FOTOS!!!

Simply awesome...

Sorry I haven't been able to update as much as I would like to; the internet access is in the city and takes about 20 minutes to drive to.

The week here in Venezuela has been great! We learned in detail yesterday about the boys and why they are in need of Proyecto Jonas. All of the stories are just sad... one of the boys has been abandoned by his drug abusing family, another lost his father to a tragic drowning accident only a few short weeks ago and has been brought to the "farm" by the equivalent of DFACS because of his problem with drugs. Each one has a story, and each one WILL be impacted by one of our team.
For the past two days, we have walked to a park to play "Futbol" and "Beisbol". The boys are really enjoying their freedom to leave the house and play with us. Because most of them are new in the program, they are not able to leave, even for church.
My "son", Manuel came to visit me yesterday. He is one of the boys that I bonded with the most last year. He had many issues with his family, drugs and has a lot of anger problems. Because of that, he chose to leave the program earlier in the year. In talking with him, he seems to be using what I taught him, and what he learned in the program. He is even wearing the bracelet that I gave to him last year, as I am wearing the one he made for me. I will forever be bonded with him...
SUPRISE! On the way to the office this morning, we passed him walking on the street to visit again! He is sitting across from me as I write this, playing on my phone. I will try and update again soon! We are taking the boys to the beach tomorrow.

Que dice!?

Wow, what an interesting couple of days! Our trip started out with a flight from ATL to Miami, then from Miami to Caracas (the capital of Venezuela). Once we get to Caracas, we go through customs with a breeze and go to pick up our luggage. Then we realize that our leader, Francisco has been detained. He is led over to us by a guard that tells us that because of his Colombian citizenship, he is required to have a visa that the rest of is are not required to have. He is expected to catch the next flight to the US. We are the shewed away and told that we must continue on our journey. With a little hesitation, some of the repeat travelers, Mallory and I, lead the group to our next stop, Aserca Airlines, for Barquisimeto.
LONG story short,the airline tells us that would not be flying because of bad weather at our destination. A little freaked out, we rush to find someone with a local number and that speaks English. After several hours, we get a shuttle to a hotel in Caracas and are picked up the following morning by volunteers from the church.
We finally arrive at Proyecto Jonas and are greeted by the boys. There are 13 on all, ranging from 8 yrs old to 19. We then go and have a meeting with Flor, the director... Where i am elected as the new leader... Don't ask me how that happened.

Monday:
This morning, we awake and start our say with devotional and group meeting. Wonderful breakfast, then Claudia and I showed the rest of the group around the farm. We the load up in the van and take the boys to a park to play futbol and beisbol. The day has been great and bonds have already been formed. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us this week!

Only hours...

Only a few hours away from my second trip to Venezuela. I have to wake up at 4am to head to the airport. My car is packed and I'm all ready to go!
Wait, you mean I have to sleep!? I am so excited in anticipation of what God has in store for our group this week that I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight! When morning comes, anticipation will turn into nerves because, as you may know, I'm a big wimp when it comes to flying... I like to say that I overcame that phobia last year, but it is pretty apparent that I didn't!
Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point... stay tuned as my journey unfolds.

Thank you to everyone that has prayed for this trip, I can't wait to share my experience with you!

My group will also be blogging, check it out for different perspectives.

projectvenezuela1.blogspot.com

~Shane

Meet the group...

So the team has been formed, we have grown from only 9 last year and now have 16. Our leader from last year, Francisco, is returning. Also returning this year is myself, Laurel, and mother-daughter group, Denise and Mallory. I'm excited that we have several others joining our group, and for some, have never been on missions before. Father-son groups are Ron and Ryan, Chris and Casey, and Mike and Mikey. I guess you know whose who if you know their names! :) Then we have a family of five going this year, the Robinsons... Ben, Amy, Hannah, Sam and "Bitty" or Elizabeth. I joke that Ben is the dad of half of our group!


We have been meeting now for several weeks and have begun planning out our adventure in Barquisimeto at "Proyecto Jonas". For those of you who don't know what "Proyecto Jonas" or Jonas Project is... it is a home for boys that is run by Las Buenas Nuevas del Este, a church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. The boys that come to Jonas typically are coming in straight off of the streets and are usually involved with some type of gang related activity or drugs or both. The most shocking thing for me last year was the age of the boys that are there. The youngest was only 9 years old! Can you imagine a 9 year old living on the streets and doing drugs here!? We are so blessed here with all different types of organizations and loving families that take care of "troubled" children. 


With that being said, that is our mission. We are going to support the supporters and love on these boys that have had to grow up way too fast. We have different games planned for the week and each of us is responsible for some type of religious activity for the boys. Even with all of the nerves, I can't help but think of the wonderful smiles we are going to share with the boys of Proyecto Jonas. I know God has a plan for all of us going and I can't wait to sit back and watch Him show His glory.   


Thank you all for the prayers and support of my mission! You ALL are great and words can never describe how much I appreciate you.


Keep checking in, I plan to update as much as possible... 


God Bless,


~Shane

I'm going back!

So if you are reading this, then you probably have heard me talk about my experience in Venezuela last summer. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would sign up and actually go on a mission trip in another country; much less, go and like it so much that I sign up to go again the following year. To be honest, last summer was completely life changing for me. I can't thank you all enough that prayed and sent support for my trip last year.

With that being said, I can't go back again without you. The cost of the trip went up this year by $400 and the total cost is $3200. I am completely relying on God to send support my way. I know that if it is His will for me to go back this year, the God will provide the funds needed to go.

If you would like to give to my trip, please follow this link: www.goglobalx.org and select "GIVE". Fill out the information needed and select Venezuela as the "Country". Next select "VENEZUELA ORPHANAGE" on the drop down box. Below that, fill in Shane Pilcher beside the "INDIVIDUAL" box. You can also give with a check if preferred, just make it payable to North Point Community Church and put "VENEZUELA ORPHANAGE" in the memo section. Of course, all donations are tax deductible.

Each and every dollar counts and is very much appreciated.

Stay tuned, I plan to update as my journey unfolds...

God bless.