I am sure that most will know of the political, social and economical crisis that Venezuela is going through, which has worsened dramatically in the last year. We would ask you to continue praying for the protection of the Lord's people, and also for the provision of their daily needs, such as food, medicine and everyday basic items so needful for daily living. There is neither room nor time to go into all the details here, but it is just so sad to see mothers standing in line for hours with the hope of obtaining milk, or diapers for their babies, or general food and household items to provide for their families. The lack of security is out of control, with armed robberies and break-ins a daily occurrence. The elections for members of the National Assembly in December 2015 saw the opposition win a big majority of seats, and a push by them for a referendum to revoke or change the current President is underway with voting to take place on the 26th of October. We rest assured that God is in control, and ask you to pray for His continued blessing to be seen in a country that has been so blessed with the Gospel, and new assemblies are being established each year.
We would like to give you a brief outline of our most recent time in Venezuela, to encourage you to continue praying for the Lord's blessing on His work, in the midst of the ever-increasing difficult situation there. On our arrival in El Vigia in October of last year, we had to look into making our house more secure, after it was broken into during our absence, with the front door being smashed out of the brickwork, door jamb and all. We decided to build a small self-contained unit in front of the house where we used to hold the meetings, so one of the new believers Alberto now lives there and is able to keep an eye on things while we are away. We also continued to work on the hall, doing some tiling in the back section and kitchen area, as well as installing the aluminium windows in the top section at the back of the hall.

More progress made on hall in El Vigia.
We praise God for the continuation of the assembly testimony in El Vigia which commenced on the 18th of January 2015, and we have concentrated on seeking to build up the saints through the teaching of the Scriptures. During our time there we had two series of ministry meetings and one series in the Gospel. In May the bi-monthly ministry meeting for the state of Merida was held at El Vigia when Alberto was baptized and received into the fellowship. On the same weekend Angel professed faith in Christ and has shown real evidence of a true conversion, so please pray for him and his family. His wife Claudia had left him just one week before and then filed for a divorce two months later, we heard a few weeks ago that she had returned and the divorce was annulled before it went through. Just two weeks ago their eldest daughter, Darlin, professed faith in Christ and their second daughter Mayerlin requested to be baptized, which will happen at the next bi-monthly ministry meeting there in December, DV. Claudia's mum, Ines was baptized and received into fellowship in the assembly. Their youngest son Angel also professed faith some years ago and is going on well. Since our departure, the believers have had four weeks of prayer meetings, and are now in the first week of nightly Gospel meetings, so we thank God that although few and the situation very difficult in the country, they are taking responsibility in the work and bearing testimony to our Lord's name.

Believers and other attendees in El Vigia.
On the 24th of August we arrived in Brisbane, Australia, after an earlier than expected return from Venezuela. Our eldest daughter Rebecca had to have a mitral value repair operation, so we felt the need to be present to help babysit her two children during the following weeks of her recuperation, and are thankful that she is doing well. Then on the 12th of September my dad had a severe stroke and the following day the Lord called him peacefully into His presence. We are so grateful that the Lord allowed us to be home to spend some time with him the previous week, and to be at his bedside during his final hours with us and also to be present at his funeral.
Autumn 2016
Written by Paul and Daphne Chapman - Venezuela