thank you.

leading worship with kids from my school :) i MISS THOSE TIMES :)

a banquet with school friends.. kinda like our prom :)

WOW.
so i am "back home in Indiana" (ha i think that is a song my dad sings sometimes :) )!
i wanted to just take a second and express my gratitude for all who have been reading my blog and have left encouraging comments and notes. Your prayers have been answered and helped me get through the year. I look back at the year and all i can say is "WOW GOD thank you. thank you for all the opportunities and experiences you have me. Thank you for all the friends you provided me with. Thank you for all the lessons you taught me. Thank you for all the encouragement i got from others. I praise you for the amazing work you are doing in Venezuela!"

And let me tell you... GOD IS WORKING THERE! It is incredible to see the church grow and see God working through people. There are so many people i knew down there who were using the gifts God had given them- whether it was evangelizing, preaching, leading worship, leading, praying, encouraging, hospitality.. and so many others. Those were the most beautiful moments for me in Venezuela- when i saw God working through someone, when i saw someone living out God's purpose for them. Its absolutely beautiful and makes me just wanna stare and smile! :)

Goodbyes were super hard. The school i went to was small, so we were all SUPER close. So the past few weeks home my heart has ached. Its also been hard not having anything to do. I just miss people. I miss the church. I miss all the adventure in Venezuela. haha i miss doing crazy things that are a little risky. :) I just like to live life on the edge sometimes because it keeps me on my toes and keeps me on my knees praying and trusting God! :)

Ever since i have been back i have kind of been analyzing my year and the different lessons God has taught me. I have really been wrestling with purpose since i have gotten back. Its been like "Ok God, now what?" and i have asked myself over and over "what are you living for? are you living for what counts?" and i am realizing more and more that life is really all about love. i know this sounds simple and an elementary childrens lesson.. but its so true and we CANNOT miss it. In Venezuela i really feel like i loved deeply from the heart and i felt like God loved others through me- like it wasn't my love or me loving them. Through that i got to see the power of God's love. It blows my mind to think of how many people cover the earth and how i can get all wrapped up in myself and in my life and yet there are millions of other lives going on. (i think i really realilzed that being in a city of over 6 million people). But out of everyone, God loves me. That i matter to Him. He cares about my thoughts, my past, what i am doing now, and He holds the perfect plans to my future. Its insane. Its overwhelming. Its breath-taking. Then back to loving others- i have seen the power of love, God's love, change people this year. Its what people need. The dont need condemnation or judgment, just pure love that asks for nothing in return. I am just learning about true love.. what an amazing lesson..

So a few of my future plans... right now i am starting the college search. I feel called and passionate about becoming a Medical Missionary. SO i am looking at studying to be a nurse practitioner so i can prescribe medicines and do all the basics :). We will see where God continues to lead. I am really looking forward to my Senior year of high school. I have been praying that God would show up in incredible ways and really shake Covenant. I wanna see God's power :)

I just looked up and realized what i called this blog in the beginning "Seeing God in Venezuela." Thats exactly what happened. Thanks for caring and reading this. it means more than you will ever know. May God shower blessing in your life. May you live a life sold out for Him. May you take each day and live for Him. Put your trust and dependence in HIM and not in worldly things. May He sustain you in all areas and situations in your life.

Much love,
Mariah Brooke Smith

my friends from church gave me a flag of Venezuela that they all wrote on as a goodbye gift :) I LOVE IT!

leaving Venezuela.. look at that contrast between air port and Venezuela

my sad face on the air plane :(

OH boyyy... 3 months, 1 blog

playing with kids at the Warao community

my first medical missions experience

I apologize yet once again for letting this blog slip out of my hands. I have so much I want to tell that God has been doing in my life and in the lives of the people here in Venezuela. I could never thank those of you enough who have have been praying for me and continually encourage me on this adventure that I am living in Venezuela. I do not know what I would do without you. Lately I have been realizing just how many awesome people God has placed in my life. Thank God and thank you (those reading this) for the blessing you have been in my life. May you influence others like you have influenced my life.

I do not even know where to begin. Life here has been incredible. Not because of what I have done, or what I have seen, but because God is alive, here, and working in amazing ways. All i can really do is stand back and marvel at our incredible God who would even begin to care for us. The church here has been going through a campaign called "50 dias de fe" (50 days of faith). This has been a journey for many in the church, including myself. I have felt challenged and am beginning to understand what faith really is and how important it is. The church continues to grow and people keep coming to the Lord desiring to give Him their lives. It's truly one of most beautiful things i have ever seen. It's all God working and flowing through the people that have chosen to follow His Glorious Name.

