Because He lives!!

"He is not here, he is risen, as he said."

Matthew 28:6a

The month of April was filled with celebrations of the resurrection of our Savior. The kids from church in La Ceiba spent a Saturday at the foundation making kites with Laideth and Sait. Unfortunately only one kite flew. It is very traditional for the kids to make and fly kites during Holy week, they also enjoy going to the river during their week off from school. Enjoy the pictures. 

Easter Sunday was a day full of celebration! The music ministry team practiced several hymns and choruses for the church services, we then sang them with someone playing piano. I read a poem about what Jesus did for us on the cross. Sunday morning at 6:30 we had a service in Puerto Ordaz followed by a breakfast together. Then we were off to La Ceiba to celebrate there with a service and fresh fruit. The pictures below are both in La Ceiba; Laideth reading the bible with Leo, the music team singing "He lives" acapella. 

 After Easter it was time for me to leave for my visa work again. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! This time God opened doors and I was able to visit two different missionary families in Ecuador. After 30 hours of travel (3 airplanes, a bus and a car) I arrived in Loja, Ecuador at the home of Murray and Sheryl Greenwood (missionaries with SIM). Murray is a pediatrician at a clinic and together the couple disciples and encourages the believers in their church. Two days I helped and observed at the clinic, seeing the kids was a highlight! I also got to see the drama team they disciple on Sunday nights, it was so fun!!  My time with them was very encouraging and refreshing. Loja is up in the mountains so it was much colder than I am use to in Venezuela. 

Next I was off on another bus to Santo Domingo, Ecuador to visit Andrea and Vlady's family. Andrea is sister-in-law to my friend Lizzie Gardiner in England, we met last October at the wedding I was in. Andrea is also a doctor and serves the kids in her community by helping them with school supplies (we handed these out while I was there) and other medical needs. Andrea is also homeschooling her sweet little girls, Tamara (8) and Emily (6). Most of my time we spent playing with them and doing homeschool. Emily saw to it that I did my "school work" too ;) They live on a farm and have a river on their land, we spent many evenings enjoying time swimming. Vlady is a flower farmer and is currently building a retreat center on their land. They are a lovely and busy family! 

Praising God for His continued protection and seeing His working hand in other parts of the world! 

Prayer requests: 

• Safety/wisdom 
• Health for Luz and Ana (my teachers)
• Learning and continued improvement in giving classes
• That all the kids from church will grow both physically and spiritually 
• Ishmael - minor infection in his leg, healing, praise that we were able to find the medications he needed!! God is good. 
• Venezuela - God is in control, that the people would be open to His call and trust fully in Him. 

Thank you so much for you love, encouragement, prayers and support!! 

Blessings,

Alicia 

awhitmore@fim.org 

Serving with: 

Fellowship International Mission (FIM) 

555 S 24th St

Allentown, PA 18104

Sing praises to God, sing praises!

"Clap you hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!" Psalm 47:1-2,6

Sing praises to God, sing praises! One of the songs of praise to God from this month is that He has provided several more learning and growing opportunities. In the picture above I am singing with the praise team during a Sunday evening service. I have started practicing with them two times a week and singing in the service once a month. A few of us also started taking a class with a music professor once a week to learn some basics of singing. 

The most exciting song of praise to be sung is that I was able to give the class to the kids in La Ceiba on Thursday night!! This was a huge encouragement because I was able to see the future and was able to put into practice everything I have been working on for over a year and a half. There are still things to be worked on and improvements to be made but over all everyone is happy with the direction we are headed. 

Along the same idea, after studying with a class Friday nights how to put together a bible study, I was able to present a 15 minute bible study for my group last Friday night. I was much less nervous and did an over all good job sharing a message about Philippians 4:1-9. One lesson I learned is that practice helps me feel more confident in presenting but even then there are mistakes...like forgetting the conclusion!! hahaha 

One final song of praise to God is for the expanding of the land at the foundation in La Ceiba. This past month the church purchased the land next to the foundation, it included a building with two rooms, a free standing bathroom and a pig building. We are extremely blessed and looking forward to what God will do through this ministry. 

Prayer requests and praises for this month: 

• Praise that God has given me the ability to learn Spanish and now share His word with others. 
• Praise for the expansion of the foundation. 
• Praise for the kids who are learning and growing everyday. 
• Request that God will continue to work in the hearts and lives of those who come to the foundation. 
• For open hearts of those we are visiting and sharing the gospel with on Thursdays in La Ceiba 
• For safe travels to Ecuador April 17-May 2 for visa reasons and to observe two ministries there. 

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers! God is good and answering prayers! 

Blessings,

Alicia 

awhitmore@fim.org 

Serving with: 

Fellowship International Mission

555 S 24th St

Allentown, PA 18104

Things that are praise worthy

"Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." -Philippians 4:8 

January and February have come and gone in the blink of an eye!! In that time God has given me many things to think about that are excellent and praise worthy. 

First, in January he gave me 30 years of life and several wonderful Venezuelan friends to celebrate with! 

Cake with church friends.

