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Where We Are Going
US Missions Foreign Missions
REPORT OF
ONSITE VISIT TO THE
TRANS-CULTURAL
MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER
Camp Carabobo
Valencia, Venezuela
February 16 – 20, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters
in Christ:
I have just returned from
a most spiritually rewarding trip to Venezuela in order to discover facts and to
set-up a Mission Opportunity to assist with the completion of the Trans-cultural
Missionary Training Center in Valencia, Venezuela. It is being built on the
grounds of the 160 acre National Assembly Grounds, Camp Carabobo, of the
Venezuelan Baptist Convention. I was hosted by IMB Missionaries Paul Tinley and
Violetta Ramirez, who will be our Hosts in April. Also attending was Missionary
Hugh Redmond as Construction Coordinator.
 After
making a thorough inspection of the existing construction status, we met with
Alexander Montero, the Executive Director of the 460 Churches of the Venezuelan
Baptist Convention, as well as Jacobo Garcia, the Director of the Venezuelan
Baptist Mission Board. I had worked with each of these wonderful, spiritual
leaders in May of 2004, when I designed the
Training
Center.
This building is the first Phase of a seven (7) Phase project which will allow
their Mission Vision to grow, over the years.
I met a Venezuelan couple
who travel to a remote Indian Tribe in their Country three times a week, and
still have full-time jobs. I also met another couple who live among the Indians
whose homes are over the swamps and earn their living as fishermen, with dug-out
canoes. I met another young lady who is praying about joining the Venezuelan
missionary in Marocco, who has established a home for the disabled people, who
are outcast by their society. That compassionate Mission is leading those
Disabled to know Christ and is influencing the family and friends of those
people to inquire more about Jesus. They also have a Missionary couple in India.
These are their opportunities to share the Gospel. Their
Mission
work is already underway and funded by them.
Venezuelan Baptist
Missionaries are currently trained in a former Missionary home and in local
Churches. They need to have a more concentrated teaching opportunity, with
onsite lodging, and led by one to three teachers. Potential Missionaries will
come to this Center for training from throughout Venezuela and perhaps other
South American Countries.
To say the least, I was
inspired by their dedication, their vision and the creative ways these fine
Christians are sharing Christ beyond their neighborhoods! We can learn from
them.
I am convicted that God is
definitely leading the Venezuelan Mission Leaders to do evangelism, with their
career Missionaries, which cannot be done by Americans, or any other Westerners.
We cannot get Visas and would not be received well by Middle and Far Eastern
people. The IMB has stated that this is a major step towards sharing Jesus with
Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist nations where we are not welcome. This project is an
opportunity for some of us to actually help with getting the Gospel to those
people, in a meaningful way.
A building like this will
continue to house in-depth training for generations of their Missionaries. It is
also obvious that the time when all Americans may have to leave Venezuela is
much nearer than we want to think. Half of our Baptist Missionaries have already
lost their Visas or have had unfortunate complications with their ability to
stay, long-term. This Center could continue to produce good work and leadership
for God, even after we are unable to have IMB Missionaries there.
Builders for Christ will
send a Team to Camp
Carabobo,
Venezuela
on Friday afternoon,
April 4, 2008,
and return on April
13, 2008. We have six (6) individuals committed, at this time; we need about 30
to do the work necessary to get the entire Training Center far enough along that
it can be completed in May.
OUR WORK
 The
work we need to do includes: building the Electrical Panels and Service
Entrance; extending the underground Power Wiring from the Public source about
1,000 linear feet; installing about eight (8) room sized Air Conditioning Units
and their Condensing Units/Refrigerant Lines; installing Plumbing for a small
Kitchen and for the third Toilet Room in the Center; installing duplex outlets,
switches and pulling the wire to them in most of the Center; installing lay-in
ceilings in most of the rooms, including lighting fixtures and wiring of them;
installing several Exterior lights; pouring about 1,000 linear feet of sidewalk;
installing a Supplemental Water Tank and piping; some insulating and
weatherproofing; some painting; cleaning of Interior and Exterior brick;
spraying a water repellant coating on some of the Exterior brick; touching-up
the mortar around the Electrical devices throughout the building. Several of
these tasks can be completed by anyone and most require one to four assistants
to accomplish the work. These assistants can do invaluable work with modest
instruction by those already committed to go on this Mission. 
I have asked the Mission
Board to buy all of the tools, except our personal tools and very special tools
for Plumbing and Electrical work. I gave them a list
of ninety, for starters.
