Update from Michael & Corinne Bell

BELL COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 10 November 2007
We finally moved! After close to a year and a half of looking and more than one failed attempt to own or rent, we have finally moved into a house. The Lord has graciously provided a rental home for us in a quiet neighborhood. It’s amazing to see how God has responded to prayer. The house meets all the criteria we were looking for! We even have a back yard to play in or to get some fresh air—complete with lime and avocado trees.

Kids’ Schooling.

For a number of reasons the Bell kids are studying in a Venezuelan school this year. Though the academic challenge is a step down from what they’re used to, all three have shown dramatic improvement in their Spanish—especially the younger two—and have made new friends. This new arrangement also allows Corinne a break after seven straight years of home school teaching. Again this year, the Music Conservatory of Carabobo accepted the Bell kids into their program. (Carabobo is the state of which Valencia is the capital). The conservatory, which is run by the Symphonic Orchestra of Carabobo, teaches both music theory and performance. All three kids are taking their second year of theory; Morgan continues with her violin lessons from last year; Monica has begun this year on the flute; Matthew, has his eye on the guitar, should start soon on the Venezuela cuatro, a small, four-stringed guitar.

Peace at La Viña.

After a long struggle, La Viña’s internal problems have been largely resolved. Miguel and his family abruptly left the church despite our best efforts over the last year to achieve reconciliation. His leaving was not on good terms and he is now
determined to “plant a church” only a few blocks from La Viña. To say the least, the outcome was not what we had hoped for. Indeed, we are grieved and disturbed by the apparent attempt to divide our congregation. Without a doubt, the Enemy is a formidable foe. Please pray with us that God would continue to build a protective hedge around the church.

Pastoral Team Expands. 

La Viña has expanded its pastoral team, recently recognizing
God’s call on the lives of Ramón Mejías and Raúl Oliveira. What is perhaps most striking about the two new pastors is that they are truly the firstfruits of La Viña’s spiritual leaders. Both took their first steps as Christians at La Viña; both were baptized here; both were among those we discipled and trained. May the Lord raise up many more like them!—spiritual leaders who will not only guide this local church but also plant and lead many more churches throughout Venezuela and beyond.

Great Opportunities.

In addition to the responsibility of training La Viña’s leaders,
Michael has been given the incredible blessing of beginning to equip the pastors and pastors-to-be of two other area churches. Seven men have committed themselves to this training. Two of the men drive into Valencia from Nirgua, an hour and a half away. The rapport has been incredible! The men are reporting that God is using their training to significantly transform their lives and ministries. (For example, the Flor Amarillo church
has begun discipling 24 of its people as a result.) Pray that the churches these godly men lead will feel all the positive effects of what God is doing in their lives.

Missionary Challenges. As our Mission (now called ReachGlobal) begins to implement significant changes, our Venezuela field has also seen changes. Our Mission wants its missionaries to be about the multiplication of healthy leaders who will in turn lead
churches into healthy multiplication. Please pray for Michael as he leads the Valencia Team in this bold direction and aligns diverse missionaries with diverse gifting within the
bounds of this mandate.

Relationship with the national church.

Though Michael’s ministry is primarily focused on working directly with national pastors and their training, as head of the
missionary team he must also represent ReachGlobal to the Venezuelan Free Church at the organizational level. Pray for this relationship to be harmonious and for communication to be clear as the two bodies explore ways in which they will cooperate.
Pray that Michael would be given the wisdom and discernment necessary to help bring this about.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Continue to pray for the San Diego church plant. Pastor Ramón, his wife Natalia, and their newborn son Bequer are living on site and making contacts in the neighborhood.
2. Pray for continued healing for La Viña.
3. Pray for the two new members of La Viña’s Pastoral Team, Raúl and Ramón.
4. Pray for the pastors and pastors-to-be from Flor Amarillo and Nirgua as they are equipped for further ministry.
5. Pray for Morgan (8th Grade), Monica (5th Grade) and Matthew (2nd Grade) as they face new challenges at Venezuelan school and at the conservatory of music.
6. Pray for Corinne as she re-organizes her priorities after being freed up from her home school responsibilities for this year.
7. Pray for Michael in his role as Team Leader as he relates to the other missionaries and to the national church.
8. Pray for the political situation in Venezuela which remains tense.
9. Praise the Lord for our house!

in Christ’s great love,
Michael and Corinne

michael.bell@efca.org
corinne.bell@efca.org