Going back a few months to January...
In January i had the opportunity to go on a missions trip with the seniors from my school. We traveled 12 hours on a bus to get a city where a missionary names Peter lives. He has been a missionary to an indeginous group of people called the "Warao" for over 20 years. We stopped at his house and served the community there for a day, then we took a boat 5 hours to get the Warao community. {i dont even know how to begin to describe this so bare with me}. This community lives on the water and we visited a specific one that has a mission house, which is where we stayed. They all live along this big river and there are 387 different Warao communites. Peter and his wife were the first missionaries to go to the Warao and trust me, their ministry to those people has been absolutely incredible and God filled. Out of those 387 communities, only 25 have heart the Gospel. Oh the work to be done. "harvest is plentiful, yet the workers are few." That number crushes my heart and all i can pray is "God take me where you want me and prepare me for you work." I pray the same for all believers as well. The community we went to was built right on the bank of the water. Warao actually means "people of the water." We spent a few days there doing VBS for the kids, cleaning hair to get rid of lice, cleaning wounds, passing out milk, and simply talking to the people. This was my first time getting to experience medical missions and i loved it. They do not speak spanish but we found a wat communicate. A smile was really all you needed. :) How humbled i was by these peolple. They have very little, thus they depend on God for nearly everything! There is so much i could say about this trip, the Warao culture, and lessons i learned but i would much rather say them in person. :) so ask when i get back.
You are more than welcome to check out my pictures on facebook to get a better idea of what i am talking about. No words can truly describe that experience but i hope you get an idea.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=142083&id=503614515

One thing i will tell you about is what i went through before i even left for Delta. Here in Venezuela to travel as a minor (under 18) you need a permission signed by your parents. Since my parents aren't here and they can't sign it, I could get into trouble if i traveled without a permission. We tried everything we could to get that slip and there was a lot of uncertainty on whether i should even go or not. I was crushed. I had been planning and thinking about going to the Warao community ever since Deshay, my cousin, had gone and talked a ton about it. My decision was comletely split. There was a lawyer here that we talked to and he said i should be fine since i have my student visa. They embassy said i should not go. So many people i respected told me yes and no as well. My parents were totally cool with me going and didn't mind taking the risk. Like i said, I was torn. I started praying this verse (my favorite verse in Venezuela):

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love; for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go; for to you I lift up my soul." Psalms 143:8

This verse means so much to me. I laid my whole situation in God's hands. I put my trust in Him, knowing He would show me the way to go. If He wanted me to go, then i would go and He would teach me so much. If He didn't want me to go, then He would keep me in Caracas and show me just as much would have at the Warao. I felt such a peace know that my future was being held in God's hands. I learned so much about trust in that situation and what it meant to truly give yourself and plans to God. As you already know, i ended up going, by the Lord's will, and now i am forever changed.

Here's a brief summary of some of the things i have been doing:

• God has completely blessed me with friendships here. I have gotten to spend some quality time with people here and truly get to know people. There are so many awesome people here, either from school or church, that i really wish my friends and family in the states could meet. Please be praying for me. Leaving Venezuela will be one of the hardest things i will ever do.
  
• I have started to play a lot of piano here. Last year i asked my piano teacher in the States to teach me how to play for church.(this was before i had even thought about coming to Venezuela). What a God-thing. These past 2 months i have been playing piano for my school about twice a week ANDD i also am on the rotation at church and i play piano once a month in church. I have truly enjoyed getting to do this and i am so thankful for the opportunity.
  
• I am currently playing basketball for my school. About every time i tell my brother this he just laughs at me becuase he knows about my awesome skills. haha the last time i played basketball in 7th grade i fouled half of my games. I guess i am a soccer player at heart or i watch too much Colts football. Anyway all i can say is that basketball here is a ton different than in the states but i am enjoying it! :)
• The weather here is starting to feel like an oven. no joke. its been 90-100 for the past few weeks and i am getting used to sweating most of the day ( i even think my school uniform shirt offically has pit stains. joy). :) you just bear it and grin :). not much i can do about it. Also we have been going through a drought here in Venezuela so water has been short and every now and then they turn off 0ur water once a week to conserve it. This is also a problem with electricty because the water powers the electricity so we have had a few black outs too. Nothing too bad, just makes you appreciate things. It's all part of the experience :)
• Last night I got to go to another lock-in at my church. (also called vigilia). All i can say is that God is amazing and i love being with His people. I had so much fun laughing, worshiping, and hanging out with people from my youth group here. I felt such a heavenly joy that is beyond describtion. But get this, before i went i made monster cookies to take to church that night. We pulled them out about 4 in the morning and while i was sitting and talking to some friends, 2 guys came up to me showing me a hair they had found in their cookie. I WAS SOOOOOOO EMBARRASED and seriously almost cried. all i could do was laugh. I just told them it was my special ingredient and we left if at that. :) But anyway, i had a ton a fun and am so blessed once again by friends there. Once and a lifetime opportunities and memories that i will never forget.
  

