What a vision--an evangelistic series held in every one of the 772 organized churches and companies in Venezuela! Hundreds of pastors, elders and other lay-evangelists prepared their sermons. Thousands of laymen gave Bible studies in advance of each campaign. And 45 guest evangelists joined them to experience Inter-American-style evangelism by preaching for a series of meetings. The stories and thousands of pictures are too many to share here, but these are a few highlights.
Most of the 45 guest evangelists traveled to Caracas (above right) on October 9. The group (below) spent all day, October 10, in orientation covering topics such as: using the sermon notes and graphics, how to work with a translator, how to make a call, currency exchange, insurance, security matters, and health-related issues. Then Thursday the 11th each traveled to his/her respective city.

Elder Lonnie Melashenko, Speaker/Director of the Voice of Prophecy Broadcast brought five other evangelists and a support team and together they conducted six campaigns in the Caracas area. Each day he reviewed the sermon with his translator, Pastor Dan Pabon (below left), before preaching the evening's message (below right).

Elder Melashanko's team (left below) included not only his wife and his fellow evangelists, but also musicians, health educators, and organizational staff, but also a cadre of dedicated pastors and laymen from the congregations they were serving (right below).

Another extraordinary element in this event came from the paradise islands of Hawaii. Elder Arnold Trujillo (extreme left in picture below), President of the Hawaii Conference, invited all of his pastors and several laymen to join him and conduct one of the campaigns in Venezuela. Fifteen accepted his invitation (though not all were in the picture below).

Among those who accepted Elder Trujillo's invitation were Pastor (and State Representative) David Pendleton (left below) and Marine Sargeant Denny Sanchez (right below).

	Elder Rob Lloyd, Ministerial Director for the Hawaii Conference (below in a farewell native headdress), went to the eastern end of Venezuela for his Campaign. On arriving he found a nearby church ready for a Campaign but without an evangelist, so he volunteered to preach two Campaigns! Before leaving he did take advantage of his location and fly by Angels Falls (left) which, at over 1000 meters (3,000 ft), is the highest in the world.

Dean Waterman (left, below), a mortgage broker from Ringgold, Georgia, held his first evangelistic Campaign. It was such a life-changing experience for him he is not only planning a Campaign at home but has signed up to preach a Campaign in Kenya in May, 2002. For Ben Kochenower (right below), a CPA from Gaffney, South Carolina, this was his second Campaign since he and his wife went with me to the Philippines in November, 2000.

Anthony Cattouse (right), an Emergency Medical Technologist, lives in New York City. On Sept. 11 his unit was called to the World Trade Center and was there when the second plane plunged into one of the towers and when both buildings collapsed. Anthony, a former drug user and homeless person who lived in New York's subway system, went through a wonderful conversion experience. Today, through Atlantic Union College's distance learning program, is preparing for the gospel ministry. Dean Waterman, Ben Kochenower and Anthony Cattouse are all planning to hold Campaigns in Kenya in May/June of 2002.
That these Campaigns are a blessing to the speakers was evident one morning when I met Anthony and Dean Waterman sitting in the lobby just outside the room where they were staying. Their eyes were moist with tears. I didn't need to ask if there was a problem for they volunteered the answer to my unspoken question. Shortly after 5:00 a.m. one of them awakened and turned on the light to study for the night's sermon and that awakened the other. As they reviewed the Christ-centered message for the evening the Holy Spirit touched their hearts and both of them began to weep just contemplating the gospel. It was the glow of their experience that I sensed when I saw them, Bibles and sermon notes in hand. This is the experience I crave for many more pastors and laymen.
	Those of us (left) whose Campaigns were in the Maracaibo area did take a few hours off one day to visit a remote area of the huge lagoon that borders Maracaibo. As we made our way up Rio Limón (Lemon River) we all assumed the shore line (in the picture to the left) was made up of tree-covered hills. When we got closer we discovered we were wrong! There were trees, yes, but no soil! The entire area was just a vast swamp-like, snake-infested, area (below left) where the water was shallow enough to support a few species of trees. One of our stops was at the 17th-18th century Spanish fort named San Carlos de la Barra (below).

The Union set a baptismal goal for this national campaign at 10,000. By the time this first group of guest evangelists completed their Campaigns the total had already exceeded 9,200. With the second group of guest evangelists coming from Pennsylvania Conference the end of November and the baptisms scheduled between now and the end of the year, leaders are confident they will exceed this objective. After the Campaigns by the group from Pennsylvania have been completed I'll complete this report.