Discipleship in Venezuela
by Luis Guiterrez
(Español debajo)
About two years ago, a group of kids between 12 and 16 years old arrived at their new home in front of Los Coco’s beach. This was the place where Christian Surfers Venezuela’s surf school was running and it also was my local spot. These kids were living in homes built by the government of Venezuela for people who did not have homes or had been displaced because of natural disasters. Many of them had never seen a surfboard and they were amazed by the surfing that was going on in their own backyard.
Through our surf school, many had their first chance to surf. The local surf community was very supportive in giving them used surfboards and surfing became an important part of their lives.
The kids participated in a number of activities with CS Venezuela like Beach Kids Games, surf trips, meetings, surf movies, and conferences where the Word of God was sown in their hearts, but the background and environment of these kids made it necessary for us to take more direct steps. A number of these kids don’t have a father figures, they live with their mothers who are unemployed and without the resources to support their children. The reality is that in their communities they don’t have good role models to follow. They are surrounded by drugs, crime, vices, and prostitution. That is why we felt led by the Lord to begin discipleship meetings, which we have been running for the last 7 months with 8 youth in attendance. Through this many have had the opportunity to confess Jesus as their Savior and have been growing in their faith. God is doing a work in their lives. Some have not continued in the meetings and other kids have been visiting, but we know that this is the Lord's work and not our own.
We ask for your prayers. This is a big challenge and these kids many times arrive at our meetings without having eaten that day. There is a major economic crisis in Venezuela, we have the highest rate of inflation in the world and even basic products are scarce. It is a great challenge to support these kids with the needs in their families, and also that they would have the opportunity to continue their studies, keep surfing and of course most importantly, follow the Lord in the midst of a difficult situation.
Hace poco mas de 2 años, un grupo de chicos entre 12 y 16 años llegaron a su nuevo hogar en frente a playa Los Cocos, el lugar donde funciona la escuela de Christian Surfers Venezuela y mi local surf spot. Estos jovenes fueron beneficiados con viviendas construidas por el gobierno de Venezuela para personas sin residencias propias o que han perdido sus casas por desastres naturales. Muchos de ellos nunca habian visto una tabla de surf y de repente quedaron impactados por el surfing en la playa que es el patio trasero de sus casas.
Por medio de la escuela de surf, algunos dieron sus pasos corriendo olas y otros autodidactas nospedian las tablas prestadas. La comunidad de surf local los apoyo regalandoles tablas de surf usadas, asi el surf se convirtio en una parte importante de sus vidas.
Los chicos participaron de varias actividades de CS Venezuela, como Beach Kids Games, surf trips, reuniones, surf movies, conferencias, donde la palabra de Dios fue sembrada en sus corazones, pero el transfondo de los jovenes y el ambiente en que viven hacia necesario acciones mas directas, varios de estos chicos no tiene una figura paternal, no tienen o no viven con sus padres, solo madres sin trabajo y sin dinero para mantener a varios hijos, es la realidad de sus hogares, en sus comunidades no hay buenos ejemplos a seguir: distribuidores de drogas, delincuencia, vicios, prostitucion, etc. Por eso, guiados por el Señor, decidimos comenzar reuniones de discipulado la cual hemos mantenido por 7 meses seguidos, con una asistencia de 8 jovenes, alli los muchachos han tenido la oportunidad por ellos mismos de confesar a Jesus como su Salvador y han comenzado a crecer en su Fe. Dios esta obrando en sus vidas y ha comenzando el cambio en ellos. Algunos no han continuado en las reuniones, otros nuevos han estado visitando pero sabemos que la obra es de Dios, no de nosotros.
Pedimos sus oraciones, ya que el reto esgrande, estos chicos muchas veces llegan a la reunion de discipulado sin comer nada durante el dia, la escasez de productos basicos, mas la inflacion mas alta del mundo y una gran crisis economica que afecta a todos los venezolanos es una gran prueba para tratar de apoyar a estos chicos de manera integral, con las necesidades de sus familias, pero tambien para que puedan seguir estudiando, surfeando y lo mas importante siguiendo al Señor en medio de una situacion bien dificil para Venezuela.