Tim in Caracas

I've been in Caracas for the past few days and am about to head to a Monastery with all the leaders in InnerCHANGE for a week. My time in Caracas has been very good. The first two days I got to experience ministry with the team, play music, visit some families, learn some greetings. Last night was a party to welcome all the InnerCHANGE leaders and several venezuelan families came over. The people here are always ready for a party, laughter, singing and dancing. In other places I've visited, like Cambodia, it has been important to be pretty buttoned up in terms of volume and personality. But here, the louder and more outgoing the better.

Last night I also saw a man being chased by another man who was yelling at him and waving a knife. There is a constant awareness of the presence of violence here. Most families have sons who have died, and sons who have killed. Mostly the violence is related to robbery or vengence, but it's also unpredictable leaving people unsettled. All of the older timers on the team have been heldup at gunpoint.

We visited a family that Jenny had seen when she was here, their lives are hard. They live in a makeshift house and have many children. We visited yesterday because it was the littlest girls birthday. She is turning 3 and was sick, sweating from a fever, and very cautious with anyone who wasn't her father. Birgit, the teamleader here, has faithfully celebrated each childs birthday for years, so Jenny and I both visted the family for a birthday celebration. The poverty of this family is grinding, but their community group is working to move them to a new house. Each neighborhood is divided into small neighborhood groups that make some decisions about resources and programs in thier neighborhood.

I return to San Francsico next thursday, and am looking forward to being back with my family. Jenny's birthday is Sunday the 26th, so pop her an email if you remember: jenandal@mac.com