Week beyond words

Thanks for all your continual encouragement and love you all show me! I am so blessed to have people like you all in my life!

The past week has been a LEARNING week!
First, I will tell you about a lesson that I learned. It is not a good idea to stay up til 2:30 a.m. and wake up at 5:30 a.m. for school! Its actually pretty destructive to oneself! Wednesday night last week I had the opportunity to go to a small group for younger people at Casarapa. (that's where my family lived when we lived here 7 years ago!) anyway the small group was held next to the same pond that my siblings and i used to scooter around and around. So many memories came as I sat there with my uncle listening to the Gospel message being taught with an indescribable passion. Praise God for the many ways He is working and making His glory known in Venezuela! Well, i got home that night and got to work on a Bible paper I had to write about if it is possible to be a Christian Pluralist- meaning that you claim to be a Christian yet also believe there are multiple ways to get into Heaven. This was not an easy paper to write, so i was up until 1:45 a.m. with that. Then Dionna and I had to study together for an Anatomy quiz. What fun it is to try to memorize body systems at 2:00 in the morning! We were laughing so hard, so much so that later that morning my Aunt asked us about why we were talking and laughing about "urethra" so late. Apparently we were a little loud! :) Great memories though! So after only getting 3 hours of sleep Wednesday night, I was wiped out on Thursday night. If you know me well you know i do not do well at ALL with little sleep! ( I get that from my dad! :) ) so i got a little homesick that night while i was crying because i was frustrated and just wanted to talk to my mom- talk to someone who could handle the basket-case i was! But its been good to keep in touch with my family and many friends through skype and facebook! :)

Every Saturday morning since i arrived in Venezuela, i have been waking up early to go running with my Aunt Donna. I really enjoy running and talking with her. It's a great way to start off a Saturday because i get energized and am able to get more done than if i would have slept in.

Later on Saturday I got to go to youth group in Casarapa. (this is also where the Church is at). The youth group went out by the grocery store and did the skit "Everything" by Lifehouse. If you have not seen it i suggest you look it up on Youtube.com or Tangle.com! It's been so neat to see how the youth here have a passion for Christ. It encourages me all the more to continually pursue an intimate relationship with my Savior.

Now what i really want to tell you about it what i got be part of yesterday. After church Abraham (a 23-year-old Venezuelan who is really close to the Linns), 2 teachers from school, Dionna, and I were able to visit a cancer hospital. Abraham was leading us all and was the one who invited us all to go. We brought some puppets with us because we thought we might be able to see some kids- well come to find out, those puppets were a blessing! On the way to downtown Caracas, Abraham was sticking the puppets out the window and telling people "God loves you!" while at the same time handing our tracks and just making people laugh (especially us)! I kept thinking, this is one of the reasons I am here in Venezuela, to learn how to tell others about Jesus... who knew it would be with puppets! But more importantly to grow and mature in my faith while seeking Him more and more. On our way into the hospital Abraham was already passing out tracks and talking to people, and of course, waving around the puppets! Abraham led us into the first room and started to talk to the cancer patients and their families about Jesus and the Gospel. He was telling them that Jesus took all our sin and died for us so we could be forgiven. Also telling them that in Heaven there will be no more sickness or disease! WOW! God was teaching me just as much as those we were talking to! In each room we also prayed for them and gave out tracks. Abraham even had us pray in English in a few of the rooms. Some of the patients prayed the salvation prayer, so please keep them in your prayers! We were there until a guard came and told us that visiting hours were over. But our work was not done! We continued to hand out tracks on our way out and tell people that God loves them!

What an experience! On the way home Abraham asked me how i was feeling. I told him that i was learning and thank you for all that he had taught me about sharing your faith that day. He told me that evangelizing should not just be an event that people meet together to go do, but rather an everyday thing. I have continued to be amazed at what God is showing me. I hope to return to that hospital very soon!

"Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"
-1 peter 4:10-11 (The Message)

This is the verse in my devotions this morning. Just reminding me that God deserves all the credit for everything and it's Him working- not us! My pride is detestable in his sight and i need to continually throw that at His Cross. My life is not my own. He has put me here in Venezuela. I pray that i simply be a servant and put myself completely away. Thank you for grace! I need to keep relying on God for my strength so people see Him alone. NO MORE ME!

I hope you all are doing great! I miss seeing you all face to face and spending time with you! Let me know how i can be praying you all!

Hugs and Kisses,
Mariah Brooke