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End of an Era in Venezuela

Writer's picture: TS Ashley MilneTS Ashley Milne

Updated: Mar 30, 2022

Written by T. S. Ashley Milne


Venezuela, officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America. Venezuela's territory covers 916,445 square kilometers. The population is about 29,105,632. By comparison, British Columbia is 944,735 square kilometers.


The tracking of the one-hundred-and-seventy assemblies in Venezuela today commenced in Puerto Cabello in 1916. Valencia was second and San Felipe was the third assembly to be formed, in October 1920. Today there are fourteen assemblies in the state of Yaracuy, of which San Felipe is the capital. Out of the first ten assemblies established in Venezuela, six were in Yaracuy, and continue to this day. It was in this state, and in San Felipe, where my parents served the Lord, from 1947 until 1997. This is the place where I spent my childhood until 1958 when I returned to the place of my birth, Belfast. Somehow the impressions of those early years never left me, and I have returned to visit more times than I have kept track of. My latest visit to Venezuela in mid January of this year was perhaps the best ever.

The assembly in San Felipe, with about one-hundred-and-fifty in fellowship, had just passed through a difficult time, for over three years. During that period, no blessing was seen and a heavy cloud hung over the place and none of the Lord's servants had visited. Only one showed up at their conference the year before last because he lives in the area.

However, all changed when sin was dealt with. Thank God! Once the discipline was carried out, amazing blessing resulted and continues. As Psalm 133 states, "There the Lord commanded the blessing." Due to a heart issue, I had not been allowed by the doctor to visit them for over three years, while all this was unfolding, which I knew nothing about at the time. What a joy it was to witness first hand, and see and hear how the Lord commands the blessing when conditions are put right. During the month in Venezuela, I visited nine of the assemblies in Yaracuy where Dad laboured in the Gospel. The blessing had started long before I arrived as, during the conference in San Felipe last October, they were amazed and encouraged when over seven brethren in the work arrived to give help. It was the largest conference in many years. They started off thinking it might have to be cancelled as they had "zero" in the assembly funds. Yet, after feeding the largest crowd ever during the three days of conference, they ended up with a large surplus. Before the year end, a lady was saved while sitting at the back one Lord's day morning. Just before my visit, another lady called Dulce, was saved during a prayer meeting.

The year commenced with a week of Prayer Thanksgiving and Praise, followed by two weeks of Prayer and Intercession. When I arrived in mid January, for seven nights we had twenty minutes Prayer; twenty minutes Gospel; forty-five minutes Ministry. On the Friday evening, Dulce had been witnessing to her sister, Eneida, who was visiting from Caracas. In the ministry meeting, while hearing of those who were saved and baptized in the book of the Acts, she remained in her seat, in tears, wanting to be saved. That night she accepted the Lord as her Saviour, at the end of the meeting.

The next evening, Saturday, the hall was filled to capacity when, following the Gospel meeting, two sisters were baptized and received into fellowship the next day (Sunday) as were four brethren who were restored to the Lord after being out of the meeting for a number of years.

I was able to visit eight other assemblies in Yaracuy. Some have grown remarkably with upwards to one-hundred-and-fifty to two-hundred in fellowship. As has been said by others, the Venezuelan brethren tend to be good Gospel preachers. "Basic evangelism" is still the norm. Backyard meetings, house meetings in the homes, neighborhood Sunday schools, tract and text distribution, meetings in the homes of believers who have died, these meetings are as important as are the series of meetings by visiting and local preachers in assembly halls and attract just as many people.

Upon arrival in Venezuela I was met by our dear brother Uel Ussher with whom we have always enjoyed great fellowship. Upon leaving the Yaracuy, I spent a day with Samuel and Sharon Ussher. While in their home the evening before returning to Canada, I received a call to say that the son of Dulce, Alejandro, age seventeen, following the meeting on Lord's day evening, professed to be saved when he got home.

Uncertainty still surrounds Venezuela's future, as it has before. However, what is different now is that the country's poor have experienced a sense of empowerment and are more likely to be involved in the political decision-making process of leaders to come, whether democratic, capitalist, or of the Chavez-Bolivarian kind.

Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution was indeed legitimate in that it brought the plight of the poor to the forefront of political discussion, much more than any other leader has in recent memory. We can rejoice in this great fact also. The Lord Jesus said in Matt. 11:5, "The poor have the Gospel preached to them" and the results speak for themselves in Venezuela today.

There is complete liberty to preach the gospel. Religious education is taught in the schools and I was told that all churches are equal in this opportunity, so the assemblies in a number of places are participating in this. Before Chavez came to power, only the Roman Catholic Church had access to the schools.

"Our God of Grace often gives us a second chance, but there is no second chance to harvest a ripe crop."


Spring 2013

Written by T. S. Ashley Milne - Venezuala



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