Thats a short summary of my life in Venezuela over the past few months. Praise God for all the ways HE is working. Recently i have started to think a little bit about going home. It is truly bittersweet. I really need prayer for my adjustment back to the States. I am not looking forward to that at all. I will probably go through some bad reverse culture shock. I am not ready to leave this place so special to my heart where God has taught me so much. I truly living a dream. But i am starting to get really antsy so see people back at home as well. once again. bittersweet.

unworthy servant,
Mariah Brooke

Holidays in Venezuela

Merry (late) Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am really sorry this has pretty much turned into a monthly blog. Ha this is definitely one of my new year resolution… to blog more!

So much has been going on throughout my life this past month. God continues to be merciful to me and shower me with blessings. He is so patient with me and my fleshliness. I owe Him everything. I am reminded daily of what an opportunity this year has been. I still feel like I am living a dream here in Venezuela and I know that I will never be in this same situation again. I have to give this back to God somehow.

Things that have happened in my life and experiences…
- THANKSGIVING… For thanksgiving break the Linn family (who I live with), 3 teachers from school, and I went to stay at a hotel about an hour and a half from here. Venezuelans do not celebrate thanksgiving so there was HARDLY anyone there! So nice and relaxing! It was so good to get out of the city and have some peace and quiet while sitting out by the pool. Adventures in Venezuela. While we were fixing sloppy joe’s for our thanksgiving dinner, the power went out. So we had thanksgiving in the dark that night BUT God was shining bright as we worshiped by singing and thanking Him. Just a few of the things I am thankful for: FAMILY: the ability to keep in contact with them through phone and internet, my family here who has accepted me in and allowed me to stay with them this year; FRIENDS: God has answered my prayers with all my wonderful friendships here at school and church (that was one of my big prayer requests when I first came to Venezuela- praise GOD!), also really thankful for all my awesome friends who have kept in contact with me from the states and have continued to encourage me; BODY OF CHRIST: I am soooooo thankful for the church down here and all the people that have shown me the love of Christ, also so thankful for my church back at home in Indiana and those that have kept in contact with me from there (I AM SOOOOOO BLESSED!), thankful for all my brothers and sisters in Christ who have helped me grow over the years and have spoken truth and wisdom into my life (I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!) OTHER BLESSINGS: praise God for helping me with my Spanish this year! I am not fluent yet.. but it is growing! Also thankful for the Christian schooling I have been able to have and all my teachers who have invested into my life. SOOOOO MUCH MORE! Thanksgiving break was also a little hard because I started to miss my family. I knew they were with my other extended family that weekend and I just missed being with them. Also its hard to take a vacation without your family!
- School recently… well school is school. ☺ history has been interesting as we are studying WW2 and watched some movies about that. Ha and then there is anatomy. We dissected a piglet the last week of school. FUN STUFF!! It reminded me of dissecting a small shark in Sunday school in 5th grade. (we were studying Jonah with Mr. Wright- he was one of my favorite Sunday school teachers… so many memories). There were a few times I felt a little sick, but I figured if I want to go into the medical field I better get used to it now!
- Church recently… baptisms. Wow God is working so much down here. I have heard countless stories of someone becoming a Christian, praying relentlessly for their family to come to Christ, and then God answers and the next thing you know someone they love is being dipped back into the water after making their good confession. ONLY GOD. Only He can do something like that. I love the worship services too. You look around and see 60 yr. olds and above practically jumping while praising God with a big smile. God is so real and so felt. And for me there is just something super special about singing in Spanish and understanding it and praising God. Also thanks to God I have been able to slowly understand during sermons more and more. What a joy it is when you start understand God and his message and sermons in a different language! PRAISE GOD!
- This past week my family has been here! AHHHHHHHH SO GOOD TO HAVE THEM HERE! Just to see them and hug them and be with them has been so extraordinary! My mom brought me a lot goodies, including some her amazing Christmas cookies! Also my friend Alexis was able to come and it’s been so good catching up with her and getting to show her Venezuela! My family was able to got to church on Sunday and see people they have not seen for almost 8 years. It was so much fun introducing them to some of my friends at church as well! After church we went to one of my family’s favorite restaurants in Venezuela that has the BEST roasted chicken and fruit drinks. Then we headed out the camp- the place that has such a big place in my heart! That camp was reason my family came to Venezuela in 2002. My dad was the head constructer so we spent a lot of time there when we lived here in Venezuela…..so many memories! The camp is used my Christian churches in the area for retreats and camps. I heard my uncle say that in the past 8 years over 2000 people have been baptized there. PRETTY SPECIAL HUH? Only God. On Monday we did some work on the camp and then on Tuesday we all went out to the beach. THEN WEDNESDAY. OH Wednesday. I am still feeling the affects of yesterday, Wednesday. My uncle, 3 cousins, my dad, brother, my friend, 2 people from church and I went on the biggest hike of my life. We got up at 5 in the morning, ate a quick breakfast, and started our big adventure. The mountain we climbed just happened to be the 2nd highest biggest mountain in Venezuela. As I am writing this I still cant believe I made it up. We hiked over 10 miles up and down this mountain (called the Avila) and it took us over 10 hours. NEVER AGAIN! Haha so many times I wanted to quit. Getting to the top was such a relief and beautiful as you look to one side and see nearly all of Caracas and then on the other side you see the Caribbean. INCREDIBLE! Then you sadly realize you have to hike down. No helicopter to take you down. No parachute to glide down. And NO ONE TO CARRY YOU DOWN! Almost makes you want to cry! Ha but by the grace of God and his strength, we all made it down. If only you knew how big this mountain is you would feel my pain and joy right now. It was an experience and I am glad I went up. Don’t think I will do that again for a longggggg time!

