News > Latin America

Time & place: 8/20-23 at the “Pozo de Rosas” (Well of Roses) near Caracas,Venezuela

Title: “Al que Cree todo le es possible!”(Mk 9:23, Everything is possible for him who believes!)   

Participants: The facility is built for 200 people but they prayed for 250, and then the Lord sent 370. Due to economic, political, and social crises, we didn’t expect any guests from other countries, but God sent 32 foreign delegates from 11 countries. Through these things, we already experienced the power of faith before beginning the conference.

14 messengers and 18 LTs and 12 dancing performances: Expecting 250, they planned to have two halls in order to have two meetings at the same time. Therefore, two messengers for each meeting were well prepared in advance. Practically, we had two meetings, raising two messengers for almost all the programs except three main messages and world mission night program. 

We built an extra tent with a video screen besides the main hall for 50 more people to be able to participate. Room and GBS assignments had to be rearranged after the first night meeting. M. Juan Seo and Hannah Seo had to sleep with a Venezuelan shepherd and three families together in his designated room with three beds. 

Each group was full of the word of God and joy from above, and we shouted again and again, “Al que cree todo le es possible” (To him who believes everything is possible!). Life testimonies were so sincere, as sharers confessed all their secret sins so vividly, and the grace of Jesus’ forgiving love was greater than all of our sins. 

For instance, one old member confessed to having a relationship with more than 30 women, divorcing three times. We felt how great a sinner he had been! But later we all found that we ourselves were worse sinners than him in our hearts. So Jesus’ grace to forgive such sinners like him and us was so great! We all praised God for Jesus through whom we have the forgiveness of all our sins. 

Skits and duo-dramas for each main message and special songs were very artistic and creative depicting the passages so well that they helped us to understand the passages. They like sports, too, and so we had ping-pong and soccer tournaments after first writing and sharing testimonies in the afternoon. 

All the leaders participated joyfully in something: dramas, music, baby sitting, leading GBS, cleaning up, etc. with a sense of stewardship (*Korean missionaries are Juan Baek and Susanna Panama director but serve here, too, and Juan Seo and Hanna stay in LA, USA).

We all appreciate the earnest prayer support from our coworkers from six continents for the last several months up to now. We guests could understand all messages and LTs because of many Chicago and Latin coworkers’ hard work in the translation of all the messages and life testimonies into English and proofreading by Abraham Kim (UIC).

The meetings included babies, CBF, MBF, HBF, UBF and S(silver)BF members, and there were no problems as we harmonized and accepted one another. No babies cried but sat together with moms like babies that are being weaned from their mother’s milk. Everything ran smoothly. We are all sinners, yet God accepted us as God’s precious children. Therefore, we felt a small taste of the heavenly kingdom here in Pozo de Rosas (Well of Rose).

We had a world mission night with the messages of Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. Pastor Abraham Kim, General Director ordained three Venezuela chapter directors (Jaime, Hugo and Socrates) as well as Josue Maiker as the acting director of Panama while M. Juan Baik works back and forth in Venezuela and Panama.

He encouraged all to have many one to one Bible studies like Paul who did in his rented house (Acts 28).Thank God for blessing this conference abundantly! About 40 disciple candidates pledged to receive 8 months discipleship training in the new school year(usually 12-15 disciple candidates each time). Near 40 missionary candidates pledged to go anywhere, anytime as missionaries. Thanks again for all your prayer support for Northern Latin America Conference!