Venezuela and the hairy coconut

Just 2 days??

When I think back I can't believe it was just 2 days that we were in Venezuela, so much happened. The story starts on the bus, the 11 of us got on the bus to Caracas (Capital city of Venezuela) round noon on the 12 May not knowing anyone there or where we are going or having the right papers and the situation as described in the “The next step??” section of the previous blog. http://www.gcex.org/participants/latest-blogs/entry/fred-euvrard/colombia-v2-5-santa-martha.html  Then some of the team starts speaking to some of the other passengers and found out that the there is a team of 6 Youth With A Mission (YWAM) people on the bus with us and one of them knows a pastor in Caracas that sometimes help out YWAM teams and gave us his number. Then we got the border about everyone of the bus got of at the town in the Colombian side of the border and it was only our team and the YWAM team left on the bus, the irony of a bus full of missionaries should not pass you by at this stage. We went past customs on the Columbian side, walked to the Venezuela part while taking pictures all touristy, handed in in passports got our stamps and got back on the bus, no questions asked. So there we went into Venezuela with no problems, but then it got interesting. We were finished by the border just before sunset and not long after dark we were driving through a village when a crowed of people came down the road forcing the bus to stop, the people started talking and then screaming at the bus driver with us not knowing what is going on, but we could see some where upset and then a lady picked up an empty beer bottle next to the road and threw it at the bus as we pulled away. Found out that the locals were on their way to block the road and they wanted the bus to join, so a few minutes later and and our bus might have gotten stuck by a barricade. During the night at around 2am we did actually have to drive round a barricade, but the party looked to be over and the people passed out, only the burning barrels were left as evidence that all is not well.

We arrived in Caracas at 8am the next morning and were dropped in front of a hotel were the buses left for the airport, not that we had tickets or money to buy tickets. We phoned the pastor and he said he will come to there since the guy who gave us his number also phoned him the previous evening. When pastor Juan got there his first words to us were “you know you are crazy right?” and then explained the situation in Venezuela and that 2400 soldiers in being deployed that afternoon in the streets to keep things calm and we with our big bags are a big target. But he also listened to our heart and took us under his wing and took us to a church that took us in and gave us food and a place to sleep that night. Pastor Juan had a pastor meeting that evening and the next morning of pastors from different parts of the city and denominations that he wanted to take us to. That evening only 3 of us went with and it was interesting and I got to ride in a real subway system for the first time. In the church we stayed there were a prayer meeting that evening and the 8 left was pulled into it and got to give a few testimonies and had a bit of a question and answer session at the end. We got back just as the meeting ended, to find out that there is a surprise waiting for us, they took in an offering for the team and it amounted to just over R10,000!! The next morning we went to a different church for a prayer meeting of pastors and ministers and had a chance to encourage them. Once the meeting was done we had a strong feeling that it is time to leave the country and since between the “hairy coconut” and the blessing from the evening before we could afford to fly from Venezuela to Guyana where our next flight left from in 7 days. But before I knew what happened I was in a chair with my hair being cut and styled, one of the church members of the previous evening blessed us the morning with breakfast and since he is an hiarstylest offered to style all teams members hair, so then we got our hair styled, it was great fun. Pastor Juan had a contact at an travel agent that could help us get flights, but there were multiple misunderstanding and miss-translations so in the end Charlotte and myself went to the travel agent with Raul, after a long time and having to pay with cash that we did not have, card that did not work we walked out of the travel agent at 20:30 with 9 of the 11 having seat on a plane at 9am the next morning. We had to do a side quest on the way to the different church we were sleeping at that night so we ended up getting back at 22:30. And I must say that I had so much peace walking the streets at that time of night in a “dangerous” country. After some more scrambling and struggles we had the missing 2 people booked by 00:30. We had a early start, but due to some delays and misunderstandings in the public transport we almost missed our flight, but pastor Juan saved the day. I think it is only now in looking back that I realize how much he really did for our tram in that 2 days we were there.

The hairy coconut

The story of the hairy coconut started in Santa Martha on the first evening we started praying for our next step, while praying Arthur got a picture of a hairy coconut that was cracked open and there were gold inside. I also got that we will be blessed as to be able to take a plane. Since it was a funny picture we kept laughing over it. When we went to the airport I had the feeling the whole day that I was suppose to meet “the hairy coconut” and I did, I just did not know it then. The day before we left we checked some flights and what it would cost and how much we shorted. The amount we shorted was about exactly the amount that I still wanted to give away based on the last payout of my fathers estate, and the first day in Venezuela I was just convinced by the Lord that I need to use it to get us out of Venezuela, so I was “the hairy coconut” it is very funny since I am hairy (and hard on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside :P). And God has a sense of humour, the whole time when we went to the airport in Santa Martha He planted this desire in me to sit under the palm trees (palm tress grows coconuts). All in all the tickets cost more than expected and if it was not for the donation from the church we would not have made it.

F