Well I better go spend some time with the family. They all went for a walk so I figured I should blog! ☺ There is more I want to write later though!

Thanks for all who are praying for me and who encourage me!
Keep glorifying God with you life,
Love,
mariah

the picture= this is my family at camp along with the friends from church!

All i can say is TIME FLIES when you are having FUN :)

My mother will be so proud of me! I am finally sitting down to write on my blog! MUCH APOLOGIES! I am so sorry it has taken me forever to write another blog. I just kept pushing it back and back until i realized that it was a month later. I had a few people wondering if i was still alive! YES I AM FULL AND WELL! :)

Wow life is busy here. It never stops but i am enjoying every minute of it! I am reminded of Scott Bostick's quote, "Life if too short not to take Jesus at His Word." Think about it! October was the church anniversary month here; which meant my family was busy every weekend with church activities. Its been great though! God is working so much in the lives of the people here and it continually amazes me to see how much faith people put in Christ. My brothers and sisters in Christ are always setting an example for me.

Ok so here a few things i have gotten to do the past month:

- I got to go to Colonial Tavar. This is a old German village up in the mountians. My family went there when we lived in Venezuela 8 years ago and it is one of my dad's favorite places here. I was invited to go with some friends from school over fall break and the girl who took us wanted to do a photo shoot type thing. One of my really good friends from school, Adri, is an AWESOME photographer and so we had a lot of fun taking pictures in nice dresses and just hanging out. I was also able to buy some Christmas presents for my family up there. I CAN NOT WAIT to see them at Christmas!

- Every Friday night my school has youth group and that has been going GREAT! God is working in the lives of my classmates but MUCH prayer is needed as well for my classmates and faith.

- Every Saturday night I go to the church youth group. I LOVE IT. i am pretty sure its one of my favorite times of the week. It is simply like one BIG family and i love seeing people my age who are seeking the Lord with their whole lives. God has blessed me so much with friendships since i have been here. I remember one of the first nights getting to Venezuela and praying "God please help me to connect with people and just make a few good friends." WELL God has sure given me a plethora . THANK YOU! Also thanks to all who have been praying for me and my friendships :)

- Since i have been in Venezuela i have been able to develop a really strong relationship with my English teacher. Her name is Natalie and she is only 24; but a great teacher and friend. I clicked with her since the first day of school and she asked if i was interested in her discipling me. So we meet weekly after school and have great talk time, Bible time, and prayer time. God has extremely blessed me with this friendship. It just reminds me of all my awesome friends back at home and how much i miss talking with them about Christ and our lives. This past weekend Natalie spent the night and in the morning we made pancakes and then we carved a pumpkin and made delicious pumpkin seeds! I had a great time with her and she has been challenging me in many areas of my life.

- Now to last weekend. A NEW EXPERIENCE. AN ADVENTURE. OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE. ONLY SPANISH. NERVOUS. EXCITED. FAITH. So last weekend one of my friends from church, Adriana, invited me to come down and spend the afternoon with her, go to youth group, and then spend the night with her. How could i give up an opportunity like this? Dionna drove me to a bus stop and dropped me off. I waited for about 15 minutes in line. During that time i was thinking, "I have no idea what city i am in, I do not speak very good spanish, but Jesus- all i have and need it You." A step of faith. I felt completely in God's Hands, safe and loved. Once i got off the bus my friend picked me up and we went to her house. Let me remind you of something- SHE ONLY SPEAKS SPANISH! Like i said, what an experience! After youth group we hung out with some other church friends. By the time we got back to her house my brain was FRIED. But my friend was pacient with me and helped me alot! MY FIRST SLEEPOVER IN VENEZUELA! i loved it all! Her family was really fun to be with too!

