C-mail: Actually from Caracas

Howdy All!

Hope you are doing amazingly well! This is the very first C-mail actually sent out from Caracas and Lord willing its bypassing spam filters left and right at this point. If you missed any previous C-mails due to spam issues, and you're really bored, you can find them here. On to the update:

1. I arrived in Caracas late on the 9th (flight was delayed in LA meaning an overnight stay in Atlanta). I've been here three weeks and now feel like I have the hang of life for the most part. I can tread water, and keep my head up to breath, but can't do to much beyond that.

2. I am extremely thankful that I was able to go to Guatemala to study spanish. I am doing so much better in my spanish than when I was here in April. I can actually understand the majority of what the locals say. However, when some people talk I'm lucky to understand one word in a sentence. I can also respond for the most part, but still need to work on the accent.

3. Contact info: I still don't have a phone yet, but Skype is great: UserName is aeroredbaron. Also, if you absolutely must, must mail something you can send it to:
Cameron Carter
CCS 16019, (819)
PO Box 025323
Miami, FL 33102-5323 USA
We pay dearly by the ounce to get mail so huge envelopes and packages are right out. Please save the diving weights and fruit cakes for when I get back.

4. I would love prayer for: Diligence in studying and maintaining Spanish, safety and health (only been sick once!), and for the family across the street (for them and I to have a good relationship, that God would be at work in their hearts and protecting their kids too)

6. So far, life here has been full. We've been planning, preping and running a small school/VBS for some of the poorer/at risk kids in the area. We're going through the 5 senses and how to use those to experience and know God. (Still not sure how taste is going to work out). I've also been working with my neighbors across the street in their metal shop. It's a good place to meet many of the people in the neighborhood that drop by and also a good way to build a deeper relationship with the family.

7. Praise God for all that He is doing here! Seriously, our team and a lot of the people here have been continually protected, directed, and engaged by the goodness of God. One quick story of protection. The sunday before I arrived, the team and some of the house church families were taking a day of rest just north of town in a wooded area with waterfalls. A twelve year old girl from one of the families was near a waterfall when she tripped, and ended up sliding/rolling/falling down about 100 feet below into a pool. Karen of the team was with her just before she fell, was unable to catch her, and watched the whole event play out. The girl ended up face down in the water for somewhere between half to a full minute before someone could get to her and pull her out. She was bleeding profusely from her head, unconscious, but breathing. It took over an hour to get her out of the area and more hours of getting her into a hospital (and even more finding a doctor, bedsheets, machines, liquids, etc.) For the next few days she was thrashing about wildly and looked like she had severe brain damage. However, with lots of prayer and rest, by the end of the week she was almost totally recovered. Now she can walk, talk clearly, think etc. And if recovering from that fall wasn't enough (the doctors said she had been dead for some amount of time, but came back without resuscitation), the friday after the accident when she was talking and thinking clearly, she asked about "the man". She told of a man who helped to break her fall. According to her, she even said gracias to him while she was falling. The weird thing is that no one was there: Karen watched her fall the whole way and didn't see anyone there. Angel, Jesus, ravings from brain damage, whatever you want to call it, I'm just glad to God that she is safe, alive, and in good health.

Alright, there is much to say, but there's much more to do so that's it for now. And you can always check the blog for other updates as well.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers. I miss you all and I hope everything is working for the good in your lives. Stay strong, seek the Lord and
Press on for Joy!
Cameron




To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. ~Elliot Erwitt

I'd like to think that I try to write in the same way that Mr. Erwitt (I honestly have no clue who he is) above describes a photograph. Some event, or some story that could be rather bland or remarkably normal, is instead somehow imbued with the presence of God, or something profound. I then write about it, trying to cast it in the perfect lighting to bring out the color that inherently resides within it. That's how I try to write these updates.

And then there's writers block.

Truth be told, I can't really find an everyday experience or a story that I can point to and say "Ah ha! That completely illustrates what these past three weeks have been like!" Perhaps that's the point. Life here is really anything but normal. Everyday is something different. Every plan is either flexible or it becomes broken. Full days of planning, learning, visiting, cooking (not a small chore), meeting, speaking, attending, listening, waiting etc. can be followed by rather tranquil days of a few visits and jokes with the neighbors.

However, thankfully, I got an email asking for some info about what I'm doing. It is for a really sweet event put on by InterVarsity at Cal Poly this week, Impact1 (if you're in SLO, go!. If you're not in SLO, pray for it). So, in lieu of the typical story, and in order to try to illustrate what exactly our team is doing here, here are some questions and answers:


What are you doing with your life right now?

