!

Washing cars and sharing Jesus!

Speaking of the evangelistic car wash on July 31, it was a great success, and we give thanks to God! Over fifty people worked together on this event, and we washed 90 cars. The group was made up of people from three churches here in Mérida, plus an outreach team from , Georgia, and those of us from . While one group was washing cars, another was serving free banana nut bread and lemonade, another group was sharing the Gospel, another group was out on the streets inviting people to the car wash, and yet another group was doing face-painting and balloon art with children. We had lots of fun working together as a team, and it was exciting to see the Lord at work as each person did their part. People couldn’t believe we were washing cars for free and then providing free refreshments on top of that! They were very curious as to what this was all about and very receptive, as we shared the Good News with them, using a tract we had written specifically for this event. Thirty-one people prayed to receive Christ as their personal Savior at the car wash, and four more rededicated their lives to the Lord. Many more heard the Good News, and seeds were planted in their hearts. Two local churches are doing follow-up with these new Christians. We give praise to God for the hearts and lives that were transformed by Jesus!

The car wash had yet another purpose: To raise financial support for our Venezuelan missionaries here at YWAM Mérida, Luz Mery and Thamara. A total of $1,427 came in through pledges for the car wash, and Luz Mery & Thamara were extremely blessed! They were able to use this support money for expenses such as food, rent, medical expenses and transportation during the months following the car wash. A special thank you to all who prayed for the car wash and who gave so generously!

Rejoice with us in the goodness of the Lord! Through a series of unexpected events, God provided a wonderful teacher for Jeff and Michelle for the 2004-2005 school year. Her name is Thania, she is Venezuelan, and she is homeschooling the kids, using our A Beka Book curriculum in English. Thania and the kids speak Spanish during most of their school day, yet they’re covering all their curriculum according to U.S. standards. They are truly getting a bilingual education, and we’re amazed at how the Lord orchestrated all of this. Each new year educating our kids on the mission field is an adventure and a journey of faith. By the way, about mid- October, Rachel was officially enrolled as a preschooler in our little homeschool, so the school is growing. We would very much like to start a Christian school for missionary kids here in Mérida, and we ask that you’d please be praying with us as we take steps to launch this new school, which has been on our hearts for a number of years. Musicians’ Discipleship Training School!

We recently sent you an announcement about our upcoming Musicians’ Discipleship Training School (MDTS). It was originally scheduled to begin January 26, 2005. However, due to a lack of staff available to join us in January, after much prayer we have rescheduled the six-and-a half-month school to begin August 31, 2005 and to conclude March 18, 2006. The Lord has been confirming to us right and left that it will be a much stronger program because we're waiting until August. It looks like the MDTS will be quite international, as we already have 7 nations represented among our potential staff and students. We're excited about discipling musicians in missions, which is the vision God placed on our hearts when we moved to Venezuela in 1997. Please continue to pray for us and the plans for this school in the coming weeks and months. You’ll be hearing more about it soon!

Come join us in Venezuela!

Maybe someday we’ll get the hang of writing a short newsletter and doing it more often! By the time we get our newsletters together, there’s so much to share, plus pictures to include, that it takes several pages to communicate it all! We are thankful, however, that God is doing amazing things here on the mission field and we thank Him for the opportunity to serve here. We love the Venezuelan people, Mérida is a beautiful place to live, and most of all, it’s a joy and privilege to be able to live out the Gospel in another part of the world, where the needs are great - both spiritual and practical.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

Would you consider joining us here in Mérida? This may sound radical, but we’re completely serious in our invitation! The mission field is a great place to raise a family. Our kids are thriving here, they’re bilingual, and this is “home” – the place the Lord has called our family to live and serve Him. We have been praying for more singles and families to join us here at YWAM Mérida. Jeff and Michelle are praying for more missionary kids. Now that we’re planning to start a school for missionary kids, this could facilitate missionary families on the field here in Mérida.

Would you prayerfully consider joining us in taking the Gospel to the Venezuelan people? Would you be open to asking the Lord if this opportunity might be part of His plan for you?

We send our love!

Blake & Carmen Simpson, Jeff, Michelle & Rachel

Youth With A Mission, Mérida, Venezuela

Correspondence address (flat envelopes & padded envelopes only):

Apartado 850 Mérida 5101-A Venezuela

Home phone: 011-58-274-262-2148 E-mail: [email protected]

------

We are responsible for raising 100% of our financial support to cover our monthly expenses. Donations are tax-deductible.

Address for mailing financial support: Please make checks payable to Youth With A Mission. Our names should not appear anywhere on the check itself, but Youth With A Mission rather on a separate piece of paper, which says "for the support 501 Blacktail Road of Blake & Carmen Simpson". Thank you! Lakeside, MT 59922