There are a few details of me life. :) Like i said earlier, the year is going by extremely fast! School has been great. Stressful at times- with homework and all. But i am really enjoying my classes. Anatomy has been a blast- very challenging but i am learning so much! In Bible class we are starting to study Hebrews! GAHH i am SO excited to study it with my Bible teacher- he is a really neat guy with a radically passionate heart for the Lord. Home life has been good. Aunt Donna is a great cook but i miss my mom's good cookin' and my dad's venison every now and then. I love every chance i get to talk to my family on the phone or Skype! I still can not believe i have been away from home almost 3 months! Glory to God for getting me through hard times when i miss them.

Spiritually, God has continued to shape my heart and mold me to be His alone. I have learned so much about humility through my difficulites with Spanish, perseverance with homework, loving people, and giving God complete control. My Spanish tutor has been making me memorize verses in Spanish from Romans that i can use at the hospital. She is yet another blessing in my life! I have also been learning the "behind the scenes work" of missions. I have always said i want to be a missionary and when i look at my life and faith and fears right now, i think: IMPOSSIBLE! I need more faith, more trust in God. But then i also think: GOD IS WITH YOU ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! I will go wherever He wants me to go. But i must surrender everything to Him. Let go of myself. Let go of the world and its desires. Stop listening to the devil's lies. and FOLLOW HIM.

Love you all lots! Thanks for all prayers, encouraging emails, and support!
Dios te bendiga (God Bless You)

mariah brooke :)

{the pictures is from a church event. The girl on the left of me, Amaris, has been one of my good friends for a LONG TIME! Then there is Adriana- the girl who i spend the night with. Then one of the youth leaders!}

Bread of Life

(this picture is of my class at school.. just 8 of us!)

Hey loved ones, sorry I have been a little late with my blog. I just have not been in the “mood” to do it lately but now I am so, I am taking this opportunity to write now! ☺ I hope you all are doing great and continually drawing closer to Christ! I have been EXTREMELY blessed with people like you in my life. I take so much for granted and I just want to make sure you all know how much I love and appreciate you. Many of you who read my blog are the very ones who have poured truth and love into my life and have helped make me who I am today. THANK YOU! Thank you for each prayer and kind word you have ever given or spoken to me! Also thank you for showing me a life lived for Christ and being a good example for me to follow. I hope you continue to pour into others lives like you have poured into mine. Thanks ☺ Gracias!

The past two weeks have been full of some ups and downs- but mostly ups and through the downs I am learning. So I praise God for the past two weeks of my life! He continues to be faithful in my life and teaching me how to become more like His Son. Last (last) Wednesday, September 23-25, my school went out to a camp called Zion. I had been there before but it has been a loooooooong time and I just had vague memories. One of those memories was trying to climb up a mountain (Mt. Zion) with my mom and some guys from the church. Lets just say we were not quite ready for that hike. ☺ But anyway, the 7th thru 12th graders all went for a time of spiritual revival and fellowship with one another. The bus ride there was long and bumpy but those times are some of my favorite because you get to talk with people and the scenery was incredible. At Zion we broke up into two teams and played a whole bunch of games. One of my favorites was playing ‘Capture the Flag’ at ten at night in the pitch-dark. I was freaked out and scared beyond my wits because I could not see a thing and I did not want to run into any creature that was lurking in the trees or bin the brush. I just kind of stood there and watched people and was extremely relived when a girl from my team found the flag! We also played a gross food game where people had to eat crazy things like onions covered in toothpaste and coffee grounds (DIonna ate that and saw her breakfast soon after!) and someone else had to eat a lime. It was crazy; luckily (or thank God) I only had to eat some crackers! The worship time was amazing. There is something special about worshipping God while you are in the middle of nowhere with mountains surrounding you on every side- like you could reach out and touch God. On Thursday morning we got up extremely early to go hiking up Mt. Zion. What an experience that was! I loved every minute of it! It was tough at times but so rewarding when you could stand at the top and look around and see God’s masterpiece radiating in the sunlight. Dionna and her teacher had taken their guitars up top and they lead one of the coolest worship times ever. Praise God! One of my big prayers right now is to see everyone in the high school come to know Christ and desire to have an intimate relationship with Him. I see God working already in some of my peers’ hearts but we need to be praying hard! Camp was a great experience and I really enjoyed getting to know many people better and praising the God of the universe and God of my life.