Seriously, what am I doing with my life right now? I'm living in a third world slum: I've smelled the trash that piles up at the bottom of the street and never gets collected. I've seen neighbor after neighbor physically abuse their children. I've heard motorcycles, taxis, jeeps, roosters, children, dogs, gunshots, and yells all before 6 in the morning. I've felt metal, concrete, dust, broken glass, torrential rain and spiritual darkness.

and yet...

I've also felt the welcoming embrace and open hands of people I don't know at all. I've seen my neighbors greeting, protecting, providing, and even loving each other in their own way. I've heard music, stories, laughing, and clapping. I've smelled and tasted generous helpings of food given freely even when I was in no position to give anything back. I'm living in Pedro Camejo on the west side of Caracas, Venezuela, seeking the Kingdom of God among my neighbors and friends living here as well.

In more practical language, I'm part of InnerCHANGE, a Christian order among the poor. Our ultimate goal is to establish a thriving house church network that seeks to end much of the violence and poverty our neighbors experience. This means knowing and befriending the ones causing the violence as well as working alongside victims and bystanders in order to ultimately reconcile them. Currently, I'm learning to live, speak the local lingo, meet more and more of my neighbors and start to invest in their lives. That can take place through tutoring/schools, community organizing, or simply spending time together.

How are you using your major to impact the world? Or, did you lay down your major/studies to pursue justice a different way?

At Cal Poly, I studied Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Physics. In my third year, after an interview with Lockheed Martin, I realized I personally didn't feel comfortable building weapons, but rather wanted to work for peace; to help lives rather than help to take them. Here in Caracas, our team has started the Peace Initiative as a means to bring about peace in the face of continual violence. This means a lot of organizing from scratch. Learning how to define problems and work with groups of people in order to address that problem or achieve a goal were skills that my engineering degree prepared me for.

How did God motivate you to change your plans and do this upon leaving CP?

Leading a Bible Study:) My third year, my coleader(Howdy Nathaniel!) and I decided to plow through the Gospel of Luke for the whole year. Through preparing and encountering the radical statements of Jesus about the poor, and His call to forsake ourselves and our things to follow Him, I was opened to hear and experience God's heart for the poor. This led to hanging out with the homeless around SLO, taking the Global Urban Trek to Lima, Peru, and eventually on to Urbana where I met InnerCHANGE, the order with which I'm serving.

What truths have you learned about Him/the world/living a life of Justice?

Way more than I could put down in a few sentences. None the less, here are a few: God is extremely willing to answer our prayers so far and above what we could imagine possible; except, He doesn't work on our own timetable. Second, God is far more organic, wild and foolish than our "wise and knowledgeable" planning allows. Thirdly, the poor aren't cute and cuddly, nor are they merely objects of trite mercy. They are humans, under heavy burdens, but also causing much damage and doing evil of their own accord. In a word, they are sinners . . . just like me. That said, he who is forgiven much, loves much.

Well, that's all for now, but let me know how I can pray for you and I love to hear how your lives are going so feel free to drop a note. Stay strong, seek the Lord and
Press on for Joy!
Cameron

What if.....

He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’” Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath...

The thought occurred to me after we had read and discussed this passage, what if I'm only here for one person? What if after two or three years, all I am here for is to be sent to one person? Would that be worth it? Would I be ok with that? Those guys listening to Jesus sure weren't.


In other news, I saw my first fight yesterday. A few other teammates and myself had returned from a "march" for life put on by the Catholic churches in the area (the goal was to raise awareness of victims of violence both here and in Colombia). We were sitting in a bakery/cafe talking when two people entered. One was a smaller man that looked worn by hardship, wearing a dark red shirt. I had seen him before outside selling umbrellas. The other was tall, clean cut and dressed in a green checkered shirt with Khaki pants. The guy in green was shouting something (couldn't understand anything being said between the two) and strode menacingly at the guy in red. The guy in red was soon corned/trapped near our table as all the patrons in the restaurant stood up and got of the way. The guy in green sent a right hook directly into the other man's left cheek with a solid thud. The man in red backed up unphased and kept trying to explain something. The guy in green came at him again with two more directed straight into the face. The man in red tried to duck under the counter to escape. A girl behind the counter started saying firmly "Para en el nombre de Cristo! Para en el nombre de Cristo" (Stop in the name of Christ!). The man in red came back out from under the counter and stood up to the man in green again. Blood was escaping from his mouth and lips. It looked like he wanted to fight the man in green but just didn't have the ability to. He took two more strong punches straight in the nose. The man in green seemed to back off a bit, said something to the girl behind the counter (still telling them to stop in the name of Christ) about what she was saying and started walking out. The man in red followed, still talking. The two yo-yo-ed back and forth from leaving and fighting again for another minute until the man in green left, came back, and left for good, still exchanging words.

I learned later that apparently the guy in green thought the man in red had stolen some money from him. If he did, he didn't give it back.

