A Very Long Carnival

     The marches and protests continue to some degree here in Venezuela. This week, there have been blockades being built to stop people from traveling or driving through the city. On Monday, school became online school because students were having difficulty getting to school and we were worried about them getting home due to the blockades. Tuesday and Wednesday continued with classes as usual. I even had all of my students in class on Wednesday! Then, President Maduro declared an early start to Carnival by saying that people could not work on Thursday and Friday. So now, our long weekend due to Carnival (we already had Monday and Tuesday off) became an extra long weekend that is really about a week long! There is also rumor that we may have Wednesday off for Chavez's death.

     From what I can understand, President Maduro declared these extra days off to help bring peace and rest. In the past, people have gone on vacation and forgotten about protests (or something like that). As a result, blockades have continued to be built and re-strengthened so that people can't leave for Carnival. I saw some of these blockades while I was out today. Some blockades are as simple as trash bags thrown in the streets. Others include palm branches, up righted metal grates from the streets, other metal, Christmas tress, more trash, and even mattresses. I also saw lots of signs while I was out saying, "I protest for..." There was even one that said, "We have shortages of everything except insecurity" with a picture of toilet paper. Protests seem to continue, but I don't know if they are worse, better, the same, or just different than before.

     What is Carnival? Carnival is a holiday that is linked to Easter and Ash Wednesday. It is always the celebrated the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It was originally meant to be a time of feasting and partying before Lent. Most people (at least the ones I know) seem to celebrate it by going on vacation or to visit family or friends or to just relax since they have a four day weekend. I have also heard that people throw water balloons at each other. Today, I realized another thing about Carnival: kids dress up in costumes. In the states, kids dress in costumes on Halloween. Most kids don't do that for Halloween here, but they do for Carnival.

Can you see the monkeys? We also saw lots of birds, a sea otter,
crocodile, sloths, and turtles. Some were wild, and some were at a zoo.

     I'm enjoying this long weekend by relaxing, working on some school work, and doing different things with some of my friends and teammates. On Thursday, I relaxed at home, read, worked out with friends, and had people over for dinner. Yesterday some people from church and school came over for s'mores and worship. Today, I went to a huge park for the first time with some friends. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to church and lunch out.

Prayer Requests and Praises
-God continues to keep us safe!
-God provides relaxing time, working time, supplies, and everything in perfect timing!
-All fourteen of my students were at school on Wednesday!
-I went to a park that I've wanted to go to for months!
-Encouragement has been pouring down on me!
-Our director is back from the job fair and was able to interview several people!
-God continues to grow me at just the right times!
-I was able to go to the bank and get some checks deposited (this is difficult for me here)!
-We have several positions open for next year. Pray for our director as he continues to interview and chose who to give offers to. Also pray for the right people to hear and respond to God's calling.
-Pray for my students during this long break: safety, relaxation, and a desire to work when school starts again.
-Pray for my relationships with people here as they continue to grow.
-Pray for my continued growth in my relationship with God.
-Pray for my students as they continue to learn about respect, love, and friendship.
-Pray for us not to become bored or lazy during our break but to continue to find ways to use this time to serve God.


Here is a new favorite song: Hear Us from Heaven. We sing this song in Spanish at church. Last night, we sang it in English during our worship time. It fits perfectly with what has been going on.