Last Sunday I got to return to the cancer hospital that I went to a few weeks ago. WOOOOOOOOOW! God is humbling and teaching me how I need to constantly be telling others about what He is doing in my life. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW! How foolish is it for me to say I believe in Christ and yet neglect sharing that love with others. My faith is worthless if it is not in action. This time we took a guitar and some sock puppets in. We got to visit a 3-year-old girl whose mom was only 18-years-old. The niña (girl) was absolutely beautiful and precious. She was timid with us but really liked the puppets. In the different rooms we sang and prayed with people and just loved on them with the love poured on us by Christ. Being at the hospital reminds me never to take my health for granted. The people crowded around when we played the guitar and we were simply honored to be Jesus’ hands and feet that day. Please be praying for those suffering and that they may come to know the suffering is temporary and the only hope is found in Jesus Christ. I can not wait to go back!

WOW I can not believe it is already October. Time flies and I have almost been in Venezuela for two months. If I did not believe in Christ I would not be here. Plain and simple. This month is the 10th anniversary for the Casarapa Church. This is the church David and Donna (my aunt and uncle) helped to start. This is also the church my family was part of when we lived here 8 years ago. This is the church that has stolen my heart and the place where Christ is teaching me so much right now. This weekend an evangelist came in speak and I went to hear him with my aunt and uncle. You know when you listen to a sermon and you feel like the preacher is speaking directly into your heart and right at your face? His message was about carencias (the lacks and needs) of our lives. We each have external (human needs- food, sleep, etc) and internal needs (love, joy, peace, etc). God did not make us to be empty inside and He is the only one who can fill us- or else we are miserable. Ps 23:1 (I verse I have known my whole life but forgot its meaning) “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not WANT!” Is God all I want? Jesus says He is the Bread of Life. And the origin of the word “bread” means “everything.” Wow this really spoke to me and this is what God has been working on me lately. I am currently reading a book by John Piper called “A Hunger for God.” This book has challenged me in so many ways, especially with putting God above food. Do I want God more than food? How hungry am I for God? Often times I find myself trying to be “filled” and “satisfied” with everything in life BUT God. This needs to change, God please never stop transforming my heart!

This past week has been crazy! Dionna (my cousin who is my age) got invited by another soccer team in Caracas to go play at a tournament in Brazil! We had been praying for her decision all week, and on Friday morning she took off for Brazil until October 18. I am going to miss her so much! But I am so excited to see how God will use her and just excited about what an experience and opportunity this is for her! Dionna has helped me so much since I have been here in Venezuela. She helps to keep me sane and has encouraged me in some of the difficult times I have had here. Her heart is set on Christ and I am privileged to know her! Please keep her in your prayers!

Also I cannot wait to talk to my dad this weekend! He has been in Africa the past few weeks with a group from my church in Indiana. One of the coolest things about his trip was that he got to put in the water purifier system that my youth group raised money for! God is so awesome. This water system is going to provide clean water for over three schools with over 1600 kids total! HOW INCREDIBLE! Most of those kids suffer from worms because of the unclean water they drink. This water system was totally a God thing and it is so cool to see how my youth group is able to help those in Kenya! I am really looking forward to talking to him sometime this weekend about his trip and about what God did while they were there. I miss my parents so much but I have a peace because I know this is where God and I want to be this year.

That is all about I have for now. Praise God that my Spanish is coming along. I really really like my tutor! She has me memorizing Bible verses in Spanish that I can use at the hospital and we also pray together after my class. Praise God for the friendships I am developing with those at church and school. Praise God for the opportunity I have here. Praise God for the Casarapa Church. Praise God for his love and mercy and for Caracas.

Unworthy servant,
Mariah Brooke

Here is a link to my facebook pictures if you want to look at them :

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2454430&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=503614515&id=503614515#/profile.php?id=503614515&v=photos

Highs and Lows

The past few week has been like a roller coaster of events. But God is faithful, and i am alive! :) A continual thanks to all who have been so encouraging to me! I have been blessed beyond measure and i have so much to be thankful for! :)

Well for starters, last Thursday I got to go with Donna to Makro! Makro is equivalent to a Sam's Club or Costco in the States. I remember going there with my mom 7 years ago. I got excited seeing all the fresh produce that you can buy in large quantities. :) There is just something inside me that makes me want to cook and bake for people. I think i get it from my mother! :) Along those lines, last week was a bit hard. There came a time when i had a strong urge to go help people. I just wanted to leave school and go care for people, give them a hug, and let them know that Jesus loves them. I don't know. I think with school right now, God is teaching me perseverane and working on my heart for something in the future. I need to keep relying on His strength to get me through school.