I watched everything go down. I thought about entering, doing something, but no one else was, so I didn't. I started praying when the girl behind the counter started using Christ's name, but that was it. Honestly, I'm disgusted with myself for doing nothing. In a theoretical world, if I could do that over and I knew what I know, I would have given the guy in green whatever he accused the guy of stealing. Maybe that wouldn't work. Maybe I wouldn't even do that if the same happened tomorrow.

I've heard all the non violence stuff, about throwing yourself in and taking the punches. I've read stories about people in the same situation doing nothing as well, and wishing they had done something afterwards. I KNEW what I SHOULD have done, but that still didn't make me DO a thing.

On top of that, I'm wresting with the what exactly is meant by "name". Demon's are cast out by the name of Jesus, people are healed by that name, the Lord's prayer tells us to hallow the "name" of the Father. But just saying it doesn't seem to mean much or have any authority over anything. (As a side note, the cafe we were in was right next to a Santeria/Witchcraft store. This was also in a nice part of town as well, not the barrio.)

So, that's the excitement here. I just hope neither of those two guys was the one person.

Somehow, this blog is smarter than I am . . .

It knows I'm in Venezuela. The little blog tabs, front page, everything, is in Spanish. How does it know this? The computer I'm on doesn't have the language formatter to Spanish, nor is Firefox installed in Spanish. Hmmmm, Google????

One week has passed. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. I was glad to hear that culture shock sometimes hits later than earlier for people with a longer term commitment. (Sometimes the shock of realizing your in a different culture can take a year.)

What's happened in a week? A lot, and also a lot of nothing. The main story started before I got here and I have nothing to do with it, but it's really cool none the less, and it will have to wait. But as for some of the highlights:

Spanish is a whole heck of a lot better know than in April. Praise God for that (and also for that school on the links page.)
I've been sick! One a day and a night with some "big D" (as christened on the Global Urban Trek to Peru) and fever.
I've been shopping in a crazy Saturday morning market.
I've been overwhelmed by the generosity and helpfulness of the Venezuelans and am truly indebted to them.
There's a chance the guy across the street will show me how to weld tomorrow!!!
I've been to the hospital (not related to being sick)
Through mild trial by fire, I can now navigate the metro, bus, and jeep system to get away from and back to home.
I've had a lot of cold showers. (there is no such thing as a warm one here, unless you heat up water on the stove, but I guess I'm too lazy for that.)
I've spent at least 6-7 hours waiting to meet people or for something to happen, mostly in two hour increments.

But it's good to be here. We had a huge rainstorm the other day and I figure maybee I can post a video or two of it. (At least a video of the river(street) in front of our house.)

Amazing....

Just found this and knew I had to put it up (and procrastinate leaving just a little longer; ironic somehow.)

Martin Luther King Jr.

"So Precious That You Will Die For It"

I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren't fit to live. You may be thirty-eight years old, as I happen to be, and one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand up for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid. You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You're afraid that you will lose your job, or are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you're afraid that somebody will stab you or shoot at you or bomb your house. So you refuse to take the stand. Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at thirty-eight as you would be at ninety. And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit. You died when you refused to stand up for right. You died when you refused to stand up for truth. You died when you refused to stand up for justice...

Don't ever think that you're by yourself. Go on to jail if necessary, but you never go alone. Take a stand for that which is right, and the world may misunderstand you, and criticize you. But you never go alone, for somewhere I read that one with God is a majority. And God has a way of transforming a minority into a majority. Walk with him this morning and believe in him and do what is right, and He'll be with you even until the consummation of the ages.

Yes, I've seen the lightning flash. I've heard the thunder roll. I've felt sin breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul, but I heard the voice of Jesus saying, still to fight on. He promised never to leave me alone, never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone.




Sermon at Ebenezer, November 5, 1967

King was assassinated 5 months later, April 4, 1968.

Moving...

So what does one pack when moving overseas for two years?

If you have any ideas, let me know:)

For sure, a lot of pants since there's no way I can get those there. Also, shoes (I picked up a pair last week at goodwill for six bucks!) I can take two bags to check in, and a carry on, and one personal item. I'm debating if my 50 liter backpack will be checked or carried on.

I don't want to take that much, and I know I can't take enough. I have a lot in my room that needs to go somewhere. I'm going to try to sell what I can, give away whatever won't offend my folks, and the rest goes in a box. But I don't have many days left. My car needs to sell, but no offers yet.

And I'm really tired.

Feels like college all over again. Huge projects all due on the same day. Doesn't look possible at all to get it all done, but some how the day comes and something gets turned in. Lord willing I can turn myself in. I'm looking forward to some semblance of rest when I get there.

But more about that later. For now, music and organizing.