Cake with the kids in La Ceiba at the foundation.

At the end of January God blessed me with time to relax in Curacao, first alone and then with my family! It was great to see them and we shared many happy memories together. God's creation is beautiful and breath taking. 

Top of the highest point in Curacao.

Smoothies on the pier.

Once I got back to Venezuela in February I hit the ground running. Marcia and Guillermo were here from the States. In the two weeks that Marcia was with us we had several meetings and special gatherings planned. Said turned 60! So we celebrated that blessing from the Lord her in our yard with church friends and a few of his non-christian friends. One said, "I was not expecting to have that much fun with a group of Christians." What a testimony Said and Laideth are living for those around them. 

Later Marcia, Luz, Ana and I met to talk about my classes. This was a very encouraging morning for me. Everyone is very pleased with how I am progressing. I am at a 75% level of understanding and 60% for getting along in the culture. We have changed my weekly schedule around so that now I only have class 3 days a week and am involved in more church activities. I am now attending both the Sunday evening service in Villa Icabaru and the Tuesday night prayer service. Thursday morning I am meeting with Laideth and Ana to plan the class for the kids on Thursday nights (going to be giving the lesson next month). Then we have been evangelizing in La Ceiba on Thursday nights before the kids service there. One Friday evenings I am attending and participating in the class at church where a group of about 10 of us are learning to put together a lesson about the Bible. After class we (the worship team) practice the songs we will sing at church on Sunday. I am going to start singing with them once a month. Yes this has changed my life and routine so much and these first to weeks have been exhausting! However, I am so excited to be involved in more and moving forward with ministry. 

Another blessing of having Marcia here was being able to talk with her, she listens to me and gives advice and encouragement that I need. 

February has ended with a fun two day tournament at the foundation in La Ceiba. It is Carnaval (a festival where you throw water at each other) here so the kids didn't have school. Below are some of the pictures we took together enjoying some soccer, unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the water fights we had because I would have damaged my camera! I was SOAKED!!  

The willing "littles" group. Joseph kicked the winning goal!! (he is Ana's nephew)

 Enjoying the tournament!

God is good and I am so thankful for all of the things He is doing here. 

Prayer requests: 

• Salvation of those we are evangelizing to in La Ceiba on Thursdays. 
• That the kids and youth will apply what they are learning at church and live for Christ. 
• Daniela's family (very poor family in Paso Nuevo) would be healed from their sins and from bed sores they have. That Grandma would start taking responsibility for daily house hold chores. 
• Continued language growth. 
• That the church leaders (Ana, Said and Laideth) would be encouraged and take time to rest during the week. 

Thank you for all your support and prayers!!

Blessings,

Alicia 

awhitmore@fim.org 

Serving with:

Fellowship International Mission

555 S 24th St 

Allentown, PA 18104 

Celebrations in December

Happy New Year!! Praise the Lord for another year of ministry. 

December was a very busy month! We started the month off in Paso Nuevo celebrating the birth of the Savior with a special supper with our church family. 

Alicia and her friends :) 

Church family enjoying time together after the supper.

Next we had our dinner at our church here in Puerto Ordaz. All the dinners were made by church members and everyone had a great time preparing and cutting veggies together. 

The group of ladies I sat with at dinner

Sunday after church we had the dinner in La Ceiba. During the service the kids shared bible verses and the books of the bible that they have been learning. Also a few of them shared a song they learned from an indian who was visiting a month ago. It was great to see them excited to share what they are learning. 

Manuel reciting the books of the Old Testament

Traditionally Christmas is celebrated on the 24th with a big dinner late at night with the entire family. For lunch we went to the foundation in La Ceiba for lunch. 

The Buloz family with Manuel and Leo (two of the brothers who live at the foundation)

In the evening the Silveira family invited me to share in their meal and celebrations. It was delicious and a good time was had by all. Thanks be to God for blessing me with two great teachers and a family to be with during the Holidays. 

On the 25th a group of us spent the day at the foundation. We had a soup lunch and played dominoes all afternoon. It was a great day. Surprisingly I picked up on the strategy quickly! 

Another day during break a few of us ladies from church got together and spent the day making "hallacas". The traditional Venezuelan Christmas dinner. The hallaca is similar to a "hot pocket", I posted a picture of this in my last blog too, in this picture you can see the outer part that hold it all together; a banana leaf (not to be eaten). It is a lot of work but was a great day with friends. 

December was filled with memories and enjoying the culture of Venezuela with great friends! Praying that you all had a happy New Year. Thank your your support and prayers this Holiday season. God bless each one of you this coming year! 

Blessings,

Alicia 

awhitmore@fim.org 

Ministry in November

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 

Isaiah 9:6

In November we met again as a church and had a half day of prayer and fasting. We sang songs, prayed for various things for each church and reflected over the Word of God. After the fast we shared a delicious soup together. 

Another evening in November we met as a church and discussed what is true worship. Worship is what we do daily in living for the Lord, not just the songs and time we spend at church on Sunday. This was a very encouraging evening. 