I also began a complete
list of the Materials required to complete the building and asked them to buy
all of it now, not at the last minute, and stock all of it in the building for
us. Some of us have agreed to give the Venezuelan Mission Board enough money to
buy two-thirds of what they will need; they agreed to prioritize funds to buy
the rest. I reminded them that we must have every piece of Material to do our
work, without having to go back and forth to the Supply Houses. 
I also asked them to have
a few Laborers available to do the manual labor of our work. I told them that
"many of us are not young or strong, just dedicated and led by key individuals
who are already among those committed to go". For instance, these local workers
will excavate the trench for the Electrical Power Line extension before we get
there. They will place the small gravel bedding in the trench and mix the
concrete protective encasement in a mortar mixer, and pour it, under
our direction, after we
install the conduit and wire. Likewise for the sidewalks. We may have local
Electrical personnel join us.
TRAVEL PLANS
Each Team member will make
their own reservations to Miami, Florida, on the afternoon of
April 4, 2008
and rendezvous at the Hampton Inn Airport South (Blue Lagoon), beside the
Airport (Hampton Inn, 777 NW 57th Avenue, Miami, FL; telephone
305-262-5400) Lawrence
will make these reservations, two persons per room, unless you ask for a single
room. Each individual will make their own reservation and pay for their own
ticket to and from
Miami. However,
Lawrence will make
reservations for those of us leaving from
Birmingham.
Lawrence will make reservations on American Airlines Flight 935 from Miami to
Caracas, departing at 11:40 am, Saturday, April 5, 2008. The IMB Missionaries
will meet us at the Airport in
Caracas
and carry us to Camp
Carabobo for the night, at the Training Center. We will sleep in the three rooms
that are 90% complete (pictured above), including air conditioning, there. We
will eat all but four of our meals in the Assembly Grounds Dining Room, at Camp
Carabobo. We will be careful about what we eat. Sunday we will worship at First
Baptist Church in Valencia and return to the Training Center to begin setting-up
our work that afternoon. We will work until mid-day Saturday, then the IMB
Missionaries will take us to an Airport Motel in Caracas. Our American Airlines
flight departs at
9:15 a.m. (Airport
arrival will need to be
6:15 a.m. on Sunday
morning). Once in
Miami (at 1:05
p.m.), each of us will continue home on our own. We will need 2½ hours from
arrival to departure from Miami for all factors. For those departing from
Birmingham,
I will make the reservations on Delta, departing at 1:29 p.m. on April 4, 2008
and returning Sunday,
April 13, 2008,
at 8:54 p.m.
SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS
-
$1,500 due upon
commitment to be a part of the Team, not later than
March 18, 2008, to
Lawrence.
Make checks payable to: Builders for Christ. These checks will be deposited
into Brookwood
Baptist Church's designated fund account.
-
Balance of $450 due by
March 27, 2008,
to Lawrence.
-
The actual price of
each person's trip fee may vary, depending upon the cost of air travel on
the date your commitment is received. We will purchase airline tickets
daily.
For all those committing
to the project, I will furnish more detailed information and coordinated
reservations. The concept is that I will make all reservations starting with the
Hotel in Miami (after Supper) and ending with the American flight back to
Miami.
I intend to cover all expenses including tips, gasoline for the
Mission
vehicles, meals, lodging, and American Airlines tickets. Again, I will purchase
the tickets from
Birmingham to Miami, and back, for those desiring that I do that. The total
expense for everything from Miami to Miami is about $1,505 and $445 for the
flight there, if from
Birmingham.
These are the prices, today. Booking flights later exposes us to increased
expenses. You will cover your meals in the
USA.
You will need a current
Passport, but not a Visa. Sometimes this takes awhile, so be sure you have this
in process, at once, if needed. You will fill out an Immigration Card on the
plane to Caracas and on return.
Count on me to follow
general description with a much more detailed Agenda. I will furnish that to all
of those committing to the project (Option One) and to those intending to go,
but not ready to commit (Option Two).
Let us remind ourselves
that our work is not a construction project, it is a Spiritual Mission for
advancing God's Kingdom. This project is sure to have a multiplier effect on
that purpose.
Please pray about joining
us, yourself. Likewise, share this letter with many others you know to allow God
to stir their hearts. Obviously, we need to buy tickets very soon, if we are to
avoid substantial airline price increases. I look forward to hearing from you,
if you feel led by God, very soon.
In His Service,
Lawrence L. Corley
Project Coordinator
... A network of Baptist Laypersons with a
vision in their hearts to build churches for Congregations who are actively
leading others to know Christ as Savior
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