Woollen and Linen| Chapter 27 - Phenomenal Development of Assembly Work in Caracas |
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Chapter 27 - Phenomenal Development of Assembly Work in Caracas
Later on he moved to Caracas, and with Christians who had moved there from other assemblies, began a Sunday School and Bible class in his home. Joe Naranjo, a young married man, and a blacksmith by trade who had worked in an oil camp, was at that time in Caracas. He became sick, could not work and soon his funds came to an end. Being unable to pay the rent, he and his wife were ejected from the rooms they had rented. Whilst walking along the street wondering what he should do, he met our brother John Ascanio, who listened to his “tale of woe” and invited him and his wife to stay at their home, which of course they were very ready to do. Whilst there, Mr. J. E. Fairfield and his bride visited Caracas on their honeymoon, and a Gospel meeting was arranged in the same home. At the close Sr. Naranjo, under deep conviction of sin, expressed the desire to be saved and was led to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour. Thus this act of kindness on the part of a believer, resulted in the conversion of a soul, with far reaching consequences for the furtherance of the Gospel. It is recorded of our Lord Jesus that He went about doing good, attending to the temporal needs of His creatures, and “healing all that were oppressed of the devil”, meeting their spiritual need as well. Let us “go, and do likewise.
CARACAS is growing like a mushroom, from about 350,000 population in the twenties to 2 million at the present time. The work in connection with assemblies has grown proportionately, so that from such a humble beginning there are now six assemblies having their own Gospel Halls free of debt, and one other Hall, where an assembly has not yet been formed. The second assembly was planted in the “Manicomio” (Asylum) neighborhood, which later became a rendezvous of hooligans. One of these entered the Hall one morning just before the hour of meeting, and asked the doorkeeper for Bs. 1.00 (20 cents) to buy beer, which the brother refused to do. The hooligan knocked him to one side and went straight towards the circle where the saints were gathered. A brother intercepted him but received a savage punch on the face. However, the aggressor retired and the Lord’s supper was celebrated in peace. On one occasion when the writer was having meetings in that Hall, together with Sr. Naranjo, some candidates for baptism were to be examined. Amongst them was a married woman with the following story: We then asked this sister if she had permission from her husband to be baptized. “No”, she replied, and that under no circumstances would he consent to this, but she was prepared for the consequences, whatever he might do to her, and she was resolved to obey the Lord. She was duly baptized and when her husband heard of it, the fear of God took hold of him and with a view to not doing his wife any further harm, when he got drunk, he made a cage in one corner of the room so that when under the influence of liquor he could crawl into it and shut himself in! On subsequent visits to that assembly we were glad to see that dear woman and her daughter going on faithfully for the Lord. The Manicomio Assembly has now moved to a better location with more room for expansion, and on a recent visit we were encouraged to see the large temporary portable Hall completely filled with people and some outside. The third assembly to be formed in Caracas, and which was the second hive-off from the mother assembly, is located in the important suburb of PETARE, formerly a large town outside of the city limits. It has now been absorbed in metropolitan Caracas, and has also had a phenomenal development. We were informed that it consists of thirty-four neighbourhoods, and many of the poor have their miserable huts perched on the steep mountain side like eagle’s nests. A remarkable feature of the disastrous earthquake of recent years was that luxurious apartment blocks collapsed like pancakes, whereas the hundreds of small huts stood firm. The fourth assembly to be formed, which was the third hive-off from the original, is in the neighborhood called EL VALLE, which means “The Valley”, but paradoxically the Hall is situated at the top of a steep, winding street, with a precipice along one side and no protecting parapet. Children and young people use the street as a playground at night, and it needs a skillful driver to make the grade, avoid the children and keep clear of the precipice! The fifth assembly, which was the fourth hive-off, is in the district known as LAS ADJUNTAS, parish of Macarao. It is a long distance from the centre of the city, and there is a nice company of believers in fellowship. In spite of these four hive-offs, the large original Hall can hardly take care of the ever increasing numbers being added to the assembly. During our visit to Caracas in May 1972, our brother Naranjo took us in his car to a large meeting room in a district of the city called Los Eucaliptos. Only a person fully acquainted with the city could have found that place, which after making almost innumerable turns, is located at the end of a blind alley, which could be a favorable hideout for robbers. A brother there, a construction worker, turned the whole of the first floor of his house into a meeting room and built a second story for living quarters. The number of people who gathered that night exceeded my expectation. Twenty minutes were given to prayer prior to the hour of meeting. Brethren prayed briefly and to the point. One unique request was on behalf of the brother acting as doorkeeper, that the Lord would protect him, as he was exposed to danger. The believers living in that locality are at present associated with assemblies quite a long distance away, but for the present there are certain hindrances to the formation of an assembly. A few months ago a sixth assembly was begun on the outskirts of Caracas, at the top of a long, steep, winding hill. It is a neighborhood mostly occupied by squatters, that is, poor people who have no other place to live so put up their shacks without permission from the land owners. The government doesn’t interfere with them as there is no other place available. The name of the neighborhood is CARAPITA, and although poor in this world’s goods, those saints are rich in faith. Other pages in this section
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