On Friday night, I had the opportunity to go to a Vigilia at church. A Vigilia is similiar to a lock-in but, it is a lot more "spiritual." It was for the youth group, so i got to meet some new friends from church. The worship and fellowship was great but at times i got frustrated and tired because of the Spanish. haha at 5 A.M. we had a mini American Idol thing. We all split into groups and someone from each group had to go up and sing in front of everyone. Well lets just say that my group decided to flee and by the time it was my group's turn to send someone up to sing, there was no one left- except me. So i went up there, extremely tired, and took the microphone. They started playing a Hillsong song that i know in English and Spanish. But i couldn't remember the words- in my head i would sing a few words in English and then i would go into Spanish. So i just stood up there. Haha it was bad and i was pretty embarrassed. But life goes on... Aunt Donna picked me up a few hours later and i came home and crashed until 3:30 p.m. Overall it was a great experience, good practice time for my Spanish, and most importantly, a good worship time!

Church on Sunday was yet another great experience filled with heart-felt worship and a touching message. The preacher this week had a great insight on a passage in Genesis 14 about Abraham and Lot. He was talking about our life battles and how what we depend on will determine the victory. This was a message i really needed to hear because i feel like recently i have been going through a spiritual battle. There are so many things i am learning right as well as many simple truths that i need to be reminded of every now and then. I also had a great conversation with my dad on Sunday night that was much needed. I love him and miss him so much. I am excited for him because today he left for Kenya! So cool- and i have to admit i am a little jealous! I can not WAIT to hear about how God is working over there! I am so happy for him because i know Africa has a special place in his heart like Venezuela does in mine.

Also on Sunday after church a few of my teachers came over for a while to hang out and eat lunch with us. I have really started to develop a great friendship with my English teacher, Miss Bullock. She has been a great friend for me to talk to about life and i am able to connect with her. I think we are going to start meeting weekly so she can disciple me and so that we can have some good time to talk. God has blessed me so much with this relationship in my life along with many others! This is such a huge answer to prayer for me as well. :)

Now to last night. Last night my procrastination tendencies led me to working for about 5 hours or more on a paper for U.S. History. I had it all written out and was just getting ready to type it up when my stomach started hurting really bad. I was extremely nauseous and felt horrible.. well it all went down from there. Enough said. So today i stayed home from school to rest and i finished up my paper. Thank God i am slowly starting to feel better because tomorrow my school is heading out to a camp for a few days for a retreat type thing. I am SUPER excited because i have heard that people get really competitive and also one day we get to hike up a mountain. More importantly, i am looking forward to getting to know some of the people in my high school better and develop deeper relationships. :) I just hope that i am feeling up to doing everything and i am glad i got sick here instead of camp!

One other thing that has been pretty frustrating for me is my spanish. I do not remember if i talked about this in earlier blogs, but with my school being English-speaking, my spanish has become almost a discipline. I really have to force myself into working at it but i am having trouble finding the time for that. Weekends are my favorite because i get to be around church people and also practice my spanish! When it comes down to it, it all comes back to balance in life and time management. There are so many things i want to do here but i do not feel like i have enough time for! Priorites, priorites... welcome to life!

Well that is about all i have for this week! I still can not believe i am actually living in Venezuela and that i have been here for over a month! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support!
LOVE YOU ALL!
mariah

Another God-given incredible week :)

Yet another week that God has blessed me with! Thanks to all of you who continually encourage me with your comments and by telling me you read this blog. I pray that this blog not be my words but God's words of how He is working in not only my life but in those around me as well. All glory to Him forever!

