Greetings to each of you today. As Paul wrote to the church in Phillipi, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ...”

We trust you are well today. It is a blessing every time we think of you and your friendship. If we have learned anything in the course of 11 years of full time service in Venezuela, it is that we cannot stand alone. We recognize our dependence upon the prayers and willing hearts of God’s people. We want to thank you for being the children of God and for your care for us among so many qualified missionaries around the world.

As some of you may know, we are in the USA at this time. Things are in quite a mess now in Venezuela. President Chavez seems to have taken a turn for the worse. He has embarked upon an extremely determined mission to raise his persona to the height of “world leader” to the misfit leftists and remnants of antisocial rebels. He is now, and in my opinion will continue, gaining the support and adoration of those who have one common goal: destroy America (first) and (second) fan every flame of insurgency and anarchy in order to rule however they must. Do not mistake what is going on. Chavez, Castro and others are not merely some two-bit “Banana Republic” loudmouths. They are an integral part of end time events that will help to usher in exactly what God said is coming.

Now, having said all of this, let me add that these reasons were not the main reasons we returned to the USA. They are only a portion of the story. We could see that all of this could lead to serious problems for us missionaries and even the national Venezuelan churches. But we didn’t want to leave just because we felt scared. There was more involved. Let me sum it up in a few words:

As stated, things are in a mess in the country there and have been for several years now. Over three years ago, God spoke to my heart and gave me a sign and told me to leave the country when I saw that sign come to pass. I waited and waited and nothing happened. Then, one day after I returned home to Caracas from a jungle trip to Panama, I was confronted with the very sign God had given me. I did not understand the timing and wondered if I had mistaken God’s voice or His intent. As I began talking to Kim, I found that she had spent most of the previous month troubled deeply in her heart by the Lord. She and I both agreed that we felt God was telling us to leave Venezuela. So, we continued praying and waiting on the Lord. Each day, more and more confirmations came until God spoke an exact date in Kim’s heart. However, she did not tell me what that date was. Instead, she was waiting on the Lord to give confirmation by telling me also. When we shared with each other after several days, it turned out God had spoken the exact same date to my heart as well. However, that date was not in the distant future, but rather, in the near future. We struggled against tons of work and logistics necessary as well as the emotional burden of leaving the work and saints there. But God continued to confirm His will and we were miraculously able to depart on that date.

PANAMA WORK IS ADVANCING

One of the opportunities that God has opened for us is the jungle ministry in Panama. I just returned in mid December to the USA from a fourth trip to the Naso Indians in Panama. Even that trip was not without hindrances. Our passports were about to expire and so we had to send them off for replacement to the US government. Mine returned and the US State Department had misspelled my name! So, I had to sit still another week or so to wait for that to be redone. I have never been a patient fellow, but I feel sure that God is ordering our steps even though most things seem out of our control.

But after overcoming the hindrances, it turned out to be the best trip I’ve made yet to that region. We found that God has helped many of the believers that we left behind from the previous ministry. In fact, a Pentecostal church has sprang up in one village and most of those who were saved by our preaching in that village have now rooted themselves and are growing in the Lord. We thank God for His power and wisdom. Only He could seek, save and equip those who are lost!

We have now begun working in three villages and are rejoicing to see the Gospel transform lives. We have a young Naso man and his family who is going to pastor a new work in the village of Solong. We spent several days there in this recent trip and will be making it a special focus in the coming days. At the same time, God is directing us in evangelism in several other villages that need the message of Saving Grace. Please pray for the work that is blossoming in the tropical rainforest near the border of Costa Rica. The powerful river that flows through that region is the “roadway” we are using to access this tribe that is on the verge of ethnic extinction. God is also using it to make “inroads” into the kingdom of darkness. Many tell of their ancestors who made a truly heroic stand against the Spanish Conquistadors about 400 years ago. They are proud of their autonomy and the king that rules over them. Yet, the god of this world has blinded their eyes and we are thrilled to be a part of God’s great work in setting them free indeed. We ask you to remember this year-old ministry in a special way. God is opening this door to us at a very timely moment, I believe. We know that Jesus is coming very soon. There is not a great deal of time remaining to reach the lost of our generation. May God grant us greater strength and a powerful anointing to preach the message of eternal life to these dear souls.

Nathan’s Notes

I hope all of you are getting ready for Christmas this year. I know I am! I have always loved Christmas time. It’s gotta be my favorite time of year. Aren’t you guys glad Jesus was born to save us?

My last few months have been really strange. There’s been a lot of stuff going on in Venezuela. Mommy and Daddy had really been praying about some stuff and Jesus put it on their hearts to leave Venezuela. There’s some scary things happening there, and the president is really mad at America. I think he hates us with his whole heart. He even stopped giving out missionary visas and now that puts us in a really bad spot. He’s trying to throw a bunch of missionaries out of Venezuela and for the rest of us, when our visas end, he’s being real stubborn about not giving us any new ones. Now, with all Jesus has been telling Mommy and Daddy and with our American passports expiring and now our visa problems, I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep on living in Venezuela. That makes me feel sad.

You know something? I’ve spent nearly my whole, long life in Venezuela. So, can you do me a favor please? Will you pray extra hard for us right now? We really need it. It’s like we gotta start all over now to meet new people in new places and start to work in whole different places that I’ve never been to before. Daddy says that the Lord will help us, but I think you guys really need to pray for me and Mommy. It’s not as easy for us to start over as it is for Daddy. For me, I have to get used to new stuff and a different place to live. I just hope you’ll pray so that Jesus will make it easier for me. And Mommy too. She doesn’t like to change houses and stuff. You gotta clean and work and fix stuff up all over again.

But I know the Lord will help us if you guys will pray hard for us. I’m 12 years old now and I’ve been in Venezuela for 11 years. I’m missing my friends, a bunch of the foods, our church and lots more stuff. Thanks for praying for us. Bye!

Nathan