Back From Venezuela

Well, I'm back safe and sound from 12 days in Venezuela. I ministered in 15 meetings one of which was a 6 hour Shalom workshop. Last Saturday I was with the womens breakfast , then a youth meeting and then across the river to the church you see below in the picture.
Overall it was a very fruitful trip. I am so blessed to see the reward of so many years of labor. The churches are prospering in every way, financially, spiritually and numerically. In spite of the Bolivarian Revolution and the whole country going socialist there is a remarkable sense of hope and kingdom breakthrough. We waged Peace.
The Spirit of God was very present in all the meetings and there were many healings and encounters. There seems to be a wave of healing flowing right now in every place. I want to thank you for all the prayer support and encouragement. I actually taught some things that were revealed to me on this trip from the word that will become an addition to my booklet; Prince of Wholeness; His Waging of Peace

Shalooooooom!!
Jeff

Vincent is on my left, Norman is on my right and on the far right is Robert. These men are all leading very significant spheres of ministry in Venezuela.

Parrilla Barbeque, Argentina style, mucho meat!

Leaders of Koinonia church after consuming a lot of flesh

A little jig to the tune of "God is a good God."

This was a celebration after Sunday's main meeting with the Guyanese churches. Afterglow.

Fuente de Agua Viva

This little Guyanese church that we helped over 20 years ago has grown to over 18 congregations and this morning several of thoses gathered for a joint service. There were between 700-800 people there. It was great to see folks after many years. One lady came up to me to describe a healing of a tumor in her head that happened years ago when I ministered in her church and she is totally fine now. Another woman who was paralyized by a stroke a few weeks ago walked by as normal. A man was totally healed of a debilitating knee condition today as well as tumors shrinking in size and pain leaving. The Shalom of God was breaking in and as we waged peace, fear and sickness left. 

 Authority

True spiritual authority comes from identity and favor. When we look at Jesus’ life and read how the people and the religious leaders reacted to him we see real authority at work. It didn’t come from position or title it came from his relationship with his Father. True relationship imparts identity and favor. Out of favor comes authority. Jesus was so secure and connected that he knew his Father’s heart and will. As he released this to those around him he knew his Abba would back up his words and deeds. He pulled things out of the treasury of heaven then freely gave them away knowing there was an unlimited supply. This stunned people. Jesus was brokering an abundance of goodness. He was waging peace. People were in awe and said, “He teaches as one with authority.”

Miracles, healings even the dead came to life all because Jesus knew whose he was and who he was. Relationship imparts identity which gives favor and out of the favor-ite place authority is released.

 Vincent on the left is the apostolic overseer of this whole work. Pablo in the middle is a Guyanese business man who got radically healed of diabetes and other complications. He is now a believer in Jesus and has constructed these huge open air buildings to house not only his businesses but church service as well. He and his helpers fed over 700 hungry people today after the meeting. Curried lamb, fried rice and roti were all well received. 

I don't quite understand it but in the midst of this socialist revolution that has taken whole factories and industries down to nothing, somehow the churches are prospering. There are key people (kings in the marketplace) like Pablo being added to the church and leading in areas that only a business person could do. It's amazing to see.

Mucha mujer!

It's an old joke that i won't tell but mucha mujer means a lot of women. We had 195 ladies at the Koinonia Community women's breakfast.  5 gave their hearts to Jesus and several other miraculous things occured. It was a joy to see the seeds that Marlen has sown over many years come to harvest.

 Muchas Mujeres

 Jose Luis (aka: Bowzer fron the Sha-na-na) and Elivic worship leader and youth pastor soon to be married

 This is Abiella. Same name as my oldest grandaughter

Lunch with a Peruvian family. Ceviche! Fish, Squid, Scallops, shrimp, octupus and crab,  all raw and cooked only in the acid of the lime juice and spices, a little yucca and corn on the side. 

It's delicious, I'm not sure why some of my gringo friends call it a plate of bait.

Of the Increase of His Shalom there is no end.

Twenty one years ago this month I made my first trip to Venezuela. I came in from Georgetown, Guyana via small airplanes and various boats through a few different rivers including the mighty Orinoco. It was then on that trip I met Vincent Guilarte. The Holy Spirit knit our hearts together and our team helped their tiny little church develop team ministry and apostolic foundations. Now, they have over 18 churches, including some along the Amacuro river in the delta of the Orinoco. The Lord has seen fit to give Vincent's team this boat for ministry puroses. Their last trip they baptized over 40 people and the church on the river grew to almost 300 people.
God is good and faithful. The fruit just keeps growing.
By the way, Vincent himself built the topper and made it into a cabin to house his team and supplies they take to give away to the Amerindian Warau people.

 The SS Agua Viva (Living Water)

 Vincent and his wife Bena and their twin 75's

I wish Jesus would have said this instead of Chavez, or maybe he did?

(There should be no room for low level passion in the heart of  revolutionaries.)

What do sons of a King do for a living?

What do sons of a King do for a living?   I’m not talking about earning money, that’s not an issue. What do they do?

They rule over territory and dispense valuable things from the government’s treasury. That is to say, the King gives his sons and daughters spheres of authority and responsibility. They represent, speak for, and exercise the justice of their Dad, the King. They are not exactly owners yet they are more than stewards. Their sphere goes way beyond management. Because they are sons, these realms are already theirs, so in that regard they are the owners and rulers. But, they are in the apprenticeship of authority. They are learning how and when to dispense treasure that will make those in their sphere whole and right, learning to be and act like the royalty they are.