The big thing that happened this week was my 17th birthday. No offense to anyone, but I FEEL OLD! I am becoming an adult all too quickly and it scares me a little bit! But it also reminds me of how short my life really is and a reminder to live for what really matters. Ha- i called my mom earlier this week and told her about all that and then i told her of how i could be married in 3 years! I think that scared her a bit but then again she and my dad got married when he was 20 and she had just turned 21! It's a little crazy to think about that but its true! NOW i better make this clear! I am not saying that because i am with anyone right now or have a 'crush' on anyone... just stating reality! :)
So yeah, my birthday was on Thursday. It was hard being away from home and getting to be with my family but God provided family here to surround me in love. Although it hurt deep when my family asked me how they were supposed to celebrate my birthday without me. To start things off, when we got to school i had a good friend walk up to me with a candle in hand and sing 'happy birthday' to me. Adriana is the girl's name and she has been an awesome friend to me since i have been in Venezuela! She is super sweet and has a gift with people- encouraging and including everyone, especially making people feel welcome! :) Then in English, my first class, my classmates and teacher threw me a little party. A few of the girls had made brownies and snickerdoodles and brought fruit drinks! YUM! :) It meant to much to me! On top of that, one of the girls in my class called her dad (who is a radio host in the mornings) and she asked him to wish me a happy birthday on the radio! HE DID and we all gathered around a stereo and listened to it! HOW COOL! :)
The rest of the day people were super sweet and made my birthday really special. In Anatomy, if you are late to class you have to get up in front and sing a song to the class. Well, one of the Korean girls named Lisa was late for class that day. For her song she sang 'Happy Birthday' to me in Korean! That was pretty sweet! Then that night Donna made some awesome skyline chili for my birthday dinner... a little reminder of home. :) After dinner Dionna asked me if i wanted to go to a lookout spot with her and talk for a bit. We went and on the way home Dionna told me we were going to go the back way. Well, i am still new here in Venezuela and come-to-find-out there is no back way home! Instead she took me to one of the girl's house from our school. Her name is Mari and she walked up and said that her grandma wanted to wish me a 'happy birthday.' Well i thought it was just another Venezuelan cutlure thing, so we walked in and then about 15 people from my school popped out and starting singing "Feliz Cumpleazaños!" Wow they got me good! i had no idea they were planning this! They made me dance latin dances (salsa and merengue). But dont worry- it was all clean and fun, just getting a taste of Venezuelan culture! I was horrible at dancing though. I was trying so hard to get the steps and then they were making fun of me becuase i would not move my hips at all! But i think i am ok with that! :) I really enjoyed the night and it was good for me to get to know some of my friends from school better. I felt like i was able to relax and laugh- which was much needed! So overall, my birthday was great and thank you for everyone who sent me a birthday message! This was definetly a birthday i will always remember!

On Saturday morning Aunt Donna took me to downtown Caracas to do a little shopping. This part of Caracas is known to be very dangerous and often you hear about people getting mugged. So Donna and I were careful in what we took and wore. I enjoyed spending some time with her and going into all the venezuelan shops! So cool! i loved seeing all the Venezuelan culture and also getting to try some new food. :) After that we went to watch Dionna play soccer. She is a BEAST at soccer and it was so much fun watching her play! She scored on a indirect kick near the goal! It was hard sitting on the sideline becasue it made me want to get out on the field and rub some shoulders with girls and kick the ball around. :) Yeah i am starting to miss soccer a bit.

This weekend has been pretty chill. Church this morning was awesome like always! :) We sang 'trading my sorrows' and 'Great is thy faithfulness' in spanish. So cool to know those songs in English. I thought of my dad for some reason singing 'Great is thy faithfulness' and just wanted him there standing beside me. :( I enjoyed talking with some friends after church and practicing some spanish. It's coming little by little- i just need to keep talking with people! I still love every minute i get to spend at the church. :)

Well I think i am finally able to pin-point what God wants to teach me: DISCIPLINE. uggggg,,, grrrrrr,,,, ouchhhhh. It hurts and its hard. But this summer i read a book about spiritual discipline and felt like i learned somethings but apparently i have a TON more to learn. For my small group at school we are reading another disciplines book. At first i was really dissapointed i had to read another discipline book beaucse i just read all this stuff. But i am seeing how much i need these things in my life. Last night as i was lying in bed reading, i heard uncle David tell Dawson, "Discipline is a daily choice..." Then i started reading my book called "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver, and of course, the chapter was about spiritual discipline! OK GOD! I GET IT! Ever since i came to Venezuela i started praying that God would allow me and help me grow closer to Him. I keep praying for a closer relationship with Him. Well i don't know if He could be any clearer. I NEED DISCIPLINE!
Here are a few points for the chapter i read last night that really stuck out to me:

• Without discipline and help from God you will remain the same and not grow in your faith
• We tend to want to live a life of ease rather than a life that pleases God
• the Holy Spirit is like your personal trainer and HE is WILLING to help you!
• Whenever I resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I am really saying no to God and yes to Satan
• When God asks, He also enables
• The battle is the LORD'S! YESS!

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

So this is how i grow closer to God, this is how i let go of me and cling onto Him. This is not going to be easy at all! but I am so glad i have the Creator of the Universe to help me!

Venezuela has been amazing. Although it kills me beacuse i want friends and family to experience everything with me. Words can not describle many things nor can a picture. But i hope you all get a taste of what Venezuela is like and come to love it like i do! Thanks for everyone's support and love!

In Christ Alone,
Mariah Brooke