It is difficult to write my closing thoughts on this mission journey to Venezuela. Processing is not easy while making the adjustment back to work and my real world. I find words difficult to describe. My thoughts are in the form of pictures: pictures of schools, crowds, faces, concrete courts, bent basketball goals with no nets, blistering hot sunshine, makeshift houses of tin, hunger, and barren land. I see contrasts of rich and poor with no in-between. And, I see thirteen Belmont students connecting with people of all ages through the language of love. There is laughter, smiles, hugs, tears, high fives, handshakes, and touches. I see God at work bringing together two countries, not through politics or religion, but through a relationship. There are no barriers, no hidden agendas, no egos, no power struggles. There is only the love of Christ being demonstrated and proclaimed through the platform of basketball. ]]>
Our days were long and filled with opportunities for ministry – morning, afternoon and evening sessions. The numbers were astounding! Mornings and afternoons took us to schools where the entire school population came to outdoor courts to see the American basketball players. Our play, relays, demonstrations and exhibitions provided the connection with students before we sat them down for a time of sharing. I still can’t believe we organized anywhere from 400-800 students at a time for play and fun, and then found them attentive, open, and receptive to the gospel. They listened!! Only the divine appointment by God for our presence could make that happen, over and over again. Evenings in community settings brought smaller numbers, but nonetheless meaningful response to the gospel.
Missionaries Paul and Shelley Scott estimated conservatively that 6,000+ heard the gospel during those 9 straight days of ministry and approximately 1,000 prayed to receive Christ. Those numbers sound high, but I can still see the crowds and hear their prayers in Spanish as they responded to receive Christ. Beautiful memories! I have asked myself over and over…why such large numbers this time. This is what I’m processing.
The door to Venezuela is slowly closing. They say we may be one of the last volunteer teams to get in. The window of opportunity for this kind of work is small and getting smaller. Missionaries have already left the country out of fear. Paul and Shelley are unsure of their future there. I believe with all my heart that God blessed our team with maybe one of the last opportunities to reach the masses before doors close. God gave us crowds unlike I have witnessed before. He wanted to get the most out of this team. That is why the days were long, filled with visits to so many schools and three different towns. I felt an urgency unlike ever before for sharing the gospel. It was God ordained that we be consumed with ministry and opportunities to demonstrate and verbalize God’s love. Who knows what the future holds for a Christian witness to large numbers in that country.
God used this team in a mighty way. Story after story comes to mind as I will continue to write about this journey for my book. I can’t possibly put it in this journal. I am grateful to God for the experience, for our special team of athletes, for Paul and Debbie Chenoweth’s support, for missionaries Paul and Shelly Scott and their family, for Pastors and lay leaders of the churches who organized and worked with us, for translators who became family, for financial and prayer support from our friends and churches, and for Belmont University who encourages its faculty, staff, and students to “go into the world, make a difference, and transform lives”. The personal impact of this experience will be ongoing for all of us. God bless Venezuela!!
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Team members are asked to speak in front of large crowds with just a little notice each day. Betty selects one student to introduce the team, and generally a couple of others who need to be prepared to share personal testimonies. No one hesitates. No one questions. It just happens, beautifully.
Paul and Shelley’s two youngest children, Sydney (10) and Josey (8) came to the airport with their Mom and Dad to greet us. They soon became family. Their oldest son, Jordan, is a student at Union University in Jackson. He finished his freshman year while we were in Venezuela and flew home for the summer, joining our team on Tuesday evening in La Cruz. It was a special treat to spend time with the entire Scott family.
It was Monday afternoon and we had just finished two sessions that day in two different schools. Many had just prayed the prayer to receive Christ. We noticed that Paul and Shelley were sitting under a tree with Josey and they were talking and praying. I was sitting in a chair watching our athletes “hang out”, sign autographs, and talk with students. All at once two little arms circled my neck from behind the chair and this little voice said, “Miss Betty, I just got saved. I ask Jesus into my heart.” It was Josey! I pulled him into my lap and hugged him tight. He told me he asked Jesus into his heart with the large group of school kids. It was a special moment! Of course, we were all excited for our “littlest” teammate.
I am absoulutely confident that this team and our ministry is being "bathed in prayer" by familiy, friends, churches, and people we don't even know! There is no way we could minister in this heat to the overwhelming numbers of children without God's care, protection, and divine guidance. I have felt God's presence and peace as we have shared the gospel with thousands already. It is God ordained and directed.
Walking into a college gym with a basketball team isn't always a pleasant experience. Signs on the door welcome students to support the local college team scrimmage against the Belmont University team. In an aging gym at Maturin's Collegio Redagocio the Belmont team warmed up during a rain shower. The basketball goal was shifted toward mid-court to prevent any disasters from puddles on the floor. With each entrance by the hometown team the crowd cheered, whistled, and banged on drums. They came to see their athletes defeat a team of americans in serious competition.
The once noisy crowd circled the Belmont team on the court afterwards. Paul Scott, our missionary host, warmed the crowd and turned the floor over to Samuel (our interpreter) and the Belmont athletes. In spite of the noise and frenzied activity in the gym, the crowd was very attentive to Andy, Justin, and Keaton when they shared their testimonies. In true Betty Wiseman fashion, she closed the evening asking those who wanted to share the same faith they witnessed in this team to pray with her. I don't believe that anyone expected the wonderfully positive reception that request received. We should know better by now. God did some amzing things in that gym and we were all blessed to be a part of it. 
Simon Bolivar High School in Maturin has approximately 1,100 students. By conservative estimates, 800 of those students showed up in the stands and on the ball courts at the school to see the tall americans this morming. Any political or cultural differences that existed before the visit melted away when the students met the Belmont team, watched them in a skill's demonstration, and matched a few of their own to play basketball with them. How this large of a group ever organized to do relays is something just short of miraculous, but it happened and the activity and engagement between americans and their new Venezuelan friends made it much easier to keep their attention when everyone sat down to hear testimonies. Will, Laura, and Keaton did a terrific job leading into the plan of salvation Betty delivered. Many repeated the prayer to receive Christ.
One local pastor who met with Betty following all of the morning's activities thanked her for opening doors for his church. The visit by the Belmont team will make it easier for follow-up activities with students at the school. Many schools are completely inaccessible to churches and the doors that this team opened will bear fruit for weeks and months to come.
Yesterday we visited a panaderia (bakery) for breakfast and enjoyed ham filled pastries (pastelitos), something that looked like american breakfast pizza called american empenadas and conchitos (ham and cheese filled pastries). Coffee is served in small cups...and is the equivalent of high octane american coffee. Fruit drinks are popular. Pineapple, orange, mango, and passion fruit are generally available year-round...the pineapple that is in season right now is especially delicious.