Each one of us has been given a sphere to rule over. We are the dispensers of (Shalom שָׁלוֹם) = completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, friendship, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, wholeness and healing.

 Carlos, owns a farm in Venezuela, here he is with a Morrocoy (Gopher Turtle) who will one day make a nice dinner. Carlos is planting some small fruit and hardwood trees this week before the rainy season. He told me he is planting now so his daughters can enjoy the fruit in 20 years. Selah 

(Prov. 13:22)

Eat mor Chiken

Norman has invested in a chicken farm so we had lunch out there today and checked out the chicks!

Carla was our entertinment for the afternoon.

Jorgito

April 8th, the day before I arrived here marked the 8th anniversary of Jonathan's death from this world into heaven. Jonathan was the eldest son of Norman and Marlen and his blood was spilled here in this country of Venezuela. As missionaries, part of an apostolic team they have fought through the grief and are now seeing the harvest of the seed that was buried.

Jorge was only 4 months old when the Santos family moved here to be part of our team. As you can see he hasn't stopped growing since he's been here. He is now 19 years old. Jonathan would have been 23 years old. He was like a grandson to me.

revolucion bolivariano

I try not to get political and I won't really express any opinion now, just a few observations on the socialist revolution here in Venezuela. When I arrived in the International Airport there were huge banners hanging everywhere saying how great it was to live in socialism. When I walked over to the domestic side of the airport to catch my flight from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz I had to stand in line for almost two hours because the electricity was out and no computers were working.

When I asked why all these apartment buildings were empty I was told that the new laws protect the tenants so much that if they decide not to pay rent then the lanldord can't do anything about it.  So, obviously owners would rather not rent to anyone. The longest lease you can get is 6 months so if someone does find a place to rent they have to move on in six months. This is creating a sort of nomadic community.
 Almost all privately owned companies that were profitable have been seized by the Chavez government for the cause of the people and socialism. A lot of U.S. franchises are closed and gone. Huge factories sit empty because when the government took them over they could not sustain them because the profits were not re-invested into the company, they went to the State.
There are shortages of milk, eggs, meat etc.. for the same reasons. After the dairy cows were milked the government didn't figure out you have to breed new stock to keep it going.

 The good news is, last night we filled up the tank of a Toyota Forerunner  for ONE DOLLAR! Yes, it is 5 CENTS a GALLON for gasoline. I could not believe it, of course I offered to buy the tank of gas and bless my friends.
Overall however, it does SEEM to be better than the last time I was here and the oppresiveness is not as heavy as it was two years ago. Of course, I am not as heavy as I was two years ago either.
Things do change and as a recovering pessimist, i am going to say they change for the better. So, I am believing Shalom will come to this nation and it may start right now this week right here!
PEACE OUT.

comunidad cristiana koinonia

Sunday Morning, high octane worship. Great time had by all. I shared on HOPE, Paul, when facing certain shipwreck had an angelic visitation. A word of secure future hope was downloaded from heaven to him, he then could impart this hope to others, who by the way were all saved by this word. Even venemos vipers couldn't mess up the hope he had. (Acts 27) Romans 15:13

Venezuela shalom workshop

Well, i just finished about 6 hours of ministry. I did most of the workshop today, morning and afternoon. It was quite powerful and during ministry times the prayer and declaration levels were off the charts. I haven't been in that level of intensity in a long, long time. We were calling prodigals back and proclaiming healing for Norman. I wish i had a video.
Much of last night was spent in the emergency clinic due to intense lower abdominal pain in Norman"s urniary/bladder area.  He did not make the workshop today and now he and Marlen are at the clinic again getting an ultrasound and some other test to see if there is a stone. ( I feel that's what it is and I'm declaring disolution of all foreign particles.)
So, it has been quite interesting with little sleep and obstacles in the way, but of the increase of His kingdom and Shalom there is no end. Thanks for all your prayer, i actually had plenty of energy and my Spanish was better than ever. I was flowin baby!  The sphere is expanding, there were probably a hundred folks there today on a Saturday when a lot of people had to work.
We have two meetings in two churches tomorrow an hour apart. B-12 drops and coffee are awesome.

Venezuela

After 16 hours of travel I finally reached my friends Norman and Marlen in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we have and all day and night workshop on the Prince of Wholeness; His waging of Peace. I fully expect to wage some Shalom tomorrow. Pray with me that His wholeness breacks into the lives of the 100 or so people that will be attending.
The church (Comunidad Cristiana Koinonia) was started by our team in 1992 and has recently moved into a building which they are renovating and they're bringing life to the surrounding neighborhood. It brings great satisfaction to me to see the faithfulness and the fruit of these folks over the years. God is in a good mood!

Workshop

We had a great Prince of Wholeness workshop last weekend at Clearwater Vineyard. People were equipped and participated in an interactive afternoon and evening. We even had good Cuban food for dinner. Peace was waged as we saw Holy Spirit's power heal and touch several folks.


I'm off to Venezuela for a few weeks. I'll be doing two workshops and ministering in several of our churches there.
Thanks to Raul Pons, my good friend I now have the booklet translated into Spanish.