Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We hope this message finds you and your families well.

Worldwide Ministries

During this time of cuts and budget tightening in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we have been praying for Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division and all the staff and leadership there. We continue to appreciate the work our offices in Louisville do to support us under such trying and daunting circumstances. We are especially disappointed that Julia Ann Moffett and others will be leaving. We have always appreciated the sensitivity and vision that Julia Ann applied to her service as area coordinator for Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. We were relieved to learn that the reduction in the number of mission workers serving our partner churches and institutions has up to now been minimal. Please join us in our prayers for our church, as it labors to maintain its historically strong focus on the worldwide mission effort in the name of Jesus Christ. Please also remember our partner churches and institutions all around the world, for they too will be feeling the repercussions of these budget and staff changes directly.

Venezuela

There is still a great deal of political uncertainty here in Venezuela. Stratfor, the strategic analysis center based in Austin, Texas, has predicted another coup attempt here within the very near future. This one, should it occur, could most likely be even bloodier than the April 11 attempt to oust the president here. It is distressing to see the Venezuelan people so divided and hostile toward each other in what is essentially a class struggle. We find that to be the case even among church members, some faithfully supporting Chavez and the current government, others—generally the more economically comfortable—vehemently opposed. What is encouraging is that the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela, in spite of its small size, has developed a direct relationship with the current government through one of our pastors and is advocating quite openly for peace and unity. Meanwhile, we have been advised by friends to be prepared with stores of extra food and to take other precautions. The Venezuelan economy continues to struggle. In March, before the coup attempt, the president decreed a 35 percent increase in the monthly minimum wage (from $165/month to $225/month) effective May 15 of this year. On that day thousands of people were discharged from their jobs throughout the country. Two of those fired were from one of our church families, the family of Isabel Espinoza, in Santa Bárbara, leaving them with what little Isabel can earn from her home sewing once again.

In the last three months the value of the national currency, the Bolivar, has fallen 17 percent, from 850 to the dollar to over 1,000 to the dollar. Since 80 percent of what is sold in the country is imported, the value of the new minimum wage of $225 is effectively around $185, only $20 more than the original monthly minimum wage. And the current rate of inflation will quickly erode the value of that $185 as long as the current economic situation continues to worsen. We pray that the value of petroleum will maintain itself above $20 per barrel (even if it means maintaining gasoline prices at current levels for you at home). If not, the economy of Venezuela could cave in as the Argentine economy has.

Our Family

On the home front, we are still struggling with the legal adoption process of Jodimar and Jefferson. In August we will have had them in our custody for two years. This week we learned that it is quite possible that the new government adoption agency may require us to resubmit all documentation and begin the process almost from scratch. Our one hope is that we have been assigned a public defender by the courts now. She is knowledgeable, capable, and supportive and is well respected within the juvenile court system and the adoption agency. She was acting director of the old, now liquidated, adoption agency, and she knew Jodimar and Jefferson and their mother, so she has a personal interest in our case. We are hopeful that with her help we can achieve the legal declaration of adoption before this year is out. One of our fears is that continued disruptions in the political situation also create critical delays in our adoption process. On the happy side, Jefferson turned six on May 14 and on the same day we celebrated one year and eight months together as a family.

Our Work

Our work continues, though at times it feels we plod along so slowly. The ecumenical seminary (Instituto Ecuménico de Estudios Superiores) is currently in session, with about 20 students. We have problems with lack of resources, but that is normal. We are trying to develop a stronger sense of support and commitment to the seminary by the partners, which include the Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Anglican churches, the Presbyterian primary and secondary school in Caracas, and Acción Ecuménica, a community and social service agency with Catholic roots. This education endeavor is quite unique in the world by its ecumenical partnership with these particular churches and institutions. It is also very important for us to be supporting this work as mission co-workers since it involves several areas of strategic mission priority of the PC(USA), including ecumenism, reconciliation, education, and leadership training. Our work with the two churches in Santa Bárbara and Valencia is always meaningful, as is our continued quest to continue construction and development of the Jubilee Center.

Car Travails

Our last bit of new has to do with our vehicle. We were having the front wheel assembly repaired and the mechanic had finished. On Wednesday, 8 May he was returning our van to us so we could go and have it aligned, etc. About a block from our apartment, he was making a left hand turn at an intersection and had an accident with a motorcycle. The motorcyclist was hospitalized with a fractured leg and our van, which suffered considerable damage to the left front corner, was impounded pending an investigation into the incident. Our mechanic, Fernando Fernández, has been very depressed. He had never before been in an accident where someone was injured. Even though it appears that the traffic court will not hold Fernando personally responsible he has been visiting the young man every day in the hospital and making sure he had all the medicines and care he needed. The twenty-year-old motorcycle rider had no license, and presented no ownership documentation for the motorcycle. Additionally, it seems someone moved the motorcycle at the scene of the accident before the traffic police could get there to analyze the accident scene. We too have been quite distressed by the accident. Not only has it left us without transportation for more than two weeks now (counting the time it was in for repairs), but we have felt a great deal of abhorrence at the level of corruption that we have experienced in the local traffic police office here in Ocumare. (It has brought back unpleasant memories of some similar incidents during our time spent in the Congo in 1986-1989.) The attorney provided us by our auto insurance company says she has never seen anything like it in all her work in Caracas and the surrounding area. She spoke about the problem to the district attorney for the area. Maybe something will be done. Now that we have the car back, we now will have to find the time to get the damage to the body repaired, which will likely take an additional ten days to two weeks.

Last Sunday was Pentecost

Carlos preached at the Prince of Peace Church in Caracas, the largest church in the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela. He focused on the Numbers 11 passage in which Moses complains about the murmuring of the people of God and appoints 70 elders to assume leadership roles with him. And the Holy Spirit rested on the 70 elders and they prophesied. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit rested upon the whole church and remains with us today through our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Spirit continue to abide with us all in the work that our Lord has charged us with during these critical times in which we live.

Carlos and Deborah Clugy-Soto

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 264