At the end of November we started our Christmas Tea outreach. This year we invited the family groups in our neighborhoods. It was good Spanish practice to invite these people to our service. At the tea we sang songs, played a few group games related to Christmas, put together a living Nativity (see photos below), shared refreshments and meditated on the true meaning of Christmas. The word for Christmas in Spanish means birth. All the teas really kicked off the Christmas season and prepared us for the celebration of the birth of the Savior. 

One other fun thing we did this month was went out to eat for a traditional Venezuelan Christmas meal. The four main things are meat (pork), hallaca (corn meal with meat, chicken, olives, raisins and capers inside), ham bread (ham, olives and raisins wrapped inside bread) and chicken salad.  

Merry Christmas!!
Thank you for your prayers this year!

Alicia
awhitmore@fim.org

Prayer and fasting

"Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." 

Genesis 22:18

September was a growing month with many firsts. I attended my first all church meeting and understood the majority of what was going on. This is a great accomplishment as large group things can be challenging to follow. At the meeting it was decided that we would have an all church prayer and fasting weekend. So, one Friday night we all met and prayed for several hours. Prayers for the churches, prayers for each other and prayers that God would move in the hearts and lives of those in the churches. Then on Saturday morning we had a fast together. We again met at the church to pray, sing and study God’s word together. This was also a time for listening to God’s voice. Everyone came away encouraged and feeling God’s presence. 

Another first this month for me was my presentation for Ana. We have started studying God’s word in my classes. She taught me how to put together a class based on a passage and also a class on a topic in the Bible. So at the end of our month of study she had me present to her a ten to fifteen minute class for a child on the faith of Abraham. I was very nervous for this but after studying and practice with Laideth it went very well! God is good!! I am so happy and can’t wait to present a class to a child in the future. Also that week I had a test with Luz and came away with a good grade and a plan for what things I still need to work on. 

The newly repainted house at the foundation.

October was a fun month. I needed to leave for visa reasons so God gave me the opportunity to celebrate the wedding of a good Moody friend from England. The parents of the bride invited me to come and attend this wonderful life event with them and their family. They all were great hosts and it was such a blessing to see them and share my ministry with them and at the local cafe for a group of international students. It was also a great time to rest and recharge before the busy Holiday season in the Venezuela churches. 

Prayers: 

Praise that language keeps getting better and moving forward. 

Praise that travel has all gone smoothly. 

Praise for the lives that the gospel is touching. 

Pray for the political situation in Venezuela.

Pray for safety. 

Pray for the out reaches the churches will do over the Holidays. 

Thank you for your support and prayers! 

Alicia 

awhitmore@fim.org 

Plan Vacacional - August

Plan Vacacional = Vacation Bible School.

The last month has been full of preparations for Plan and then the 3 days of Plan Vacacional and then preparing for the next one. Each church, La Ceiba, Villa Icabaru and Paso Nuevo has their own 3 days of the same Plan Vacacional. This year’s theme was “The Gospel of God.” Simple but so important. We has around 50 kids at each church and close to 10 adults and youth who put the days together. We start each morning with singing and group games. 

Then we have a time for the lesson all together and then we split up for the craft by age. This year was full of firsts for me. I am able to explain the craft and help the kids in my group with the craft. I was with 11-12 year olds in La Ceiba, 7-8 year olds in Villa Icabaru and the youth 12+ in Paso Nuevo. 

This was challenging but so good. Even a few kids who remember me from last year said, “she can talk now!” In Paso Nuevo I was even able to lead the morning song and game time! This was scary at first but the kids were so excited and loved all the things we did. It is encouraging to see how far God has brought me in the last year and to feel more a part of the group. 

Joseph and I explained the craft at the closing

In Paso Nuevo we had the time to evangelize in the afternoons. This was a great time to visit a few of the homes of the kids who came to Plan Vacacional. Laideth gave us each a verse to read and explain. I was able to read my verse, explain it and be understood by those we visited. I even got to pray in a few homes. Praise the LORD!! Thank you for your prayers and support. 

During the week in Paso Nuevo one young boy gave his life to the Lord!! Laideth said that he had been seeking and understanding the lessons they do on Saturday mornings there. He is the only believer in his family, please pray for him! God is good. 

While we were in Paso Nuevo we came across a need for prayer. Maria and her three young daughters (Daniela, Carolina and Victoria) are in desperate need of food both physically and spiritually. Please pray for them. They live with grandma, grandpa and a couple of uncles. No one has work currently in the family. Daniela is a sweet little thing and my new little buddy ;)

Praise:

• Plan Vacacional was great!!
• Young boy who was saved!
• Ana has been able to find enough medicine for the month of September. God provides!! 

Requests:

•    Ana and Luz, health and medication. Ana is doing better!

•    Said and Laideth’s cars, the Explorer is not running well and the car has a bad tire. These are the two car most church ministries run on.

•    Pray for the hearts of those who we visited, may God bring them to salvation in Him.

•    Maria and her precious family.

•    Language and culture study as they get more advanced.

•    Protection. Wisdom.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!!

Blessings,

Alicia 
awhitmore@fim.org