I’m excited to share about what God has been doing in Venisa’s life the past few months.
Venisa is a young woman who lives in Batey Prudencio. We met Venisa last year when we were working with the children in Prudencio. Part of our strategy in ministry is to work with people who live in the communities. We want to include and empower them to discover and use the gifts, talents and resources God has given them to love and serve others. In this case, we were looking for young people from the community who would be interested in working with the children. Venisa was the first to volunteer.
The first thing our teammates mentioned about Venisa is that the children really listen to her and respect her. Then, they told me about how Venisa always arrives early and is eager to help however she can. I watched Venisa with the children and noticed immediately that she is a natural teacher.
After working with Venisa several months, the team thought it would be great to have Venisa as a regular part of our team. We asked Venisa if she'd like to join us, and she glady accepted the invitation. Now Venisa travels from her home in the batey and stays with me a couple of times a week to attend team meetings and to work on different aspects of the ministry. It’s been a blessing to get to know Venisa and develop a friendship with her.
Venisa is one of few Christians in her age group in the batey. This has not been easy for Venisa, but God has been faithful. Venisa continues to trust and rely on the Lord. She has expressed numerous times her determination to follow Jesus regardless of the cost.
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| Venisa Pierre, born on 12 de Abril, 1993 in the province of El Seibo, Dominican Republic. |
Last night Venisa was sharing about how God has used this ministry to encourage her and bring her hope. She said that before we started working in Prudencio, she felt lost and discouraged about her future.
You see, like thousands of young people living in bateys throughout the Dominican Republic, Venisa does not have the proper documentation for higher education or to find a good-paying job in this country. Though Venisa was born in the Dominican Republic, and considers this her home, her parents are immigrants from Haiti. Her father came looking for a better life and found work in the sugarcane fields. He and his wife never got the documentation to become citizens of the Dominican Republic. Since her parents are not recognized as legal citizens, Venisa isn’t either.
Venisa has a hunger for knowledge. There's a whole list of things she would like to study - mathematics is number one on her list. She would like to get a degree and be a teacher. She's also very interested in learning languages. It's extremely frustrating that Venisa's future and the opportunites available to her are so limited simply because of where she was born. I'm trying to learn more about the system, and am praying with Venisa that God would open a door for her. Please join us in prayer for Venisa.
Anyway, in our conversation last night, Venisa expressed her excitement and appreciation for this ministry. She explained how this ministry has helped her recognize that God does have a plan and a purpose for her life. Venisa has come to recognize some of her gifts and talents and that God can and IS using her to impact the lives of the people around her. Venisa has opened up so much, and is allowing God to work in and through her more and more. She is clearly a vessel for the Lord. I'm glad to have Venisa on our team and excited to see how God is going to continue to work in and through her.
Before I wrote this blog, I asked Venisa if it was okay for me to post this information. She said "yes" and was excited to see it when she came to stay with me the following week. I showed Venisa the post. She really enjoyed seeing her pictures and hearing what I wrote. When she saw it, she asked me to include her birthday in the post. Venisa's birthday is 12 de Abril, 1993.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I learned about Venisa last week was that she was the validictorian of her high school class! We watched a video of her graduation last week. It was interesting. Please keep praying for Venisa. That God would open a door, so she would be able to get her cedula and study in the University.