Learn m ore at our W e b site s:caram uca.ilv-vene zuela.net (Spanish ) vene zuelavie w .blogspot.com (English )

Send e -m ail to: caram uca@ ilv-vene zuela.net

Send donations, pack age s and printe d m ate rials to:

Vene zuela Luth e ran M ission Partne rsh ip3089 Leyland Trail

W oodbury, M N 55125

And th e y brough t young ch ildren to h im , th at h e sh ould touch th em : and h is d isciple s re buk e d th ose th at brough t th em . But w h e n Je sus saw it, h e w as m uch d isplease d , and said unto th em , Suffe r th e little ch ildren to com e unto m e , and forb id th em not: for of such is th e k ingdom of God. Ve rily I say unto you, W h osoeve r sh all not rece ive th e k ingdom of God as a little ch ild, h e sh all not ente r th e re in. M ark 10:13-15

W h o w e are

My nam e is David T. Ernst, Jr. M y w ife , Luz Maria, and I are de ve loping a Luth e ran m ission sschool in western Venezuela. Our school at pre se nt consists of 30 pre sch ool ch ildre n, age s 2 to 6. W e h ope to e xpand th e sch ool to include pre sch ool th rough sixth grade .

W e h ave th e h e lp of m any oth e r pe ople , including th re e of Luz Maria's daugh te rs, Sarai. Ye pci and Ch arli. Luz Maria's son, Pe dro, built m uch of our pre sch ool facility w ith h is ow n h ands.

I cam e to Ve ne zue la in 2003 as a lay volunte e r w ith Luth e ran Ch urch - M issouri Synod W orld M issions. Th e ological e ducation e xte nsion courses have allowed me to work towardordination in th e Luth e ran Ch urch of Ve ne zue la. Luz Maria is a de acone ss in th e Luth e ran Ch urch of Ve ne zue la. Sh e is one of tw o national dire ctors of th e Luth e ran Ch urch of Ve ne zue la's de acone ss program , th e large st such program in Latin Am e rica. W e w e re m arrie d in Nove m be r 2003.

W h e re

w e are

La Caram ucaLuth e ran M ission

O ur obje ctive s:

* Establish in w e ste rn Ve ne zue la a ce nte r for th e ological e ducation of and m inistry to th e Lord's se rvants w h o, sh aring in th e ne w life in Ch rist, w ill h ave th e ability to re ach oth e rs. * Be ginning w ith our sm all ope ning, and unde r God's guidance , e vange lize unre ach e d se ctions of th e country.

La Caram uca is a village ne ar th e city of Barinas, capital of th e state of Barinas. Th e city of Barinas is th e m ain urban ce nte r w ith a population of about 320,000 or 42.2% of th e state population. Th e state of Barinas is calle d "Th e Gate w ay to th e Ve ne zue lan Prairie ." Alth ough m ost of its te rrain is flat, th e re is a transitional zone w h e re th e H igh Plains of Ve ne zue la m e rge w ith th e footh ills of th e Ande s Mountains. Th e re are ve ry fe w Ch ristian sch ools and alm ost no Luth e ran congre gations in e ith e r of th e se re gions.

Ministe ring to

th e body

Som e ch aracte ristics of ou r com m u nity:

M ost fam ily incom e is e arne d from agricu ltu ral or dom e stic w ork . Th e ave rage le ve l of e du cation is ve ry low. M ost ch ildre n drop ou t of sch ool afte r s ixth grade (th e m axim u m le ve l re qu ire d by law ). Th e boys ofte n qu it sch ool to look for w ork . M any girls start h aving ch ildre n of th e ir ow n at 15 or you nge r.

Ch u rch atte ndance is spars e and pastoral care is de ficie nt. M any ch ildre n h ave not be e n baptiz e d, m any cou ple s live toge th e r w ith ou t be ing m arrie d, Th e re are h igh le ve ls of idolatry, w itch craft, spiritism , alcoh olism and prostitu tion). M ost pe ople do not h ave th e h ope of salvation in Ch rist. Th e ir ide a of Ch ristianity cons ists of e ith e r pe rform ing pre scribe d ritu als at appointe d tim e s or living a m oral life in orde r to e arn God's favor. Th e Triu ne God is re garde d as distant and u ninte re ste d in th e daily conce rns of h u m an be ings. Popu lar re ligion re volve s arou nd gaining th e good th ings of th is w orld w ith th e h e lp of w h ate ve r spirits are pow e rfu l e nou gh for th is pu rpos e , w h e th e r ange ls, de vils, Rom an Cath olic saints or ou trigh t pagan gods and godde s s e s.

Our

m ission

fie ld O ur pre sch ool provide s nutritious m e als (bre ak fast and lunch ) for ch ildre n w h o oth e rw ise m igh t re ce ive only coffe e m ixe d w ith m ilk for bre ak fast and a th in broth for th e m idday m e al. Many h e alth proble m s in th e surrounding com m unity re sult from lack of prope r nutrition.

W e coope rate w ith local h e alth age ncie s to m ak e sure all th e pre sch ool ch ildre n are up to date on th e ir vaccinations. O th e rs in th e surrounding com m unity also h ave th e opportunity to update th e ir vaccinations at th e pre sch ool.

W ith th e h e lp of a m e m be r of Corpus Ch risti Luth e ran Ch urch in Barinas, w e h ave be e n able to offe r classe s in com puting for olde r ch ildre n atte nding Sunday sch ool and confirm ation classe s.

Ministe ring

to th e spirit

Ch ristian instruction is inte grate d into th e curriculum of our pre sch ool. Eve ry Monday afte r th e Ve ne zue lan national anth e m is sung, th e ch ildre n say th e Lord's Praye r and liste n to a Bible ve rse . During th e w e e k th e y le arn m ore about basic Ch ristian doctrine s.

In addition to th e w e e k day pre sch ool, th e re is a sh ort praye r se rvice and Sunday sch ool on Sunday afte rnoons in La Caram uca. Th e re h ave be e n e igh t baptism s so far and curre ntly th e re are six pe ople in confirm ation classe s.

Tw o vicars se rve La Caram uca Luth e ran M ission and Corpus Ch risti Luth e ran Ch urch in Barinas unde r th e supe rvision of Pastor Th e odore Kre y, a Luth e ran Ch urch - M issouri Synod m issionary. Th e se m e n are Eduardo Flore s and David Ernst.